Happy Paczki Day!!!!

I enjoy celebrating Fat Tuesday every year for many reasons. It reminds me of my Polish heritage and how different my life is today compared to how my family lived just three short generations ago. Secondly, It also allows me an entire day to eat donuts and have a legitimate reason why I need to enjoy another. Because, in all honesty, most years this is the only day I eat an actual donut, so lay off! Lastly, the Mardi Gras celebrations are just too fun! Someday, I hope to travel to New Orleans for the festivities.

This year, I bought the half-dozen pastries that you see above - 2 lemon, 2 bavarian cream, 1 raspberry, 1 blueberry. Yum.
So, as you enjoy your delicious paczki, here is an excerpt from Wikipedia with a little history of these tasty treats..

*****

In Poland, they are eaten especially on Fat Thursday (the last Thursday before Lent). Many Polish Americans celebrate Paczki Day on Fat Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday). Traditionally, the reason for making pączki was to use up all the lard, sugar, eggs and fruit in the house, which are forbidden during Lent.

In the large Polish community of Chicago, and other large cities across the Midwest, Paczki Day is also celebrated annually by immigrants and locals alike. In Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Hamtramck, Windsor, Milwaukee,Pulaski and South Bend, Paczki Day is more commonly celebrated on Fat Tuesday instead of Fat Thursday. Chicago celebrated and Fat Tuesday, due to its sizable Polish population.

In Hamtramck, an enclave in Detroit, there is an annual Paczki Day (Fat Tuesday) Parade, and lines at bakeries can be seen up to 24 hours before the deep-fried delights go on sale Tuesday morning. This happens especially in Parma, Ohio at Europa Deli & Imports, Colozza's Bakery and Rudy's Strudel and Bakery. Europa Deli & Imports keeps to its Polish tradition by celebrating Fat Thursday as well. People will wait in lines, or in their cars that run up and down Ridge Road; Parma Police have regulated traffic in past years. In Toledo, Ohio, people will start waiting in lines at 4 AM to get fresh paczki for Fat Tuesday. A local Polish grocery store called Stanley's, located on the north end of town, makes them homemade. The same thing happens also in Buffalo, NY, Cleveland or Garfield Heights, Ohio, outside the Charles Peters Bakery, which is near the border of both cities (at the triple intersection of Turney Road, Grand Division and Sladden Avenue). According to Garfield Heights police, one year 3,000 people waited for pączki. Police had to close Sladden Avenue, and Rybicki and Son Funeral Home had to delay funerals due to this. Many bars in town open early in the morning and provide free entertainment, a party atmosphere, pączki-clad mascots and, in at least one bar, pączki filled with Jagermeister. The Paczki Day celebration in these areas are even larger than many celebrations for St. Patrick's Day.

Book Review: The Last Lecture

I just finished reading "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch last night. It took me a total of four days. Granted, it is a small book and a very easy read, I couldn't put it down.

For those of you who haven't heard of it, Randy Pausch is a college professor who has been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and given three to six months to live. He was asked to give a lecture at the University where he taught Computer Science. Being a great optimist, he choose to speak about how he has succeeded in living out his childhood dreams through a positive attitude, hard work and a huge love of life.

I recommend it to everyone!

2009

Today is Tuesday, January 6, 2009. Yesterday was the first Monday of the new year. Speaking for myself, I don't usually accomplish much on Mondays, especially Mondays after a long weekend, a vacation or a holiday. Soooooo.... TODAY is the "first day" of the year! Today is the first day for resolutions, the first day for a new start. Being a visual persion, I envisioned myself hitting a big, red "Reset" button this morning which gave me a blank slate.

I don't want to say 2008 was a bad year. It wasn't. It was our first full year being married. We were able to take a couple vacations - one long weekend to Traverse City and a week to Las Vegas. We were surrounded by family and friends and good health in 2008. I was laid off from my job at the end of August, which actually turned out to be a great opportunity to open new doors. Yes, it changed some of our plans we had for the immediate future. But, it gave us just enough time to get prepare for an even better 2009.

I have made a couple resolutions. I don't like to be overly specific in resolutions, because you really never know what life will throw at you. But, having goals keeps you on track and gives you something to think about and strive for.

1. Take better care of myself. This includes thinking twice before I dish up two scoops of ice cream at 9pm. Maybe I only need one. Drink more water, eat more fruit. This also means getting my butt moving! Taking the dog for a walk at lunch, putting on some Black Eyed Peas while cleaning the house, going to yoga – these are all great ways to get more energy and get my blood pumping.

2. Give my business a real shot. For those of you who may not know, I have laid the ground work for an at-home graphic design business. I am very close to launching my website and preparing to start marketing. Owning my own business is something I have always been interested in, but never really had to opportunity to do it.

3. Get organized! This is something I HAVE to do to be successful with my business endeavors, but I also feel I need to get personal matters in order, as well. No more piles of junk mail on the counter. No more clean laundry in a basket to put away. That's it. It only takes three weeks to break a bad habit or start a new one. More organization = less stress.

Now that I have declared these resolutions in writing on the world wide web, I have to give them my best. 2009 is going to be a good year. It will be filled with challenges and surprises. What are you doing different in 2009? I wish you the best with whatever it may be.

Grey is the new Black.

This morning, while pulling my hair back before hitting the track, I noticed a small, flyaway hair glistening near my temple. Hmmm.... I haven't see a hair that color on my head since I was a toddler. Wait a minute! That's not the platinum shade of my youth! That's a whiter shade of pale! Of course, I went with my gut reaction - pluck it! Yes, I know, ten more will now come. But, I have now bought myself time to devise a plan of attack on my head. Do I run toWalgreens and buy a DIY kit? Which brand do I buy? And more frighteningly, which shade do I pick? My loving husband says, "Leave it. Let it grow in naturally." Ha! I guess guys don't understand that women don't easily give in to "aging naturally."

From what I have read, "silver is chic." Maybe I haven't fought hard enough against growing roots to appreciate this statement. I have never been one to color my hair regularly. It really
doesn't go much further than experimenting with at-home kits in junior high and my roommates and Igiving each other highlights in college. I have embraced my natural, mousey blonde shade. Now, Mother Nature is forcing me to re-think it. What shade do you think would look best on me? A sassy, strawberry blonde? A sophisticated deep auburn? Golden blonde? Or should I do as my wise husband says and (shutter) age gracefully?

In fact, let's start a poll! I will be taking votes until another one of those pesky, little hairs shows their shiny, pale faces again.

It's not easy being green.

Living in Michigan, we all know what it's like to feel the frustration of coming up to miles of orange and white barrels. Now that the cooler weather is setting in, the excitement of seeing that dreaded "Work Zone - Next 27 Miles" sign come down is the highlight of some communters' year.

If only it were like that at our house. We have finished the construction in our living room as the warm weather comes to an end, just like on the roadways. Unfortunately, that just means we have moved down the hallway to start renovations on another room. Due to a recent change in my employment status, we have decided to make the next overhaul our third bedroom - aka "My Office." This room is so small, we hesistate to even call it a bedroom, even though our mortgage papers tell us different. We affectionately refer to this room as "the Green Room" due to my painting it a shade of green that makes Kermit the Frog look pale the week we moved in.


As for the master plan for this room, we have already re-sized the closet which was nearly half the size of the actual room giving the coat closet on the other side of the wall a bit more room. It's funny, this room is tiny, but yet it had the largest closet in the entire house. We plan to build some shelving in the new closet to help with storage.

We have wrapped up the drywall and I have started priming the walls in preparation of a new, more subtle hue. Yes, we are remodeling to improve and update our 50 year old house to make us a little happier. But, we also have to keep in mind the next owners and making the process of selling easier and quicker. I have come to terms with the fact that maybe the green paint wasn't soooooo practical, but I liked it, and still do. It makes me a little sad to see it go, but am excited of the new purpose this room will have once the remodel is complete. For now this is where we are at....
You would not believe the difficulty I had trying to take a photo of this room! It is so narrow that there was not one corner I could stand in and get a decent amount of the room. So this is what you get - the office from the vantage point of me standing on my file cabinet.

Under Construction

We are just about to wrap up our renovation on our living room. It has been quite a while since my last update, so I thought I would share some photos of our progress.

Before

After

Before

After

Sin City - As Seen thru my Camera!

We arrived home from Las Vegas late Monday after a whirlwind weekend of hitting the slots, a wedding and lots of wonderful refreshments. It was exhausting, but a great time! Here's some photos from our trip...

Here is our room, which was fabulous! (please ignore all our crap.)

The casino in our hotel...


The outside of the hotel....


Kristy, my sister, & Jim


From across the street


BIG winner!

We heard Hef might be looking for some new bunnies


Stick it up your nose, George!


Creepy statue guy at the Venetian

No, I don't really consider old cars exciting,
but this one was priced at $12 million.
I think that is worth a mention.

Now to the important part - my sister's wedding.
Here's Ryan on the wedding morning.


The bride & groom


Things are getting fuzzy...


No, we don't need to zoom..


The ceremony, which was held at the top of the Eiffel Tower.
This explains the early morning drinking.


Gee, I sure hope the professional photog
got better pictures than I did.


As Willie Nelson said, "It's a bloody mary morning!"


"Is it time to go home yet??"