Baked Goods...So Good!

Kathy has always been a avid baker. She was baking bread at an early age and I used to love her peach shortcake and lemon meringue pie. Through the years, her contribution to holiday dinners were her home-made swirl dinner rolls and her baked desserts. This year she made a pumpkin cheesecake and a pumpkin roll. Delicious!

I can’t bake. I hate baking. I hate all that measuring and for some reason, I have an aversion to working with flour. I like to cook. Let me simmer, saute, stew or stir-fry. I rarely use my oven. But I love desserts! So I rely on my sister Kathy for the home-made stuff.

But now my own daughter is whipping up baked concoctions. And she is pretty darn good! The first time I tasted something she made from scratch was a couple of years ago when I had dinner at her new apartment. She baked a delectable and moist coconut & pineapple cake. Wow!

This year she announced she was also bringing along dessert for Thanksgiving. She made individual apple pies which were so cute:


Photo courtesy of Nicole W.

But because of my diabetes issue, she made a separate medium sized pie with less sugar for me. I just had half of it tonight and it was absolutely wonderful. I didn’t miss the sugar at all. Kudos to both Kathy & Nikki…it made a nice ending to a great Thanksgiving!


Nikki's pie, Kathy's pumpkin roll & cheesecake

Sleep Is Over-rated!

Black Friday. Did I really want to wake up at 4am and get to Old Navy so I can be one of the first 50-200 into the store to qualify for their MP3 giveaway? As Sarah Palin would say “You Betcha“!!

Whenever I know I need to get up early for something, my body wakes me up every hour on the hour to remind me. So before the alarm could go off at 4am, I was up. I actually debated for one second before washing my face and brushing my teeth. Once I did that…my one closed eye was opened and I was committed. I was out of the house by 4:15.

I had originally thought I would just sauntered to the Old Navy near my home. Yeah-right. It was dark, cold and if I got to the store and it was packed…the walk home would have been torturous. I got in my car. Thank goodness I did. As I got closer to the area where ON is situated, I could already see throngs of people on the street. To get to ON, you need to use an escalator which wasn’t assessable yet because of the hour. But there were at least 100 people already winding their way from the escalator to the end of the block and possibly further back since I couldn’t see that far! I kept driving.

I headed instead to the ON I actually prefer. It took me 10 minutes to get there since there was no traffic on the road. As I pulled into their parking lot, I could see there were about a dozen people in line. Now, this was more like it! I stood behind the 12th person and it was 4:30. The store was empty, lit up and all the clothes were neatly displayed ready for us on the outside to start rummaging through.

Thankfully, the weather was not bad. There was a chill in the air but I was prepared and had dressed warmly. I even brought along a book to read. At 10 minutes to, someone came out of the store and handed out the requisite bracelets. I clutched mine in hand. My inner self was jumping for joy. Another dozen people showed up behind me. I think the reason for the low turnout is because this store is not close to a subway. You need to get there by bus or car. Better for me.

They did have good deals especially on their fleece wear which I needed for my walking exercise during the winter season. Once browsing was done, I went to the check-out line. I handed in my bracelet and was rewarded with my treasure. The Samsung “Pebble” MP3 player in a sleek black. Back in my PJ’s by 6am. Sure, I could have stayed sleeping in my nice warm bed and just gone to the store and pay $40for it but then I wouldn’t get this euphoric rush of getting something for nothing! Woo-Hoo!

Wish List

Times have changed. A few years ago, I was doing extremely well in my business. In a sense, money was no object. I bought whatever I wanted and gave to family and friends generously. These days, I think twice about an item in the 99 cent store! What is this world coming to?

So I have been day-dreaming and making a list of the things I would get if I hit the lottery or something equally good in lining the pockets.

1. A brand new car. A BMW..convertible!



2. Redo my whole apartment….paint, redo floors, reconfigure my closet, new carpeting…new furniture.
3. Forget the redoing of the apartment….get a whole new apartment - Manhattan penthouse.


4. Upgrade all electronics. Flat Screen TV,PC,iPod,cell phone,camera..etc.

5. Season Tickets to the Yankees...seats this close to A-Rod which I did get to experience courtesy of my sister, Evelyn.

Hi A-Rod!! Yoo-Hoo!!




6. Front row tickets to my favorite concerts - 5th row center on Broadway


7. Weekly appointments for a massage, bi-weekly for manicures & monthly for facials & hair



8. Tummy tuck with recuperation time at a 5 star Caribbean resort



9. Louis Vuitton Bags


10. New wardrobe for my smaller self - Ha!


Sigh…nice dreams but all possibly attainable. I already got what I really wanted for Christmas. Nikki landed a steady job and that is priceless!

Who's that Girl?

You see these 2 photos? When I was very young, these two photos were in my mother’s photo album. The size of both pictures is 2x2 so it is pretty tiny. I recognized my mother right away but who the heck was the little girl in the party dress with the dolly? I became extremely envious. This little girl with my mother…who looked very happy to be with her. Harumph!

For the longest time I wondered. But I never asked. I think I was too scared to hear the answer. Finally a few years ago…just a few years!…while perusing the album, I casually asked my mother who this imp was? Even as an adult, I was nervous and insecure! My mother peered closely at the photos? "Who? This little girl? Why…it’s you, of course!" Me???? I was floored. All this time. I could have been admiring “me” instead of resenting “her”. Sigh…..but now with scanners, (a wonderful thing)…I am able to “blow” up these pictures and really see it for the first time!

Out of the Mouths of Babes

I am most definitely a “potions and lotions” kind of a girl. From a very early age, I love make-up. An early recollection is smearing my mom’s bright red lipstick all over my lips when I was 2 or 3 years old. Then during the pre-teens, having my girlfriend, Susie sneak cosmetics to me…eye shadow & mascara. The funny things is I don’t know why I thought I had to secretly get this stash because my mother never forbid it.

I can’t remember a time when I didn’t have make up. I always had the usual,- eyes, cheeks and lips done. It was years later that I added foundation and concealer to my repertoire. Now it’s all about the lotions, most specifically the anti-aging kind. And there is a huge selection to choose from and I am constantly looking for that “fountain of youth”. But this is nothing new.

About 17 years ago, before all the many anti-agents of today - Andra started to sell Nu-Skin and had come to see me to show me the products. I know she really wanted to recruit me but I already had a business and was not looking to add more to my plate. I did purchase an array of items from cleansers to masques to moisturizers. I was very intrigued about a “face-lifting” masque that was to make me look years younger. Nikki was about 6 years old and she was excited for me. I chose a quiet Sunday afternoon to make magic. I applied the concoction on my face and as it dried, I could feel the tightening and couldn’t even move my mouth. My God…it was really working! Nikki watched this with great interest and even gave me a foot massage during the 30 minute wait. When the half hour was up, she and I ran to the bathroom where I washed off the mask. We both looked intently in the mirror - I turning my face side to side to get the full impact. Nikki broke the silence by exclaiming “Wow-you do look younger! You look like my sister!”

I laughed and agreed. Then I told her to help me clean up. And she retorted “Yeah, you look like my sister but you still sound like my mom!”

My girl & I........................... First Day of Kindergarten

First Day of 3rd Grade?

Make Room for Turkey

I’m getting ready for our annual Thanksgiving dinner. I don’t remember how it came about but I’m in charge of the turkey. My mom always says she doesn’t know how to cook a turkey but I ask her every year what the temperature the oven should be and for how long should the turkey roast. She has it written down in her recipe book. I guess she means she doesn’t know how to make the stuffing which is part of my duties. Kathy makes the rolls and dessert. Mom makes the sweet potatoes and a vegetable or two. Sometimes she also makes her wonderful potato pancakes - latkes. Now that Nikki and Kris are grown, they make the mash potatoes and whatever else they want. This year, Nikki wants to make a dessert also. I’m usually responsible in getting the gravy and cranberry sauce.



I’ve been on the look-out for the sales. Last year, Kathy and I teamed up to try to make the $300 purchase allowed for a free turkey at Shop Rite. We made it. This year we tried again but it seems harder to reach that number. And then lo and behold, this week, I see that Stop & Shop is offering Shady Farm for 59 cents a pound with no minimum purchase. And I have a $1 coupon. I am so there. The only problem…room in the freezer or the fridge. Fridge would not be too much of a problem. Freezer another story and if I buy the turkey now, I would have to keep it in the freezer.

So I sacrificed myself. I am trying to eat a low sugar, low carb and low sodium diet…yeah…I know…lovely. But when I looked in my freezer today to gauge how much room I can make, I noticed a box of Aunt Jemima’s Griddle Cakes that I haven’t touched since my diabetes diagnosis. There was only one in there. I did my 10,000 steps this morning. So I ate it. Now I’ve made room…for maybe a drumstick.

Get 'em While They're Free!!

I don’t know why but when I see a “free” offer, I must get it! Recently Kathy told me about an offer from Target for a free reusable Target bag. The requirements were to exchange 5 of their plastic bags and there was a special pre-paid postage envelope in People Magazine to send them . Well…I shop in Target all the time!!! This should be a snap. But of course, I found only one bag in the house. Nikki had just made a purchase there so I had another. I needed 3 more. I went to Target. I browsed the $1 aisle. Found a stamp set that as a “scrapper” - I could use. As I went to the registers, I passed a check-out counter that was un-manned. I took a bag. I checked out (and the stamp set ended up being 50 cents!) - had another bag and then on the way out…took another one from another register. I had my five. I was thrilled…THRILLED! Brother.

At the same time, there was another offer from Promise for their reusable bag. Two UPCs were required from their SuperShots. I happened to have gotten a pack but had already thrown away the UPC!! I did have coupons for the product so purchased 2 more packs and sent away for my bag. Yay! Uh-huh...


A few years ago, there was a promotion at Stop & Shop, buy 10! of the new Energy Saving light bulbs (but they were at a fabulous sale of $1 a piece) and get 3 of their reusable bags. The funny thing was when I checked-out , I completely forgot I should make use of the bags!! By the way, I replaced 3 of my bulbs with the Energy Saving ones and they are still going strong!

This past summer, Shop Rite offered their reusable bag on a minimum purchase which, of course I made. I had to…it was for a free bag!



And except for using the bags at Shop Rite and that is because they have an incentive of a 5 cent rebate if you use a reusable bag, I don’t remember to bring the bags to any of the other stores I shop in! Shame on me! I have become a collector of reusable bags!

Right now, I’m working on an Energizer offer….a cosmetic bag with the purchase of 3 packs of assorted batteries. I have 2 so far. After all…I could always use another cosmetic bag…especially if it’s free! Wink!

Sisters, Sisters and more Sisters

I have one daughter, Nicole (Nikki) but she has many “sisters” which I am grateful for. Both my sisters have daughters and my nieces, Kristina and Miranda are close to Nikki. I love their relationships. Kristina is 4 months older than Nikki and their rapport delights Kathy and myself. Their banter is light-hearted and sometimes quite edgy but it all comes out of knowing each other and growing up together since birth.


Nikki & Kris

Miranda is 14 years younger than Nikki and you would think there wouldn’t be much in common. But from an early age, Nikki has always shown maternal instincts. Children normally gravitate towards her - sometimes whether she likes it or not. So it's no surprise that Miranda is Nikki’s "kid sister" and there couldn’t be a more loving fun twosome. Nikki took Miranda shopping on Sunday and it appears as if they had a pretty wild time.


Nikki & Miranda.............Shopping...........................At Yankee Stadium

Nikki has a god-sister, Isabel who is 8 years old. Nikki doesn’t get to see her as much since Izzy lives in Virginia but when they do see each other…it’s pretty wonderful.


Nikki & Izzy

And then of course, there’s Ginger. Another very special “sister”. Ginger is a big part of our family. She is too smart and cute for words!


Nikki & Ginger

So I am fortunate that Nikki has all these "sisters" in her life because growing up with sisters is such a special thing. There is nothing like it. I ought to know.
Here are my own fabulous sisters and me!


Kathy, Me & Evelyn............Kathy,Evelyn & Me

Younger than I Am!

I’ve been playing on the Wii. I had given one to Nikki for her birthday last year. When I had first seen it on her Xmas wish-list, I rolled my eyes and dismissed the notion. She was going to be 23 and I felt was too old for video games. But when Xmas came and went and she didn’t get an Xbox or the Wii, she was so disappointed that I decided to get it for her birthday.

The first time I played was when Nikki and I opened her gift and she started me on the bowling game. I was so in the dark that I stayed seated on the couch when it began. Nikki said I had to get up. I was befuddled! Stand up?? But once I got the hang of it, I was, as they say, hooked. It is simply amazing.


About 15 years ago, one of the mothers from Nikki’s class asked if I would join her on a bowling league. They were looking for members. The ladies met on Tuesday afternoons for 2 hours. I used to bowl weekly when I was a pre-teen. Winnie, Kathy, Connie (Winnie's sister) and I would go to Madison Square Garden where they had a beautiful bowling alley…(it is now the Theater at MSG.) Besides ice-skating, this was the only sport I regularly participated in and enjoyed.

I agreed to join the Hadassah Women’s League. It consisted of eight 3-women teams and we were all different ages and sizes. I really enjoyed it. I did well, even earning a trophy for bowling a 200 game. I ended up being the bookkeeper of the league. I became so enamored of the game that I also joined an evening league with my ex-husband! We called ourselves “Nikki’s Mom & Pop”.

So the Wii brought up all the old feelings of how much I love playing and after a few false starts, I played the virtual game as if I was bowling in real life. Exactly the same moves. That first time, I overdid it and my arm was sore for days. Glad to say that with regular playing, my arm is now in good shape.

Sadly almost all the bowling alleys in my area have gone out of business. I was thrilled to come across a bowling center upstate by my house. When all the kids were up one weekend, I took them there. I still have my own ball and shoes. Everything came back to me…I think it never goes away. I did well enough to impress my 9 year old niece, Miranda and brought out the competitiveness of my 13 year old nephew, Xavier. But alas…they couldn’t beat me!


Me, Miranda, Nikki, Kris

I did the fitness test today to see what age I am, fitness-wise. My results?
37!! Ha!

Everything But the Kitchen Sink

My girlfriend, Winnie always shakes her head at me when she sees my bulging wallet. I can’t close it. I carry a beautiful Louis Vuitton wallet that my daughter, Nikki gave me. I purchased my first LV wallet while vacationing in St. Thomas. It was known that it was much less expensive to buy luxury items there and it was true. At that branch, the wallet was $150 which, yes, it was still considered expensive but so much less than in the States.

I used that wallet for over 25 years! So I certainly got my money’s worth. But I guess it was getting ratty…and of course, it wouldn’t close shut. Nikki, sweet girl that she is, surprised me with a brand new one a few years back. Same model. But she paid $375 at the LV store in SoHo!! Now the same wallet is pricing at $540! Crazy!

I am talking about this because as much as I have in my wallet, I also carry a lot of stuff in my bag. I have a boy scout complex…must always be prepared!

At the bottom of my bag, you will find a small umbrella, a pair of small scissors that have come in handy many times, my IPOD, some sort of energy bar, many lipsticks and lip glosses, mascara, keys and more keys,the thingy that you can hang your purse at a restaurant, a nail file, pens, pencils, mirror, cell phone, small bottle of aspirin and pills and the various coins that get tossed in after getting change.

All very necessary in my eyes! Occasionally I stick a bottle of water in there. I did this prior to my lunch with Daniel because we were going for Dim Sum and the place is not very good about refilling your water glass. Long story short, the bottle of water tipped and emptied into my bag! I didn’t realized it until after the lunch . Oh my goodness…it was pretty horrendous. All that water damage. Many things were salvageable but my IPOD wouldn’t turn on…so unhappy about this. The cell phone is okay because it was in it’s own slot that so many purses have now. But my wallet, although not submerged, did get wet and as you know, it’s mostly paper goods inside a wallet. Every photo, credit card, business card, dollar bill was damp and sticking together. Some photos didn’t make it. The ones printed on the computer just became watery images. The photos processed in a “real” photo shop, the old fashioned way were fine! More importantly, the LV wallet survived!

After laying everything out to dry, it was pretty amazing to see exactly how much stuff I do carry around!



So, okay…Winnie, you do have the right to roll your eyes at me! But I can smirk when you might need a pair of scissors or an aspirin! :-)

It's Like Jogging..Kind of...Okay...Maybe Not...

Exercise is a huge part of controlling my health issues. But I am not particularly fond of that activity. Not like my girlfriend, Ronna who feels awful if she doesn’t get a session in. Yeah..whatever.

When I was diagnosed, I knew I had to do something. I had already been doing crunches and low resistance moves when I was simply on a diet to lose weight. But now aerobics and really revving my heart was more what is needed. I decided to do the 10,000 steps.

It takes a lot to do 10,000 steps. Even when you think you’ve done quite a bit of walking…the pedometer only reads 2500 steps…you almost can't believe it...the meter must be broken or wasn't recording your steps. But regardless, my thought was - at least I’m moving - better than nothing.

Yesterday I had lunch with Daniel…my old business partner. We shared a small office for over 15 years and I love him like a brother. It’s been three and a half years since we closed the business and I miss seeing him everyday. Prior to yesterday’s lunch, I had not seen him since August! So this was a real treat. While catching up, I told him about my 10,000 steps and whoa…it turned out, he just started doing that also! And said we should do it together. He lives across the street from a park…actually he lives inside the park - (his building was built illegally inside a park) and he mentioned that walking through the park and then onto their running track - that after about 1 ½ hours…you get to 10,000 steps. We agreed to meet at 10:30am.

We could have easily walked leisurely but we didn’t. We walked at a nice brisk pace…maybe not as brisk as if Kathy was with us, but I could feel the “pain” so I must have been on the right track… - track...get it…?

We talked and laughed and kept walking. The running track is nice because it gives under your feet. I think we did about 10-15 rounds. When we were done…we walked close to 12,000 steps and in one hour and 45 minutes. The time just flew by. It was cool out so I didn’t think I was sweating but when I got into my car, I found myself quite warm and knew I had a good work out. My hair was actually plastered to my head...have to find some solution for that!!



We are meeting again tomorrow…same time, same place…weather permitting….a very good thing…with my very good friend.

Vote for the Good Times

I voted today. I think the news report from the last few days claiming the turnout was going to be huge resulting in long lines, prompted me to wake up early (ugh) and getting to my voting polling place at 6:45am…ungodly! I was fifth in line and was in and out within 15 minutes. Hopefully I really did avoid the long wait. Whatever…mission accomplished!

I don’t remember so well the first time I voted. I do remember feeling very patriotic and grown up. I definitely remember the first time my daughter, Nikki voted. Now, that was exciting! All those firsts…the first step, the first word, the first smile. And then the first day of kindergarten, middle school, high school and college.

When Nikki received her first acceptance into a school or program culminating in her NYU acceptance and how “high” that feeling of joy was, (we literally were jumping up and down) - I had also felt melancholy thinking that would be the last time I would share that emotion with her. How wrong I was!

When Nikki took her road test, we were on pins and needles. We waited in line for over an hour before she took the wheel with her tester - a young man which she didn’t want, hoping for the matronly woman instead. She drove off and disappeared from my sight. I held my breath - well…metaphorically…and after about 5 minutes, she was back. Oh no! This didn’t bode well. Too soon. There she sat, in the driver’s seat, across the street from me but her head was turned to the young male tester. In my mind, I was already preparing to give her a pep talk…”it’s okay…we just have to do it again…many people have to take it again to pass - it’s not a big deal…I had to take it twice.” and so on…but then she turned her face toward me and this beatific smile was on her face. Beaming. Glowing. Pure joy. Again. It was a wonderful moment for me and I treasure that moment because it made me realized that there will still be so many of those moments! Lucky me…lucky us….

The Opposite of Shop-lifting

My sister, Kathy said she thought this blog would be more about my present day to day events. When I had started this column, she was happy to be able to stay up to date with me while she and my brother-in-law, Tony spent some time in Orlando. But as you can see, it has mainly been about the very early days of my youth.

So I will just do a slight update of what has been happening. My health issues are being held in check which I am very happy about. The only medication that I was prescribed was for my high cholesterol and that is the only thing I haven’t been able to monitor. I have been able to control the glucose level by checking every morning and logging everything I eat. I have found that rice is not a friend of mine. And I absolutely love rice. Now the only time I partake is when I have sushi and even then, I try to have more sashimi than sushi. The blood pressure was/is a challenge. My doctor had suggested that if I didn’t have a personal meter that I should check it at a drug store where they have the readers. Walmart had one and every time I went in there (which was quite often) - I would test my level. I would be so anxious that I felt my heart racing and while the cuff squeezed my arm, I would get light-headed and thought I could pass out any second. In the beginning, the numbers would be high..averaging 140/90. Not great. But the last couple of weeks, I have seen the numbers drop to the 120’s / 80’s. And yesterday I actually had a reading of 118/82. I was ecstatic! I don’t really know what I’m doing in particular - I am assuming being very careful of my diet and trying to keep active has helped. I just need to keep at it.

I did leave the house yesterday and took a walk around the neighborhood and I didn't even need a coat...I just wore a Nike's warm up jacket and I was fine...I ended up at Marshalls..(wink) but I only took $5 with me so I didn't have money to buy anything and thank goodness...I could see I would have been standing on that long check-out line, loaded down with goodies! Ha! Although I did find a pair of tongs for cooking that I really liked and need and it cost only $4.99 (which I have always seen for $9.99 and up) so I wanted it but I only had the $5 bill and no change so wouldn't have had enough to cover the tax so I hid the tong in the hopes I will go back and buy it! OMG...the things I am doing now!!!