Bfth's Boring Blog

Was Thanksgiving just last Thursday?  It seems longer ago than that and yet I also wonder did that really happen?  Welcome to the most chaotic time of year! I don't care who you are or what holiday(s) you do or don't celebrate; this is the time of year when all hell breaks loose.  Even if you say you're ignoring everything and just going to relax; I'm calling you a liar.  You may believe what you said, but you are lying to yourself!  No matter who, no matter where you WILL get caught up in some sort of end of year/holiday crazy.  Guaranteed. I have a small family and yet I still find myself overwhelmed at the holidays.  I have no idea how those with multiple kids or extended family manage to pull through.  (Eggnog perhaps?  That's out for me, but there is always the opportunity to sweet red wine!) Let's just go through some of the things that are planned between now and the New Year: This and every Friday:  2 hours of conference calls tha

Thanksgiving has come and gone (although there are still some leftovers in the fridge...not much, but some).  We've moved past Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday.  We have arrived at Giving Tuesday.  The day, which started out 7 years ago at Y in NYC, has gone global and that's a GOOD thing.  It's harvested social media and put it to good use.  We've all (I hope) given thanks for our blessings.  Some of us have gone on a shopping frenzy.  (I didn't because I just don't have the $ to frenzy out!)  Now is the perfect time to give back.  And in giving back you can also mark off your holiday gift list. Think about the people you treasure in your heart.  Are you planning on buying them a gift for Christmas, Hanukkah, etc.?  What do they really need?  What is their passion?  Why not support that passion with a donation to a charity that shares it? Many of them will send a card or note to the person whom you are honoring with the donation. 

I am not a vegan or a vegetarian.  (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)  I DO have  serious protein based allergies.  I know there are plenty of people with egg allergies, but I have only encountered one other person who had a poultry allergy. As a result, for Thanksgiving, my family has a roast of some kind. No one's going hungry and no one's complaining (at least not that I can hear). But I do feel bad/guilty that our family does not have a traditional meal.  When my brother was alive, he'd put together a care package for my husband.  And there were times when my husband would make a pre-Thanksgiving turkey kind of meal.  My son was not a turkey fan.  He had it in elementary school for their Thanksgiving Feast on the Wednesday before the holiday.  But as he's gotten older and experienced more foods he's grown to like it.  He gets mostly turkey sandwiches for lunch (made by my husband), but occasionally he and my husband will order it when they dine

It's the Boy Scout motto right?  It also happens to be a song in The Lion King.    Whichever you know better, it's a good thing.  We SHOULD be prepared.  (I know there are instances when we cannot be, but let's forgo that for now.) This phrase; this motto is something here in NY tri-state area that our government/leaders ignored when it came to the first snow storm of the season.  Snow started falling on Thursday and they were NOT prepared. If you live in NJ, you may blame the NJ Governor.  If you live in NY, you may blame the NY Governor or the NYC Mayor.  But let’s face it, it's NOT one person's error.  It's EVERYONE'S! While our weather forecasters might not be perfect (who is?), they did tell us a storm was coming.  Only a couple of inches of snow, followed by some freezing rain and then just plain rain.  I'm sure everyone was just hoping that we'd get an inch or two and then it would all wash away.  That's what I imagined wou

Autumn is probably my favorite time of year.  I'm a big summer girl, but autumn has a slight edge over summer for me.  (Only slight though.)  My sweet spot is the early autumn when the days are warmish and the nights are cool.  Those days where the colors are vivid and the air is crisp, but not biting.  When sweaters come out, but bulky coats aren't required. What happened? The summer weather stayed on.  We had air conditioning in October.  That's unheard of in Northern NJ.  (I am not complaining...I'm just stating the facts.)  Then for about a week or a week and a half, we got real fall weather.  The leaves finally got to show their beauty and then it was over.  We went right into the lower than average temperatures. This past weekend we went away to the Poconos (yes, there will be a blog post on that eventually) and I expected colder temperatures.  After all you are in the mountains.  What I didn't expect (and I didn't see forecast) was SNOW. Now we

Veteran's Day always falls on the 11th of November.  Since that was a Sunday this year, it is also being observed today, the 12th of November.  So we have/had two days to honor our veterans this year.  (I would say thank, but shouldn't we be doing that every day or at least on a regular basis?  They protect and serve in so many ways.  Ways that we can't imagine or even think of.) So why November 11th?  November 11th marks the anniversary of the  The Armistice of 11 November 1918.  The term armistice can be a bit confusing.  An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting.   This doesn't mean that a war is actually over.  It constitutes only a  cessation of fighting/hostilities  while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. So while November 11th marks the armistice of World War I, the official end of the war was not until the Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919. Nutshell version, Armistice Day was a way to recognize th

It's just another day in Thousand Oaks, California.  Like a late night/early morning  in Orlando in June 2016 or a night in Las Vegas in October 2017. It was just another day in Pittsburgh in October.  Just like it was another day in Charleston in June of 2015 or November of 2017 in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Another school day on February 14, 2018 in Parkland, Florida or on April 20, 1999 in Columbine, Colorado or May 18, 2018 in Santa Fe (that's Texas NOT New Mexico). A night at the movies in Aurora, CO in July of 2012.  A meal at McDonalds in San Ysidro, CA in July of 1884 or at Luby's Cafeteria in Texas in 1991.  It's just another ordinary day.  Right? Our president may be white, brown or orange...it's still just another day.  Our Senate may be Republican; our House Democratic.   Shout and point fingers; who is to blame?   It's still just the same.  If we say we send our thoughts and prayers, does that mean we actually have to THINK and PRAY?  T

Sometimes the most profound things are said/read when you don't expect them.  When scrolling through the barrage of political posts (has there been anything else on social media?), one of my friends (okay, maybe more of a casual acquaintance) who has been disenfranchised (as have I) by the whole mess ended his post with:  " My hope is that some form of sanity is restored to government, although I am not holding out much hope for that." His hope is MY hope...and I'd like to think the hope of most of the nation.  We don't need more Republicans.  We don't need more Democrats.  We NEED sanity.  We NEED rationality.  We NEED common sense.   We NEED OUR representatives to work TOGETHER; for ALL of us and for the benefit of OUR country. As a country, we have NEVER agreed on everything.  Go back to our forefathers; they argued like mad!  But they DID so for what they considered the best for the people they represented.  Somewhere in the over 200 years sin

If you are like me, you are sick and tired of all the political advertisements that are EVERYWHERE.  Signs are on the lawns.  TV commercials on every channel.  Knocks on the front door.  (More often than I'd ever imagine possible!) Social media posts.  I've had enough!  (Honestly, I had enough WEEKS ago.) It all ends now. (Or at least it does for me here in NJ.) Today is the day to pass by them all and actually get out there and do something:  VOTE! I am an early bird (and I hate lines), so I am at my polling place during every election at 6 in the morning.  (Your location times may vary.  Check this out:  https://ballotpedia.org/State_Poll_Opening_and_Closing_Times_ (2018)).  I sign in and cast my vote.  It shouldn't take long.  You've done your research right?  Made your decision based on your rational thinking, correct?  I hope so. I know I have.  And even that didn't take long.  A few clicks to check out local candidates and what they stand for. 

I LOVE the colors of autumn.  Generally I'm not a big fan of the colors associated with the season, but when it comes to the outdoors and the splendors that nature gives us, I'm completely hooked. I am awestruck when it comes to the beauty that nature provides when it comes to autumn.  It just takes my breath away! And I thought we were going to get gypped this year because when we hit the "height" of the season (at least according to the websites I searched), the colors were just not there.  They were okay.  It was pretty, but just not what I have come to love. Then we hit November and suddenly my neighborhood is lush with bright colors.  With a sunny and moderate day, I finally got outside to take a walk.  After all I need my exercise and I've been slacking off a bit.  (Due to a variety of different reasons.)  But the first weekend in November offered me a wonderful opportunity to get out there and go. However, with all the colors, my fast pace s