Firecrackinmama's World

Made In America

2012-01-24T06:28:00.000-05:00

I always love buying “Made In America” products but they sure are hard to find. Ever since ABC’s Nightly News started their series on buying American made products more people are more conscientious with their purchases. I’m now particularly happy since Zazzle began their Rickshaw product lines because their merchandise is completely made in the USA. Shortly after adding the Rickshaw line Zazzle

Valentine’s Day Is Right Around the Corner

2012-01-15T04:39:00.000-05:00

What can you say about Valentine’s Day that hasn’t already been said? It’s a day to share love, flowers, candy and now technology. When I was young we made Valentine Day Boxes in school with the anticipation of receiving thousands of Valentine Day cards from our friends and classmates. It was a great project! My mother always made sure to give us a heart shaped box of candy and a card. Then as I

Shady Lane

2011-08-13T09:47:00.001-04:00

As we drove down the driveway to my mother's new home, she saw in front of her a past image of a place she hoped she would never be a part. She commented that when she and her best friends were younger they all teased about someday being residents of Shady Lane and now here she was. When I realized she was looking at the old Shady Lane, I quickly re-directed her attention to the new Shady Lane.

An Austrian Walk About Part VII

2011-07-12T06:33:00.035-04:00

My Austrian walk about has come to an end but not without some fond memories not mentioned in previous parts. The first being that I survived the walk about only because I slowed down considerably the last couple of days, didn't participate in any bicycle riding and took a nap in the afternoon.I'm not sure how I didn't end up in the hospital at some point because of some accident with bicyclists,

An Austrian Walk About Part VI

2011-07-06T00:39:00.030-04:00

I hate it when I wake up like someone threw cold water on me but that's exactly what happened this morning. Since my bed is facing the window my first recollection was that it was light out and I had had a good night's sleep. Then I started wondering if I had gone totally deaf as there wasn't a sound from anywhere. The birds weren't chirping, there was no noise from within my room and there was

An Austrian Walk About Part V

2011-07-04T23:29:00.037-04:00

Other then missing my husband, kids and mother, I miss not having my coffee first thing when I wake up. The breakfast doesn't start until 6:00 am and as those of you who know me, I like to get up early. Here however there is no air conditioning thus you sleep with your screen-less windows opened. This enhances the 4:30 am bird concert which is initiated by this one particular bird. I haven't been

An Austrian Walk About Part IV

2011-07-03T22:47:00.035-04:00

Once I was safely down the steps and had caught my breath, we set off for the Mirabell Palace and gardens. It was absolutely beautiful. The pictures do it no justice at all.I was already very impressed with this entrance to the gardens but even more so when I saw this:We walked on through the gardens coming across one of my niece's favorite flower, hydrangeas. They seem to be a very popular

An Austrian Walk About Part III

2011-07-03T02:38:00.038-04:00

Since I'm writing this walk about adventure after the fact, I'm getting the time frames all messed up. Guess that's from old age or too many things happening at once on both sides of the pond. I believe this next segment was on the day after surgery as the visiting hours were really scaled back and we needed to keep busy. So I tagged along with my sister-in-law, nieces and nephew for an adventure

An Austrian Walk About Part II

2011-07-01T23:36:00.017-04:00

The last time I crossed the pond was in 1983 when hubby took me on a business trip. At that time we were with a group with an agenda. This time I was left to my own resources communicating and finding my way. Now I was gearing up for an Austrian Walk About. My nieces, nephew and sister-in-law wanted to rent bikes and tour. I know my limitations. Walking is just fine with me. With my street sight

An Austrian Walk About Part I

2011-06-30T23:50:00.027-04:00

I had two goals this summer: lose weight and enjoy my vacation from work. Generally when I have over indulged and added lots and lots of fat to my framework, I can cut back on food and walk it off. As for vacation it couldn't come fast enough and I had many "do nothing" plans. However, what fun would life be if it just went along as we planned it? I mean an Austrian Walk About was not in my

Hot Date Turned Into A Wet Night

2011-06-12T06:00:00.031-04:00

Wow! That should have some people read this Blog!When our kids were young date nights were far and few between. Now that my mother is living with us date nights are still far and few between. Therefore we try to take advantage of Thursdays because my brother takes my mother to the hairdresser's and she usually doesn't get home until around 8 p.m. So last Thursday night was a date night to the

Remembering Mom 91 and Counting

2011-05-01T08:49:00.003-04:00

At age 91 and suffering from dementia and physical oldness, my mother has made it very clear that she's ready to move on. She's been saying that now for close to five years or maybe more I don't remember. Mom moved on all right. She's moved right on in with my hubby and I and she's very happy about that when she remembers.With Mother's Day approaching and finding that Mom can't make any new

Now What??!!

2011-04-27T05:36:00.007-04:00

As May quickly approaches so does another year of graduates moving on from school to post-secondary education, vocational training or straight to work. As parents we ask ourselves where did the time go? Students, ah, graduation couldn't come fast enough. However I'm thinking about other types of parents and students whose lives have not been what we consider "normal".For the past four years I've

Pretty, Pretty, Pretty!

2011-01-27T06:22:00.024-05:00

It may be a real pain and dangerous but it sure is pretty!As I get older I really am affected by the winter months. I don't like them at all! But when it snows like this you just have to suck it up and enjoy. Between last winter and this winter we have certainly made up for all those warm winters that were just gray and gloomy.Where I work only had 3.5 inches compared to our foot plus.

You Sure Can't Judge A Book By It's Cover!

2010-12-18T05:20:00.008-05:00

There are no pictures with this Blog just something that was so moving I want to share it. As most of my friends know I'm a learning consultant working as an out of district case manager. Many of my kids are medically fragile, autistic or exhibit behavior problems that cannot be handled within their own home schools. I've written about some of my adventures before but this one takes the cake.My

Mystic Seaport Now and Then

2010-11-21T06:12:00.037-05:00

As I mentioned in my last Blog, I found the pictures we had taken 38 years ago. They of course had lost quite a bit of color and some were so dark that you couldn't see what was there. I love Photoshop! I was able to bring most of them back to a satisfactory state.On our second day in Mystic the rain and clouds had disappeared. It was a beautiful day, somewhat cool but not uncomfortable. Again we

Mystic Seaport 38 Years Later

2010-11-18T05:09:00.036-05:00

For my birthday hubby decided to give me a weekend getaway to a place we visited 38 years ago, Mystic Seaport. Talk about changing. Not only have we changed but Mystic Seaport ain't what it used to be either. Like where's the sign?I kept looking for the sign but...we never found it.For those who are not familiar with Mystic Seaport the settlers found a proverbial seaport gold mine there. The

Real Apple Cider

2010-11-09T05:36:00.019-05:00

There is nothing like real apple cider fresh from the mill. We once had a cider mill right down the road but because of federal regulations etc. it closed down years ago. However this past weekend we visited what has been said to be the only steam powered cider mill in America. It is also the longest continuous producer of hard cider in America.B.F. Clyde's Cider MillWe visited two times. Above

Well, I Didn't Win A Million Dollars...

2010-10-14T23:19:00.028-04:00

but I did win enough for all of us to have a good time!Since I just entered a new decade of my life, I wanted to really celebrate, and celebrate we did! The plan was for the family to meet at the Borgada and have dinner after spending a bit of time playing. After all it never hurts to hope and think you just might be at the right place, at the right time and win that million dollars.I had made my

Classroom Posters - 40% Off

2010-08-19T08:28:00.006-04:00

Wow, I've been so busy I almost missed this great offer for classroom teachers that ends tomorrow! I had some time to create educational posters this summer and hope to do a few more. For now here are some great offers that can't be beat.Language of Math Poster by Firecrackinmama Can You Measure Up Poster by FirecrackinmamaGeoMath Geometry Poster by FirecrackinmamaMath Codes Poster by

Ok, We Had Air Conditioning - They Didn't!

2010-08-01T05:52:00.021-04:00

Ah, I must really be on summer break because the urge to Blog once more has returned and of course we went on vacation. I've noticed that our vacations are like our eating out - always an experience. This year our vacation experience led us to Williamsburg, VA, once more. I should mention it was not just hot, it was oppressively hot.I guess you could say we are creatures of vacational (newly

Williamsburg's Best Mint Julep

2010-07-23T05:23:00.017-04:00

As summer was approaching we were trying to decide where we would go for vacation over the break. Since I was having a Mint Julep attack, it was easily decided to return to our old stomping grounds in Williamsburg.After all that was the first place I had ever had the pleasure of tasting a Mint Julep. Certainly the drink is a favorite at the Kentucky Derby and of course I'd always heard that a

Busy, Busy, Busy!!!

2010-04-11T07:45:00.019-04:00

January, February and March are the busiest times for me at work so not much gets done with my Blog or anything else for that matter. Anyhow it's update time and then back to serious Blogging.Mom's 90th Birthday Invitation by FirecrackinmamaMy mother's continued problem with the tree is done! Not only has the tree been removed but the stump is gone too. I am really impressed by those on City

Woodbury, NJ's Treatment of Senior Citizens-Conclusion

2010-03-07T16:38:00.013-05:00

Well, we've come to a conclusion about who cares for Senior Citizens in Woodbury and who doesn't. In government I have to give praise to the following Mr. Fleming, Mr. Trout, Mr. Louis, Ms. Tierney, Mr. Villari and Mr. Sloane. I give a thumbs down on Mr. Riskie, I even went to school with him and my mother went to school with his father, Mr. Pottillo, and Ms. Browne. Oh, and how can I forget the

Woodbury, NJ's Treatment of Senior Citizens - Part II

2010-02-24T04:42:00.011-05:00

My grandmother lived by proverbs. I don't recall too many times when she didn't use one or more a day in conversation. Three favorites of hers were, "The squeaky wheel gets the grease" "The pen is mightier than the sword" and "A picture is worth a thousand words". I think I have fulfilled the meaning of all three proverbs within the last week. Now I have one more of my grandmother's proverbs to