I’ve been honored with my first major blog award and am basking in the glow.  Really, see?

Colie, from The Colie Chronicles bestowed this wonderful gift recently and I’m grateful, not just for the award; the wonderful blog friendships I’ve been so fortunate to make brighten my days.  There are just so many amazing, creative people that I’ve come to know.

                                                               
They say the first time is always the best, don’t they? 
    Get back to me on that one, will you?

According to the award rules, I’m to share <drum roll>…..
                     Five Random Things about Patty.

Run and grab a beverage, I’ll be here, thinking random thoughts..it might take a few minutes.

I’ll leave some music for you to play in the meantime…

Ready?

Here we go….

1.  Recently, after becoming a Certified Pistol Instructor,  I also became an NRA Range Safety Officer; managed to score 100 on my test and am looking forward to overseeing, and maintaining, safe firearm handling practices at our local shooting range.  Will admit it’s kind of a heady-feeling being the first woman at my hub’s sporting club to take on this role where I get to give commands…  “Load…Is the line ready?…Ready on the Right!…Ready on the Left!….Ready on the Firing Line!…Commence Firing!”   Not sure how my range presence will go over with the male members of the club who aren’t all used to an RSO being on the premises, much less a woman; they’ll just have to grin and bear it.

2.  Italian ceramics, I collect them…bowls, to be specific.  Cooking is a passion of mine and I enjoy presenting various culinary delights in my (too many to admit) assortment of colorful pieces of Mediterranean art.  Come visit me sometime, I’ll take you on a tour of my “Kitchen Stadium”; we’ll sit, have coffee and talk…..a lot!

3.  I HATE Tripe!  Have never had it, won’t ever try it and it scares the bejeezus out of me to even look at it.  I mean, really…does a plate full of the rubbery lining of the stomach of cattle, or other rumiants, appeal to you?  It does?  Well, sorry; hope you understand that I will no longer be following your blog.

Just kidding..

4.  One of my, just for fun, wishes that I have is to find my 1966 Pontiac G.T.O. and take it to the drag strip again.  I admit to still having racing oil running through my veins, love fast cars and miss the days of being a bad ass owner of a muscle car.

5.  The Amalfi Coast…Positano; I want so badly to go there before I leave this earth; my other fun wish.  Was ready to book tickets there just before the economy took a nosedive so this dream now sits on a back burner of my life which, by the way, is speeding by..rapidly.  Life does that.  Once you pass 30, it’s like a ride down a superfast water slide with middle age waiting at the end.  Like, how can I be the age I presently am when my mind still works like that of a 40 year old?  Is that necessarily a bad thing?

Okay, I’m done boring you…..

Now, it’s my turn to spread some blog love; picking out only five out of all my favorite bloggers is extremely difficult.  I dislike leaving anyone out so I’ll have to conjure up something special in order to give more shout-outs to the rest of those I heart.

Crystal at Surviving and thriving in Mom-dom. 
She writes with a smile in her fingers and shares her ups and downs of family life in raising four dude-devils (as I’ve named them).  She’s an absolute sweetheart!

Pam at True Mommyhood Stories and…
                              Becoming Obesity’s Worst Nightmare.
This is one spunky lady who writes with humor and love about her family and life.  She’s currently on a dedicated weight-loss program where she posts her progress day by day.  Don’t think I could be as brave if I were in her shoes; by the way, she has some really cute ones!

Natalie at My Blog is Boring.
Trust me, this blog is anything but…boring.  Natalie shares joy and sadness and puts a twist on both.  Stop by and visit her but…don’t make her cry.

B.Lee at Clean Sheets on Sundays.
She has such a pleasant blog, full of smiles and beautiful photography.  And…she dreams about James Franco….yeah baby!

Cherie at Lots of Jewels’ Blog.
Cherie always leaves sweet comments, is so darn creative and loves antiquing, recently shared a fabulous lamp find that still has me drooling.  Actually, I’m jealous, all drool aside.

Again, to Colie, thank you…..you rock, pretty lady!

The one day of the week that I look forward to is Friday and somehow, for me, it started off like a Monday. 

First…Potholes! 

                                           

The miserable tire-swallower’s are everywhere and growing by leaps and bounds; you cannot escape their hungry jaws.  Driving down the Taconic Parkway was a test of survival.  I foresee front-end alignments, ball joints, rims and new tires seriously affecting the finances of thousands of motorists.   Getting to work is like going 4-Wheelin’ without all the mud and fun; my car has new squeaks and rattles and my body feels like it just stepped-off one of those old, torturous, exercise machines. 

I can’t wait for the ride home just to have another work-out.

                                            

Then….a trip to the bank which, right now, is a stressful situation because Wachovia has been taken over by…Wells Fargo; I hate this bank which I’ve re-named..Wells Forego.  For the last few months, WF has instituted tactics that rival any of Big Brother from George Orwell’s novel, 1984.  Constant messages, electronic and snail-mail about “Wells Fargo is coming…are you ready?” have been overwhelming.  Give me a break here WF…comfortable transition? 

Apparently, I’m not the only bank customer with concerns of both a personal and business nature; from what I’ve been hearing, people have been opting for a move to other local banks given the pretty poor track record that Wells Forego has gathered for itself.  When I pulled into the bank today with business deposits, the lot was full, some people double-parked so..I opted for the drive-up window.

Big, big mistake….                                                       
                                                    

The line stretched into eternity and, at the very beginning was a tiny car driven by a headless, elderly driver, with two more stuffed into the back seat.  You could just make out their little grey heads, bobbing back and forth.

There ARE two more people in the back seat…you can’t see them, they’re hunched down.

                                                                

My car windows were all open, I was enjoying the warm day with temps in the 70’s when I noticed a small ruckus going on between the car occupants and the bank teller which could be heard over the drive-up loudspeaker. 
Bank policy is..No More Than 3 Transactions At Window…but each person in the car had…3 transactions.  See where I’m going with this?  The arguing continued as I sat, for 25 minutes, and watched the senior juvies win the drive-up banking battle.

In the meantime, I texted a few friends, smoked a cigarette (don’t tell my hubs) and looked in my rear view mirror, only to see the woman behind me doing this….

                                

Once done, she flung her used floss out the window of her big Chevy Suburban; a real class act.

Behind her was a scary-looking creature in his work van who randomly blew his horn; behind him were more cars than I could see and this dude wanted to back-up and get out of the line but no one would let him.  Sitting in line so long, I felt like I was getting to know him so I decided to bestow a nickname which matched his looks and personality….

                                        

Finally! 

It was my turn and I rolled in front of the bank window, slipped my deposits into the drawer.  Inside, one of the new Wells Forego clan could be seen milling around the bank, overseeing all the old Wachovia staff.  As the teller looked over my deposit, this doofy-looking moron, wearing a shirt with buttons ready to pop-off, and no identifying name tag, reached over and grabbed the cash from my deposit, holding $100 bills up in front of him. 

Hold on a minute, excuse me?? 

Let me explain…there has been a rash of counterfeit bills circulating here in New York over the last few months; everything I deposit is triple-checked, for authenticity and..I copy all of the bills on the printer before I hit the bank. 

Why? 

Had an experience a few years ago with the Bank of New York where an employee switched bills at the bank window.  She advised me that she “would have to confiscate the money as it was bogus” after I handed her my deposit.  I protested and the bank manager came over, closed down the teller’s window, advising me that the bills would be checked and they would immediately contact me when the determination was made.  What I didn’t know at the time was that the teller in question had been under close observation for weeks; the bank’s security camera caught her switching my deposit with bills she had hidden in her sleeve that were…counterfeit. 

Needless to say…that teller soon became history.

                                             

Meanwhile, back at Wells Forego…I let the big jerk inside the bank know that I was not pleased with his money-grabbing actions and held up my usual list of currency copies of my deposit, advising him that each bill had been extra, super-duper, carefully checked.  Mr. Ugly, in line behind Floss Woman, kept tapping on his horn while I continued with my offensive against Doofy Man.  My deposit was finalized, with receipt in hand, I headed back to my office where…my computer had frozen. 

                                              
                                                      
Waving an imaginary white flag, I surrendered, picked up my belongings and left work early deciding to look for potholes to drive into on the way home.

It was that kind of day; is it over yet??

                                                  

                                                  

                               

“Top O’ The Morning To Ya!”

Oh yes, were she alive today, that’s what my Mom would be saying to everyone.  You see, today, March 17th, is her birthday; she would have been 92.  She was only half-Irish but that didn’t stop her from making St. Patrick’s Day her own personal holiday.

Mother had her own personal remedy for when she didn’t feel so hot, as she always put it; whether a cold or stomach upset, she always reached for some Creme De Menthe that she kept tucked away…you know, for medicinal purposes.
                                        

Mary Patricia (her real name even though she hated the name Mary) could be a fairly intolerant person when something didn’t suit her or jump to her tune.  She loved my three children, her only Grandkids, but always went out of her way to comment on our middle daughter, Jill, calling her “The Green-Eyed Dragon” whenever Jill dug her heels in and refused to do what she was told.

So, in honor of my late mother’s birthday, I offer you a special cocktail; one that I’m sure Mary Patricia would have loved sipping…just for those medicinal purposes, of course!

                         

           Cha deoch-slàint, i gun a tràghadh.
                            (It’s no health if the glass is not emptied.)