Childhood Memories in Downtown Rochester

I grew up in Rochester, New York. It's a "big" little city with a lot to offer.

One of the places our family loved to visit at Christmas time, was Midtown Plaza which was the US's first urban indoor mall. The windows of department stores such as McCurdy's and Sibley's were decorated for the season. These department stores also hosted a breakfast with Santa which we attended on several occasions.

 Photo credit: here

The plaza was multilevel with a monorail to ride at one of the upper levels looking over the lower levels. At Christmas time, we all stood in line to sit on Santa's lap as he was perched upon Magic Mountain like a scene out of A Christmas Story (although not as daunting).

Photo credit: here

Midtown Plaza was a place full of so much more than Christmas wonder. It had international flair year round everywhere you looked. The Flag of Nations lined the upper hall representing countries worldwide. My favorite part of Midtown was the Clock of Nations. It contained 12 countries, each with a diorama portraying each nation. At the top of the hour, the clock came alive with music and each country's door opened to reveal the scene hidden behind each door. The clock rotated with the scenes fully displayed. It was captivating.

Photo credit: here (note the flag from Ghana, Africa)

I have such fond memories of this place from my childhood and have to wonder if I was being drawn by all of these international symbols even if only on the subconscious level.

Sadly, the last Christmas season was in 2007 prior to Midtown Plaza's permanent closing. Although I have lived far from Rochester throughout my years of adulting, hearing of the closing felt like the end of an era. No more Magic Mountain. No more monorail. No more Clock of Nations. Such finality to my childhood. 

I still have family in Rochester and visit periodically. Even with Midtown Plaza no longer, there are still so many wonderful treasures to discover and many to revisit.

A few years ago, I returned to my hometown to celebrate Christmas with my family. Upon arrival in the Rochester airport, the only thing on my mind was the excitement of being with family on Christmas day in my childhood home. I was in a holiday hustle, headed to baggage claim, as per the usual airport procedure, rushing to get the festivities started. Making my way through the terminal, THERE.. IT...WAS! In front of me stood none other than the Clock of Nations. I was instantly transported to the glory days of the old Midtown Plaza. 

Shifting my focus, I checked the time. With a few minutes left in the hour, I knew what I had to do. My priorities shifted from the baggage. the hustle, and even the restroom (after a flight? Now that's serious!). I had to wait for a few brief moments for the clock to come to life at the top of the hour.

My own photo in the ROC airport (note: Nigeria, Africa prominently displayed).

And so the Clock of Nations did not disappoint. There it was in full animation, the noble nations parading in splendor as it had to the delight of many for decades in Midtown Plaza. For me time stood still even though the clock kept ticking in forward motion.

Such an unexpected start to the Christmas festivities in Rochester. There's no place like home.

Money Saving Apps: Coupon Sherpa

Coupon Sherpa is my go-to app when it comes to coupons for clothing, restaurants, and other retailers. It utilizes the location feature on mobile devices to always provide the nearest deals. The 2 options of locating deals are by map or a list of retailers. 

The other option is to see a list of chain restaurants and stores with coupons listed in alphabetical order. 

Once a retailer is selected, the coupon details are available. Once you have viewed a specific coupon, the app will ask you if it was accepted or rejected by the retailer, or if you didn't attempt to use it. 

This app has saved me on many occasions when I deleted an email with a deal or coupon. It also comes in handy if I find myself at a store or restaurant from which I do not receive email deals. 

Free download at Google Play or App Store. More money saving!

Disclaimer: some retailers will not accept these coupons for a variety of reasons. Some retailers require a paper copy of coupons, for example. 

Roses Are Red...

Violets are blue

Carmen Does Hair

She should do yours, too!

A friend of mine came to spend Thanksgiving with us who is living nearby on a temporary basis. It was the perfect occasion to get together and celebrate the holiday. 

She's an amazing person with many gifts in a wide variety of areas. My favorite gift of hers is style! She's a licensed cosmetologist with a flair for hair. Her cuts and colors are always on point. See her portfolio here. 

On many occasions, she has done my hair and make up for special events. I always turn out to be the belle of the ball after she's done crafting me. 

This time, she was inspired to upgrade me to Ruby Red. After a few layers of cuts, color, and correction, I was transformed into another work of her art. Amazing!!!

I love having beautiful hair and being able to be the living business card of a talented artist!

Colder Weather

As the weather is getting colder, temperature control is going to the opposite extreme. Living in Florida after having spent my entire life near the Great Lakes means that I perceive winter differently than those from Florida or those who have lived in other warm climates for some time. 

My first 2 years in Florida caused me to be disoriented as a new season brought with it seasonal scents, flavors, and traditions. 

Let's turn the clock back a few years to late spring. That's when I moved to Florida. It was warm up north and it was a little warmer in FL. Having the same weather was familiar and did not cause much of a shock to my system. 

As the summer faded into fall, there was talk of pumpkin flavors, cider, and other autumn related things. I was confused to say the least. I couldn't figure out why we were talking about pumpkin when it felt like July. It dawned on me that it was September. But it still felt like July. There wasn't a change in the weather nor was the foliage changing. I couldn't get with it. 

A few months later, gingerbread, Santa, reindeer, and lights were everywhere. I could not tell one season from the other because it still felt like July. 

Two full years cycled for me before I began to sense the seasonal changes, albeit subtle in Florida. 

This fall, something was different. I began to sense the decrease of humidity and a slight crisp in the fall air. I was ready to embrace all things pumpkin!

In the last couple weeks, we've had some cool weather in Florida. The cold snap (which is relative) brought the temperatures down to 40° some nights. Being from the snow belt, this doesn't phase me a whole lot. My husband being African, this is a bit much for him. When one is accustomed to 80°, anything under 60° is quite a difference. It did seem chilly to me for the first time since I moved to FL. 

One such morning, the thermostat read 59° inside our home. That was a chilly morning—even for me! I put on a hoodie and flip flops and headed out the door. I'm not giving up flip flops because I'm in Florida. It's the principle of the thing!

Space Saving: Laundry Sorter

I am always looking for intuitive solutions to handle items and issues that I take care of on regular intervals. For items I need on a yearly basis, I am less inclined to look for solutions.

Laundry is one of those regular tasks that warrants such a solution. Our bedroom is on the 2nd floor and the washer is on the first floor and there is not a laundry shoot between the two. I opted for this laundry sorter with removable bags so I can carry the laundry downstairs.

There are 4 canvas bags so I divide my laundry into 4 categories: lights, darks, delicates, and linens. 

This laundry sorter has been great! It was recommended by Better Homes & Gardens, tagged a reasonable price at Walmart, and easy to assemble. Not an eyesore either.

It conceals the laundry enough to be a piece of furniture rather than "airing dirty laundry." The amount of space in each bag lends itself to managing the load size as to not overwhelm the washer. 

Red Lobster Special

We tend to go out to dinner once a week whether it's something simple like a sub sandwich or budget-friendly dinner.

Because my husband is foreign, we have been through a lengthy visa process for him to come to the US legally. Since he arrived, we have had even more procedures to get him slowly settled in to his new life.

After nearly 8 months of receiving the adequate amount of documents and approvals, he finally was able to get his driver’s license.

I was so proud of him and happy for us that he can now have the freedom of driving on his own without being escorted everywhere.

In my world, this calls for a celebration!

His favorite food is seafood so I considered different local options along with chain restaurants for a celebratory feast. I had seen various ads for Red Lobster on tv and thought it might be a good choice. They always have some type of special and I haven’t been there in years.

I'm always looking for a bargain whether it involves coupons or not. In other words, more bang for the buck.

When we were at the restaurant and reviewing the menu, I saw a special that involves 4 courses. So much for budget-friendly. But wait, it's only $16.99!

I ordered the clam chowder, Caesar salad, soy-ginger salmon with mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts, and finished with the warm lava chocolate chip cookie. My husband ordered the clam chowder, Caesar salad, shrimp skewers with wild rice pilaf and mashed potatoes, and the triple chocolate brownie à la mode (he's more excited about the à la mode part, as I've mentioned before). Dinner is not complete unless you have the famous cheddar biscuits!

It was so much food, that I took home half the salmon and mashed potatoes and we shared my dessert. He took home his dessert. 

You know I had a coupon LOL. The coupon was $4 off 2 entrées.

2 entrées @ $16.99 = $33.98
- $4 coupon
= $29.98 (+ tax and tip).

That’s quite a feast for that price!

It had all the prerequisites for dinner:

•  Plentiful
• Reasonable price
• Delicious

Power Craving

I listen to the radio when I drive. It is amazing that an invention nearly 100 years ago is still so widely used and relevant today. It seems so many inventions are nothing more than fads and trends. Anyone still using Morse code, a rotary phone,  Atari, a beta player? Kudos to you if you're still hanging in there!

Most of us have moved onto the next technological craze which will one day end up in a historical museum. Some how, the radio has outlasted most technological phases. Not to say that the radio hasn't morphed through the decades. We have more ways to tune in, more channels to listen to, and even more types of program types. 

What is it about humanity being fascinated with gadgets? When the newest gadget or newest model hits the market with the promises of being faster, smaller, bigger, or whatever appeals to consumers, droves show up outside the store waiting for the open sign to light up signalling the transactions can commence. (That's my nod to today being Black Friday).

I, too, have a fair amount of gadgets and enjoy technology (when it works). 

We are drawn to power and speed. Maybe that's why we're not always drawn to God. Oh, God is powerful. God is not always speedy. He is always working although it is not apparent to our human eyes. When we think of God, we often expect power, speed, strength, force, might, puissance, and oomph. We don't always see these hyper charged attributes in God at first glance, though.

We see in Zechariah that God will accomplish his work by his Spirit. We were expecting might and power but we will be disappointed is we only look for might and power. By his Spirit.

Is it possible that we underestimate the Spirit's power?

Could his Spirit be MORE powerful than power and might?

We see all throughout the Bible miraculous and mind boggling things happen when the Spirit steps in to the scene. 

For reference:

'So he said to me, "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power; but by my Spirit,' says the Lord Almighty.' Zechariah 4:6 NIV