Saw my first deer of the season this AM at approx 0330!

November 30 is the first day of deer season in PA. The Etown public school system celebrates this "holiday" with a teacher inservice day so as not to fight with the parents about their children missing a day of school. It truly is a holiday. Matt informed me that many of his college students said their public school districts "back home" don't have school on the first day of deer season! Who knew!?!?!?

When I drive home around 0330 ish from work I have my own version of deer hunting....This week: Wednesday morning was a full moon on a very clear, early morning...should have seen deer, no deer. Thursday morning is was raining like crazy no expectation of deer, no deer seen.

This morning after a wonderful, non-eventful shift at work I headed home around 0323. The morning was perfect-calm, still, no rain or wind....As I headed out of Hershey and into what I call the twilight zone between Hershey and Etown I was on the lookout for deer. I passed a few trees and then an opening ready to catch the glimpse of four legs or a flash of light from two black eyes....there it is...a very, very large deer. I can tell she is thinking about crossing the road and I see her soon enough to slow down. She stays on the shoulder and turns to run back into the field. "Smart little (big) deer!" I say to myself.

Little voice in my head..."It's not the first one that gets you, it's the second one." I take what feels like forever, but was really only seconds to look "for the second one." No second one, so I continue home safely.

I arrive home safe and sound thankful for good brakes, great car headlights, and for the invention of contacts that keep my eyesight keen! Oh- and thanks dad for always being that "little voice" when it comes to deer season!

I have seen many deer run across the road in front of me and I have seen the second one that "can get ya." It's always the first one of the season that takes my breath away-even when I am ready for it. I am so grateful to have never met the fate of impact; but working in the ER I have seen the result. It can be devastating!

Please be diligent as you travel during "the rut." The deer are out there, luckily I saw a smart one today- but there are others out there that don't look both ways before crossing the roads!

What did we do on Black Friday???

I have been to many different places in my life, but I have never been to:

I have never been to New York! Matt has been, once as a child and then 2 yrs ago. Matt did such an awesome job giving me a tour of the city! It was a cool day, but it didn't RAIN!!! It was such a fantastic day!

Black Friday started at 0400 and on the Keystone train at 0515 and into NYC before 0900! We literally had the whole city to ourselves for the morning because everyone was in Macy's

And in Toy's R Us!

Santa...um Santas were in NYC!

M&M World....HEAVEN!!!

We headed down to a walk down 5th Avenue!

Rockefellar Center

St.Patrick's Cathedral

Diamond's are a girl's best friend!

The Met

Central Park!

The Apple Store

A carriage ride in Central Park!! How Romantic!

All the lights of the city!!!

Miracles!

Penn Station NYC awaiting to get on the train to go home after a wonderful day in NYC!!!

It was so amazing to be able to have Thanksgiving with family on Thanksgiving and then NYC the next day. Then, Saturday I was back at work. Living in the mid-atlantic and being near to the Northeast is amazing!

The "Pink Stuff"

Thanksgiving isn't Thanksgiving without the "Pink Stuff!" On Thanksgiving we had lunch with my two cousins in Harrisburg. I realized that I had to make the pink stuff to bring the tradition to PA. This recipe is my late paternal grandmother's recipe. It arrives on the table every Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I left out the marshmallows and obtained 2 converts at Thanksgiving. My cousin and myself love the pink stuff; but our spouses were not that hip to it. I thought to myself, "I always pull the marshmallow out, what if I leave them out of the recipe?" And of course now they like the pink stuff too!

Here's the recipe-it's a little vague but that is how family recipes are- aren't they!

1 bag of red SEEDLESS grapes cut in half (add more if you like and make sure there are no seeds)

1 regular size crushed pineapple (I think it's 150z)- make sure you drain and press as much moisture out of the pineapple

1 bag of frozen cranberries (Best if frozen for grinding)

1 pt whipping cream

1 cup of sugar and a little bit more

a pinch of salt

Grind cranberries in a blender add a cup of sugar and blend. Mix cranberry mixture, drained pineapple, and grapes in a large bowl or the serving bowl. Whip whipping cream in a separate bowl add a bit of sugar and a dash of salt. Fold whipped cream into cranberry mixture. You may add a bag of marshmallows if you prefer. Chill covered in fridge.

ENJOY!!!

Photos of fall on this Thankful Day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

For family and those who care about our daily life here is a link of some photos of fall. One day when most of the trees where in their full glory I had my camera with me on my way to work. I sat the camera on my steering wheel and snapped away. Some might be a little blurry, but I hope you are able to see the beauty that I am blessed to see every day I drive to work.

If you missed the embedded link above click here to get to the album.

Again, Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours. We have truly been blessed this last year and have an over abundance of people, support, love, family, friends, and jobs to be thankful for today!

Dad and Brother come to viist

Two weeks ago Matt's dad and youngest brother came to visit us for a couple of days. We enjoyed their visit so much I only got one photo and it was of Matt and Steve! I can't believe it only got one photo! Oh well, hopefully there will be more visits sooner than later!

Another relocation milestone

Last month we made it official--our cars are now officially Pennsylvania cars!!!

Also in the last 2 weeks I had a hair appt, dental appt, PCP appt, and an eye appt with local doctors. Well, sounds like we are starting to get settled.

Cop-out...I've been busy...

More to come...but for now I've only update the background of my blog!