The best gifts from mom and dad

My mom’s family came over to my house for Christmas this year. We had tons of yummy food, including beef on wick (a Western New York staple) but a recipe I don’t really care for myself. We also had chicken cutlets. I had the what I thought was a somewhat average idea to put a chicken cutlet on a kimmelwick roll and make myself a little chicken sandwich. But why am I sharing this completely average story?

My uncle happened to be standing near me and upon seeing what I was doing, laughed and said, “Ah! Did you get that from me?!” What I really wanted to say was, “No, that’s just how I want to eat my sandwich today,” but I laughed, like I was agreeing, because I came to a realization right then and there.  Adults really enjoy giving kids the best gift of all, and that is their scholarly advice, even it’s just how to eat a sandwich.

So I got to thinking of the best advice (aka gifts) from my mom and my dad over the years.

From the age of about seven, my mom continually said to me, “Don’t ever, ever invite yourself over to someone else’s house.” If I talked back to her or snuck some more dessert at dinnertime, I could usually get away with it, but inviting myself over to a friend’s house without being invited first? No, that was a complete deal breaker. In sum, my mom taught me all about manners, plus all that other good stuff like empathy, sympathy and good humor.

My dad on the other hand, the owner of a landscape company and a good businessman, didn’t care so much about the manners. On a weekly basis, he would say to me, “Abbey, when you’re having problems getting what you want or need, you’ve got to go right to the top.” The top employee, the manager, the boss, you get the idea. (He also always told me that he hates odd numbers and his favorite number is six, but I wouldn’t consider that advice, really.) I use this lesson frequently, more so today than I did as a child. So far it hasn’t steered me wrong and I always make a point to tell my dad when I use his advice because he gets a huge kick out of that.

So maybe it has taken me 22 years to realize this, but our parents give us extraordinary gifts all times of the year, not just on Christmas! I think I need to start a category on here called, “Real Adult Thoughts.” Thanks Mom and Dad!

Scandal: A Review of the first seven episodes

As a public relations student, it’s been hard to ignore the hype surrounding ABC’s (somewhat) new show Scandal,which follows a PR-type woman, Olivia Pope, who goes around fixing crises in Washington D.C. I am currently settling in to my house in Western New York for a five and a half week winter break, and my mom, whose sole use for the television is to use it as background noise in which to fall asleep to, cancelled our cable subscription. Awful, I know. But thank God for Netflix. And in combing the “Recently Added” section I excitingly found that Scandal has been added to the Netflix docket. I got through all seven episodes of the what I guess you can call first season in two days. Here I broke down the good, the bad and the confusing first impressions.

The Good: 

• Cyrus (aka Meredith’s dad on Grey’s Anatomy) is the best character on the show. His rant to the president when it came out that he fathered a child with his mistress was one of the most poignant and honest parts of the show, in my opinion.

• Olivia’s unlikely companions at Olivia Pope & Associates(it’s her name on the door), who all have had bad things happen to them in a  previous life, are intriguing. Especially Quinn Perkins who supposedly didn’t exist until 2008…hmmm. I have to give Shonda Rhimes props for ending the first season with a cliffhanger like that.

But really…who are you?

• I don’t like the relationship between Olivia Pope and the President, but I do foresee something heating up with Olivia and the U.S. Attorney, David? In doing some Wikipedia research on the title of David’s position, I found I’m completely off the mark with this one when it comes to Season 2. But I’m leaving it here anyway, because I’m still hoping it happens in the end. The show can end with the two white hat wearers riding into the sun. I think Shonda Rhimes should hire me, honestly.

The Bad: 

• Okay, I’m only seven episodes in…so maybe things have gotten better post Netflix release, but I don’t believe Kerry Washington as the fearless and infamous Olivia Pope yet. Sorry.
• The First Lady is weird. She lies about the loss of a baby to make the public elect her husband president. And she says weird things like, “You know what I always say. If you’ve got a problem, get Olivia Pope on it.” Really, you always say that?

The Confusing: 

• Gideon Wallace, the pushy reporter who meets his fate with a pair of scissors, bears an uncanny resemblance to Mr. Fitz from Pretty Little Liars. Amirght or amiright?

Who’s who? I can’t tell.

• Olivia Pope is a pretty successful woman. So, why does she constantly wear the same clothes? She dons the long beaded necklace and silk top combo in almost every episode.

Olivia Pope’s classic uniform (they’re gladiators in suits…)

 

 

 

 

 

Game Plan: Will I keep watching? Of course. I’m hooked, which seems to be the common theme  when I begin a show on Netflix (How I Met Your Mother, Breaking Bad, Mad Men, The Walking Dead, The Office, Pretty Little Liars…you get the idea). Now I just have to find out what happens with the mysterious Quinn Perkins, and I’m really hoping Liv changes up her wardrobe a little. 

Captastic!

So this is my real last capping post. For anyone who helped me by sharing stories about their internships, thank you! The final product can be viewed here.

And to cap (get it) it off, a picture of my beautiful, beautiful Christmas tree and some of my most prized possessions, otherwise known as ornaments.

Okay this isn’t my personal tree, but nonetheless provides the students of Marist College something pretty to look at around Christmas.

My real tree! Not as fancy, but check out those exquisite ornaments.

Not Marist Capping: My First Real Post in a While

So the last few months have been dedicated to my Marist capping project on this blog. Let’s be real…not the most interesting content. But the good news is that my class is essentially over and I am going to get back to blogging about things I like, like food! If you’ve read my All About Me page you would know that I used to be a bad cook. It’s in my genes (sorry Mom–but she would agree).

When I went home for Thanksgiving I was determined to make two recipes. First, Cheesy Zucchini and Red Onion Flat Bread (fancy!) and Open Faced Turkey Stuffing Patty (sans gravy and cranberry sauce…just not my cup of tea).

I made the flat bread for Thanksgiving dinner. The problem with being a reformed cook is that people (specifically my family) don’t expect your food to be good. Here’s the simple steps I followed to make sure everyone had a taste of my delicious bread.

Zucchini bread!!

1.) Talk up the fact that you are making something delicious about a week before the event.

2.) Before dinner, make sure to bring relatives over to admire your dish.

3.) When dinner commences make sure you pressure each person to try what you’ve made. Hopefully the tastiness will do the rest and they will reach for seconds.

Works like a charm!

In addition the recipe I made the day after Thanksgiving with all leftovers, except the bacon was a hit with my mom. I don’t like gravy so instead I used Italian dressing so it wasn’t so dry. Even though Thanksgiving is a whole year away, I just can’t wait to make this again.

Marist Capping: The Best Christmas Present

This semester has been extremely hectic. With capping, numerous PRSSA projects and my regular class load there was always lots to do (not that I minded!) But as the Christmas season approaches I realized that the best present I could give myself is to be done with this capping project.

And I’m almost there, people! This week I will talk to Gerry McNulty about a remaining six stories and then all of the writing will be done. Layout will be next and I don’t expect that to be too tough.

Marist Capping: It’s Almost Turkey Day!

Quite honestly, Thanksgiving isn’t totally one of my favorite holidays. I do love spending time with family, Black Friday, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the fact that Christmas is just around the corner. I do love all of these things about Thanksgiving and I do like the holiday…just not one of my favorites (I’m thinking Christmas, Fourth of July, Easter).

But I am super excited to go home in just under a week because I haven’t been home since August! I am SO ready for some lazy days and Thanksgiving leftovers (click HERE to see the delish recipe I’m going to make after Thanksgiving…post to follow!)

Another thing about Thanksgiving…it means the end of the semester is coming mighty quick. And THAT means that my capping project is almost due. Luckily, I am making very good progress. I have almost all narratives completed and I’m almost done writing. Right. On. Schedule.

Have a great Thanksgiving, everyone! Gobble Gobble!

 

Marist Capping: Deadlines on Deadlines on Deadlines

Ah! They’re coming quick. All these deadlines that have the tendency to pile up at the end of the semester. One of the big ones this year is capping. Many of my classmates are doing blogs, and therefore have a lot of the work already done. However, I’m still working on getting stories and writing narratives.

This past week I made a lot of progress when I sat down with Marist’s communications internship coordinator, Gerry McNulty. I spent about one hour with Gerry talking through the stories and narratives that I already had. He gave me insightful and unique reaction on each of the stories that will be included in the final product.

On another note, my puppy (he’s turning 14 this month, so I can’t call him my puppy anymore) came to visit last weekend. Warning: cutest pictures ever below.

Marist Capping: Next Steps

Alright, quick update. I am up to 13 narratives! Woohoo! That means only five left. Definitely good progress. In addition, I am meeting with Marist’s internship coordinator this week. We are going to talk about each story and he is going to shed some light on each situation, which will also be included in the final project.

Have any stories you would like to share? I’m still looking for a few more people. Email me at abbey.scalia1@marist.edu.

Marist Capping: Rainy Days and #HapCap

It’s been raining in Poughkeepsie….like a lot. There are at least two days every week that are complete washouts, making it very easy to stay in bed and watch Friday Night Lights on Netflix all day.

So here is another rainy day in Poughkeepsie and I decide the Dillon Panthers can wait until tonight and get started on some narratives for my capping project. I’m up to 11! Making progress, certainly.

Until next week everyone… #hapcap! (our capstone’ s own, unique hashtag on Twitter for those who were wondering).

Tami and Eric Taylor from FNL…my kryptonite on rainy days

Marist Capping And the Best Fall Weekend

It’s finally fall! Fall is my favorite time of the year. I love the temperature, the pretty color of everything and being able to wear a warm, fall sweater without being too hot or cold. I love boots, apple cider, pumpkins…you get the gist. The one thing I despise about fall is Halloween, but that’s another story entirely.

So how have a fared with my capping project during all of this fall awesomeness? Actually, very well. This weekend was productive for my capping project as well as productive for fun, fall festivities (see pumpkin photo below). I now have eight completed narratives. My goal is to have 18. While this isn’t yet half way done, I have also talked to people who are willing to contribute. All in all, I am making good progress. Hooray!

At “Weeds Farms” picking apples last weekend.

Fall festiveness!