Happy Facebook New Year!!!

I am a bit addicted to status updates.  I hate when I've been off of facebook long enough that I can't read all the status updates I missed (like 3 days worth).  I keep up on a lot of friends and read a lot of interesting articles this way.  (Ok, enough of the semi-true justifications) Anyway, I wondered what all the comments on the last night of 2010 and first day of 2011 would look like.  I've compiled my favorites and bolded the super favs.  Is yours on here??

Everything you want in life is right outside your comfort zone/.  2010 has definitely been an exciting one to say the least!! I have 2 beautiful daughters.....a gorgeous house....a HEALTHY family (well getting there at least) and most of all a HAPPY family!!! Hope everyone elses 2010 was just as great! Now lets bring on 2011....Love all my family and friends!!! /Maybe 2011 will have half the SUCK of 2010. /Becca quoting Neil Gaiman quoting Neil Gaiman: "May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself." /Who knew 34 years ago that a little baby boy would turn out to be such a generous, loving man? You were my bundle of joy then, just like you are today. Love, Mom/ off to capture the sun on this last day of something purely nominal that we just LOVE to celebrate!!!!!/  To hell with resolutions. I'm going to try my damndest to live 2011 - and hopefully the rest of my life - with fearlessness and joy. ...and more cuss words. Happy New Year's Eve and happy birthday Grandma Fran....94..../ completing one of my 30 goals for 30 years today.... belly dancing again!!!!/ Last day of the best year in my life so far. 2011 will be even better! 6 more months and I'll be 30!!!!/ and her family had an amazing and blessed year in 2010 - we ♥ 'ed, laughed, danced, sang and rejoiced in the good times, we ♥ 'ed and endured through the tough times; we grew, explored, gave, believed, cherished and became stronger as individuals and as a family. now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love./ There have been many times in 2010, when I have annoyed you, disturbed you, irritated you, bugged you… today I just wanna tell you… I plan to continue in 2011! Happy New Year!!!/Took a nap & got Starbucks in order to make it up past midnight. My New Year's resolution is to not be such an old maid./ We will open the book. It's pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and it's first chapter is New Year's Day." ♥ E.L. Pierce. Happy New Year everyone!/ starting the new year off right, at the gym/Happy New Year from Maine!/Finally.....happy new years Hawaii!!/Hau'oli makahiki hou!!!!/I've never been happier to have leftover thai in my fridge than i am right now. happy 2011./Happy New Year! So raise your glass./if the question is SWEDISH MEATBALLS? the answer is always yes../Well, this should be a good one! :) Happy New Year's!/wishes everyone a Happy New Year...even if it is one of those unimportant, weird, odd-numbered years./Happy New Year....My res....Spend more time or at least call my family more often... I may not show or express it but I Love them all/Always excited for New Year but this one is especially special and I say bring it on, 2011!/... The wine that kept me up till midnight is going to hate me at 6am when I have to go to work !! Happy new year, make it the BEST one EVER !!/is a very good daughter who calls her parents to let then know that she has arrived safely...after updating her facebook status./Had such an awesome New Year's eve with friends... ate and drank too much, laughed until we couldn’t breathe and enjoyed awesome company. It was great for the soul!/2010 was a whirlwind- new degree, new amazing friends (and great times with old friends too!), new job, an engagement! Cheers!/Happy 1/1/11! Cleaning off the glitter and sliding into bed!/2011 will be my best and most incredible year yet....mark my words! Happy New Year my loves!!/Shout outs to everyone in the WORLD!! To the unfortunate, to the under privilege, to the orphans, Aids and cancer victims, the homeless, the hungry, to Haiti, Iraq, and Brooklyn (every where in between and beyond). May Allah have mercy on you all!!/Happy New Year everyone! I'm determined to have this year with no expectations and to reinvent a better version of myself/HAPPY 1/1/11!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait until it is 1:11::11!!!! God I am such a math dork...../HAPPY NEW YEAR! WISHING 2011 BRINGS ALL OF YOU THE BEST OF YOUR DREAMS!!!/I'm going to say Happy New YEAR to everyone... not new YEARS... I will wish you well for future years to come when we cross that bridge... for now, just the one/is cherishing all of the good memories of 2010, but leaving all the sadness and disappointments behind and embracing everything God has in store for me in 2011! Happy New Year!!!/Remembering the great NYE I had last year with some great girls, and enjoying my NYE this year with the greatest guy ever!! Happy New Years to all!! I hope 2011 is a great year for everyone!!/2011!!! Bring it!!! Getting married!!! Getting my MBA!!! What else you got!!!!/HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! May your troubles be less and your blessing be more. And nothing but happiness come through your door/Had a great 2010- I dare 2011 to be better.I just triple dog dare you!/I had the best 2010. Thank you to all my family and friends - it was a year we will never forget. Happy birthday to my best friend...my husband. Cheers to 2011!/Happy New Year to my friends and family!!! Be safe, enjoy each other and stay thankful for all that you have.......I know I will!!/no matter what you do tonight, be safe, and count your blessings that you are still here to see 2011!!! :)/happy new year to all my friends old and new.. far, far away and around the corner.. may everyone remember and love the past, and prosper and love in the future./home for the new year with husband, son, and new baby daughter. What a happy new year!/Dear 2010...You were a royal pain in my butt. You not only beat me up, but you kicked me while I was down!! I am SOOO OVER YOU, and I moving on to bigger and better things in 2011!!! PEACE, LOVE, JOY & HAPPINESS ♥♥ Happy Happy New Year Everyone, My love and prayers to all!/I wish for a safe, healthy, happy, and prosperous 2011 for everyone!! Happy New Year!

Vote local...Vote Dolly

My fabulously adorable, best dog in the whole world has made it into the Friday Puppy competition.  While I understand that blogs can be read everywhere, this is a capital district blog and so I think a capital district puppy should win.  So let's let together, vote for Amsterdam, vote for under-bites, VOTE FOR DOLLY!!!!

www.FridayPuppy.com

To see the pictures you will have to click "more pictures"  or you can just vote for Dolly.  She looks like this :

Why am I here?

After wings on Tuesday I swung by Crossgates Mall because it is open ridiculously late during the holiday season.  I used to work in the mall and I really hated the expanded hours of the mall.  There are some many problems with it.  First of all, the smaller stores do not get much business during these hours yet have to put in the payroll.  The store I worked at catered to the soccer moms who were not the type to need to shop late at night, they had a plan.  Once in a while we would have a confused, wayward husband who needed a last minute gift.  For the most part we cleaned and got sick of Christmas music.  Usually I wouldn't have shopped at that time on principle, but I guess after two Yuenglings at Across the Street Pub my standards go out the window.


Basically, I needed a guitar stand for the townie.  Last year I got him an electric guitar for Christmas.  He always wanted one as a child and since it was his first Christmas in his thirties I thought it would be a fun gift.  It is a fun gift and he is talented enough to teach himself.  But it tends to live in the guest room and that isn't the best place to practice.  So a guitar stand would allow it to be set up in a better location, thus more practicing.  Stay tuned to see if this plan works.  So I found myself in this store....



I am ashamed to say that this is where I got his guitar last year, but it was a good "beginners" package and I wasn't sure if he would like it.  Wow, I am full of excuses today huh?   So this mega store would have you believe that there are this many people that are MEGA happy to serve you....

See how happy they look?  I assure this is not the case.  I walked in to two employees talking to each other.  One was the security person who was supposed to be at that stand in the front of the store. I think it is because he wears a yellow shirt.  The blue shirted man was talking his ear off.  I honestly felt bad for him since he is stuck at that little stand.  I interrupted this fascinating conversation to just ask if they had guitar stands.  Blue shirt looked very confused and yellow shirt stepped up and said, over by entertainment.  So I thanked them and walked back there.  In entertainment I found another blue shirt who was attempting to help many people at once.  He was on his little head set and running around.  I waited patiently and looked around trying to find it myself.  I was looking a pianos (that is close right?) when out of the corner of my eye I see blue shirt #1.  I have the fleeting thought that he might have come back to check on me.  I am so naive at times....I get his attention and tell him I can't find he.  He points to headset blue shirt and says, ask him, and literally runs away from me. I looked around at other frazzled customers that also would have appreciated blue shirt #1's help and thought, why the hell am I here?? 

Why am I here, when I could be, and always intended on going here....
The sign doesn't show it, but it is also a guitar shop.  It is on Rt 30N in Amsterdam and  has been open forever.  I'd thought about getting the guitar stand there many times but just didn't go, until today.  The thing I noticed first was that it smelled like the co-op I used to shop at in Philadelphia.  All natural and homey and healthy.  I cannot even begin to tell you the amount of natural food, supplements, beauty and health supplies they have.  My old roommate Colleen would be in heaven. I wasn't prepared to do any "healthy" shopping at the time, but as soon as I walked in the owner showed me the guitar stand, demonstrated how to use it, and I was out the door $12.95 plus tax later.  It took me longer to park the car at the mall.

So again, I ask myself, why don't I do this more?  Why don't I shop at these local places?  This shop is less than 5 minutes from my house.  I used to pass it EVERY DAY when I lived at my parents.  Is it the lure of the shiny lights at the mall?  The inaccurate notion that we will save time and money by going to a place bigger than a football field? There are so many beliefs that there is no place to shop in Amsterdam and nothing to do.  Today, as I sit sipping tea at the locally owned Coffee Beanery, I continue to convince myself that these notions are all wrong. Changing old habits takes practice and the holidays are a great time to practice.


Merry Christmas everyone!!!