Pain in the Butt! (or tooth, head, foot, back, etc)

Ok. I'm just curious and want to take a poll of what kind of pain is the worse pain.
As of late, I've been dealing with chronic back, hip and shoulder pain and now my teeth are starting to give me hard time, due to a wisdom tooth growing in wonky (it's a real word!) and a possible cavity. Then I found a zit on my forehead that is big and swollen. Ga!

Woe is Me! I do want you to know that I AM grateful for my generally well-functioning body, and am also grateful that I can move, think, and speak with ease. It's just that now that I've been hurting for about week and half, I'm getting a little grouchy. And besides, it's MY blog, I'll cry it I want to!

Anyway, I'm still curious as to what people think is the worst kind of pain. (And maybe some really interesting stories will come out of this too)

1. Toothache (ranging from a cavity to an absess)

2. Migraine Headache

3. A Blind Pimple

4. A Boil on your posterior

5. Menstral Cramps

6. A blister on your foot or hand

7. Pink eye

8. A sliver in your pinky

9. Gas pain/stomach ache

10. Lower back and hip pain

Let me know if I forgot something...
(I intentionally left out "Giving Birth", because I would imagine that that is going to be unanimous among the mothers who read this blog. Although I've heard that giving birth is quite a bit like pulling your bottom lip up and over your head.)

Christmas Time is here!

We did it! We put up our Christmas decorations! I was so excited that I started taking pictures of the decor. And then, I was delighted to see that Leslie had posted pictures of her Christmas decorating, so...Here we are, ENJOY:

L-R: Got the Snowman at a $1 store. Notice our cute 2 ft
tree and stockings.

A little nostalgic photo of the tree.
And a close up of one of our ornaments.

Close up of our 2 inch tall Nativity and our Orb Nativity.
Oh and pine cones!

A perspective picture of the Decor and then some close ups.

"Happiness and Cheer!"

Todays Top 20

This list isn't in any particular order. I just wanted to express my gratitude for only a few things . Because I know I have much more to be thankful for...

Things I am grateful for:

1-Memories of past Thankgivings
2-Grandma Evan's delicious pumpkin pie recipe
3-Food that is both delicious and healthy
4-My body
5-Knowledge
6-Random and friendly conversations with strangers
7-Cool Fall days
8-Walks through the park
9-Cell phones/email
10-The convenience of hot running water and indoor toilets
11-The comfort of knowing that I am loved
12-The "Botts Family Gratitude" jar my sister-in-law shared with me, which
also prompted me to write this list
13-The knowledge that I have a support group that knows me so well that I
hardly have to finish sentences and that they are as weird as me!
(AKA : MY FAMILY!)
14-The wisdom and honesty of little nieces and nephews
15-Underwear
16-My husband
17-Foot Rubs
18-The reading and writing of Blogs
19-The Gospel
20-Laughing until it hurts or loss of bladder control

De-Lish Dish!

I found this soup on epicurious.com. It's a delightful fall-appropriate soup. Be sure to get the Parmisian cheese. It's the perfect topper (I didn't stir it into the soup, as the recipe suggests)! And instead of Sage I used Thyme (dried).

Butternut Squash and White Bean Soup

1 large garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 small butternut squash (1 lb), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (2 cups)
13/4 cups chicken broth (14 fl oz)
2 cups water
1 (16- to 19-oz) can white beans (preferably cannellini), rinsed and drained
2 canned whole tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh sage
1 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/2 cup) plus additional for serving
1/4 cup hulled green pumpkin seeds (not roasted; optional)


Cook garlic in 1 tablespoon oil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until golden, about 1 minute. Add squash, broth, water, beans, tomatoes, and sage and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until squash is tender, about 20 minutes. Mash some of squash against side of saucepan to thicken soup. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup cheese and salt to taste.

While soup is simmering, cook pumpkin seeds in remaining tablespoon oil in a small skillet over moderately low heat, stirring, until seeds are plump and lightly toasted, 2 to 4 minutes. Season with salt.

Serve soup sprinkled with pumpkin seeds and additional cheese.

Hope you like it!

KEY-UTE!

Tressa Jane duPont

I can't help it. I'm a proud aunt. Not that I don't have other cute nieces and nephews, but I have yet to see this one in person. And come on, these pictures are CUTE!

I Heart Costco

Today, mom and I ventured out to Costco to fill up my 1 square foot X 2 feet deep "old lady cart" (that link connects you to a pic I found when I typed "old lady cart" in google. I guess that's really the official name).

It's moments like these that I wish I lived in Suburbia and had a car that I could load and unload stuff.

Taking a trip out to Costco, goes something like this:

Start:
Take the A train downtown from Dyckman-200th St to 57th St. (a total of 143 Streets)
Walk up the stairs out of the subway station and begin walking East on 57th, to 7th Ave
At 7th Ave, walk downstairs into the NQRW station and catch the N or W train
Get out of N/W train at Broadway (now in Queens) and walk down a long stairwell (about 3 flights) to street
Begin walking West on Broadway (or take the Q104 bus) to Vernon Boulevard, 5 blocks away

After 150+ streets and 8 avenues, and a 50 minute train ride, you have arrived at Costco. Hooray! You may now begin your Costco experience. Go eat a hot dog. Or maybe a frozen yogurt, because you'll need the extra energy for the trip back, when you're carrying 60lbs worth of groceries up and down stairs, in and out of crowed subways and on and off buses.

But, alas. I love Costco and it's large quantities.

Just for Fun!

Ya know, it's amazing what you'll come up with when you are bored and have a camera in your hand. Well the first 3 pictures I took my self, but then mom came in and snapped the rest! My neck was sore and I had a small headache, but I think it was worth it.

It's fun when mom comes for a visit!

Ah poo

I did it again! Grrrr....I wrote a super long post and pushed Save as Draft, thinking it meant Save now. So does anyone now how I retrieve those drafts? Or is it a lost cause? Sheesh!!

What is it about this day?

Sorry this blog is delayed. But, thanks to my clever sister, Leslie, it is here.
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November 4th 2007

Today turned out to be an eventful day. Well, eventful in that there are quite a few events to be celebrated on this day, November 4th.

For instance, today is the NYC Marathon, a big event in which people from all over the world, who have trained for months and months, come to NYC and run in a 26.2mile race around all 5 boroughs. You should check out the history of Marathon racing. My best friend, Shelley participated in this year's marathon. She also fundraised $2,000 towards a cancer research foundation and ran for the team. I am so proud of her!

Today is my dear friend's, Julia, birthday! Julia married another friend of mine, Daniel, then moved to Atlanta for a job. I really miss them. They used to be so close to where we live. Just 5 blocks from our apartment! Julia is now 24 years old.

Another wonderful person in my life is also celebrating on this day. Andra Michelle Mahoney married Robert (insert middle name---I know he has one!) Mahoney, on November 4th 2005.

They are celebrating their second year together. They are living, working, and going to school in Virginia. They want to get pregnant this coming January. Andra and Robert can't wait to be parents! They'll be the best!!


Today I was called to be a Primary teacher to the 8 year olds.
Which should be something I can actually do, because the kids speak both english AND spanish.
Let's hope they'll humor me as I try to practice my spanish!

November 4th: A good day!

Saturday at the Market

Despite living in the city, New Yorkers are big advocates of going green. So, they've set up markets where local farmers can sell produce, fresh meat, and organic products to the desperate city folk! There are farmer's markets all over the 5 boroughs, but the largest one in Manhattan is in Union Square. My task was to find butternut squash and apples. I found everything I needed, including some delicious zuchinni bread.
(I can't resist baked goodies)

You can also participate by bringing your compost heap to the market. I guess you can make compost in NYC! Maybe people with small yards or rooftop gardens.

This is me trying to take some pretty pictures.
It was a perfect cloudy day!

Pink Lady, McInstosh, Macoun, Matsu, Golden Delicious, Cortland.....

A Fall Sunset

This looked like the perfect sunset for the beginning of fall. The sky was beautiful yellow/orange color. Like fall leaf.
This is the view from our living room window if you were to stick your head out and look left.

Your looking out on to Dyckman Street (or 200th-we live way up at the top of Manhattan).

Now imagine, reggaeton playing in the background, cars honking, and people from the street, laughing/talking loudly. And there's home!

You can see Fabco Shoes and Always hair salon supply store in the background.

Despite the noise I just described, it's actually really quiet in our apartment. Although, if I wake up in the middle of the night I can here my neighbor above us snoring! Kind of funny.

A beautiful orange horizon
And a lovely crooked picture
(rememeber I had to open a window to take a quick picture. It was cold!)