Kathleen Smith's Blog, page 11

Celtic Crosses

Celtic crosses are crosses with a circle in the center often seen made out of stone in Irish cemeteries both old and new. I imagine to some extent you will see them in cemeteries in England and Scotland as well.

[image error]Celtic Cross in Albany Rural Cemetery, Albany, NY

As a person who isn’t into walking around cemeteries I have to admit I find the ones in Ireland fascinating. That is something I never thought I would say or write for that matter, but I do. Those Celtic crosses are the biggest reason why I enjoy walking through those cemeteries. I find them absolutely mesmerizing. Well almost. There are so many to look at! There are tall ones and short ones alike. The carvings on them are always cool to look at.

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There is one other reason why I like to walk through Irish cemeteries. That’s because I never know when I’m going to see a grave stone with the last name McCann which happens to be my mom’s maiden name. When I see it I can’t help but to wonder if there might possibly be some relation there. Most likely not, but then again you never know. Anyway lets get back to these Celtic crosses, shall we.

[image error]Grave of President Chester A. Arthur, Albany Rural Cemetery, Albany, NY

Today my family and I went to a local cemetery to see the grave stone of one of our former Presidents, President Chester A. Arthur, our 21st President. I had no idea any of our Presidents were buried so close to our house, so we figured why not go check it out. While there, my husband and I noticed a Celtic cross and boy were we happy and surprised to see it. As we drove around looking for President Arthur’s grave sight we noticed more and more Celtic crosses. All we could think to ourselves was “If we had know they were in local cemeteries we would visit more often”.

[image error]Celtic Cross, Albany Rural Cemetery, Albany, NY

There is something about these Crosses. I was looking at the designs of one of them that reminded me of the circle patterns on the neolithic sites that I’ve seen in Ireland. Not to mention all the other Irish Celtic designs. They are truly amazing to look at. At least we think so.

Kathleen Smith is an indie author and blogger. She also has a podcast called Kathleen’s Korner. You can read more about Kathleen and her family in Good-bye Brooklyn Hello Upstate

Having Fun Under the Florida Sun

Florida, the sunshine state, has an abundance of sun, palm trees and lizards! Along with sandy beaches and crocodiles or alligators, I can never remember which one is which, but I did see one of them. Last week I had the chance to visit Miami, Naples and Key West with my husband. The following is what I think about all of them starting with my favorite and ending with my least favorite.

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Key West, the part of Florida I was dreading driving to because of driving over the water from one key to the next, turned out to be my favorite part of Florida. Go figure! I had no idea what to expect from Key West. All I knew was it was the furthest of the keys and that had me nervous. When we got there I was pleasantly surprised by how cute of a town it looked like and all the different stores there were to wonder around. My husband and I also had the best tasting Key Lime Pie there (we sampled a few to find the best — at Old Town Bakery on Eaton Street). We walked through a small botanical garden, Fort Zachery Taylor and enjoyed looking at the water.

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We took a quick, yet slow, drive through the National Key Deer Refuge. This is on Big Pine Key and No Name Key. Did any of that make sense to you? If not that’s ok because it didn’t to me either. With that said it was a cute little drive where we got to see some deer roaming around and I got a little video of it too. The video is at the end of this blog. Watch the deer’s ears when I talk to it.

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We drove through the Florida Everglades. I gotta be honest with you it was a pretty boring drive. we did make a couple of stops along the way so we could stretch our legs. On one of those stops we saw a bunch of those crocodiles or alligators. Like I said I haven’t a clue which is which.

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You remember I mentioned palm trees above. I wasn’t kidding about them. They are all over Florida. At least the parts of Florida I was in. We saw them in Miami, Naples, Sanibel Island, Key West and everywhere else. These palm trees are tall! Most of them anyway. There were some smaller ones and getting to see there long leaves up close was cool. I have to say they are something to see in person, but after a while when you see one after another after another, it kinda feels like okay how about we see some other kinds of trees. No offense to anyone who lives there.

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The beaches of Florida were nice to walk on with my husband. With the hot sun shining down on us it was nice to walk along the water of the beaches and get out feet wet. I’m really not a beach person, but doing that with my husband was nice. We did manage to walk on the beach in Miami, Naples, Sanibel Island and Key West. I would have to say with all the places we went to Miami was my least favorite because of all the people there drinking and the very loud music. On the other hand, when we visited Naples we found it was full of older people. We fit somewhere in the middle.

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With all that said my husband and I agreed Florida is nice to visit for a weekend getaway, but that’s about it for us. And if we ever do go there again it would only be to Key West. The heat and the beaches really aren’t our thing.

Kathleen Smith is an indie author and blogger and she has a podcast called Kathleen’s Korner. If you would like to read about her and her husband and a part of their marriage you can read about it in either Brooklyn Raised Livin’ Upstate or Good-bye Brooklyn Hello Upstate

Being A First Time Grandparent

OH MY GOODNESS! He’s so cute! I mean seriously those dark blue eyes. That brown hair and that face. Everything about him shouts cuteness. I’m completely in love with him!

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If the title of this blog post hasn’t given it away yet I’m talking about my first grandson who also happens to be my first grandchild. When my oldest daughter told her dad and I that she and her husband were expecting their first baby I was super excited about it. Having to wait nine months for him to be born wasn’t easy, being the impatient person that I am. But my grandson was worth the wait. He has already stolen my heart along with his grandpa’s heart and the hearts of his parents and other grandparents. I think you get the point.

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For years I have wondered what it would feel like to be a Nana (grandma) and now I know. The love that I have for this baby is as unconditional as it is for my own kids. Holding my precious grandson in my arms for the first time was such an amazing feeling. Oh how proud I was and still am of my daughter for having him. I can already see the love on her face for her first born like I had for my first born which was her.

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I love being a Nana even though I haven’t been one for that long. I love holding my grandson and giving him soft, tender kisses on his forehead or his cheek. I can’t believe how much he has already changed in only a weeks time! I hope I will be as good of a Nana to him as my mom was to my kids. Oh how she would have loved him! It’s funny now that I’m trying to write this blog about being a first time grandparent I’m finding there aren’t enough adequate words to describe how I feel.

Kathleen Smith is an indie author and blogger and she has her own podcast called Kathleen’s Korner. You can read about Kathleen and her mom in either Brooklyn Raised Livin’ Upstate or Good-bye Brooklyn Hello Upstate . Get to know her and have some laughs maybe cry a little too.

Waiting For Spring to Bloom

Everyone is patiently anticipating the arrival of spring time. That time of the year when you can feel that first warm breeze or see that first flower start to bud.

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Funny thing is even though the calendar says spring is only two weeks away we all know that the weather works on its own time. At least in Upstate New York. Here in Upstate New York we can easily keep the cold weather and get a snow storm or two up until the beginning of April. It’s true, I’ve seen it myself and I’ve felt it. But this year even I am looking forward to the spring weather.

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I’m ready to feel that warm breeze gently touch my face. I’m looking forward to seeing that first flower spring to life again. I’m ready to put away my winter jacket and take out my spring coat. I’m ready to stop wearing my warm boots and put on my sneakers. I’m ready to trade my winter tops for my short sleeves, to see the brown grass turn to green grass, to watch the yellow lilies slowly open up to their beautiful shapes, to watch the roses slowly blossom on their rose bushes. Last but certainly not least, I am ready to watch the leaves slowly grow back on the trees.

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Watching the leaves grow back on trees is quite the sight to see! I had the chance to watch this happen in our old house. There was a tree in front of our house and one spring day I noticed the leaves slowly growing. They started out as these dangly flower like things and as the days went by they slowly started to spread out and come together. Eventually those dangly flower like things became a whole leaf. I was completely in awe at how those leaves were transformed from dangly flower things to a whole leaf. Getting to watch nature take its course was beautiful! And having to wait for spring to bloom is certainly worth the wait.

Kathleen Smith is an indie author and blogger and she has her own podcast Kathleen’s Korner. You can read more about Kathleen and her family in either Brooklyn Raised Livin’ Upstate or Good-bye Brooklyn Hello Upstate 

Talk to Me

Have you ever heard the saying “talk is cheap”? I have. Lots of times growing up, during my teen years and even as an adult. I’ve even used that saying myself a time or two or three, I think you get the point. I like most people would rather see action than hear words. You know actions speak louder then words. Then I got thinking about this and realized talking isn’t cheap if anything NOT TALKING costs a person. No, it doesn’t actually cost people money, but it does cost them time and energy. Most importantly it costs them/me happiness.

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I realized this morning when I only concentrate on me. Things don’t work out. When I refuse to talk to my husband about anything the only person I’m truly hurting is myself. Well actually not even that I’m hurting my husband too. I’m hurting us and our marriage by not talking to him about what is bothering me. I’ve realized that even though my husband thinks differently about things talking with him, if nothing else, at least keeps communication going between us. And being held by him, being close to him and knowing he has me in his arms, that actually makes me feel better. It gives me strength that I need. After all God did give me my husband for a reason.

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Another thing I realized this week is it’s just as important for my kids to be able to talk to their dad and I about anything. They need to know it’s okay to talk to mom and dad. They need to remember we are here for them and we can talk about whatever so we know how to figure things out.

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For me personally coming from an Italian family that is used to NOT talking to each other when they are mad at each other or there was a disagreement about something which causes silence between them, I’m used to the not talking part. However I also know that talking with my husband is an important part of our marriage. As well as talking with my kids is important for our relationship as well.

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My husband and I started watching some videos by Francis Chan for our devotions this week and those videos got me thinking. I believe they touched my heart as well. They have been a good reminder for me to look to God first. To talk with my husband. To be happy with him and our marriage (not that we have a bad marriage). To show grace and love towards each other. To not put any blame on the other person. But to show love and respect.

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Kathleen Smith is an indie author and blogger and she has her own podcast Kathleen’s Korner. You can read about Kathleen, her husband and how they got through three miscarriages together in Miscarriages My Story

RESPECT: Is it Earned or Given?

When I was growing up my mom always told me a person’s respect is earned. She didn’t care who the person was. They could be a family member, a friend or someone you just met. It didn’t matter how nice or mean a person was. It didn’t even matter if a person was polite or not. She would always tell me respect had to be earned. She also taught me to be nice to people. To be polite to them even when they weren’t to me. That was a must, but respect was earned. I could see it on my mom’s face when she was being nice to somebody and I could tell if she had respect for them or not.

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You know the more I think about it the more I remember my mom also told me to respect my elders and authority. She didn’t say they had to earn it, but when it came to certain authority you could tell having respect for them wasn’t easy. She did it but it wasn’t easy. I have to admit when it comes to showing respect to certain people in authority I too find it difficult, but I guess it is what it is.

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The other night I was watching a video from Focus on the Family and in this video Dr. Emerson Eggerichs was talking about giving respect to people. He said respect was given not earned. As soon as I heard that my ears perked up. He said people deserved respect because God made them. I had never heard such a thing. I’ve been told plenty of times to love everyone including the people I may not like, especially the people I may not like because the Bible says to love one another. Doesn’t matter if I like the people or not I am to love them. But to show respect to someone without them earning it, that’s something new to me.

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In all honestly I’m still not sure about giving respect instead of having someone earn it. It’s a new concept for me. Even after talking with my husband about it, I’m still not sure. This is something I have to seriously think about and maybe even pray about. Do I give respect to someone because God made them? Do they need to earn my respect even though in my heart I know God made everyone and all creatures? These are thoughts that I now need to seriously think about. Was my mom wrong? Is this man right? Have I been wrong all these years? Or am I right and am I looking at things the right way? Is this man looking at respect wrong? I think I need to think about this respect thing more and maybe even talk with my husband more about it. Even better maybe I need to see what the Bible says about respecting each other.

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Tell me, what do you think? Do you give people respect because they are people? Do you think people have to earn each others respect? How do you go about figuring out who gets your respect and who doesn’t? Do you think it needs to be earned or given?

The above is thanks to my “mom” book – My Mom Her Stories. Her Words – It was a Christmas present from my oldest daughter.

Kathleen Smith is an indie author and blogger and she has her own podcast Kathleen’s Korner. You can read more about Kathleen and her family in either Brooklyn Raised Livin’ Upstate or Good-bye Brooklyn Hello Upstate 

Family Traits & Characteristics

We all have family traits and characteristics that we get from our parents. I would imagine to some extent we also get them from grandparents, aunts, uncles and the list goes on. We even look like some of our relatives. Usually mostly our parents, but when you think about it since parents get their looks from their parents, well you get the idea. I’m no exception to this. I know I have a bunch of traits and characteristics from my parents and looks. The question is who do I get what from and who do I look like the most.

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This is something I had to think about for awhile. When it comes to looks for the most part I look like my dad’s Italian family. I have the olive skin tone. I have the dark hair and I have the body size (petite). I have my Italian great aunts to thank for my petiteness. I do have some of my mom’s Irish features. Okay, I have one Irish feature, my eyes are green. Oh, I also have that pointy Italian chin and I’m thankful for the tan I’m able to get from my Italian side instead of burning like a lobster from my Irish side. So when it comes to who I look like the most, It would probably be my dad and my Italian family.

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As for who I act like the most when it comes to family traits and characteristics, I’m not sure. I would like to think I have a little of both my parents in me. Preferably all the good of them, but lets be honest I probably have a little of both of their good and bad traits. I do know I tend to talk with my hands a lot like my dad. I’m pretty sure that’s an Italian thing, but I could be wrong. We are both rather impatient about anything and everything. Then apparently there is stubbornness and persistence that I get from my dad. I’d like to think that depending on the situation those could both be good character traits. I do know that when I’m right about something I don’t like to give up until the other person realizes it.

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Then there’s my mom. My mom would do just about anything for anyone. I’d like to think I’m like that, but I can’t say that I am. She and I use to laugh at the same things. I am told that one way my mom and I are very similar is by wanting to buy stuff for people or give them things. Which I can see. She was always buying little things for me and my kids as well as doing things for others and enjoying every minute of it. I can honestly say I love to do that too. Buying things for my kids or my husband or other family members. Giving something to someone just because. Yes, I think that’s a good trait that I got from my mom.

[image error]Here are some keepsakes from India…and I like them all in a nice line!

You know it’s funny I see a lot of these family traits in my kids as well. They love giving presents to their family and friends like my mom did and I do. My kids at time can be impatient like me. And I have noticed that two of my kids like things to be done in a certain order like I do. They line things up, like I line up my keepsakes from travel. Then there are the character traits my kids got from their dad. We won’t talk about those HAHAHA.

The above is thanks to my “mom” book – My Mom Her Stories. Her Words – It was a Christmas present from my oldest daughter.

Kathleen Smith is an indie author and blogger and she has her own podcast Kathleen’s Korner. You can read more about Kathleen and her family in either Brooklyn Raised Livin’ Upstate or Good-bye Brooklyn Hello Upstate

Favorite Memories of My Mom

Five years ago my mom died from cancer. Yes I used the word “died”. I didn’t say she passed away, she died. I think about her every day. It doesn’t matter if it’s for a second, a minute, an hour or longer I think about her and all that she has ever meant to me. I miss her every day too. January first of each year is the day I miss her the most because that’s the day she died, January 1, 2014. That’s the one day of the year where I start my day out by crying on my husbands shoulder while he holds me. That is the day that I miss my mom the most without a doubt.

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So when people ask me what my favorite memory of my mom is I find it hard to answer because I have so many great memories of her. When I was little my mom and I always spent most Saturdays running errands while my dad was at work. We would take our shopping wagon with us and as we went from store to store buying what was needed for the week we would put each bag in the wagon. Before I forget, I would always ride in the wagon until we finished shopping at our first stop. After that I got out and helped push the wagon. I was always allowed a small treat on those Saturday’s. It didn’t matter if it was a small toy or a cookie from the bakery, I was given that treat. Even when I was being a brat my mom would show love and still buy me that treat. There was also lunch that we would eat together. Sometimes it was a slice of pizza. Sometimes we went to Arthur Treacher’s. And sometimes we would go to this place that was called Hinch’s for burgers.

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When I was in my late teens – early twenties I got my license and eventually bought a car. That meant my mom and I could go to places a little further away with me driving. So we would go to the Staten Island Mall sometimes. Or I would take her to places she needed to go to on Saturday’s. There was also the occasional trip to NYC that we would do on Saturday’s. It was always fun walking around Manhattan with my mom and getting hotdogs for lunch from one the many street vendors. We would always eat it on the go and look in a bunch of store windows. Some of the stores we went in. My absolute favorite store to go in with my mom was FAO Shwartz a toy store with lots and lots of teddy bears all different sizes. On our way back home from Manhattan we would always get a pretzel each to take back and eat either on the train or the bus.

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If you haven’t noticed by now, I have yet to tell you my favorite memory of my mom. That’s because since the death of my mom I’ve found all my memories of her are precious to me. From spending time with her when I was little till my teen years with her. Then there are the years of memories I have with her being my kids Nana. Those moments with her and my children along with my husband are special to me. They are unforgettable moments that I think about with a smile on my face. Sometimes with tears in my eyes because I know those moments won’t happen anymore. This past January 1st while my husband held me in his arms, while I cried, he reminded me of how proud my mom would be of the woman I’ve become. Of the mom that I am and the Nana that I will be soon. Of the author and blogger that I’ve become. She would be proud of me and I know she loved me so much.

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So you see picking one favorite memory of my mom is impossible because they are all so precious to me. I wish I could give my mom a hug and tell her how much I love her. Sadly I can’t. If your mom is still alive and with you, would you give her a hug and tell her how much you love her while you still can? I know she would love it.

Kathleen Smith is an author, blogger and she has a podcast called Kathleen’s Korner. If you would like to read more about her mom you in either Brooklyn Raised Livin’ Upstate or Good-bye Brooklyn Hello Upstate

I Know What You’re Thinking

I know what you’re thinking is a sentence so many of us use on a daily basis. I mean think about it, it doesn’t matter who you are if you know a person well enough there is a pretty good chance that you do know what they are thinking.

For example when you’re growing up you have a best friend you talk to about just about everything. You hang out with that person and go places together. Eventually you get to know them pretty well. Well enough to take one look at them and you know what they are thinking. If I remember correctly when it comes to teenaged girls a laugh is usually followed by that look.

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Then you have that look between mom’s, dad’s and their kids. After so many years of those kids growing up and the parents raising them, parents have an idea of what their children are thinking. Funny thing is sometimes the kids know what their parents are thinking too. Like with my son, there have been many times where I would let him know what’s for supper before he asks me. He’ll look at me and be like “how did you know what I was going to say”? My answer is always the same “I’m your mom I know what you’re thinking”.

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Then there is that classic look between my husband and I. That one look that says “I love you.” Or that look that says “hey there good looking!” Yeah, that’s usually when our youngest daughter says “that’s gross, stop looking at each other like that!” Of course we can’t help but to laugh at that point and proceed to kiss each other. There are other looks too. After being married to each other for almost twenty-five years we know what each other are thinking most of the time. One look says it all. One smile. One glare. I think you get the point. It’s nice to know my husband and I know each other so well that most days we only have to look at each other and we’ve practically had an entire conversation. There are the rare moments when I will look at something and my husband thinks he knows what I’m thinking. That’s when I get to say – “HA, wasn’t thinking that at all!”

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There is the occasional I know what that person is thinking too. You know those moments when you’re in the store or somewhere and a customer is getting annoyed with someone or something. I can almost guarantee that someone or everyone knows what that one person is thinking, LOL.

Kathleen Smith is an author, blogger and she has a podcast called Kathleen’s Korner. Among her books you can read about her journey through her three miscarriages and how she leaned on her husband and God through it all in – Miscarriages My Story – Available on amazon and Barnes and Noble

Treasures From India

If you read my post from last week 10 Days in India, then you know what a great time I had there. You know I made some new friends with my husbands coworkers from MTX. You also know about the end of the year awards party we went to and our dream coming true to visit the Taj Mahal. Lets not forget the tiny video of me trying to Bollywood dance at the end of that blog. What I didn’t tell you about was all the treasures I bought while I was in India. I mentioned the stuff a little bit, but nothing in detail so I thought I would tell you all about the things I bought while I was there. My treasures from India.

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So the first thing I bought was a traditional Indian dress to wear to the MTX end of the year party. I tried about three or four dresses before I decided on the pink one. It was also the last dress I tried on which was picked for me by one of my husband’s coworkers. She was extremely helpful to me that day and I will be forever grateful (Thanks, Khuban!). Let me tell you, putting on some of those dresses wasn’t easy. It was a serious workout getting them on and off! As I said I am very pleased with the dress that was picked for me and when my husband saw it on me for the first time the night of the party he was stunned — in a good way. The look on his face that night and hearing him tell me how beautiful I looked in that dress meant a lot to me. All the comments I received the rest of that night were so nice to hear as well. It allowed me to have a little bit of confidence in myself that I don’t always have.

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Did you know Hyderabad India is know for their pearls? I didn’t. Not until I got there anyway and we were taken to a jewelry store that sells pearls. I had planned on only looking. My husband on the other hand did more then look, he bought me a pearl necklace with a matching bracelet. Both look beautiful! While in that store some bangles caught my eye and my husband bought them for me too. The pearls I wore with my new Indian dress at the end of the year party. The bangles I have been wearing here at home.

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There is a store we went to in India that sells different sized carpets along with lots of different elephant sculptures and other animal sculptures. We ended up buying a wall hanging for me and a tiny colorful stone elephant that has a smaller elephant inside it with a lion that is attacking it. The intricacies of that particular elephant are quite something. The longer we stayed in this store the longer I noticed the dishes they had of the Taj Mahal. I didn’t say anything to my husband at the time, but I was impressed with how they looked.

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It wasn’t until we went to the Taj Mahal, Took a tour of it and had the opportunity to see all of it’s beauty that I was really impressed with that place. After the tour we went to a local store and watched some of the men making the plates with the Taj Mahal on it. That’s where my eyes locked onto this one black dish that had a mostly gray with some pink Taj Mahal. That plate my husband bought for me!

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If you read my blog 10 Days in India, hopefully you will remember reading about the Shilparamam market place we went to there. That’s where I bought two shirts and my husband bought a blue scarf that we are using for a table runner. We didn’t buy anything else at the market, but that’s okay since walking around it was an experience all by itself.

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On our last day in India we went to the mall that was across from the ITC Hotel where we were staying. I was hoping to buy some more Indian tops or dresses along with the leggings that go under them. We hit the jackpot with the third store we went into. I tried a pink and gray top on, but didn’t like how it looked. But we did find the leggings I was looking for and bought three pairs in different colors. We also bought some clothes for our daughters.

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Oh, before I forget I did find a simple every day dress I loved in a different store while we were in that same mall, only on a different day. On the last day that we were in the mall there was a market type area where I found another simple dress to wear.

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Chocolate, yes I bought chocolate. The ITC Kohenur hotel has a chocolate store in their lobby and my husband and I bought a dark truffle chocolate bar there one day to share. It was beyond good. In fact it was so good we made sure we bought another one before we left, to take home so I could share it with our daughter.

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Lastly, while we were at the airport waiting for our flight I bought some bangles to share with my daughter. There was a set of two in a package which was perfect for us. You it’s kind of funny you never know how much you’re buy when you’re away until it’s time to pack everything. Thankfully we did manage, but I was concerned about my Indian dress that I wore to that big company party. It made it into one of our suitcases with out getting wrinkled.

Kathleen Smith is an author, blogger and she has her own podcast called Kathleens Korner. You can read about her growing up years and more in Good-bye Brooklyn Hello Upstate OR Brooklyn Raised Livin’ Upstate