dr. martin luther king, jr.

As I was reading a newsletter with some info and quotes by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I found this one that really resonated with me today.

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."



I'm looking forward to the inauguration tomorrow. thoughts to come...

happy 26th birthday, karlton!

This weekend was comprised of celebrations for my best friend, karli.

When I met Karli I was 25 and had just started working at the Bux. She had transferred down to the Vestal store from her store in Geneseo where she had also just graduated from college. I won't get into the gritty details of our first days at the Bux but suffice it to say that Karli and I were like 2 peas in a pod. Making up songs about mocha, our coworkers, scooping coffee...you name it and we could make up a song. One night, Karli called me and told me she was coming over with 40s to sit in the back yard and chat. The only other person I had drank forties with since high school was my "wife"/roommate Arrelaine and you know how close we became. That night Karli and I sat at the picnic table and talked about life, boys, and literature. It was the beginning of one of the greatest friendships in my life.

A friendship which comes with Karli often telling me what to do. Now, that's not as bad as it sounds. You see, I am a libra and don't make decisions well. I am also a "comfort zone" person. For example, I wanted to remain 25 and never go beyond that age. The plan was to just continue to celebrate being 25 another year each October. Alas, my friend Karli said to me "you're turning 26. otherwise, someday i'll be older than you and that doesn't work" (something along those lines). So when it came time to celebrate HER 26th birthday I was ready to bring it in with a bang.

Literally, I suppose because the day revolved around champagne. We went to the tranquil bistro for brunch where we had tasty meals and mimosas and then later in the night we had a party where everyone brought fixins for champagne cocktails. It was REALLY fun to try different combinations! Karli made "classic champagne cocktails" which included cubes of sugar and bitters (thanks to michael for supplying the bitters!). I decided to go with a blackberry/blueberry/cranberry juice to mix in (note: do not use cranberries as garnish for these cocktails...they look pretty but taste YUCK!). We had lots of strawberries, raspberries (with grenadine, yum! thanks rose), and tasty champagne! It was delicious! and super fun!

I am glad my best friend made me turn 26 even though it means I am facing the "big 3-0" this year. I'm glad we are all still together and growing and have lived to see these days. I think sometimes the world is a proverbial "bitch" and can hurt and sting like nothing else but the most wonderful thing is to know you've got a support system around you that's like a big fluffy pillow and a best friend to tell you what to do if you ever don't know. ;)

Karli and the bitters (they match her scarf!)


Rosie (the ladies behind her are like us in 40 years!)


Katherine Mary offers the last cranberry muffin to the birthday girl (that's michael next to me)

once upon a time...

...so after reading and commenting on karli's blog i started listening to my old DMB album, under the table and dreaming. now, this is the only dave matthews cd i ever owned. i listened to it incessantly once upon a time.

you know how music can transport you immediately back to a certain time? well, this transported me directly to a time before i knew ANYONE (with the exception of my sister) who reads this blog. or at least that i know of... unless shane reads this blog...and i only knew him because he was mr. social at the park...and nick corcoran was merely that ADORABLE life guard that was also a FRAT BOY so that was never going to happen...

it reminds me of sitting in coffeeshops writing for hours in my marbled composition notebook listening to either the chatter of angsty teens or my walkman which usually held mixed tapes with the likes of dmb, rem, smashing pumpkins, violent femmes, urge overkill...

...now i've got to go get out the photo albums and be nostalgic. life was so different then. once again i thank the HP for the amazing journey i'm on... i'm pretty friggen lucky...

why i love my job part 802398234

Right... Today was my first day back at school ... *sigh of happiness* ... we have three days this week to get our rooms back together after a deep winter clean and do a little planning, interview new parents and meet our new students!

Those of you who know me well, know that I have been dying in the rocking chair that I have been using since the beginning of the school year. It looked something like this:



Today our director told us at our morning meeting that the threes would be getting a new glider. I squealed with delight! No more slats bearing into my back as my darlings cozy down in my arms! No more of the children being "not comfy" because of the hard wood arms!!

"HOORAY!! THANK YOU NANCY!!" <3 I exclaimed as she came in to show me my new rocker:



...i love my job...



(you should too! it motivates me to write blogs of happiness and joy!!)

I have a blog?

You wouldn't know by looking at this blog that I've been off for two weeks, would you? I am terrible at updating these days thanks to my new obsession with the Wii. (see previous post) I can't get enough.

So, here's what I've been thinking about lately... I'd like to take all the people that I really truly love and hold them really really close to me like little dolls. I'd like to wrap them up in blankets of my heart that keep them warm and protect them and keep mean, nasty, wartfrog people away from them!

WHY? I'm feeling a little needy right now. I am beginning a year that has more hopes attached to it than ever before and I'm scared. Following a more Buddhist philosophy I try to have no expectations of the future. I trust the universe to show me where I am needed, what I need to do. I think the universe is giving hints now that this is what I need to do but it's frightening. Luckily, though, I have blessed with the most dynamic, creative, loving, incredible support system ever created.

Thank you, HP, for those souls.

Wii Christmas

Well, I had my most relaxing Christmas to date. For me Christmas and the word "relaxing" do not go hand in hand. Christmas and the word PAXIL or PANIC ATTACK or HELL usually do. But this year it was easy. We put the tree up but I didn't go insane about the reindeer. (For those of you who don't know I have 9 years worth of hands and feet made into reindeer heads from friends since the 211 Westerly Parkway days when I lived "alone"). I also didn't have to work like a crazy lady at SBUX which always helps the cause. My time kinda went like so:

12/23 Christmas Eve Eve.
9 hours of baking. I will never do this again. But I had to do it once. You will recall that "i don't bake" this being the case I own ONE pizza pan that holds about 8drop cookies and ZERO rolling pins with which to flatten the sugar cookie dough and cut out shapes. (Mother-in-law to the rescue on that one!!) I got the job done though and PLEASE don't think that purchasing these tools for me will help. From now on my cookies are coming from outside the Miller-Corcoran household! A rolling pin for me would only be cause for a mental breakdown over what a domestic diva I am not (re: lying on the kitchen floor crying when we opened the glass pie pan we received for our wedding). The evening was a great success. VERY VERY VERY low key much to my enjoyment. It did not end in a visit from a holiday Mastiff but with a visit from Papa John and a viewing of some Crazy Indian Music Videos from youtube.

12/24 Christmas Eve.
Breakfast at the Park Diner.
Clean up - major recycling efforts made by the M-C Lites
Rest.
Off to the Corcorans for Holiday delight. We spend Xmas Eve with Nick's folks which is sooooo relaxing. The four of us drink some wine, eat some tasty food, have lovely conversation and open some gifts. This year the guys were finishing up the coffee table for A&S so I got some QT with Mrs. C. That was extra special.
That night Corky and I exchanged presents. My present was laaame (red barn gift card) compared to the coooool one he gave me (wii!). We boxed eachother into the early hours.

NICK AND THE TABLE:


12/25 Christmas
7:30am - Coffee brews, Audrey and Spero arrive and we exchange presents and play Wii until
AUD AND SPERO LOVED THE TABLE

10:00am - Off to Dad and Sue's for breakfast, more coffee, lots of laughter, conversation, exchanging presents until
3:00pm - Dad has to work, still, the cows don't know it's Christmas. Back home for a little more Wii action and RELAXING until
5:55pm - Heading to Windsor for the Miller family extravaganza. 19 bodies, one home. I love it. I feel so thankful and lucky that my family is so close. It once again makes me realize how fabulous it was to grow up in a farm family where everyone is there. Everyone is around. Even the Greens were always around in the summer because Aunt Syl was a teacher and came to the farm at least once a week. This is why Nick and I moved home being away from that killed me and knowing that we would have children and they would not have that same experience also made me incredibly heavy hearted. But now we're here and my family extends past the Millers to the Corcorans and my mom and Jon and our "family of friends." ... I digress...
here's a photo of my amazing grandparents and generation #3

9:30pm: Back home with Aud and Spero. More Wii playing, wine drinking...

12/26 Boxing Day
Yes, Kami, I say boxing day ;). I don't know what the hell Boxing Day is but I do know that since Nick's company is owned by a Canadian company he actually gets an official paid holiday on Boxing Day. I'm all for it.

This day was spent...doing what else? Playing Wii... obtaining an extra remote and nunchuk for the Wii... and avoiding the leftover cookies.

I'm going to end there because as you can guess the rest of the weekend involves visiting and Wii. The visiting included a trip to see Nick's goddaughter, which is always my favorite. Though she is one she was witty enough to give her Aunt Kate the "Knocked Up" DVD with a note attached "I want a friend!" Isn't she smart? (either that or her parents are smart asses...) *aaahh...* How I love my family...

remember the times, grandson

remember how much fun justin was at gollum's going away party...