Horrible commute!

Yup, I know gazilions of people who live in New England will be bickering about this today on their blog. But honestly, though I certainly did not have it the worst, I can't help with the bickering.
So, yesterday I left my work earlier, thinking "what a marvelous idea, I get to beat this crazy weather and get home before the worst of it starts". Ha! Little did I know about it. I was at Ruggles at 1:45 waiting patiently for the 2 pm commuter rail to Providence. Mind you, it was a mob scene on the platform, but I was not too worried since I have taken the 2:00 pm train before and it's mostly empty. Goodness, at 2:08 the train came by, and never stoped at Ruggles because it was too full! Of course there were no announcements about it so myself along 200 other people were left to wonder what has happened! Luckily one woman told us that her husband was on the train that just passed and that indeed it was our train, but that the conductor or whomever made the decision not to stop because it was too full!
The next train was not schedule until 4 pm and by this time MBTA started announcing that all trains are running 30 minutes late!
Long story short... I waited there for over 3 hours, in a freezing wind and snow (there is no "in side" at Ruggles and no heat) and then was told that the next train might not even stop there either because it was too full. Luckily there were plenty of angry people who started yelling at the MBTA employee and somehow the train came and stopped. Getting in was another story, but let's say that the 2 men that were standing next to me (between the cars) got to know me a lot better than I would have liked. But at least I was better of than the 500 people from South Station that were not allowed to get on!

By the time I got to Attleboro I could not feel anything, I barely made it up the hill (if you have been over you know our house is up a small hill) without breaking my neck and started crying of frustration, cold and everything else the second I enter the house. My husband had to take my clothes off since I was not able to even move!

Needless to say, it was horrible, but even so I at least made it home. My sister in law had to sleep at a friend's house after 5 hours in traffic and it took my brother in law 7 and a half hours to get home (a full day of work)

If you worked in Boston yesterday, I am sure you have your own horror stories. All I can say is "I HEAR YOU!"
To a better commute today!

Confused

Last night I went to the work Chrismas party. Each year it's a very interesting experience and this year was not a dissapointment either. I was telling my friend K in an earlier email how I never stop being amazed by co-workers who get completly plastered at work functions. I have nothing against people having a glass of wine or 2 or whatever you can hold, but getting drunk at work parties is really confusing for me. The next day you still need to be at work (I can't imagine the killer headache one might have after that), pretending that nothing has happened the night before. Not to mention that I have to pretend I did not see you fall over the chair last night... (it happened in previous years, not yesterday though)
So, I don't get it, maybe one of you can shed some light into my little mind!

So not ready for Christmas

I realized today that there are only 14 more days until Christmas. Considering that I do work a full time job, I only have one weekend to finish my shopping before the big celebration (by principle I refuse to go to the mall or anywhere near the stores on the 23 and 24th of December). This year, unlike any other, I am so not ready for Christmas. Normally, being the OCD person that I tend to be, I would have been done with all gifts, cards and other stuff like that even before Thanksgiving. For some strange reason, I have not been able to get my act together at all.
I already gave up on the idea of having anything ready for my family in Romania, but in my defense my brother is not coming until the end of January, so no need to really have things until then.
I scrambled around for some things for Alan last week and some for my mother in law and sister in law (the boys are Alan's problem). Keep your fingers crossed that I get to finish this weekend, otherwise you might need to help me... (whatever that might involve!)

First trips alone

Saturday morning, at 6:10am I get woken up by my husband who is in a frenzy that I am missing my train! Yup, I did wanted to strangle him considering that Saturday is not a work day and pretty much the only day that I can sleep longer than the regular 5:30 am time. After trying really hard for about 20 minutes to go back to sleep, I just gave up and decided to make my first trips in the car alone.

After some much need it coffee, I got in and drove (ALONE) to Stop and Shop (we were in dire need of some greens and other stuff) and had a blast. No, not shopping necessarily, but with the fact that now I can finally get in the car whenever I want (provided that I do have the car in the driveway) and drive wherever I want!
Being proud of handling going to Stop and Shop alone, I decided to even go to Target! And I made it there and back with no problems. Even though for about 2 seconds I had a panic attack in Target trying to figure out how I was getting back home (I quickly remembered that I can drive myself now), I had the time of my life. I blasted the heat in the car (goodness Saturday was freezing), turn on my Christmas music (Alan hates it for the most part), sang along with no one to listen to me (thank God for that, I really can not sing if my life would depend on it)!

See ya!

I finally did it!

I know what you are thinking when reading the title... you naughty people, that's not what I am talking about!

Yesterday I had the day off from work and I went for my licence! Yup, I did not act like a complete idiot (trust me, last time was so painful even for me that I could not blame the poor state trooper for not giving me that licence), I actually did everything right, and at the end of it GOT MY LICENCE! Freedom here I come!
I can't even tell you the level of excitement in our house last night. Me for meeting my goal for this year (I was only allowing myself to have vacation for Christmas if I get my licence before it), and Alan for realizing that he never has to go to Christmas Tree Shop with me! (Yup, like all guys, he hates that place!)

Cheers!

Birthday bash!

Yup, I finally turned 21! Just kidding, I have turned 30 a week ago (I was smart and took my birthday off from work and spent it at home in my PJs), but my husband organized (with some help) a birthday party for me this weekend. I was so overwhelmed with the number of friends and family that came over to celebrate with me.

Being 30 is really not that different than being 29 or 28. I still have to get up at 5am during the week days, I still have to go to work and cook dinner and feed the cats as well. I was waiting for some sort of Earth moving experience, but that never really happened and I have a feeling that it will never really happen.

Thanks to all for coming and hanging out with me on Saturday!
Cheers!

All this rushing!

I was coming back from a conference today and had 1 1/2 hours before my train (yup, the joys of living in the "far" suburbs and not driving are having to wait for the next train...) and after getting treated by my friend W with an early bday present (manicure) I still had a little bit of time. I decided to quicky run into Macy's even though my head felt like the fog was descending around it (I have been sick since last Friday night). And guess what? They have the store dressed up for the holidays! And I mean Christmas! What the heck? Halloween was just last week and Thanksgiving is not even here.

I love Christmas, it's my fav time of the year. I love the atmosphere, the spirit, the gifts, the lights, the smells! I love Christmas music (I know I am corny),but for crying out loud, November just begun 5 short days ago and I have already heard a bunch of carols! By the time December 24th comes, I will be sick and tired of listening to carols (though my husband would swear that I can listen to Christmas music all year long!)
Each year I get more and more agravated at this craziness of jumping from holiday to holiday without waiting to even enjoy the one we are just approaching. I even find myself reaching out for the next thing and forgeting that I just acomplished something!

Where I come from we put the Christmas tree up on December 24th, and the holiday lights in the city do not get turned on until close to the 20th of the month (though I have not been home for Christmas in 5 years, maybe things have changed. I will have to check on that!)

All this being said, I still love Christmas. I will still love it even if the stores will start decorating for it in August! But I have to think of a way of protesting against all this "holiday rushing". Any ideas?

5 days of Christmas

Yup, that's how we have felt every day this week. Why? Well we decided to reface the kitchen cabinets (and if you have been at my house you know how terrible the kitchen looked). So someone has been in our house working on our kitchen every day this week. My husband noted the other night that he feels like it's Christmas every day when he comes home from work. We both look forward to see the progress done for that day. Just the same way you look forward to open your gifts on Christmas day (I know I am not a kid anymore, but I still look forward to ripping pretty paper to see what's inside the box with my name on it!)

We took the "before" pictures and we are going to take the "after" pictures. Maybe I can get my act together and post some here.

Have a fun weekend!

Trying again

Most of you know that I do not drive. Actually to be correct, I do not have a license, I do drive now, but with someone in the car (leaner's permit).
My big goal is to have my license by the end of the year. I figured that since I am turning 30 in less than a month, I should at least add that milestone to my life. So I am taking driving lessons (again) and driving everywhere during the weekend. I even made a deal with myself : I can have the week between Christmas and New Year's Day off if I have my license by then, otherwise I have to go to work (not Christmas day though :)

I am not a bad driver. And that's not me beating my own drum (is that what you say?), my husband says so too! I can drive, I am not afraid (anymore, at least), I know what I am doing. But I act like a complete idiot when it comes to have the state trooper in the car. Like, really bad (for example, who forgets to back up first before turning to get out between 2 cars! you had to have been there to see it!)

This time I am determined. To pretend that there is no one else in the car with me (I only hope that I will not forget though to follow their instructions...)

I will keep you posted!

Black and red!

In case you were wondering, the jewelry party this weekend was such a blast! The whole morning I agonized over the idea that no one will come (my poor husband was getting tired of re-assuring me that it will be ok), but in the end it went so well! I had fun seeing people liking my jewelries, trying them on, and, of course, buying it!

At the end of the day, after the dust had settled, I was finally in the black! The first time since I have started this whole thing in May of this year. Of course the positive income did not last too long since I had to buy more supplies for more parties and fairs, but nonetheless it was thrilling to see numbers in black and not red into the spreadsheet (if any of you know my husband, you know that he has a spreadsheet for everything... :)

Though the next few months will be very busy, I am looking forward to more victories in this area (as well as some other areas). Positive re-enforcement never killed anyone!

See ya!

Finally Friday!

I can not even believe that it's Friday! This week has been so crazy with work and trainings, but guess what? I have the day off! Nothing to do (ok, just some house cleaning for the party tomorrow, but compare with having to be at work that's nothing), nobody to answer to (maybe just the cats), no where to rush... what a bliss! I am waiting for my husband to leave for work so my fun can start.

Have a great weekend and maybe I will see you tomorrow!

All beaded out!

I have beaded, strung, wired, coiled, wrapped like crazy for the past month, but now I am finally ready. My Open House jewelry party is this weekend and I can't wait for it! I even took Friday off to make sure that the house is in order (my husband worked on some home improvement projects over the weekend and you can not even imagine the cleaning that needs to be done), my displays are all set and the food is ready to go.

In between all this work around the house, I have decided to give "handmade soap" a try. So, I purchased a melt and pour kit and a book to read along. Who knows, maybe the products of my labor will be a great addition to my jewelry table for the upcoming fairs.

See you soon!

Saving time!

As I was complaning yesterday that there is no milk in the fridge and that there is no time to go food shopping in the middle of the week, my friend K suggested Peapod! So, I got to the office earlier than usual today, and checked it out. I feel like I have discovered sliced bread all over again! My life for the past 5 years has been a continuos race to make the most out of every second. I don't know if this is an American thing (we sure don't eat at our desks in Romania), but it feels like unless I do at least 2 things in the same time, I am wasting time.

For example, I always bead on my way to work (45 minutes with the commuter rail), I read and listen to the ipod in the same time, I watch TV while I run on the treadmill (ok, that is more because I hate running and I need something to distract me from doing it), I cook dinner while I talk with my sister-in-law, and don't even get me started on how I answer emails while in the middle of a training!

While I am all excited for discovering PeaPod (food will be delivered while my husband and I are painting our hallway), I am wondering if I will ever feel that it's ok to just focus on one thing at a time.

Enjoy your weekend!

How do cats know?

We have 2 cats at home: Poomba and Timone (yes, I do like Lion King). Strangely enough, we gave them their own pretend voices and personalities, meaning that if I ask one of them a question, then my husband will respond with a certain voice and with a certain personality.
Funny enough, Poomba who is not a cuddly cat (he is not found of strangers trying to touch him, or even me trying to cuddle and kiss him), has a deep voice and in all "his" answers is a "smarty pants" cat. He always has something mean and obnoxious to say! Timone on the other hand, is really cuddly. Her voice is really high pitch (I do it a lot better than my husband) and she is always the nice one who admonishes Poomba for being a "smarty pants" fellow.
Yes, we know this is strange, but my friend K's cat, Pumpkin, blogs for her. So how much stranger are we?

The story is that Timone, knows the time! Don't ask me how, but every morning without fail, exactly at 5:40 am (when I get up), she comes to our door and starts miaouning and tries to jimmy the door! If we let her come in, then she starts butting heads, and purrs loudly. The problem is, while she can apearantly tell time, she can't tell the days of the week, so no matter if it's Monday or Saturday, she is at our door at 5:40 am. In her defense, I would probably not be able to tell one day from the other if all I did all day long was lounge around, eat and maybe chase some toys.

How does she know what time it is? What about when it's winter and it's darker out, or it's summer and it's lighter? I have no idea!

Another day!

Why does it always feel like the week days are dragging by while the weekend flys by? I know there are 5 days of work and only 2 for play, but why can it be the other way around?

On another topic, I promised that I will post a link to my etsy shop so people can look at my stuff (and maybe buy some too). My friend K listed a link to my shop on her blog (if you are reading this, thanks K! You are the best!), so I feel it's my duty as a crafter to do the same. Without any further due... here it is:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5202443

The cool thing is that things really started to pick up. I was at a birthday party on Saturday with my husband and I was so excited when one of our friends, S., offered to host a party for me. Even though I know my things are really nice and well priced, that's only my opinion. So when people show interest in what I can make, it gives me confidence that I really make things that are worth it! This statement might not make sense to you if you are not creating stuff with your own two hands and then try to seel whatever that is...
This jewelry making started as a hobby until my husband mentioned that I either stop buying stuff, either I start selling (no, he was not being mean, our house was bursting at the seams with all the stuff I had). My dream is that one day when we have kids, I can do this as my part time, contribute to the budget, type of job. Maybe if I dream enough this will happen.

Later!

Not quite a baker! But making progress!

Yesterday we went apple picking with my brother and sister in law. I loved it! It reminded me so much of being back in Romania, in vacation with my family. We used to go to the mountains where you are surrounded by apple trees, blueberries bushes, pear trees, grape vines...

Even though I have been in Boston for over 5 years now, I still can not get used to the idea that you go to the supermarket and buy your fruits... and the farmers markets are a pale substitute to going to the market in Bucharest or picking your own.

So yeah, I went a little overboard with the apples. Even though I am not a baker (I could not bake a cake if my life depended on it) I still picked 12 lb of apples. I picked them and Alan carried the basket :)

Last night I gathered all my courage and tried my hand at an apple crisp. And I must say I am actually impressed with myself. It was quite good! I almost went for seconds and I not the one for sweets to much!
But since there is still plenty more apples around our house, my friend K send me directions for an apple pie. Must try this weekend... I might not be quite a baker, but I sure am making progress. Wish me luck!

Blog name?

You might wonder what's up with the name?
I come from Bucharest, Romania and as a litle girl I have always dreamed of living in a house with the white fence (I know, what a clisee)! Who knew I would have to come to Boston to do so (people in Romania usually just live in condos... not much houses around unless you live in a village). After 3 years of moving to Boston to be with my husband, we bought a house in Attleboro. We still don't have a white fence (or a fence for that matter), but I do live in a house and not a little tiny condo.

Thursday July 5th

I never though I have any arts and crafts talents until few years ago. One of my best friends from Romania (yeah, that's where I am from) gave me this great necklace for Christmas. I loved it! And I said to my self "I wish I could do that"... And then I decided to give it a try!
Goodness, the first item ever created by me, was horrendous... but I was so proud of myself. I finally created something! Who would have believed that. Going to the beads store was such an adventure! I got hooked, I loved all the little beads and wires and clasps, and bought a bunch of them even though I had no idea what to do first. But little by little things started to take shape... first some necklaces, then a bracelet, then some earrings. People at work started noticing my jewelries and started asking for some! I was so excited! Finally I can say that I have some creative genes in me.

Recently I went to an arts and crafts fair and I loved it! People bought my jewelries. I still could not believe that complete strangers would pay to own something that I made!

So, I finally took the plunge! I made business cards, I had a jewelry party and now I am working on my own etsy space (will post the link once it's up and running). Wish me luck!