Dolce Cape Cod

How to Shop for a Husband

2012-01-20T11:29:00.003-05:00

What I learned from "how to shop for a husband"

Copywrite, Judith Reppucci

Janice Lieberman, the consumer correspondent on The Today Show, has written a "consumer guide to getting a great buy on a guy." I found it funny, albeit only slightly tongue in cheek, and I think Janice makes a lot of good points. However, when I recommended it to my friend Jennifer, who's also dating, she said, "I know how to date...I'm sick of dating. Just tell me what it says."

Okay, Jen, so here it is. True, some of what Janice says, we already know, starting with choosing performance and value over packaging. I've always called this "substance over style," but, after all, she's going with a consumer theme. Anyway, before she was married, Janice told talk show host Charles Grodin that she wanted a smart, good-looking wealthy, athletic guy with a sense of humor.Grodin disagreed, and told her that instead, "You want somebody who loves you, cares about your family, somebody you can trust, who's kind, and who wants children." I agree with Charles.

Let's start with all those activities you enjoy so much, which in Janice's case, seemed to be athletics. I can tell you this; you will like doing almost anything (within reason) with the right person. That doesn't mean I'm not still searching for a ballroom dance partner, but I guess I can get into golfing if it really mattered...

Another major point from Grodin: choose a guy with good guts. That means good core values. Values aren't flashy, and they take time to inspect, but you'll know them when you see them in a person of integrity and honor. He's kind to his mother, he's kind to your mother, doesn't abuse substances, and wants the same lifestyle you want I couldn't agree more; I had a date with a man who was mean to our waitress -- the curtain opened and showed his impatience and sarcasm. He's also the one who, to my wonderful dad's outrage, accepted my offer to help pay for dinner. Bye-bye, Palsy.

Next, Janice says check under the hood and buy a model with a powerful engine. You can compromise in other areas, but don't settle for a relationship without sexual chemistry. Okay, 'nuf said. Who wants a putt-putt?

Janice also recommends choosing the guy who's the male equivalent of the little black dress -- the one that you'll keep in your wardrobe and turn to for years. The qualities she lists as aspects of "keepers" may be a bit controversial, but, hey, I'm just reporting the information. Here are the male LBD requirements:

1. He's a little less attractive than you.
2. He washes the dishes.
3. He lets you have your way.
4. He's college educated.
5. He's not Type A.
6. He earns more money than you.
7. He's not hyper-sexual, overly kinky or surrounded by hot women at work.
8. He's not an isolated, grumpy or generally unhappy person.

I can hear the outrage already, but, again, if you want to debate this, please get the book and read Janice's explanations.

Okay, now on to what might be one of the more important chapters; Using the dressing room mirror. Janice says that according to research on what makes a happy marriage, the more similar people are in their values, backgrounds and life goals, the more likely they are to have a successful marriage. So look for someone who is most like you in looks, wealth, social status, educational level, family background and personality traits. This is featured in several of the on-line dating programs, including eHarmony. The five "mirror images" we should be looking for are:

1. Extroversion. Your levels of sociability should match. If he's a party boy, and you prefer the home life, rethink.

2. Agreeableness. Easy-going or constant pain in the patotey? If you play well with others, it's best that he does, too.

3. Conscientiousness. How responsible are you? A slacker mentality won't mix with a control freak.

4. Neuroticism. In other words, don't choose Woody Allen unless you're Annie Hall.

5. Openness to experience. Adventure skier and heirloom sewer? Probably won't work.

Are you liking this? There's a good chapter on communication skills, but I'll skip to the last chapter in part one, advice from those in long-term marriages. I loved this chapter, because there were a lot of surprising characteristics that I knew subconsciously (note that the first item is FOOD!), but have never seen mentioned before.

But, in general, the good news is that the couples in healthy marriages believed that, once you had found someone with the good guts, the little black dress qualities, the mirror image characteristics, etc, it doesn't -- yes, they said doesn't -- take all that much to make a happy marriage. A lot of options, like taste in music or appreciation for fine wines, don't count for much. But some factors that do matter? Big breath: Food (See? If he's disinterested in food, he just should step away from my clan of Italian cooks.), education (it should be fairly similar), degree of love for the outdoors, whether or not he likes your friends (um, he should like them), where you want to live, desire for children, money and sex. Less important, but still significant options include relative interest in sports, television and politics. Things that turn out not to matter all that much include interest in the arts, belief in working after children, your feelings towards his mother (ha!) and age differences.

Whoo. So, this wasn't a review so much as a recap, but I do think this book is a worthwhile resource. I hope my little overview helped those of us still looking for our true love. Let me know what you think!

A Call to Arms: Let's use proper English!

2012-01-16T10:58:00.000-05:00

Dear Fellow Bloggers:

I love you. I love your generosity,your creativity, and your downright charm.

Please bear this in mind when I tell you that I'm also completely dismayed by the appalling misuse of the English language among many bloggers. I'm amazed at the total disregard for proper grammar. Even those who tell us that they're homeschooling their children don't seem to understand the difference between "its" and "it's" or "their" or "they're." There's an bewildering use of improper pronouns, as in "Him and I went to church this morning." (Oh, and, by the way, that should be "He.") In among the wealth of resources, hapless readers stumble asunder on awkward phrasing, incorrect wording and even misused words and phrases..

Am I being fussy, nitpicking or overly critical? True, I've been a professional writer for a good portion of my life, and I'm so old, I went to school when my major was called Journalism and not Communications. Nonetheless, I think language standards are important, even for nonprofessional writers. And I think we can do better. We all need to edit and proofread more. If you're confused about usage, check resources online or at the library. Take note of how language is used in newspapers of record like the New York Times or the Washington Post. Purchase the Associated Press Manual of Style or other grammar guides. My favorite remains the endearing and enduring "The Elements of Style, " the slim guidepost for writing clear, correct English.

I know we can do better. Please, fellow bloggers, won't you join me in making the blog world a place where we can expect a high level of writing and language?

I'll leave you with words from the preface of the esteemed "Little Book:"

Unless someone is willing to entertain notions of superiority,

the English language disintegrates,

just as a home disintegrates unless someone in the family

sets standards of good taste, good conduct, and simple justice."

--E.B.White, The Elements of Style

With best regards to all,

Jude

* "The Elements of Style," by E.B, White and William Strunk, Jr., is available for $10.00 or less. It's a clear, concise guide to the rules of English usage in literature, composition and grammar.

The 100 Workout

2011-12-28T14:15:00.001-05:00

The 100 Workout
100 jumping jack

90 crunches

80 squats

70 leg lifts

60 jumping jacks

50 crunches

40 squats

30 leg lifts

20 jumping jacks

Run for 10 minutes

Italian Wine Biscuits

2011-12-10T13:14:00.000-05:00

I am about to be a bad girl. A bad Italian girl, but a bad girl, nonetheless.

Yes, it's true; I'm printing a recipe I found elsewhere on the web. I found it as a submission on Food,com, and I truly hope the poster will forgive me, but I couldn't pin from the website, and I'd really like to have this available in case the link stops working.

I grew up north of Boston, where many of the Italians are from Naples and Campagnia. When I worked in Providence many years ago, I discovered that many of the Italians there came from a bit further south, including Amalfi, and also from Sicily. The Italian bread I bought there used hard wheat, which gave it a wonderful density -- it was fabulous toasted. During the several years I worked in Rhode Island, I developed a special fondness for the Amalfi wine biscuits that were popular in the North Providence bakeries. Like biscotti, you dip these cookies in either coffee or wine. It's the kind of simple cookie many Italians eat as a breakfast.

So, I'm not sure whether this justifies my bad behavior in printing this on Dolce Cape Cod - I can only hope the copyright police will see fit to let me off lightly. Perhaps I'll offer them a cookie!

Italian Wine Biscuits

By "Food:The Way To Anyone's Heart" on May 03, 2007

Prep Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 30 mins
Yield: 24 biscuits

Ingredients

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup red table wine
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup vegetable oil ( NOT olive oil!)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375º.
Mix wet ingredients into dry.
Knead until smooth.
Cut off piece of dough about the size of a pencil and roll between palms.
Knot the dough like making a pretzel.
Brush top of biscuits with milk or egg yolk.
Bake for about 10-12 minutes.

2011-09-21T21:31:00.000-04:00

Cinnfully Scrumptious Cinnamon Chicken

I know, I know, it sounds a bit odd, but believe me, everyone who has tried this recipe loves it. Apparently, in certain families fist fights have broken out over who gets the leftovers. Easy, fast, cheap and so delicious -- and it makes your house smell incredible!

Ingredients
12-15 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves or allspice
1/2 cup water

Optional ingredient:
package of Durkee sweet and sour seasoning mix.

Directions
Place chicken in slow cooker. Mix all ingredients in a measuring cup and pour over chicken.

Cook on low six to seven hours, or until chicken is tender and juices run clear.
I start this and don't peek even once until it's done.
Serve over rice.

The purpose of life...

2011-03-30T07:03:00.001-04:00

'The purpose of life is to

discover your gift.

The meaning of life is to
give your gift away.'

--David Viscott:

Spring on Cape Cod.

2011-03-24T07:23:00.000-04:00


Photo from Coffee Creek Watershed Preserve

Yesterday in the courtyard of the little church, I saw my first spring robin (not the little guy above, but close enough). Hurrah, Hurrah! It's spring!

This morning, we've had this:

I should have remembered.
Spring on Cape Cod proceeds like this...

January...

February...

March...

March...

March...

March...

(are you ready?)

JULY!!!

Blues skies (and pussy wilows) ahead!

2011-02-28T06:53:00.000-05:00

I know I only have a handful of followers (mainly my darling relatives and friends), but still thought I'd greet the Blogworld again. It's been a rough winter for my family, but my dad seem to be rounding the turn, and we're hoping that spring raises his spirits and improves his health. I'm back -- and I'm sure there are blue skies, pussy willows and lots of joy ahead!

It's a cranberry world on Cape Cod

2010-10-29T09:40:00.000-04:00

I haven't posted for a while; at the little church, we've had two weddings, three funerals, and a newsletter, so my carpal tunnel problems are giving me a great deal of trouble.

But, without a doubt, it is the most beautiful time of year here on Cape Cod, and I wanted to share it with you! Many of the growers are wet-harvesting on the cranberry bogs, and, believe me, when I see all the rosy glory on a lovely fall morning, it's very, very hard not to pull over and drink it all in --the views across the ponds and bogs are absolutely breath-taking.

If you ever have the opportunity

to visit Cape Cod in the fall, please do come visit...

and until then...eat more Cape Cod Cranberrries!

(By the way, if you'd like this Cape Cod package sign for yourself, get in touch with my fabulous cousin, Jan, in the Buffalo, New York, area. Her business, The Traveling Picture show made a gorgeous framed copy for my kitchen.

Okay, Martha, I'm ready now

2010-10-01T08:20:00.001-04:00

I gave our poor dear Martha Stewart a hard time at the end of summer because her blog was already posting Halloween costumes. My response? Seriously, Martha.

Well, today is October 1st, and all I can say is praise the Lord, because September was HARD. My dad has finished radiation, but the after affects have made him pretty sick, and he's been hospitalized and under medical care. And one hospital admission was the day before my mom's surprise 80th birthday party with more than 80 guests. Dad insisted that we move ahead with the party, and it did go very well (love and kisses to Falmouth's Coonamessett Inn -- you and your staff were beyond wonderful).But we've all been under a strain, especially both my parents.

That's why I'm feeling glad to have September over and to start a fresh new month. And in my book, it's now perfectly okay to go all out for Halloween. I didn't like the spaceman costume, Martha, but I am lovin on your baby get ups.

Take a look at some of the ideas (there are more on her site):

All together now: Awww.
Do you recognize the chicken feet? Rubber gloves!

Perfect for a Cape Cod baby.

This one would work, too.

On the other hand, I do believe the folks at MS need to rethink this one: it's a bit disturbing.
Okay...it's VERY disturbing.

Those who know me are well aware of my determined dislike for Martha. I'm not enamored with her high-handed personality and I mistrust her values and her emphasis on things over people. Not to mention that my skin crawled every time she had her mother on her show (I can't imagine treating my mom that way).

But, boy oh boy, I give the woman credit for assembling staff of creative geniuses! Their collection of costume ideas are funny, silly, creepy, and, yes, even a touch strange -- but all in all brilliant. Check out the rest of the baby costume and bigger kid costume ideas at Halloween Central on the Martha Stewart blog here.

Cellentani pasta with roasted tomatoes and arugula

2010-08-29T21:18:00.000-04:00

"Auntie JuJu, Auntie JuJu!"

Luciano and Mirabella were here, tumbling through the breezeway door like little puppies. They were eager to pick the cherry tomatoes I have growing in pots and tubs on the back patio, so I give them each a basket, and out they ran. Even at 2 1/2 and 5, they're darn good at choosing just the red ones. Luc eats them straight from the plant, and there was such a bounty from the rain Cape Cod finally received, he declared over and over, "It's a miracle!" His mom, my sister Sue, and I were quite sure he must have heard that somewhere, but you, know, he was right. Tomatoes certainly are a miracle!

I sent Susan and her little ones home with a paper bag full of tomatoes, but I had plenty left. My goals this weekend were to tidy my bedroom drawers (so messy!) and clean out the fridge. Late this Sunday afternoon, I took the ricotta cheese I'd discovered behind the pickles, and started cooking up vegetables.

I decided to make a casserole with one of my favorite pastas, cellentani. Have you tried these? They're shaped like corkscrews, and cook up very chewy. They have a nice bite, and stay firm when baked.

I mixed the cellentani with ricotta and some arugula, and sauteed the baby yellow squash and zucchini I'd bought Friday. For my labors, I had a nice little round baking dish for myself later this week, and a good sized casserole to bake for the office tomorrow. And a container of beautifully sauteed squash -- good things in store...

Cellentani pasta con pomodori al forno e rucola

(Cellentani pasta with roasted tomatoes and arugula)

2-3 pounds of cherry tomatoes, halved, or

regular size tomatoes, diced

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper

1/4 cup parsley, minced fine

8-10 leaves of basil, chopped in chiffonade

l pound cellentani pasta

2 bunches (roughly 3 cups) arugula
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 pounds Ricotta cheese

Place tomatoes in a roasting dish and drizzle with oil and vinegar.

Add salt and pepper, toss and roast for one hour, stirring several times.

Meantime, chop arugula roughly, discarding root end.

Drizzle nonstick skillet with olive oil, and saute lightly, two or three moments.

Cook cellentani in a large sauce pan and drain.

Return pasta to pot, add ricotta and stir to mix. Add tomatoes, including juice from roasting pan, along with arugula, parsley and basil.

Place mixture in low casserole or roasting pan, sprinkle with Parmesan, and bake until hot and bubbly, approximately 20-30 minutes.

So good!

I spy with my animal eye

2010-08-19T08:45:00.002-04:00

Have you heard of the "The Once and Future King," the wonderful novel about the Arthurian legend on which Disney based its cartoon feature, "The Sword and The Stone?" The story of the tutoring of the young Arthur makes for an absorbing book for both children and adults. (I give it to young people all the time; if they liked Harry P., they'll love this book as well. So will you!)

In the story as told by T.H. White, Merlin transforms the orphan boy Walt into various animals to teach him about life from their perspectives. The man who was to become king gains great insight into the world this way, and the descriptions of Walt as a peregrine falcon soaring through the sky have stayed with me since I first read the book as a teenager.

I've always yearned to have that sort of experience, and to have some sort of understanding from a less, err, human perspective -- and now, through the extraordinary resources of the Museum of Animal Perspectives, my wish has come true.

With the help of remote controlled cameras all over the world, the Museum of Animal Perspective shows us what a chickadee sees as she brings food to her hungry nestlings, what it's like to be a prairie dog traveling down a tunnel, and what a lobster views at the dank bottom of the ocean. Give it a look -- it's really, really cool!

All photos from the Museum of Animal Perspectives

Seriously, Martha.

2010-08-08T10:40:00.000-04:00

From the daily craft

at Martha Stewart.com:

Get Ready for Halloween
Will your kids be spooky or sweet? Animal or human? Get a head start with our homemade Halloween costume ideas.

Martha, it's August 8, and you want us to think about Halloween costumes. What are you, CVS? Target? Walmart?

Please, girl. Chill.

You say tomato, I say...

2010-07-28T19:45:00.006-04:00

...tomato l-o-v-e!

Oh, goodness, I love tomatoes. I planted a dozen different heirloom tomatoe varieties in pots on my patio this year, and it's a joy to pick juicy red cherry tomatoes for my dinner. I love them so much, I could kiss them!

Okay, I do kiss them...

But only the ripe ones.

I think it's time my annual Guy Clark Home Grown Tomato Song Concert, don't you?

Here it is -- Guy singing the ultimate love song to tomatoes!.

Ain't nothin' in the world that I like better
Than bacon & lettuce & homegrown tomatoes

Up in the mornin' out in the garden

Get you a ripe one don't get a hard one
Plant `em in the spring eat `em in the summer
All winter with out `em's a culinary bummer
I forget all about the sweatin' & diggin'
Everytime I go out & pick me a big one

Homegrown tomatoes homegrown tomatoes
What'd life be without homegrown tomatoes
Only two things that money can't buy
That's true love & homegrown tomatoes

You can go out to eat & that's for sure
But it's nothin' a homegrown tomato won't cure
Put `em in a salad, put `em in a stew
You can make your very own tomato juice
Eat `em with eggs, eat `em with gravy
Eat `em with beans, pinto or navy
Put `em on the side put `em in the middle
Put a homegrown tomato on a hotcake griddle

If I's to change this life I lead
I'd be Johnny Tomato Seed
`Cause I know what this country needs
Homegrown tomatoes in every yard you see
When I die don't bury me
In a box in a cemetery
Out in the garden would be much better
I could be pushin' up homegrown tomatoes

Isn't that wonderful?

Do you believe in true love and
home grown tomatoes, too?
Okay, then, let's sing it out
with Mr. Clark here!

(And let's not think about a month or so from now just yet, okay?)

It's someone's birthday

2010-07-22T06:57:00.000-04:00

Today is the birth date of someone special. Her name is Margery Williams Bianco.
Do you know who she was?

That's right; she was the author of "The Velveteen Rabbit or How Toys Become Real," which she wrote when she was 41. She was born in England, and raised for the most part in the United States, although for some years of her life she lived in Italy, where her husband fought in the Great War. Her stories can be very sad, but she believed that stories such as these touch the true nature of life, and help us understand the transcendent beauty of growth and the inspirational power of love.,

I've just turned 55, and, as I still search for that love, I'm trying to remember what the Skin Horse told the Velveteen Rabbit:

“It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”

You say tomato, I say tomater.....

2010-07-19T21:32:00.001-04:00

See these lovely darlings?

Well, there's something

they need, amici.

So, come with me.

We're going to take

a little detour.

Don't worry --

it's not that far!

C'mon! I'm going to show you

what you need

for

these.

It's easy; just squish down here.

I'm hiding out.

2010-07-14T21:06:00.002-04:00

I'm sitting in the kitchen, with my window shades down and my doors locked up tight. The raging mob My neighbors are out there, waiting. If they can catch me, I know what's going to happen...

...they're going to drag me out by my hair, throw me behind my lawnmower, and make me cut down my thriving dandelion patch.

I can only assume that's what's going to happen, of course. But I'd say it was a safe guess. After all, despite the fierce heat and humidity, the angry gang my neighbors have managed to keep their lawns green and nicely trimmed.

My lawn, however, is a drought-burned eyesore with an army of dry, two-foot tall dandelion stalks. 

I really should have mowed last weekend, but I barely made it through the 80-plus degree weather. Combine that with the devil's own humidity,and it should be no wonder that I've done little more than give the whole mess a pained glance as I pass from the car to the house after work.

I'm really not being a curmudgeon; it's just that I'm plain worn out by the heat. Last night and tonight, I fully intended to mow, but there were downpours during commuting hours both nights. Tomorrow, I've got a meeting (you know, "a meeting...")after work, so I guess I won't be doing anything about this debacle until the weekend.

Which means the ~~horde of irate~~ nice neighbors are waiting.

(This is all a joke -- my neighbors are lovely, and goodness knows how they put up with the old lady who destroys the value of their properties!)

Edit: I mowed last night. I wish I could say that the cars driving by beeped their horns or that the entire neighborhood did the wave. I would have really, really liked a slow clap on the last lap a la Cool Runnings or Strictly Ballroom. But, noooo. No one gave me any love. On the other hand, now my lawn looks like the other lawns. Brown.

Am I a woman or a mouse?

2010-07-08T18:14:00.009-04:00

Owning a home on your own can be so daunting at times. I don't have stellar home repair skills, and, while I've tried to develop some on my own, I really think I'm a "show me" type of learner. For example, just after Christmas, I decided I was going to learn to use the electric drill. The drill is also known as the power tool that scares me crazy. Nonetheless, I read everything I could online, got out my new bits, got out Mr. Drill, and started on my first drilling project. I was going to hang the new curtain rod above my sink. I followed instructions (with a reassuring phone call in the middle to my cousin-in-law Patrick), and -- hot dog! -- got that rod up there. Hung the curtain, put away all the tools. Job well done.

An hour later, the entire thing fell down.

Yes, fine, I WILL try again (I swear, even though it's now been six months...), but this gives you an indication of the kind of frustration I feel about home ownership. And about being alone to handle everything that comes with it.

So, imagine if you will, the upset, the anguish, the unholy angst I suffered when I was invaded by mice last fall. I am not only an extraordinarily clean housekeeper and a germaphobic, but I am deathly, horribly afraid of mice. I can't watch Ben and Jerry, and even Mickey freaks me out a bit. Real mice? We're talking tears, anxiety attacks, and the inability to sleep. Cape Cod Pest Pros to the rescue. Thank you, Dan and company!

The pest company cleaned out the mice, but I was left with fear. Stark fear. I-don't-want=to-go-to-the-cellar-even-though-the-washer-and-dryer-are-down-there fear. Fear that lasted all winter long, through the spring, and into the present.  

The saga got even better in February. That's when I went to the basement to find that I'd been hit with a buzzing blizzard of big fat flies on the wall above my dehumidifier. I swatted and sprayed until they were gone, but who knew what had caused a fly attack in the middle of winter?

Well, finally I figured it out. It would seem that an errant mouse had eaten the pest poison and been attracted to the water in the dehumidifer. Made sense, right? Unfortunately, there was NO WAY I was going to check it out.

Summer began, and with it the famous Massachusetts humidity (Cape Cod weather goes like this: January, February, March, March, March, March, BAM! -- JULY!). My basement was humid and wet to the point of water glistening on the cement walls. It was time to turn on the dehumidifier. One problem...there was a mouse in there.

I put it off. Then put it off again. When I ran downstairs to get a roll of paper towels, the sheets of paper felt damp and limp. Still, I just couldn't confront the dead mouse floating in the water of my dehumidifier.

That's when I read a post by the inspirational Donna, the capable directress of one of my favorite blogs, Funky Junk Interiors.

Gitter Done, my muse told us. Take that project, that chore, that whatever it is you've been procrastinating on doing, and gosh, darn it, do it. And Donna even demonstrated her own "Gitter Done" project, just to show she meant it. Later that day, I went downstairs to do the laundry, and came back up with the basket still in my hands. It was really, really wet down there. 

Maybe it's time to gitter done.

The next morning, I reread Donna's exhortations again. Gitter done. Gitter done. Git it off your mind and gitter done. 

"Okay, Donna," I decided on my drive home after work. "I'm gonna do it!" Yes, I was going to take my courage in hand, and confront that slimy, nasty dead mouse, clean it out, and get my dehumidifier going.

At home, I changed into my grubbiest clothing, donned an enormous pair of Big Bird yellow rubber gloves, and headed down to the basement.

My heart was pounding hard.

"You're strong, you're brave. You can do this," I said into the dank, dark air of the basement.

I squatted in front of the dehumidifier. I was shaking a little, but I took a deep breath, grabbed hold of the water reservoir, and prepared to come face to face with the mouse. One big pull....and there it was.

No mouse.

I repeat, 

NO MOUSE! 

So do you know what this means?

I'm sorry to say that it means that all the terror, all the worry, all the big, fat, sobbing tears were

All. Over. Nothing.

I know this is a strange and long Gitter Done entry. But it's taught me something very important about myself and what I can do. I hope that I've learned once and for all that it's utterly futile to dread something which turns out to be far more horrible in my imagination than it can ever be in real life.

And I've especially learned that I have to stop being so intimidated by small things -- and even big things -- that I don't think I can do. Nothing in this ridiculous incident hurt me except my own foolish, scaredy-cat self. And when I finally took myself in hand, and acted, I earned myself not just an end to my worry, but a certain sense of pride, too. Okay, it's a rather pathetic pride, but it's pride. And, by the way, I got something else out of this silly little saga. 

A dry cellar.

The little church has a blog!

2010-07-06T21:09:00.000-04:00

I started a blog for the little church where I work.

You can find it here.

Let me know what you think!

Read all about it!

2010-07-05T20:55:00.000-04:00

Wow-za!
I won a gorgeous newsboy cap from the Paisley Cupcake.

One of the Paisley Cupcake's team bloggers, AmberLou, re-purposed it out of a pinstriped man's suit, and her little son modeled it to perfection. Check it out here. Didn't she do a fabulous job?

Thank you so much, AmberLou. My little nephew Luciano is going to look adorable in it (if his sister doesn't appropriate it for herself!).