I’ve been buying the Stonyfield Farm organic yogurt for some time now. I just enjoy the taste and not all the sugar that other yogurts have. The problem is that there is only 1 store that carries the flavored containers – you know like peach, chocolate, raspberry, etc. Unfortunately, most of the time those containers are expired. And I’ve complained to the store to no avail.

I figured that I would be stuck using the larger container of plain yogurt and have to use my own fruit. And yes, that’s probably better for me anyway. But I like the ones with flavoring/fruit.

Well, we went grocery shopping this morning – and yogurt was on my list. I figured I would have to go back to buying the other brands that I used to buy a long time ago.

When I went to look at the yogurt available – I found a new one! And it’s by Stonyfield Farm.

It’s Greek Yogurt – just introduced in Walmart (I guess, since I hadn’t seen it there the last time we went shopping). There was the plain, just like the regular Stonyfield Farm. But there was also flavored – the one I picked is honey. There were 4 little containers in a cardboard carton – each one with only 90 calories, and 0% fat. I had one this morning, after we got back from shopping. Yummy!

You can find out more about this yogurt at Stonyfield

So in honor of finding a new yummy yogurt – I created a treasury this afternoon -

Now, I have to tell you that the items that I included in my Yummy Yogurt treasury are not for eating – except for Shorty’s Gourmet Treats – these are for dogs. The rest you can check out for yourself, bath salts, body lotions, jewelry, play things for kids and more .

Hope you like it!

As I write these journal entries, I hope you are not bored with them! Ever have a friend or relative invite you over to view pictures of their latest vacation or adventure. Please feel free to leave if you don’t want to hear everything LOL. Alas, I have no pictures to show you, as I didn’t bring my camera, didn’t want to have to bring along anything else that might have weighed me down

I spoke with my oldest daughter in Fargo ND for a little while. Actually last nite I had called, but I didn’t leave a message – so she called me this morning to see how everything was going. I’ll talk more with her when I get home. We like to exchange jokes via email, and just chitchat – when she’s not working.

I can tell that I’m getting tired. Yesterday, we walked through Central Park – on day 4 we took a trip over the Tappin Zee bridge to Nyack. There we went to the Rockland Lake area, and walked around the lake, a 3 mile walk. We had mom’s wheelchair, and she sometimes held onto it, and walked, and other times she sat in it and let us push. It was a great walk – but 2 lengthy walks for me in 2 days is making my legs hurt. At least my back doesn’t hurt.

Drove around a little in downtown Nyack, saw a number of trendy stores (not like malls) and beautiful Victorian Homes. We have a few in our area, but it’s always nice to see how well kept these old homes are in other areas of the country.

The lake area is really nice and there were lots of people there – bikers, roller bladers, walkers, joggers, kids, adults, babies, and oh, yes dogs. We saw one lady walking her dog – actually the dog was in what looked like a stroller – the dog wasn’t walking, he was being pushed in the stroller. What a hoot!

Another dog that was being walked, was a cute little one, the woman walking him had to keep moving the leash around her body, as the dog would be walking on one side and then move in front, and onto the other side just to see what was going on and who was passing them. What was so tremendously funny, was that the husband was pushing the dog stroller behind the woman and the dog! He looked at us with such a sheepish grin -

The dog that was barking and whining all day long, the other day, is back. At he’s back to his old self of barking and whining all the time. My brother suggested that perhaps the people who own the dog couldn’t afford a kennel – or are looking for a house to move into and are staying where we are. It’s a Residence Inn, so complete with kitchen, frig, stove, microwave, utensils, cups, plates, and pots and pans. I might have mentioned that before – but hey – it bears repeating.

My sister-in-law cooked a lavish dinner for us last nite. She didn’t go with us to the lake – just my brother. We had roasted chicken with vegis – cut up turnips, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, and carrots, that she roasted with the chicken. She put whole cranberry sauce and mandarin oranges on the top of the chicken. Wow it was good. Then she made green beans, salad, and dessert. As I might have mentioned, I’m going to need to go on a diet when I get home. I’m sure I’ve gained 5 lbs since I got here! Will my pants fit, to be able to go home? The waistband was a little snug when I got here – so I might be in trouble.

I had finished one of the books that I brought with me – Flyboys, and got out the 2nd one – only to find out that I had already read it! Wasn’t in the mood to re-read. So on our last day of vacation - Monday, we are supposed to go to Trader Joes – have never been in there and my neighbor back home had suggested we go to our local one which is about 40 miles away. So this way, I will see if it’s worth visiting. While there – I’ll pick  up a book – hope they have them, so I have something to read on the plane going home.

The weather on day 4 was a little better – not so cold, more in the 50′s than 40′s so that was ok.

I should have brought a back scratcher with me, my back itches all the time, must be the hard water and lack of soothing body wash. At home we have  very soft water and I use a sensitive skin body wash. So that works better, in addition I have 2 back scratchers around the house available for use. You never know you miss something until you don’t have it!!

We talked to my youngest daughter in GA after supper, and had a good long conversation. Afterwards, I noticed that there was a voicemail message on my cell phone. That was from my sister and her husband, who are down in FL. They watched the shuttle launch yesterday afternoon . What a thrill to see that – and I’m glad to see that people are still excited about the launches. For awhile there – interest seemed to have disappeared.

Believe it or not – we have not turned the tv on – except to see the weather. There doesn’t seem to be any good programs here, just like home. Oh, well, we’ve been either too busy or too tired to watch anything anyway!!

Day 3 began as all the other days has, with me getting up earlier than I should. This time, I woke at 6, went back to sleep and got up at 7. Ok, so that’s not early, however, we didn’t get back to the hotel until 11 again last nite – and it takes me a while to wind down, before I can fall asleep. I’m enjoying my stay – but can’t wait to get back to the normal routine of going to bed at 9pm.

Mom and I have taken to going down to breakfast that the hotel provides, and then coming back to the room and napping. It’s not bad – that way I don’t stress about what needs to be done – haha – there’s nothing that needs to be done I’m on vacation.

The breakfast that the hotel provides is quite extensive. They have juices and coffee or tea. Eggs, sausage, potatoes, sometimes hard boiled eggs, sometimes french toast. They also have muffins, bagels, bread for toasting, cereals, fresh fruit, yogurt, milk and other things that I can’t remember. It’s a buffet – and you could eat too much – I have to watch how much I eat, I’ll have to go on a diet when I get home!

Day 3, Mom brought 2 hard boiled eggs back to the room to eat for lunch. Mom eats a lot more than I do – she says her metabolism is faster than mine, and she has to eat frequently.

Did I tell you that Mom had hip surgery last year? So now she’s using a walker all the time, and really doesn’t get much exercise, like she did. So where is she putting all this food that she eats??

We all decided that we would go into New York City for day 3, and walk around Central Park. Sounds like a plan – the plan was to get together around lunch time and drive it. So at noon – mom was hungry – so she ate something, then I ate the left over Chinese food that we had gotten the day before, and we waited for my brother to call. At around 1, I called my brother and asked when we were getting together – you see he has to come and pick us up – I’m not driving around here – not that the traffic is really heavy – it’s just I dont’ like to drive in an unfamiliar place.

My brother had gone to get a wheel chair for mom – she insisted she didn’t need one – she’s stubborn that way – but we insisted. He picked us up – brought us back to his house, and then we waited. Finally when everything was ready – he took is 2 children to the train station – they were going to ride the train and then the subway (they are freshman in college and senior in high school and according to my brother, ride the trains and subways all the time) and then meet us in the park. My brother has one car, and it barely holds 4 people.  And off we went.

I don’t like to watch traffic, I get nervous with drivers whizzing by. However, I got the tourist tour – there’s the Hall of Fame (sounds like an interesting place to visit), there’s Yankee Stadium, there’s the new Yankee Stadium – old one is going to be torn down, there’s the reservoir, etc. We went traveling over several highways and cross town expresses. I would never have been able to find my way around.

We found a parking place, and with mom in the wheel chair, my brother, his wife and me, we crossed to Central Park and started walking around. We must have walked for an hour or 2, we were just sauntering – with runners, walking people, moms with baby carriages all around us. The daffodils were just coming up – no flowers yet, tho we did see some early crocus which was pretty. But it was just a very relaxing walk. The kids met up with us, and we all just kind of kept to our own pace.

Fay, my brother’s wife – is she my sister-in-law? pointed out a number of buildings – Mt Sinai hospital, the met museum, the building where my brother used to work, and several others. Wandering around the Great Lawn – where softball games are held, cross country skiing is done if there’s enough snow, and symphonies are held in the summer, we even saw the spire to the empire state building. Next time, maybe I’ll get to go up in it.

Coming up on 5:30 – we decided to go out of the park and find some place to have dinner.  Just before we exited the park, there was a vendor selling NY pretzels – had to get one, it was just as good as I remembered! We wandered around for a few blocks, and found an indian restaurant that looked interesting – so we ate there. It was good food, and good companionship. My brother’s 2 children are very intelligent and they all kept up conversations about politics, philosophy and other topics. It was good to listen.

Full, and drowsy – the kids went off to the subway station, and we caught a cab to take us back to the car – some 20+ blocks away. I’m glad my brother wasn’t too tired to drive home, he pushed my mom in the wheel chair for quite awhile. And it was hard not to fall asleep in the back of the car on the way to the hotel, but we were still awake, when we were dropped off.

Didn’t take much time to unwind and fall asleep – I’ll tell you. The walking was great, but I’ve not been very active this winter. Oh, don’t get me wrong – I didn’t have any problems keeping up with the walking, but it did make me very tired. Guess I’ll have to put my walking shoes back on and try to get some exercise when I’m home.

Not sure what we will be doing on the 4th day – but I’ll let you know. Til then…

Sleep did not come easily last nite -even tho I was extremely tired.   Not sure what time I went to bed, but it must have been close to midnight.  I took an advil and also drank a cup of sleepy time tea – the tea is a normal routine for me in the evening. It helps me relax and fall asleep easier – for the most part. The advil, on occasion helps me to sleep – if I’m anxious, have too many thoughts flying around in my head, or whatever. Don’t take it very often, as I don’t want to depend on it.

I woke at 5am, which is normal for me – if I go to sleep at 9pm. Went to the bathroom, and went back to bed. An hour later I woke again, and decided to get out of bed.

Set up my computer, checked email, twittered for a little while and wrote up my first day’s experiences for this trip.

When mom finally awoke – probably about 8am, we got dressed, went downstairs and had breakfast that the hotel provides for free. With a full tummy, and not much sleep – when we came back up to the room – we both fell asleep sort of. I lay down to try and rest, and was laying there for awhile when I finally fell asleep – only to be awakened by my cell phone ringing – it was my sister.

Did I tell you that my mom lives with my sister in Ohio? Well they live in Cincinnati, drove to Columbus – my sister went with my mom to the gate and made sure that she got on the plane ok. Then my sister and her husband – went to a hotel near the airport – this was Thursday afternoon – and then flew to Tampa on Friday morning. She was calling to let me know that they arrived. They get back to Columbus on Tuesday morning, a little while before Mom’s plane gets there. Talk about a time table. Everything has to run smoothly for this to work – unlike my airport shuffle on my first day.

Ok, so now I’m awake – spend some more time on the pc, mom wakes, we sit and chat – we’re both still tired, so it’s another nap time. For a little while. I don’t think I’ve had this much trouble staying awake. Of course, taking advil at night seems to make me a little groggy in the am.

Did I tell you that this hotel lets people check in with pets? We’ve seen dogs of all sizes and shapes – haven’t seen any cats yet. It’s a Residence Inn – so we have a kitchen, a living room dining room combination and a bedroom. I sleep in the bedroom – mom in the living room on the pull out sofa bed. Why doesn’t she sleep with me in the bedroom? That’s a good question. She needs to be closer to the bathroom – but even that doesn’t explain it. Years ago, my mom and I went to Germany to visit my daughter and her family – husband was stationed there. For the most part we did ok – however, when mom snores – no one can get any sleep – many nites I either lay awake and read or dozed on and off all nite. So she needs to be sleeping separately. I’m in the bedroom with the door shut and it works fine.

So we get up – by this time, we’ve talked with my brother, who wonders when we would be ready to be picked up to go to his house. We figure after lunch sometime. And where do we go to lunch? There’s a Chinese restaurant attached to the hotel – so that’s where we went to eat. It was convienent – not sure where other restaurants are around the hotel, and it was very cold out and we really didn’t want to go walking.

This restaurant offers not only what’s on the menu, but also Dim Sum. I have never had that – we don’t have any Chinese restaurants where I live, other than carry out. It was really interesting. The waiters come around holding trays with little bowls holding a variety of Dim Sum. We tried the bean curd – I know I’m not supposed to eat Tofu – since it’s soy – but one day should be ok. We had won ton soup, and I really couldn’t intice my mom into trying any of the other varieties of the Dim Sum. They were all pictured on the back of the menu. Oh, yeah, we also had spring rolls. At least I think they were – or some kind of egg roll. Mom decided to order something off the menu – so we sat there for quite awhile.

One thing that was really interesting is that the waiter that kept coming by our table kept trying to get us to try different ones – mom decided that he was a ‘High Pressure Salesman’ – her words – he wouldn’t stop coming by our table – figured by our dress – sweats – that we were in the hotel, and it’s like a buffet – you usually take more than you really can eat. We kept telling him no – and I guess that frustrated him!

And talk about frustration – remember I said there were dogs in this hotel – well from about 11am yesterday until we left the hotel at about 5pm – the dog in the room across the hall from us was crying and whining constantly. We complained to the front desk – only concerned that the dog was ok. When we got back last nite – every thing was quiet. Thank goodness, I didn’t need anything else to keep me awake.

By the time 5pm rolled around, we had showered and dressed, and were waiting for my brother to pick us up. We went to his house – now let me tell  you, the first nite it was probably almost 8pm when we sat down to eat. Mom’s life at her home is close to that – they eat between 7 and 8. I guess if you don’t get up in the am until 8 or 9 – all your meals are later than normal.

Since we get up between 5 and 6 each morning – our normal eating time is about 5pm. It’s going to be difficult to get back into that routine when I get home. Anyway, so on the second day – we get to my brother’s house a little after 5pm, and my brother’s wife hasn’t even started dinner. Ok, so I’ll help – I wasn’t too hungry at that point – we had eaten a snack earlier in the afternoon.  I think it was close to 8pm when we finally sat down to rice, asparagus, salmon, scallops, garlic bread, and salad. I had a little of each. I don’t eat too much to start with but it was very good. Then because Monday the 9th was my brother’s birthday – his wife had make a cake – so a little later, we had some of that. To say I was stuffed was an understatement.

My brother has 2 children. His daughter is in her first year of college, and his son is a senior in high school and applying to a number of colleges. While we were sitting around,  he got a text message from one of the colleges accepting him. Everyone was estatic. Do you remember when notices came in the mail and you had to wait for the mailman to deliver it???

His daughter made it home around 9 or so – and that’s when we had the cake.

Everyone is sitting around and relaxing and my brother breaks out his MAC that he wants to show me. Actually it started as his wanting to show me the program he wrote using MySQL. When I was working for the govt – I used to use Oracle and sql language, and I was always telling him what I was using it for, and the databases I was working on and creating, and that sounded really interesting to him. So he decided to give it a try. Now he teaches others how to create the databases and how to create queries. It’s great! Of course, he’s done a lot more with it than I did – only because I’m now retired, and never got the chance to really make it elaborate. But I do use databases and MySQL for my business, so all that I learned is not lost. And as far as the MAC goes – I have a pc and a windows based laptop. The one thing he kept stressing about the MAC was that he didn’t have any of the problems that I have with windows. Wonder if it would be worth changing at this late stage. My problem would be to find software that I currently use in an apple version. Something to think about.

We made it back to the hotel about 11pm, this time I took 2 advil – since my back is really hurting. I’m ok as long as I’m standing or walking, but sitting for any length of time, my back stiffens up or twinges – don’t know which is worse.

BTW – the last thing I want to tell you is that the fortune I got in the fortune cookie at the Chinese restaurant is very approriate. “Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort” suits me to a t! Since I made handcrafted and handmade items – works for me.

See ya tomorrow!