Well, it’s that time of year again! End of the school year and the beginning of summer! WOO HOO!! Having spent the majority if my childhood growing up in Texas I am accustomed to the warm weather and far prefer it to the cold. I now live in New Jersey and have for the past (almost) 10 years. Let me tell you, it is quite a change…different in all ways imaginable…the people, the weather, the driving and did I say the people?
I have gotten used to driving here now, mostly–I mean I had never heard of a jughandle before and not having to pump my own gas is nice, the weather is a tough one for me…I hate the cold and especially hate the snow. It’s something I like to see on a ski slope or Christmas morning, but not on my driveway 3 months a year. The shoveling, the heavy coats, the dirty snow that inevitably comes…don’t like any of it…it has been something that I have not gotten used to and most likely never will.
The people up here are different in a way I didn’t know, the straight-forwardness is jarring at first, but then you grow to appreciate it. I do miss the Texas hospitality, though…everyone was pleasant and friendly…I mean, people made eye contact. My first trip to NYC with my husband many years ago was strange. We were walking down the street and no one looked at you. It was so strange…no friendly nods or hello’s. I didn’t get it! HOWEVER we then went to Chinatown and I realized this is WHY you don’t make eye contact. Not that there is anything wrong with Chinatown down on Canal Street, I mean I have purchased more than my fair share of “Louis Vuitton” purses 😉 but if you make eye contact with random people on the street you are automatically inviting them to try and sell you some random bit of junk you would never purchase anywhere else…”dvd’s, “cd’s”, “watches”, “sunglasses”, “umbrellas”, “belts”, “a sign of your name written in random weird characters”…the list goes on. Most of these items are suspect…trust me on this ~ I have gotten suckered in and purchased a watch that literally stopped ticking 4 minutes later. Great $10 spent…lesson learned. Don’t buy a watch you expect to last from a man in a trench coat selling out of a minivan.
Ok-back on topic ~ cookies…
So the start of summer means longer summer days, fireflies, no alarm clock (!) and the end of the school year (pause for kids rejoicing everywhere). Here are some for graduation…My 5 year old is “graduating” from kindergarten this year…time flies!
I have gotten used to driving here now, mostly–I mean I had never heard of a jughandle before and not having to pump my own gas is nice, the weather is a tough one for me…I hate the cold and especially hate the snow. It’s something I like to see on a ski slope or Christmas morning, but not on my driveway 3 months a year. The shoveling, the heavy coats, the dirty snow that inevitably comes…don’t like any of it…it has been something that I have not gotten used to and most likely never will.
The people up here are different in a way I didn’t know, the straight-forwardness is jarring at first, but then you grow to appreciate it. I do miss the Texas hospitality, though…everyone was pleasant and friendly…I mean, people made eye contact. My first trip to NYC with my husband many years ago was strange. We were walking down the street and no one looked at you. It was so strange…no friendly nods or hello’s. I didn’t get it! HOWEVER we then went to Chinatown and I realized this is WHY you don’t make eye contact. Not that there is anything wrong with Chinatown down on Canal Street, I mean I have purchased more than my fair share of “Louis Vuitton” purses 😉 but if you make eye contact with random people on the street you are automatically inviting them to try and sell you some random bit of junk you would never purchase anywhere else…”dvd’s, “cd’s”, “watches”, “sunglasses”, “umbrellas”, “belts”, “a sign of your name written in random weird characters”…the list goes on. Most of these items are suspect…trust me on this ~ I have gotten suckered in and purchased a watch that literally stopped ticking 4 minutes later. Great $10 spent…lesson learned. Don’t buy a watch you expect to last from a man in a trench coat selling out of a minivan.
Ok-back on topic ~ cookies…
So the start of summer means longer summer days, fireflies, no alarm clock (!) and the end of the school year (pause for kids rejoicing everywhere). Here are some for graduation…My 5 year old is “graduating” from kindergarten this year…time flies!
CONGRATS GRADS OF 2009!!
Awww, kindergarten graduation! Sweet! ?
I remember my aunt taking me to NYC and telling me not to make eye contact with people! 😉 So different than Texas!
Great looking cookies, lucky kid! I could only handle working and living in NYC for one year, then back to cali for me.
Come back to Texas Shelly! We’re waitin’ for ya;-)
Great looking cookies, I bet they taste as good…
The Texan in you never leaves. My mom is a Texan, and she still talks about how Texas is truly the largest state, as the Texans are just waiting for Alaska to melt 🙂 Your graduation cookies look fantastic! Great job.