H is for Hotel, Haven or Pitri Dish of Germs?

I  admit it I AM A HOTEL GERMAPHOBE.

I leave for vacation happy to be on my way.  Look forward to trying new things, visiting new places and eating good food.  All is good until I enter the hotel room.  My body seizes up, I feel like I cannot breath and I get light headed.  Visually the room looks perfectly fine.  Curtains and bedding match and a nice big TV sitting on dust free furniture. The perfectly vacuumed rug has no stains  Beautiful coordinating chair with an ottoman.  Bathroom shiny and bright.  One would think that I would be OK and could relax but its what lurks behind the picture perfect room that scares the heck out of me.

In my mind I look at the perfect bedding and think about strangers doing who know what on it.  I see that nice comfy chair that may have been sat on by someones big hairy bare butt.  YIKES!!! my toes are curling just thinking about it.  I look down and see the hidden germs in the carpet.  The bathroom is the worst for me
even though the towels look fresh and clean to the naked eye, there is no amount of bleach that can wash away the hundreds of other people who have used them.

So I revere all the people who have come before me who can sit on the bedding with abandonment or friends who can go on vacation and stay at below par accommodations and not care about the sticky substance on the curtains

I will continue to work on my hotel phobia and hopeful, one day, I too, can embrace life among the germs of a hotel room.

Mary Ann

G is for Growing Up After Abuse

Today I am departing from my usually light banter and writing about my friend Riley.  Riley was born a beautiful, perfectly healthy, baby girl.  I worked with her dad Brad and very often he would bring Riley into the office. I always looked forward to her visits. She was such a special baby with tons of personality always very social and smiled very easily.  At two she was so used to coming by for visits she would prance around without any trepidation.  She was talking up a storm by then and would make me smile with her cute little baby conversations.

Riley prior to March 27, 2007

On March 27, 2007 I remember being told that Brad had to leave because he had gotten a call that Riley had been found in her crib by her daycare provider, unresponsive. She was being air lifted to Albany Medical Center.  OMG I was sick thinking of Brad and his wife Lisa and Riley, poor Riley what had happened?  As the days progressed the pieces to what happened to Riley were exposed.  Riley had been assaulted by her daycare provider.  The very person that Lisa and Brad had left Riley with to protect her each day from harm had turned on Riley in a fit of rage.  Riley's condition was serious she had suffered a traumatic brain injury at the hands of this monster.

Riley was not expected to survive even though she made it through that first surgery.  If she survived at all she would never, ever be the same.  Riley fought hard to stay alive with  Brad and Lisa at her side day and night.  They prayed for her survival no matter what, they just wanted their sweet Riley to live.

Riley did survive, but life for Brad, Lisa and Riley has changed forever.  Since that horrific day in 2007 Riley has not walked, fed herself or sat up without assistance.  She is legally blind and takes daily doses of seizure medicine.  Riley is a fighter and is making progress with her eating and potty training and just the other day Lisa Brad and Riley celebrated her taking a few steps on the treadmill.   Riley has endured more hardships during her short time on earth then most people endure in their entire life but through it all  her big bright happy smile lights up a room and touches all that come in contact with her.

Riley is growing by leaps and bonds so transporting her and her wheelchair in a traditional vehicle gets harder and harder each day.  As part of National Mobility Awareness Month, Riley has been entered into a contest to get her a van that would be wheelchair accessible but she needs votes.

I am hoping that all my fellow A to Z challenge bloggers will take time each day to vote and forward this to anyone and everyone that you are in contact with so that  Riley and her family can get the van that will help make their lives just a little bit easier.

Get Riley a Van

click here

http://www.mobilityawarenessmonth.com/entrant/riley-gilbert-schenectady-ny/

Please take a few minutes to vote and play it forward to help Riley.  Thank you

Mary Ann

F is for Fig Newtons

For my F word  Fig Newton kept popping into my head so why not, I went with it.

The Fig Newton was invented in 1891 and have been Nabisco's third best selling product with sales of more then a billion bars a year. .WOW!!!!  Since their invention there have been many additions to the product line besides the popular fig variety, including strawberry, raspberry and mixed fruit.  The newest Newton products are the Newton Fruit Crisp and Newton Thins.  There is even a National Fig Newton Day on Jan. 16.  WHO KNEW!!!!!!!

So who the heck is eating all those Fig Newtons.  I can honestly say that I have not bought a Fig Newton since hmmm......NEVER.   I think back at all my millions of grocery trips and I can't even remember seeing one box of Fig Newtons in anybody's cart.  I see plenty of Chips Ahoy's, Oreo's, and even a few Lorna Doone's but never one Fig Newton in sight.

I think my dislike of a Fig Newton began back in my childhood.  My mom loved to bake so she rarely bought any boxed cookies except for Fig Newtons. When she had no time to make us her delectable chocolate chip or melt in your mouth butter cookies we were offered a Fig Newton.  What a let down.  It was either a Fig Newton or nothing.

OK so it must be the a nutritional value of a Fig Newton that draw people in.

Two Fig Newtons serving size is 110 calories, dietary fiber of 1.0 and fat of 2.0.

Three Chips Ahoys serving size is 160 calories, dietary fiber of 0.7 and fat of 8.0.

Per serving Chips Ahoy is higher but your getting one more cookie.

If you break it down to eating only two, better tasting, Chips Ahoy's its only 106 calories and fat content is under 5.0.  Even with the additional fat content, hands down I would always pick a Chips Ahoy over a Fig Newton.

Bye By Hydrox

So when cookies such as the Hydrox (like an Oreo) and Marshmallo Sandwich cookies (Mallows) have gone to the big cookie heaven in the sky, the Fig Newtons remain a favorite, to whom I do not know.

 Any Fig Newton lovers out there?

Mary Ann

E is for Embarrassing High School Moment

For most of us, high school is full of embarrassing moments.  The day of my most embarrassing moment started out like any other of my high school career.  I got up, met my friends at a the corner candy store and we all walked the mile to Grover Cleveland High. My third period was gym followed by dreaded history. The gym bell usually rang five minutes before the end of the period to allow us to run to our locker and get dressed, so we could get to our next class.  Very quickly I realized that day the five minute bell had failed to ring and this was actually the end of class bell.  The next gym class was already rushing into the locker room. I had seconds to get dressed.  I scrambled to take off my gym uniform and get into my blouse and skirt. I grabbed all my stuff from my locker and ran to history.

As I approached my class I could see that everyone was already seated and Mr Goldberg was starting the lesson.  I entered the classroom like a cat burglar, hoping no one would notice my entrance. I was inches from my desk when very loudly Mr Goldberg said "Miss Raber we will all wait for you to get dressed before we proceed with the class". The class roared with laughter as I looked down and saw that in my haste, I had failed to close the zipper of my skirt and my flowered undies were exposed for the world to see.  I went totally red as I fumbled to close my zipper with shaking hands.  I threw my things into the desk, shrunk down in my desk and tried to disappear.

I was mortified for the rest of the day and could not sleep that night, replaying the event over and over in my head.  So the next morning the thought of going to school again was the the last thing I wanted to do but of course off I went.  I was hoping that all would be forgotten and I could just move on from my embarrassment.   Luckily the five minute gym bell rang and I hurried to history class wanting to get into my seat early so I did not have to walk past anyone.   I sat with my eyes down sitting quietly waiting for class to begin, averting eye contact with anyone.  The starting bell of class rang and immediately Mr Goldberg's voice boomed over the classroom  "Is anyone missing this?"  As my eyes looked up I saw Mr Goldberg holding up  my white lacy slip that I must have left  behind in the desk the day before.  The entire class turned and looked at me waiting for me to claim the slip.  I sat frozen unable to speak.  There was no way in hell that I was going to admit that slip was mine.  So I just sat like a horrified mute until Mr Goldberg took my slip and threw in the garbage.

Mr Goldberg 

I was not a fan of Mr Goldberg from that point on and was very happy when the term ended and luckily I never had Mr Goldberg for any other class in high school.

Did you have any embarrassing high school moments?   Please share.

Mary Ann

D is for Daughter Of My Dreams

As far back as I can remember I would dream of having a daughter.  In my dreams I would dress her in adorable clothes and she would always be the most perfect of babies.  I married young and by 21 I was pregnant.  There were no tests back then to determine the sex but I was sure it was a girl.  My labor was rough,  I was so young and really had no idea what to expect.  The pain of labor was not part of my dream but the first sight of my daughter's beautiful face made all the pain a distant memory.

The stressful life with a new baby was certainly also not part of my dream.  I had not realized how tired I would be.  Months and months of no sleep.  She was opinionated from that first day, so often, just one little thing would set her off.  Hours upon hours, holding her when she was crying for no reason that I could figure out.  I would be so frustrated and cry right along with her.  There were times when I thought I was the worst mother in the whole world,  I felt like I just could not keep her happy.  Finally when I thought I couldn't take another minute, she smiled.  Her sweet face lit up and I was back in my dream state.  This was going to be OK.  I made her smile so I must not be such a bad mom.

So life with my daughter from that point had its ups and down. Still opinionated the clothes thing was always an issue, fighting over wearing ruffled socks when she was two, of course the more I insisted, the more she resisted.   Thinking back, why was I so stubborn?   I should have just let it go, not fighting with her over a stinking pair of ruffled socks.

As time went on, of course, there were usual growing up mishaps. She broke her collar bone at three running into a door frame.  Cut open her chin and needed stitches during gym in 2nd grade. When she was 17 her car was hit by a deer and thankfully she was fine but the deer and car did not fair so well.  It all went by so fast.

Over the years I have seen her grow up to be one of the most awesome people I know.  She is dedicated to her family.  She never sweats the small stuff and is constantly giving me good advice to keep my sometimes hectic life in order.  She is funny and makes me laugh all the time.  I see her with her children and I am so touched by the love that she shows them every minute of the day, from all the hugs and kisses to sewing quilts and knitting blankets so they are surrounded by that love, even when they sleep.

So through it all, she is without a doubt, daughter of my dreams.

Mary Ann

C is for Crafty

Crafty, that's me. I have always I loved to create things, but because work, family, and chores got in the way I had put it on the back burner for years.  In 2010 when I quit my highly stressful job  I decided it would be a great opportunity to do something that I love.

I started my crafting journey by designing pictures for family and friends.

I went on to make some pictures  for myself.

Along the way I decided to try my hand at making jewelry.

Necklaces and pins

 Loved designing them so much I decided to create item to sell on Etsy.

Besides selling my jewelry I also sell pictures.

During the holiday I sold Christmas ornaments and tags.

Some ornaments I specifically created for my grandchildren trying to capture some of their personality.
 

                                                         

I continue to design and create.  My mind is always thinking about what to do next.  I am working on some more jewelry designs and also key chains that I will be selling on Etsy and some craft fairs this summer.  Life is certainly what you make it and I have decided to make mine full of color, creativity, and most of all fun.

Mary Ann

B is for Baby Ruth, The Tale Of TMI

 I was brought up in Queens, NY which is a stones throw away from New York City.   On special occasions, as a family, we would trek into the city.  Some of those special occasions for my sister and I were going into the city with my parents to attend live TV kids shows.  For whatever reason my mom must have thought my sister and I deserved to be seen on TV because she would get tickets for all the local NYC TV shows.  We were on Romper Room, Wonderama, Little Rascals with Officer Joe Bolton and my favorite appearance for my sister and I was Kartoon Klub.

Kartoon Klub was a local live TV show that was on everyday.  The host was Ted Steele who at one time was a very famous band leader.  For the hour preceding the Kartoon Klub, Ted hosted a live American Bandstand type show and when it was over it went right into him hosting Kartoon Klub, a kids show.  Now poor Ted must have done something very wrong in the universe because he was stuck with a bunch of teenagers for an hour and then he was thrust into a world of screaming kids for an additional hour.  I was so little but I remember how cranky he was.  The only time he smiled was when the camera was on him.

Just before the American Bandstand type show was over my sister and I and about fifteen other kids were led into a large studio with bleachers that faced a big screen.  I was so little and my mom that day had put my blond hair in a huge array of banana curls.  Very stylish at the time, I guess.  They sat me right in the middle of the bleachers telling me to make room for Mr.Steele.  From a distance I could see the teens dancing to the last song of the teen show.  Ted Steele came toward us as his first show ended looking none to happy to have to spend the next hour with us.  He climbed up into the bleacher and sat right next to me saying nothing to any of us kids.  I heard one of the guys yell, "we are on in 10 second,  10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 ,4, 3, 2, 1" and pointed to Ted.  Ted immediately went from grumpy to Mr Happy.    He started to explain who the shows sponsors were, one of which was a Baby Ruth candy bar.  He announces "every kid loves a Baby Ruth bar and all the kids here will get one to take home with them".   Now, little did poor Ted Steele know but I had some issues with eating nuts of any kind and was forbidden to eat them.  So as he was talking I tugged on his suit jacket, he did not respond, I tugged again and again.  He finally looked down at me not looking very happy and I said "excuse me but I can't eat  this candy bar".  He says "well little girl save it for later" and starts talking to the camera again.  That answer obviously was not good enough for me because I continued to tug away at his jacket.  He finally looks down at me again and with gritted teeth he says "yes little girl" and I quickly tell him that I can't even eat it when I get home because it has nuts in it and it will make me constipated.  Now remember this was live TV and none of this could be edited.  The entire staff was horrified, constipated was not a word that was said on TV back then.  My poor mother and father sat in the green room watching mortified as the other parents let out a collective gasp at my bold, bathroom, problem, confession.

Not sure if poor Ted was ever the same after that. My potty talk may have been the straw that broke Ted Steel's back because not long after that the show went off the air.