Saturday, February 12, 2011

Who is Priscilla Garamella?

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

They call it "Puppy Love"

There are many different forms of love, romantic love, a mother's love for her children, the love of friends and family, love for all things chocolate, and the comfortable, ever-present love of man's (and woman's) best friend.  I think they call it puppy love.

Rosie came into our lives an all-too-brief seven years ago.  She brought with her the biggest heart and sweetest personality one pup could ever possess.  This was a golden retriever with a heart of gold.  She spent her life making people happy, from the UPS man, who loved seeing her resting her head on the windowsill looking out at him, to Justin, who, even if he brought his race car home in pieces on a Saturday night, would soon be smiling when she began "attack licking" him all over the face.  It sure made me happy when I'd walk into the house to be greeted like a rock star by my "Puppy Girl", even if the underlying reason for the greeting was the treat she knew I'd give her.  Yes, making us happy was her lot in life.  But no one was happier than Kathy.  Kathy was happy to give Rosie insulin shots twice a day; happy to clean up after her when her poor little diabetic bladder just could not hold any more; happy to spend thousands of dollars to repair the cataracts in Rosie's eyes so she could once again go outside and chase butterflies and watch the rabbits from the window.

Rosie had more health problems than you could shake a stick at, whatever that really means, but you would never know it.  She was just always happy.  She had a real purpose in life, in addition to bringing joy to every person she encountered.  The day she joined my sister's household, the neighbor got Kathy's mail and mistakenly opened it, so he came to her door to apologize.  When he saw the newest addition to the family, he asked if he might bring his wife and daughter Tory to meet little Rosie.  It was a quick decision on their part to adopt Rosie's brother, Passion.  Justin, working at home at the time, found himself to be the newly-assigned dog whisperer to both Rosie and Passion, and passion was exactly what existed in the relationship shared by Justin, Rosie, and Passion as he loved them with all his heart and they adored him and accepted him as their alpha dog and number one love of their life.

It wasn't long before Justin and Tory, having absolutely nothing but two golden retriever pups in common, began to take walks with Rosie and Passion.  The walks got to be longer and longer.  Next thing we knew,  Tory, a singer and dancer, started going to Justin's races...and even into the pits.  Justin was attending Nutcracker performances and voice recitals.  This June, we have a wedding to celebrate.

So our little Rosie came along and created a whole lot of  happiness.  I hope one day my grandchildren can sit with me with their own little pup while I tell them the story of how their Mommy and Daddy met and became a family, all because of puppy love.

Copyright Priscilla Garamella 2011

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Groundhog Day Revisited

Can you believe it's Groundhog Day already?  I hear that Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow today, and that means that spring is on its way.  It's a little hard to convince us in the northeast who've just experienced the most snowfall EVER in the month of January and have 15-foot high walls of snow all around us that spring is imminent, but we'll revel in whatever optimism we can get nowadays, even if the uplifting wisdom comes from a furry rodent.

Most people don't think too much about Groundhog Day, but I happen to have a brother who for many years threw an annual Groundhog Day party.  I honestly don't know if he has some kind of connection to groundhogs or if there is some deeper meaning that escaped me, but I really think it was just a good excuse for a party.  He has a "Happy Groundhog Day" hat that he dusts off once a year, and, even though I think he had the day off from work today, I'm sure he wore it around the house.

Remember the movie, "Groundhog Day", in which Bill Murray's character Phil just kept living the same day over and over again?  Day after day Phil would awaken to the alarm's radio playing "I Got You Babe" only to later discover that once again it was Groundhog Day and he'd relive the same day he had experienced the previous day.

How many days does this happen to you?  Do you wake up day after day to new adventures, new opportunities, new experiences, or do you stop at the same coffee shop, go to the same job, work for the same employer and expect a different result?

I think we've all been guilty of revisiting Groundhog Day repeatedly.  It gets comfortable to have routine.  But if you're not all that happy doing the same thing over and over and you're still struggling to pay the bills and get ahead, isn't it time to break out of the habit and try something different for a change?

What if I could show you a way to save money on every single thing you buy?  What if I could show you a better way to take responsibility for your financial security?  What if I could show you a way to ensure a healthy residual income so that you might work hard for a couple of years, but then you could spend your Groundhog Days on the beach while you watched your ship sailing in with your cash?  You'd like that, wouldn't you?  Of course you would!  It sure would beat letting a critter bring your only glimmer of optimism, wouldn't it?

http://www.priscillagaramella.com/

Copyright Priscilla Garamella 2011

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Raise your hand if you're tired of shoveling snow!

So how about it, northeast?  Are you as tired as I am of shoveling snow?  I've lived in Connecticut all my life and I never remember a winter like this one.  I remember a lot of snow as a little girl, but it didn't hang around like this.  We didn't have humongous mounds of snow that you couldn't see around to pull out of a side street.  Of course, I didn't drive when I was a little girl, so you never know.  Maybe you just don't pay attention when you're riding in the back seat.  But I remember our home movies.  My father would spend hours and hours making us an ice rink in the back yard when it snowed.  My mother would film him, and the painstaking way he worked (when you could see around her fingernail which she always managed to have in front of the lens) was a true labor of love.  The next film sequence a few days later would be of grass showing through the ice.  Well, it was fun for the few days that it lasted.

Anyway, my sister's doctor always tells her that no one over 30 should be shoveling snow.  He even gave her a written prescription:  NO SHOVELING SNOW.  She never filled the prescription apparently because I've seen her shovel a LOT of snow this winter.  And take my word for it, she's over 30.

I, on the other hand, have had quite enough bending, lifting, and throwing for one season, and it's only the first of February so we could have a LONG way to go, but I found myself a helper.  I call him "Joe", "Snow Joe" that is.  Have you seen these little gadgets?  What a great thing for someone like me.  I've got the $99 model, and it does a terrific job of cleaning the snow for me.  With some of the snow we've had this season, I've had to take the snow down in levels, but it still beats bending, lifting, and throwing.  It's a wonderful tool for every woman to have, but my husband has decided he likes it too, which is okay by me because it's even easier to clear the snow when I don't have to do it myself.  You'd better hurry and order yourself one before they're all sold out.  Probably had a run on them today because here comes more snow [sigh].

I've got to sign off.  It's been tough typing with only my right hand while the left one has been raised in the air.

Do your back a favor.  Check out the Snow Joe:  http://www.home-improvement-superstore.com/snow-joe-llc-322p-7-5a-elec-snow-thrower.html?utm_term=75AElecSnowThrower&utm_content=HomeImprovement&site=google_base&utm_source=GAN&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=bluecherry

Copyright Priscilla Garamella 2011