Last week a colleague of mine sent me an email with this most wonderful quote:
Taking time for yourself should never be seen as a burden.
Not on you, and not on anyone else.
~Elizabeth Franklin
What a wonderful quote and what a great sentiment and thought for My Time For Me. I immediately put the quote up on our website and replied with my thanks and that I has posted it.
Her reply to me was: And I just sat out by my fountain on the patio with a cup of coffee and did nothing-- guilt free!! Thanks for being a good influence!"
What a wonderful way to start the day with a great quote and a thank you and knowing that we influenced someone to take me time and enjoy it guilt free. I hope that everyone can take the time of a cup of coffee out of there day to take me time and enjoy it and rejuvenate their day and relish in the peace and the gift of taking me time.
Thank you to my colleague for sharing your experience and I wish the same for the rest of us! Happy sipping and happy me time!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Andrea: Shoe String Summer Lunch
This week I had lunch at Centro in Darien and without even realizing it, lunch fit right into my Shoe String Summer Plan. Centro offers $9 lunch special options, perfect for both the wallet and the palate. The offerings consisted of 1/2 pizza, 1/2 Caesar Salad plate, 1/2 sandwich and a cup of soup, a pasta special and a fritatta special.
I had the 1/2 sandwich, cup of soup and my Gram had the 1/2 pizza, 1/2 Caesar salad. Both portions were extremely generous for 1/2 portions and tasted great. The atmosphere there is also very nice which I find very important to my dining experience. I will be back during Shoe String summer and beyond.
The adventure continues......
I had the 1/2 sandwich, cup of soup and my Gram had the 1/2 pizza, 1/2 Caesar salad. Both portions were extremely generous for 1/2 portions and tasted great. The atmosphere there is also very nice which I find very important to my dining experience. I will be back during Shoe String summer and beyond.
The adventure continues......
Andrea: Happy Birthday Gram L
Yesterday was my Gram's 94th birthday, but of course we told everyone it was her 49th birthday. She had lots of fun putting strangers on the spot and asking them if she looked old for 49! It was my honor, privilege and my enjoyment to get to spend the afternoon with my Gram on her birthday.
We went out to lunch together (and wow for skinny little "elderly" lady -as she calls herself - she sure can eat!) and ran a few errands and scratched a few lottery tickets together - we won $4 on her 94th birthday!
During lunch I started thinking about all the stuff my Gram has lived through and we started talking about it. I have actually had this conversation with her before, I even wrote a paper about it in college that got me an A, but I still find it so interesting to talk to her about it. My Gram was born in 1915 and has lived through so many historical events including 16 presidents, Pearl Harbor, the depression - the list goes on and on with that many years under your hat. When she was born, not every house had electricity. She still has the actual Iron iron that they used to iron clothes with, to get it hot you had to put it on the stove! She uses it as a door stop these days. They had touring cars back then and not everyone had them, she told me that when it rained you had to attach across the top a tarp, but that it did not do much by way of keeping the rain off of you. She also told me about the time her dad once took their family in their touring car from Bridgeport, CT to Lexington Ave, NYC and it took 3 hours. Post Road all the way, when my eyes bugged out of my head at this she said, well remember there was not the Merritt Parkway or Interstate 95 at that time.
So many things have changed in so many years and she has seen so much of and kept up with the time as well. My Gram has always been and still is a forward thinker, she moves with the times and keeps up with the way of the world today which I think is very cool. She is happy to talk about the past and what was going on when and what her life was like but she lives in the present. Oh and she is still sharp as a tack (both in her memories and her wit), she remembers everything including dates from the past as well as keeps up with current events. We should all be so lucky at 94!
I am very blessed to have my Gram still here and get to spend time with her. Happy Birthday Gram, looking forward to celebrating 95 with you and everything between now and then!
We went out to lunch together (and wow for skinny little "elderly" lady -as she calls herself - she sure can eat!) and ran a few errands and scratched a few lottery tickets together - we won $4 on her 94th birthday!
During lunch I started thinking about all the stuff my Gram has lived through and we started talking about it. I have actually had this conversation with her before, I even wrote a paper about it in college that got me an A, but I still find it so interesting to talk to her about it. My Gram was born in 1915 and has lived through so many historical events including 16 presidents, Pearl Harbor, the depression - the list goes on and on with that many years under your hat. When she was born, not every house had electricity. She still has the actual Iron iron that they used to iron clothes with, to get it hot you had to put it on the stove! She uses it as a door stop these days. They had touring cars back then and not everyone had them, she told me that when it rained you had to attach across the top a tarp, but that it did not do much by way of keeping the rain off of you. She also told me about the time her dad once took their family in their touring car from Bridgeport, CT to Lexington Ave, NYC and it took 3 hours. Post Road all the way, when my eyes bugged out of my head at this she said, well remember there was not the Merritt Parkway or Interstate 95 at that time.
So many things have changed in so many years and she has seen so much of and kept up with the time as well. My Gram has always been and still is a forward thinker, she moves with the times and keeps up with the way of the world today which I think is very cool. She is happy to talk about the past and what was going on when and what her life was like but she lives in the present. Oh and she is still sharp as a tack (both in her memories and her wit), she remembers everything including dates from the past as well as keeps up with current events. We should all be so lucky at 94!
I am very blessed to have my Gram still here and get to spend time with her. Happy Birthday Gram, looking forward to celebrating 95 with you and everything between now and then!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Andrea: Shoe String Summer Continues
This week, as I a mentioned previously, is Restaurant Week in South Norwalk with participating restaurants offering 3 course lunches for $16.40 and dinners for $29.95pp. On Monday night I took advantage of the great Prix Fixe deals that is being offered. Hey it fits right on in with my shoe string summer plan!
What I also found out was that on Mondays and Tuesdays, Strada 18 offers wine flights for about $15. There are 3 wines in the flight and they offer one flight with a theme. This week it was Rhone wines. They are very generous with their tastings and will explain to you the wines. We had ours with dinner and unlike most flights, they poured ours one at a time, instead of all three at the same time. It was very exciting to know that once you finished the glass in front of you another one was coming to try.
And of course not only was the wine deal great, but the food and the prix fixe was wonderful as well.
What I also found out was that on Mondays and Tuesdays, Strada 18 offers wine flights for about $15. There are 3 wines in the flight and they offer one flight with a theme. This week it was Rhone wines. They are very generous with their tastings and will explain to you the wines. We had ours with dinner and unlike most flights, they poured ours one at a time, instead of all three at the same time. It was very exciting to know that once you finished the glass in front of you another one was coming to try.
And of course not only was the wine deal great, but the food and the prix fixe was wonderful as well.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Andrea: Dish Pan Hands
In keeping with not only my shoe string summer mission but also my quest to live more healthy, I have been cooking and eating much more often at home. This is great for lots of reasons, I enjoy cooking, I am eating healthier and saving money, however it seems as if I am constantly doing dishes! Every time I turn around, there is another fork, dish, cup or something that needs to be washed. It seems endless and well for me, not so enjoyable but considering the good that comes out of it, I guess it really is not all that bad. Maybe I should just consider my dish pan hands a badge of honor for my efforts and proudly display my chipped finger nail polish an water pruned hands. Um okay maybe that is going a bit too far.....oh well, a cooking and a washing I will keep on doing, dish pan hands and all....
Friday, June 12, 2009
Andrea: Shoe String Summer
What is Shoe String Summer? Exactly what it says it is. The mission I have chosen to accept is to have an adventure and fun filled summer on a shoe string budget. Something I am sure that most of you are doing as well.
Just because we have to watch our wallets, it does not mean that we should not have fun and enjoy ourselves! A few ways that I have been enjoying shoe string summer is too check out all the deals that are being offered around Fairfield County. In an answer to the problems of the economy many of my (and I am sure yours too) favorite restaurants are offering happy hour specials, prix fixe meals. And in case you have not heard yet, this coming week is restaurant week in South Norwalk with 3 course lunches for $16.40 and dinners for $29.95.
Another great way I was able to pamper myself on my shoe string budget was to get a massage as the Connecticut Center for Massage Therapy. A couple of times a year they offer massages at a very deep discount so that the students finishing up the program can log practice hours. It was great, $35 for a 50 minute massage.
As mentioned in a previous blob, I have been using PaperbackSwap.com to get books so I can keep up with my summer reading while sitting at the beach - another great way to enjoy Shoe String Summer!
As summer is just beginning, although you can't really tell by the weather, this adventure is just beginning as well and I will keep you posted on the great Shoe String Summer Adventures!
Just because we have to watch our wallets, it does not mean that we should not have fun and enjoy ourselves! A few ways that I have been enjoying shoe string summer is too check out all the deals that are being offered around Fairfield County. In an answer to the problems of the economy many of my (and I am sure yours too) favorite restaurants are offering happy hour specials, prix fixe meals. And in case you have not heard yet, this coming week is restaurant week in South Norwalk with 3 course lunches for $16.40 and dinners for $29.95.
Another great way I was able to pamper myself on my shoe string budget was to get a massage as the Connecticut Center for Massage Therapy. A couple of times a year they offer massages at a very deep discount so that the students finishing up the program can log practice hours. It was great, $35 for a 50 minute massage.
As mentioned in a previous blob, I have been using PaperbackSwap.com to get books so I can keep up with my summer reading while sitting at the beach - another great way to enjoy Shoe String Summer!
As summer is just beginning, although you can't really tell by the weather, this adventure is just beginning as well and I will keep you posted on the great Shoe String Summer Adventures!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Andrea: Wednesday Book Blog
So a few weeks ago I wrote about Map Of Bones by James Rollins and I enjoyed that book so much I started reading more books by Mr. Rollins in his Sigma Series. Since that book I have read Sandstorm - a prequel to Map of Bones and Black Order the book after Map of Bones.
I also have the next book, The Judas Strain, on it's way to me via PaperbackSwap.com - just a side note - for all of you readers, PaperbackSwap.com is a very cool site. It is a swap site for books (duh, hence the name). How it works is you post your books on the site for people to request and for every book you send to someone, you get a credit. For every credit you have, you can request a book. The only cost to you is the cost to send one of your books to the requester. The media rate for books is something like $2.44(give or take a few cents). It is a great way to get rid of the books you have read and don't want to keep and a great cost effective way to get the books you want to read. I just love it, especially for me with how much I read and how many books I have.
Now back to the books - they are great adventures that are based on scientific and religious fact and history. Very similar to the Dan Brown books but I think better and more fun. There is lots of action and I will admit, lots of stuff that I have trouble understanding in the scientific realm, but that does not affect the enjoyment of the book. So if you like adventure and you like following the same characters from one adventure to the other, I think you might enjoy these as well.
So happy reading and happy swapping until next time!
I also have the next book, The Judas Strain, on it's way to me via PaperbackSwap.com - just a side note - for all of you readers, PaperbackSwap.com is a very cool site. It is a swap site for books (duh, hence the name). How it works is you post your books on the site for people to request and for every book you send to someone, you get a credit. For every credit you have, you can request a book. The only cost to you is the cost to send one of your books to the requester. The media rate for books is something like $2.44(give or take a few cents). It is a great way to get rid of the books you have read and don't want to keep and a great cost effective way to get the books you want to read. I just love it, especially for me with how much I read and how many books I have.
Now back to the books - they are great adventures that are based on scientific and religious fact and history. Very similar to the Dan Brown books but I think better and more fun. There is lots of action and I will admit, lots of stuff that I have trouble understanding in the scientific realm, but that does not affect the enjoyment of the book. So if you like adventure and you like following the same characters from one adventure to the other, I think you might enjoy these as well.
So happy reading and happy swapping until next time!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Andrea: Practicing what we preach
boy you would think someone who likes to talk as much as I do would be better at this blogging thing huh.
So this past weekend, Tracy and I had a planned strategy meeting for My Time For Me. You know the type of meeting, talk about growth plans, strategy, what events we want to have in the fall. However last minute we needed to be in Long Island for the weekend so we decided to keep our scheduled meeting and have it in Long Island. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon so we set up shop outside on the deck by the pool.
I know I know, you are thinking, how can you get anything done sitting at a pool in the sun on a Saturday afternoon. Well the list of things we had put together before hand really helped to keep us on track and surprisingly the great weather was a good motivator - especially since we have not been seeing much of that lately.
Then we realized we were practicing what we preach and being true to our My Time For Me culture. For us working on MTFM is taking me time since we love and enjoy what we do. We also realized how great it was to be able to be sitting outside, catching some rays and still be working and accomplishing our plans.
So the meeting was a huge success and we have some great plans in the works for the fall including another A Day For Me, a visit to the shooting range again, a wine dinner and much much more. Be sure to visit the My Time For Me website for updates to the calendar so you can plan for your me time this fall!
So this past weekend, Tracy and I had a planned strategy meeting for My Time For Me. You know the type of meeting, talk about growth plans, strategy, what events we want to have in the fall. However last minute we needed to be in Long Island for the weekend so we decided to keep our scheduled meeting and have it in Long Island. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon so we set up shop outside on the deck by the pool.
I know I know, you are thinking, how can you get anything done sitting at a pool in the sun on a Saturday afternoon. Well the list of things we had put together before hand really helped to keep us on track and surprisingly the great weather was a good motivator - especially since we have not been seeing much of that lately.
Then we realized we were practicing what we preach and being true to our My Time For Me culture. For us working on MTFM is taking me time since we love and enjoy what we do. We also realized how great it was to be able to be sitting outside, catching some rays and still be working and accomplishing our plans.
So the meeting was a huge success and we have some great plans in the works for the fall including another A Day For Me, a visit to the shooting range again, a wine dinner and much much more. Be sure to visit the My Time For Me website for updates to the calendar so you can plan for your me time this fall!
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