my crushes

I can't let this week go by without a word about Davy Jones, my first serious crush. Or maybe Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits was my first. I think I was a little more in love with Davy though. I love to shop and I would skip shopping trips to Lincoln in order to stay home and watch The Monkees.

David Callum from The Man from Uncle was another crush although I look back now and think he had a melon head.

Then there was this actor in a short-lived TV show with something Blue in the name. I think his name was Frank something that started with a C. He may have ridden a motorcycle. I can't remember. He had curly blond hair and he was another crush. And there was the actor that played the part of Blue in High Chapperal.

Of course, there were a couple boys in my high school class I had big crushes on. I'm not naming names but these crushes lasted well into my adult years.

An unlikely crush was Klaus Maria Brandauer who was in White Fang with Ethan Hawke and also played a villian in Never Say Never Again. I wouldn't say he had classic good looks but he intrigued me.

Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and Heath Ledger's cute little lines around his mouth. All of these guys I find truly good-looking. Richard Gere. Daniel Craig, Hayden Christensen, especially in the Star Wars movies. And I can't forget Bruce Willis. I didn't care for him in his early years but ever since The Die Hard Movies and The Fifth Element, I've been kind of crazy about him.

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oscar dinner

And the winner is ......my dinner




I wanted to plan a dinner for Academy Awards night that included a food that represented each of the movies up for an Oscar. That proved a bit much. I couldn't fit in hot dogs and peanuts from Moneyball. So I limited my movies and put together this menu. My main course was Hawaiian Huli Huli chicken so I chose to set the table in a sort of Hawaiian theme.

Appetizers honored The Artist. We had champagne and Rosemary Cheddar Cheese crackers....Old Hollywood style.

First course was Silken Potato & Turnip Soup to honor War Horse. This soup was amazingly good and low-fat. I've had it for lunch almost every day this week.



Second course not too exciting....salad that was left over from the night before but with homemade Dijon Vinaigrette served on fish plates.

Main course - Huli Huli Chicken, brown rice with pea pods and pineapple to honor The Descendants and French Style green beans with crushed Marcona almonds to honor Hugo.

And naturally for dessert, Minny's Chocolate Pie to honor The Help. I don't know what Wegman's puts in it to make it taste so good. Maybe some of that good Mexican vanilla.

namaste

Today I made a new friend and I went to a yoga class. The class ended with a ten minute relaxation with such soothing words and an invitation to be kind to ourselves. Ourselves first and then send out the kindness to others and then receive the kindness others have sent out to us. I'm sure the instructor had no idea the impact these words had on me today.

a future dread

I was forced to write a bio for something that is coming up in June that I have committed to do but that I am dreading with all my heart. Here is my bio.

Ramona is a former Illinois resident transplanted in Buffalo, NY. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Illinois State University. Ramona’s career background includes bookkeeping and accounting in the coal mining and leasing industries while living in Illinois. Here in Buffalo she was the bookkeeper for a psychologist group before her present position as a paraprofessional with BSP.
Her interests include cooking, blogging and working out. She is on the board of the Buffalo Chapter of ASWA and is a member of Toastmasters.

I wanted to say that Toastmasters has made her feel more at ease speaking with people which will prove very beneficial when she chucks it all and pursues her dream of owning a bake shop and marketing her signature cookie, but I’ll just leave it at that.

prose and poetry

My life seems to be controlled by prose and poetry. Everything makes me think of a phrase or song. A person can say almost anything to me and I can burst into a song that incorporates what they said. Or think of a phrase that I read in a book. Or even a nursery rhyme.

Yesterday I was introduced to a new employee. "Mona, I would like for you to meet Veronica." I said "Hello, Veronica, it's nice to meet you". But my brain said to me "Veronica wipes the face of Jesus. Let us pray".

B told me that he was going to Niagara Falls this morning. I asked what he would do there. And then I asked "Frighten a little mouse under a chair?" He said "That must be from some nursery rhyme that I don't know." Although he did admit that it could be a possibility given the building where he was going.

I ask you.....how can a person get through life without knowing or remembering Pussy Cat Pussy Cat Where have you been? I've been to London to visit the queen. Pussy Cat Pussy Cat What did you there?

thoughts of the day

This morning I had a dermatologist appointment. I made it a year ago. I would have forgotten about it had I not gotten a reminder call two days ago. I'm not sure why I even go. I don't need to get half naked and have a doctor look at all the various little spots and freckles on my body. I can do that myself. My doctor is a roly poly guy who reminds me of Humpty Dumpty. My doctor was a roly poly guy who reminded me of Humpty Dumpty. Today he waltzes into the examining room about half the size he used to be. Fat for years and then all of sudden thin as a rail.

On my way to work afterward, driving on the 33, I went to change lanes and before I had a chance to react I ran over a yellow animal that had already been run over by someone else. I know it was a dog or cat because of the color. It had already been smashed and was definitely dead but it made me sick all day that I ran over it again.

I did not have an excellent day at work. I was thinking....What would I miss if I didn't work besides the obvious (the money)? My answer....the clothes. Putting together outfits and being able to have a place to go to wear them. Walking down the hall today I was following a partner and two women clients that he had just met with. They were going on and on about the interior decorating in our office. They just loved everything. The partner said to them...Well, I didn't pick any of it out. I wanted so badly to say "Well, I did. I picked everything out." Because I did. But I didn't say anything. Still it was nice to know they thought it was beautiful.

And lastly, I planned to make cookies and box them up fancy to mail to people for Valentine's Day. I promised to make something homemade for the first five people to respond to a post on Facebook. I planned to make 4 kinds of cookies. I made my dark chocolate pepper ones and I made my mom's favorite sugar cookie recipe in heart shapes. But I ran out of steam and time. I haven't decorated the sugar cookies and I haven't made the other two kinds. One of these was going to be Martha Stewart's Salted Caramel Cookies except that I planned to also dip the bottoms in chocolate. Too late now. I'll probably finish the ones I have made and take them to work on Monday.

And lastly..er, I would like to find some time to mess around with Pinterest. I keep getting emails that people are following me and I've only ever pinned one or two things. I feel like I'm letting them down.