Peggy

is from North-Central Minnesota and came to New York with her husband, who is here for work. He is a videographer and works for a court reporter. Peggy's husband has been in NY before but this is Peggy's first trip to the Big Apple. Yesterday, Peggy was in downtown visiting landmarks like the Statue of Liberty and ground zero. While in NY, Peggy is also getting a taste of this long overdue warm and snow-free weather. Peggy lives by the lake and can not wait for the warmer and longer days of spring when she can venture in the outdoors.

In NY, I can tell spring is around the corner when women dressed in formal/office attire sport their flip flops - I spotted one yesterday - and when Irish pubs gear up for St. Patrick's Day. For Peggy, St. Patrick's Day is an occasion for celebration too, not so much in commemoration of Ireland's patron saint but because the holiday coincides with her mother in law's birthday. Peggy's mother in law will be turning 77 next week.

Peggy got married 39 years ago when she was 17 and her husband was 18. Peggy and her husband have been happily married for almost four decades but they, nevertheless, dissuaded their three children from marrying as early as they did. The kids followed their parents' advice and they are now happily married as well.

In their 39 years together, Peggy and her husband have tackled numerous projects. Their latest one: opening an antiques store. They are learning the business as they go. Peggy's biggest fear about the business is seeing an item which has been sold at their store for $10 being appraised for thousands of dollars on the Antiques Roadshow or Pawn Stars! I think we all experience some degree of that fear when we get ready to toss an old piece of furniture or artifact that has been collecting dust in the garage. How to tell whether something must go or stay? The ability to make the right call may be the difference between a hoarder and a collector of antiques.

Jay

has lived in NY his whole life. His favorite part of the city is the Bronx. It was obvious by the hat he was wearing that Jay loves the Yankees. He's also a fan of the NY Jets and the ESPN network. Sports seems to be one of Jay's favorite pastimes. Even though he wasn't following much of the Olympics during the past two weeks, he did tune in to the hockey match between the US and Canada. With all the Olympic coverage, I almost forgot that it is already time for the Oscars.

Jay is not planning to watch the Oscars ceremony but he will be cheering for Precious, a critically acclaimed movie he's seen and which has been nominated for 6 Oscars. I am looking forward to watching Precious and the other nominated films in the near future when they become available on demand. I know that watching Avatar from the comfort of my living room couch will take away from its 3-D magic but I would still like to see whether it lives up to all the buzz and fuss ... as of now, I am just waiting for someone to repair our TV which broke for the second time in its young 5-year lifetime. Not a good thing, especially when being home-bound with three young kids as a result of the latest blizzard.

New York and the tri-state area have been hit with record breaking amounts of snow fall in the month of February. Fortunately, Jay wasn't affected by the snowstorms and didn't miss any time from work. Jay works the graveyard, third, "twilight" shift or however the 2 am to 9 am shift is called. He has been doing it for three years and thinks it is the best shift. The job pays well and after a few hours of sleep, he can spend the rest of the day doing whatever he wants, including visiting with friends. Not bad for a 22 year old young fellow.