Life in the Slow Lane

I've been waiting months to sit out here and stare into nothingness. And I must say, it was lovely the last two days. But now? Well, now it's 30 degrees again and raining. It's gross, and making me both tired and cranky. And we all know what comes next: we will jump right to a hot summer. Boo. (But at least school will be out!)

Nope....not talking about the book. Talking about what I witnessesed tonight. There was plenty of eating: salad, spaghetti, desserts. There was lots of praying: prayers full of hope. Love: so much love. One large room, filled with a community of friends, family, neighbors. So many people with the common goal of helping someone who has touched so many lives. I have lived in this little town for almost 12 years now, and still have friends in NY that ask why I still live here. Nights like tonight remind me why. The sense of community here is amazing. The outreach of humanity is humbling. The generosity of others is inspiring. All too often we forget our responsibility to help others. Give back when we can. I'd give so much more if I could. If I was ever in need of a lending hand, it's nice to think there are plenty of kind people here that extend a hand without thinking twice. And the best part....the bestest part to me....is my son. My beautiful 8 year old son. Asking if he cou...

....dollhouse that is! I got this house over 10 years ago in hopes to make it for a future little girl I'd have. Slowly I started putting the foundation together, reading 50 pages of directions, calling the company for extra pieces and help, and eventually after a few months, packing it away. Then when we moved to PA, I had the itch to have kids, and again started working on it. Each piece came unfinished, and had to be sanded and painted. I'd like to share my progress with you so far... Look at that gorgeous roof. Each shingle was sanded, stained, cut, and glued. I can't even count the amount of hours this took me, but I am beyond proud of it, and it's my favorite part of the whole house. The decking gave me many headaches and had me cursing like a truckdriver. Each spindle had to be just right and standing at a perfect angle for it to all come together as wonderfully as it did. The house has a wrap around porch on the first and second floor. The exterior of ...

My favorite part of my US Magazine weekly subscription is the section where one celebrity tells a bunch of random, random stuff about their life. Here's some things I would put in that section if they ever call to feature me:) 1. I hate Pillsbury pop containers, freak me out. 2. I unbuckle my seatbelt on bridges, some even require a window roll down. Never can be too prepared. 3. I love to read. When I do get the chance I can do a book in two nights maximum. 4. I'm so grateful to have a strong Italian family that helps each other through big and small. I can’t imagine life without them. 5. I don't like to cook anymore. I'll bake if the mood strikes, but I could eat cereal every night for dinner and be satisfied. 6. I can't stand when my boys get wild and start running around the house screaming. But then I think how just a few months ago they didn't even interact, so I just let them have at it. 7. I would still be a judgemental loud-mouth mom if it...

It starts snowing here in the Poconos around Halloween. This year we've been lucky and haven't been hit too bad. But right around this time each year, I get the same feeling... Ugh, it's snowing AGAIN? You wake up each morning, try to put your best foot forward and make it a great day. Then you peek out the window, and it's all over. Good grief. I have to go shovel for the dog(her legs are too short!). Gotta bundle the kids again. Do we have a delay? These silly things flood my mind before I even get to the coffeepot. All because of stupid snow. Then there's the realization at this time each year, that we still have about 10-11 weeks left of winter. That time is greater than or equal to the amount of time it will be until I go home for a weekend to visit family and friends. All because of the stupid snow. I don't like to say I have the Winter Blues, but I guess I do. I want spring. I want it bad. I want to have my new Japanese Maple tree planted and enjoy ...

Yupper, not a very useful photo to you at all I'm sure. But to me, it symbolizes so much. It's actually a picture I took at around 5am one morning in the fall. I thought of writing this post then, but got completely sidetracked. It's my favorite time of day here, and that's the best view in the house. Silence is something that doesn't really exist when you have a house with two small boys. They hardly sleep, they are always running, and fight plenty. So some days I will purposely get up early, make coffee, and just sit on the couch. I stare out the window, and over the mountain the sun is coming up. I'd love to be on my porch  enjoying the scenery, but it's too cold! So I sit wrapped in a blanket, coffee in hand, and soak in the beauty. The silence. Days get too hectic sometimes, and it's hard to take a step back and breathe. But having that sweet little hour to myself, to regroup and ready myself to be a great mom for the day, makes all the differe...

Sunset on Lake Wallenpaupack. Winter is just starting, but it's always nice to look at pictures like this and think ahead to the beautiful weather and scenery we have here. Life doesn't get any better than getting a chance to sit with a cup of coffee and someone you love and take in something like this.....now count down the weeks of winter with me....15.....

Where you ask? The library of course! Anyone who knows me knows I've always been a reader. Became a reading teacher. Would rather read than do almost anything else. I've had a library card as long as I can remember, and used to go at least once a week. The libraries in NY were very different.....very, very big, very well stocked, and very wonderful. Libraries here in rural PA are small, crappily stocked, and mediocre at best. So I go from time to time, but just lost my library love along the way. Thankfully my kids love books too, and we do go for them here and there. With summer finally here, I decided to start going at least on a weekly basis, and have my older son join the summer reading program that starts next week. So he and I headed over there today, and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. The kids' section was nicely stocked. But in addition to the books they now have some puzzles and games, as well as a computer with tons of educational goodies for them to...

I was going to walk about my great walk this afternoon. First long walk of the year. 50 degrees here, highly unusual for March. Some years we are still getting snow in April! But then when I got back from my walk, I let the dog out of the house and parked myself on one of our rockers. And just sat. And rocked. And listened to the birds... the only noise you'll hear around here unless it's a summer weekend and some neighbors pop in. We decided to put the porch on the house last summer after thinking about it for three or four years. Even when the guys were working on it I was a bit hesitant. A lot of money, but also I didn't feel we'd get enough use out of it. I'm here to say now that I love my porch. I look forward to waking up at 5am on late spring/summer mornings and sitting out there with my coffee. I love swinging on the swing with the kids. I love watching them ride their bikes up and down the long stretch. I love staring into the woods and thinking about...

Before we moved to the Poconos over 10 years ago, we visited often. What I remember the most about those visits is the people in the area. We could drive down any street, in a neighborhood or through town, and people would wave. Better yet, get out of your car and they would say 'hello' or 'good morning'! Coming from a place where people would bump you out of a doorway, grumble under their breath, or give you the finger on the road, we found this behavior very very odd. It took a while to warm up to the idea that we had to participate as well in this strange tradition. If we didn't, we'd be the oddballs from 'that New York City'. Slowly we began to wave here and there. We only said hello or good morning when someone else said it first. But over time, it grew on us. Became part of a regular routine. Made us feel like a part of the community. I liked it. The other day I went to a gas station a half hour west of here. "Big city" area, where t...