Dear Ellie,
So in sticking with characteristic traits, I love your Mimi’s idea about making a list of our favorites (and possibly least favorites) to give you a snapshot of us today. So here you go!
Favorite Professional Football Team- PACKERS! Superbowl 2010 Champs (your Mimi has had me following this team since I was younger and her affiliation as a Packerette Cheerleader in the 1970s has made it all the more cooler!).
3 Generations of Packer-Backers ;)
Favorite College Football Team- Penn State Nittany Lions… tradition means everything to JoePa (not our cat, the coach). And I had the amazing opportunity to work in the Penn State Football office during college!
On the field with recruits for Joe's big 324th record breaking win... the game was against Ohio State!
Favorite Animal- Cats… sooner or later we will have two!
Favorite Flower- The tulip (but never when someone dies… either get fake ones or none at all!)
Favorite Color- Magenta (note the color of my first car and the license plate spelled out MAJNTA, the closest spelling that I could get to the color that no one else had!).
Favorite Food- Spicy tuna rolls and California rolls or spinach/mushroom/tomato pizza or tomato and egg sandwiches or Philadelphia pretzels!
Favorite Leisure Activity- It used to be reading but writing this blog is sure catching up! I love getting manicures and pedicures with friends, shopping, and going to the movies with your Dad. But of course, playing (or taking walks) with you Ellie has taken over all else!
Least Favorite Leisure Activity- Anything that involves sweating… working out is not my thing (your Mimi and I hired a trainer for my wedding and every time she made us go a little faster on the treadmill, we will slow it down).
Favorite Famous Person You Admire- Although I don’t always agree with her opinions, I’ve always loved Oprah and how she has made a name for herself. My dream was to see her in person (and your Mimi and I have tried many of times to get tickets to her show but no luck and now her very interesting show has ended).
Favorite Movie- Gone With the Wind, The Help (just saw it two weeks ago and loved it as much as the book, which is super rare!), Sex and the City, Goonies, The Notebook, Titanic, Sleepless in Seattle, A League of Their Own
Favorite Book- The Help, The Forgotten Garden, Pillars of the Earth, The Color Purple, The Red Tent, DaVinci Code, The Book Thief, A Thousand Splendid Suns, The Diary of Ann Frank, Snow Flower and The Secret Fan…
Favorite Mini-Series- The Kennedys, Pillars of the Earth, North & South
Favorite Music Artist- Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Rascal Flatts, Brad Paisley
Favorite Song- Although I love anything country, it would have to be Papa Don’t Preach as I have wonderful memories as a kid dancing to this song with my friends (although I didn’t have any idea what it meant until many years later!)
Favorite TV Show- America’s Next Top Model, Grey’s Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Today Show
(which I did get to see a recording with our cousin Michelle four years ago in NYC!), Dateline, reruns of Friends and Sex and the City
Most Scared Of- Disappointing people
Favorite Number- 5 (Ever since I was a kid playing games on the Jersey boardwalk, I’ve loved picking this number and it wins often!).
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor- Gold Medal Ribbon from Baskin Robbins
Favorite City- Paris and Rome (cliché I know but they are so romantic and historic! I would go back again to both in a heartbeat)
On our honeymoon at the Coliseum in Rome
Favorite Restaurant- Trieste in Prospect Park, Pa (I’ve loved it since I was a kid and now whenever I visit Philly, it is a place that we always stop to eat at).
Favorite Moment of the Day- Seeing your sweet and beautiful face every morning!!!
So Ellie, that’s me in a nutshell… I can also give you a list of your favorites- soft serve ice cream, Blues Clues, Mickey Mouse (who you call Misca Musca), stuffed animals, the zoo, all books (but most especially your Animal Dictionary), baths, pools, dancing, music, the park (especially the slide and swings), skyping, fruit snacks, walks, and Elmo.
You are such a crazy girl and I love every second with you!!!
Love,
Love,
Mom
And now from your Mimi…
Hi Ellie!
It is a delightful morning and I am enjoying my tea immensely while reading over your mommy’s part of the blog. You are going to realize very quickly that your mommy and I are very, very much alike. That old saying “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” fits perfectly in our life. Now not meaning to get off track, but I beg to differ with that statement. What exactly does that mean? Yes, apple trees don’t grow to be monstrous skyscrapers, so I guess it is easy for us to make that judgment call because when we pick an apple from a tree, we are pretty much eye level with the fruit. So when the apple does fall, I think it is safe to assume that it only drops an average of 6 to 12 feet. Hmmm. That may not be a long distance to you and me, but think about the apple, which is only about 3 inches tall. That is one heck of a drop! If the apple were actually human, it would for sure have a humungous migraine falling from that distance. Or maybe that statement came from when the apple and the ground met on impact and the actual plunk deadened its get-away plan or rather its roll. Which brings me to another thought…. Since the apple is round, why don’t they ever roll away after they drop???... Are they bottom heavy or just “solid’ in their weight? Or are all apple orchards built on flat land? Hmmmmmm…. Just a few points that may need additional pondering later! I guess I just got sidetracked again. Huh-imagine that! A possible trait of mine??? OK, back to our blog. The following information are my answers to your mommy’s list of favorites and least favorites. Here goes Ellie:
Favorite Professional Football Team- Ditto to your mommy’s answer, the Packers!
Even after moving from Green Bay over 30 years ago, my heart still bleeds Green and Gold! And your Poppy is such a sweetheart because he is always buying me something that validates my loyalty!
Favorite College Football Team- Ditto again. Penn State Nittany Lions. Ellie this is actually our first year in a long time where we won’t be tailgating on a weekly basis. We gave up our tickets opting to enjoy watching the games in the comfort of our own home! And that means no more Port-A-Potties!
Favorite Animal- Can you believe “Ditto” again? Cats it is… even though I was petrified of them when I was a young girl. Cutie (our Garfield cat), Dusty (our “forgets to lick himself clean” cat), and Daisy (our mean, temperamental yet needy cat) all have cured me of my phobia!
Favorite Flower- Ha! Different answer! I would say the deep purplish/bluish hydrangea plant. The colors of this plant are sooooo vibrant as well as large and full!
Don’t tell anyone but I have fake ones strategically potted around the outside of my house! Now that it is September, I wonder how many people think it is strange that my flower garden looks like Spring has just sprung!
Favorite Color- Ha, Ha! Different answer again! I’ll start with Sky Blue, Sun Yellow, Lime Green, Sherbet Orange and Hot Pink. OK, honestly Ellie… any color that is neon or vibrant!
Favorite Food- Hmmmmmmm. My first choice would be a fancier dish called Chilean Sea Bass and my second choice would be a practical dish called Grilled Chicken Salad!
Favorite Leisure Activity- Ditto to reading, Ditto to blogging, Ditto to pedicures (not the manicures though… my nails chip too quickly), Ditto to shopping, Ditto to movies and of course Ditto to walking. I would add hiking in Colorado to this one too!
Least Favorite Leisure Activity- HUGE Ditto to sweating. Yuck!
Favorite Famous Person You Admire- Wow… this is a tough one. There are different people for different reasons. Spiritually talking I shall go with Mother Theresa as she is to be admired for her selflessness and her strength in honoring her God given purpose. I love to read her quotes as I find them to be very inspirational.
Favorite Movie- Oh my. Ditto, ditto, not ditto, not ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, and ditto to your mommy’s answers. I would also add Sweet Home Alabama to this one!
Favorite Book- Did you ever hear of the word “Ditto”? Well, here we go again. Ditto, ditto, ditto, not ditto, not ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, not ditto, and ditto again to your mommy’s answers. I would like to add Nineteen Minutes to this Fave.
Favorite Mini-Series- Ditto, ditto, ditto!
Favorite Music Artist- Whitney Houston (she was my favorite from many years ago, but I still love her songs.) The Eagles, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban and Sugarland. Ok, ditto to Rascal Flats too.
Favorite Song- Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance With Somebody. I saw her ages ago Ellie at the Mann Music Center in Philadelphia before her “stardom” hit and I remember thinking that she had not only a beautiful voice, but a very powerful one too! Many of her songs are actually favorites of mine!
Favorite TV Show- Modern Family, The Mentalist, NCSI (the original show only) and Desperate Housewives.
Most Scared Of- Alligators and Mountain Lions. One time we were on a hike Ellie and I thought we were going to be eaten by a wild animal. It was chasing us or so we thought, which made us scream and run! It was actually a yellowed belly marmot, which is no bigger than a groundhog, but from a distance it looked like a mountain lion, or so I thought! Alligators scare me too. Maybe it is because they lurk underneath the water.
Favorite Number- Sometimes 3. Sometimes 9. Sometimes 39. Don’t ask me why Ellie as I don’t really have an answer to this one. Once in a while it is 23. Go figure!
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor- Penn State Creamery’s Death by Chocolate! We took you there this summer and I so enjoyed watching you attempt to devour one of their strawberry ice-cream cones.
Ellie, we had to give up that attempt and put your ice-cream in a dish because it was melting faster than you could lick it! You had ice-cream everywhere…. Your face, your hands, your clothes, Mimi’s clothes, the table, the chair and even the floor!
Favorite City- Definitely ditto on Paris but I also loved Italy, favoring Venice. The moment you step into this country you feel as though you’ve stepped back in history. It is breathtaking, it is beauty like none other, it is romantic, it is nostalgic, it’s as though time stood still here.
Ellie, I could go back and visit this land laden in rich history every year and never tire of it.
Favorite Restaurant- The American Ale House and Faccia Luna’s found in State College. Casual dining at both with great food!
Favorite Moment of the Day- Aaaaaaah, easy one. Waking up. If I do, that means I get another day to experience all the wonderful things that God has in-store for me!
I think I pretty much covered all that I enjoy and a few not so enjoyable things Ellie. You will find that I am kind of like a tiered cake, or a worm, or even the Earth. There are many layers to who I am and as I age my surroundings may change my answers but the original ones never disappear. They are just updated! Your mommy and I are like books. We want you to read the pages of our lives Ellie so that together, each of our souls will always stay bound with one another! I think you too Ellie will soon become our “Ditto” soul mate!
How about next week Kimberly we end September’s Blog for Ellie with a recipe of a favorite childhood dish and also a favorite poem?
Till next time Favorite Baby-girl!
Love Mimi
No comments:
Post a Comment