Barbra Streisand at the Barclays Center

Saturday night my daughter and I were treated to Barbra Streisand.  And what a treat!  The Barclays Center is amazing and Barbra.....well.......spectacular....to say the least!!!!  Barbra Streisand has been my idol since I was a teenager.  I have always wanted to see her in concert but never have.  So when my friend called me and said "you are going to see Barbra Streisand!!!" I could not believe it.
First we had the most delicious dinner at the 40/40 Club.  Jay Z,  you know how to rock  a restaurant.  (And thank you Bruce Ratner and Jay Z for bringing the Nets and this beautiful venue to Brooklyn!)   As we walked into the restaurant we were all served champagne. The 40/40 Club is absolutely beautiful with big screen televisions throughout.  Of course they were playing scenes from Barbra Streisand movies (what a treat!)
Stations are set up throughout the restaurant.  One table for beef sliders, one for turkey burger sliders, one for crab sliders (I had the crab and it was soooo good!)  Stations for fish, potatoes, the most amazing macaroni and cheese that you will ever taste, lamb chops, steak, salads, chicken satay.......the list of dishes goes on and on.  Too many to mention!  Dessert.....the biggest red velvet cake I have ever seen.  And the tiniest cheesecake with the most delicious raspberry sauce drizzled throughout.  Then I ate the most decadent chocolate (brownie/fudge) with caramel sauce and I don't know what.....yum!!!!
As if the dining experience wasn't enough.  Then we walk into the most amazing arena that I have ever seen.......and the concert that I have been waiting for since I was a teen......BARBRA!!!!!!!
I have to say that I felt like I was in a reality television show.  It was surreal!!!  xoxo
 (Thank you David!)

Dessert!!!

The concert!!!!

Spiritual jewelry by Andee Leeds

Ladies, what does Spirituality mean to you?  Some people say that they are spiritual but not necessarily religious.  Others feel that being religious or just participating in a religious belief gives them a spiritual feeling.

Nowadays as in ancient times jewelry plays a part in being spiritual.  Spiritual jewelry gives us a good feeling as we believe that it offers us protection, healing and just good luck. 

Andee Leeds Jewelry is always keeping up with the times and is now combining Spiritual meaning from the past with the present.  Andee is offering the "Evil eye" bracelet and the "Hamsa hand bracelet."  

Bracelets are $45 each.
Stones in all bracelets are cubic zircons.

Kim Kardashian wearing "Evil eye" bracelets.

Photo of Kim Kardashian via emme-magazine.com/2011/06/20/evil-eye-and-malocchio-superstit

This is a chart with the meanings of different colors for the "evil eye" bracelets.

Chart via CafeAnatolia.com

I think we all have a sense of Spirituality.  What a pretty way to show it with one of these beautiful bracelets!

To order:  email Andee at andee.leeds@gmail.com 
 

Getting recertified

Hi lovely ladies,
I was certified as a personal trainer in 1995.  I am training clients again so I am getting recertified.  This is what recertification looks like........

The test is 100 questions.  Of course they are multiple choice which I think always makes it harder.
It is an open book test but what a book!!!

I miss blogging so much.  I love talking with you.  I love to share info and stuff that I find on the internet and that I discover in everyday life.   I am going to try to blog as much as I can while doing this home study course.  xoxo elyse

What happened to Thanksgiving?

The other day I was in Bloomingdales.  As usual the store is always decorated beautifully and festively.  But I was surprised to see these decorations.  Wasn't I just on the beach a short while ago?

Royal Pains

The summer is my favorite time of the year.  Yet this past summer was a very unsettling one because we were packing and moving.  But we were so lucky to have the beach.  It saved us!  Walking onto the beach we could put all the craziness aside for a few hours and just be.  We have a locker at "Catalina" Beach Club.  Besides being a beautiful beach club with great food it is also a famous location used for model shoots, etc.  The show "Royal Pains" is also partially filmed there.  We were there when they were filming a scene.  The scene was a volleyball tournament.  Dr. Hank Lawson and Dr. Evan Lawson were running to the rescue of a volleyball player.  You cannot imagine how many people are involved in filming one scene.  Royal Pains airs on the "USA" network.  

The crew

It seemed like medical attention was needed at the volleyball tournament.

Dr. Evan Lawson and Dr. Hank Lawson

Miss you......

This room is actually neat compared to my mess!
Photo via derekjamesphotography.com

Well, I moved.  What a job!  It's a bigger job when you are downsizing.  We have absolutely no room for anything.  So, needless to say,  this place is a mess.  We are going to have to get creative.  At least for the time being. My house was sold so fast that we really did not have sufficient time to look for something that would really fit our needs.  So we had to settle.  I don't want to get into all the negatives right now.  I will save them for a future post.  There is one positive.  It is new.  Besides that, once we get somewhat settled we are going to start looking again.  Moving is definitely one of the most stressful events in life.  It's something that is very unsettling.  There are people, for business reasons, that move often.  I wonder how they deal with the change.   There are also people that do not like to stay in one place for long.  I am not one of those people.  What is your take on moving?  Have you downsized or moved to a larger space?  Have you found it hard to move or not really?  Packing up was kind of surreal so I think that I was numb.  I went through the motions of packing not really thinking of what the impact was going to be.  Now that we are here reality is setting in and I realize that I made a hasty decision but really had no choice.  My daughter is keeping everything in perspective for me.  She is so sensible.  xoxo Elyse

Another true story about moving and letting go.

Elyse, you once asked for my story and it now seems appropriate.
 When you wake up, and find you are not where you want to be, you find the courage and do something for yourself. Lucky for me, my husband was by my side.
 I left 88 years of building (a business), 38 years of my blood, sweat and tears, and knew for the first time in my life I was ready to live my life. So I left all my belongings in my house, filled the car with stuff for my furry children (dogs), took my backpack and 6 articles of clothing and we were off to investigate what I did not know. Driving down my street  for the last time, I swear, I never looked back. For as long as I could remember I was attempting to please everyone else, never myself. I wanted a change and realized that cold March Monday the only one who could do it was me.
We drove through many states and then we  came to a place we had never been before and began to smell the flowers. Not just roses, but everything else. I was able to rid myself of things which seemed to define who I was. The operative word was things. The more you have the greater the responsibility. I needed nothing, as I was ready to truly live a life. Remember, people see what you allow them to view. What I was defined as was not who I really am. Not my core....that was mine, private and sacred. I found there is something higher that was guiding me, to what I call my paradise. I am now known by my name, not a relative of someone, or my father's daughter, or the owner of a business. I am who I am, and have been graced with the opportunity to do what I have always wanted. Working within a community to bring business to that community, collect food to feed children who would otherwise go to bed hungry, raise money to better a community, the list for me is endless.  I left "it" all behind to find so much more!