Glasses

When I was in the third grade, I wanted glasses. My two best friends wore glasses, and for some reason I thought it would be cool to wear them. I remember thinking I would look grown up and sophisticated. Of course, there was a problem.

I had perfect vision - better than perfect, in fact. It was 20/10, meaning I could read a letter from 20 feet away, whereas a person with the perfect 20/20 vision would need to be 10 feet away. This caused a snag in my getting-glasses plan. So I did what any 9-year-old would do.

I lied.

When I went to the nurse's office that year for my annual physical, I remember making up my mind just as I was sitting on the short green stool in front of the eye exam machine. I was going to throw the test. I was going to just make everything up. The nurse was alarmed and at first asked me to repeat a few things. I read off the lines of letters with about 50 percent accuracy. I saw the red ball above, on and below the table with about the same success.

The problems with this plan didn't occur to me - that if I was prescribed glasses with this eyesight, I wouldn't be able to see a thing. I just wanted glasses, plain and simple. This was before it was trendy to sell non-prescription glasses just for this purpose, so I saw this as my only alternative.

I went to the eye doctor that afternoon. The nurse was alarmed and called my mom, and she brought me right after school. At this point, I panicked. I was a good kid - I didn't lie about anything - and now I thought I was going to get caught and, consequently, get into huge trouble.

By the time I was sitting in my eye doctor's office, I totally chickened out. I flew through the eye exam without a single mistake, right back to my 20/10 vision. He told my mom there were no problems. I told her I had no idea what happened and that my eyes were just fine. (I think she thought my nurse was a moron for the rest of elementary school.)

Fast forward 16 years.

Aside from the third grade misstep, I always loved having perfect eyesight. With such good vision, I also stopped going to the eye doctor. I honestly didn't realize I should make a trip at least every few years. Until recently, I felt like there was no need. My vision was perfect - until it wasn't. When I noticed the decline, I decided it was time to go to the eye doctor. I had an appointment two Saturdays ago after my 10-year hiatus.

And guess what?


Yep. I got my glasses.

Me & John

This is a photo Felicia took of John and me on New Year's Eve. I really like it, although we look a little pasty, don't we? The summer can't come soon enough. Sometimes it's sad living at the beach when it's snowing.

Winter Wonderland...

Snow... and peanut butter pie!

They said it was supposed to snow. A lot.

Guess what? It's actually snowing. A lot.

I'm excited, I guess, because I love snow, but I was pretty set on not having any more for the winter. I will still have work tomorrow (the news doesn't sleep!). Actually, Pam and I are trying to figure out how we'll be able to get our cars out of the alley in the morning. There's only one exit and we're pretty sure the city isn't going to plow a pathway for us. Oh, and yes. I said Pam and I. Ryan just got the phone call that her district is closed tomorrow. I knew I should have stayed an education major...

So, yesterday I made a peanut butter pie to bring to Jess and Matt's for game night. It was delicious, and fortunately the recipe makes two pies and we kept the second one. Tonight Ryan, Felicia and I indulged in another piece.



Doesn't it look great? I never made one before, but it was insanely easy. I followed the recipe I found on The Swell Life. Thanks, Alexa! (And by the way her blog is great, you should check it out.)

Be nice to reporters.

Yesterday I interviewed a man attending an event I had to cover for work. When I'm at events, I'm pretty super-pleasant to deal with. You sort of need to be in this line of work - at least, it gets you better interviews when you are. Who wants to talk to a rude, grumpy reporter?

Which kind of brings me to my point. I'm not being rude, so how about the people I interview not be rude, either?

So, I talk to this guy - he's a senior citizen, real nice, a bit hard of hearing - and then I ask if I can take his photo with his friends. This really pleases him, so he and his friends get together and I snap a couple shots. Then I say that I'm with my newspaper, and they say that's great, they will pick up copies this week.

I walk away (about 10 feet?) to get my bag and belongings together, and I hear the guy loudly proclaim, "I wish it was (the other local weekly newspaper), because that one is free!"

Now, come on. I'm standing right there - couldn't he have at least waited until I was out of the room? Plus the fact that my newspaper costs 50 cents. I know the economy is rough right now, but why not splurge a little if you're going to get your picture in the paper and have some fleeting fame?

Things like this happen more often than I'd like to admit, and it's just as disheartening every time. So, if you ever need to deal with a newspaper, for whatever reason - you're interviewed, you need to place an ad, you want to run a birth announcement - be courteous and act like you care about the publication.

If you care about me, I'll care about you. It's that simple.

Etsy Love

If you haven't visited Etsy before, stop reading and go there immediately. Peruse, enjoy and take it all in, and then come back and check out some of my favorite sellers and latest finds. Agreed? Good.

I joined Etsy (as a buyer) a couple of years ago, and I've gotten plenty of quality gifts (some for myself!) from independent crafters all over the country. There are plenty of international sellers, too. Unless you're living in some dream town, you'd be hard pressed to find the specialty, one-of-a-kind items that people create and put up for sale on Etsy. I have a few favorite stores locally that I frequent for this same reason (The Flying Carp and The Maple Tree are two of my favorites), but I've come to buy more and more from Etsy, too, especially if it means I can forgo the big chain stores and mall trips for something more unique.

I decided to throw together a list of some of my favorite Etsy sellers and a look at items I'd love to buy, but really don't have the money for right now. There are thousands of sellers on Etsy, so even if the following don't tickle your fancy, I'm willing to bet you can find someone who does.

Untamed Menagerie

This mother daughter duo from Tennessee creates wonderous, whimsical acrylic jewelry. Their work is absolutely inspiring, and I think everyone should sport their creations. I myself have had my eye on these little numbers for months and months now:



Does it get any better than a strand of pearls with a tight-rope walking elephant? And look at the bows! Absolutely charming. And, come on, the earrings? They are chandelier earrings that look like chandeliers.

It's only a matter of time before I break down and order one. Untamed Menagerie also has fabulous prices (which the majority of Etsy world does). The elephant necklace is $22 and the chandelier earrings are $18. I think I can spare that much of my next paycheck...

picapicadesign

I have a soft spot for all things recycled, and picapicadesign is the perfect place to shop for those who love your three R's. Liz Grotyohann is a graphic designer in New Jersey who is also a self-proclaimed "crafter/collage artist by night." Her Etsy shop is full of beautiful jewelry, repurposed object art, vases and bowls out of recycled papers and maps (!), and tons more.

I'm buying these earrings for my friend, Amy, at some point. It's not a question of if I will, but more so when I will.


The world is Amy's home, and what better way to express that than with earrings depicting teeny maps of two of her most-loved places? This is something lots of Etsy sellers feature - custom made crafts. You're not going to find that at most stores, for sure. These earrings run $18.

I also adore Liz's map bowls:


These ones are made out of Boston metro maps, and I love the black and white quality. The bowl is $18, too.

shaNickers

I never painted the walls of my bedroom, and at this point I'm not going to. What that means is I need some very cool, decorative art to take up the vast whiteness. My problem is solved with shaNickers!

Shanon is an interior designer in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and her shop is full of her unique wall decals and self-adhesive wall murals. They don't damage the surface and are easy to apply, but then take down and take with you if you're a renter (like myself).

Here's my favorites:



The birdie perched is $46. The stylized flowers is $57. I want to cover my room in Shanon's artwork, but I have a feeling, as cool as it is, it wouldn't look so good all mashed together on four tiny walls. ;)

Paloma's Nest

Caroline Colom Vasquez, an Austin, Texas, based artist, creates with all natural materials including fine clays, wood, paper and cloth. She says her pieces are "for the heart," and once you look through her shop it's impossible not to agree with her. What initially caught my eye at Caroline's shop were her snowy white ceramic pieces. She hand stamps words and phrases onto a myriad of things, including tiny textured dishes and bowls, and I love the simplicity of it all.

It's hard to pick a favorite, and if I order anything I may go with a custom pick, but I do love this:


The 3.5 inch in diameter bowl is $18. It would be perfect just sitting on a desk or dresser, whether to look at or to catch life's tiniest treasures that you need a quick temporary home for.

And I love the quirkiness of this:


Caroline has these in her shop to mark spring, a season of "regeneration, rebirth, prosperity and hope." An egg is a pretty perfect symbol for all that, no? Plus, imagine the conversation a little ceramic egg would spark.

***

A few other sellers I could never pass up would be:
The Black Apple
Ashley G and Drew
OhKayK
KirstenLovesDinner

And there's about a hundred more. I love Etsy.

Post Valentine's Day Post

I had a lovely, low key Valentine's Day this year.

The highlight? Aside from just getting to spend it with John, I'd say the top honors would have to go with the necklace John gave me. The pink sapphire and diamond white gold pendant is pictured above. I love it because it's unusual without looking over-the-top. Pretty, no? I'm a very basic jewelry kind of person, and John always does a great job in getting me beautiful, thoughtful things that I will definitely enjoy wearing.

The ball was dropped a bit on reservations. (Did anyone guess how quickly fine dining establishments would book up on a Valentine's Day that fell on Saturday? Well, obviously we didn't.) However, we got a reprieve with an unused reservation of my brother's, so we found ourselves at the Tuckahoe Inn for dinner. (If you're not from here and haven't heard of this restaurant before, I can assure you - those jokes are not new to me.)

It was a nice dinner, and we followed it up with some gambling in Atlantic City - not romantic, at all, really, but it was okay. (Our original plan was to eat dinner in A.C. and gamble anyway, so we decided to still go.) What was not okay, however, was us both losing money. John lost $20. I lost ... more than $20.

Our reservation for dinner was early, so even after our quick jaunt to A.C., we were home by 9:30. So what did we do?

Well, played Scrabble, of course!