Friends & Family Interview #8

Paula is my oldest niece. She lives in CT with her hubby and 2 wonderful little girls. I don't see her nearly enough! We do stay in touch though through texting and emails. Paula is a no nonsense, tell it like it is kind of girl. And I love her for that! I really have a lot of respect for her. She is smart and has a real good head on her shoulders!

Here she is (on the left) with my daughter.

1. How long have you lived in your area?  November will be (10) years Holy crap! No way! It has not been that long! No wonder why I have missed you so much!

2. What are the best things about living there and what are the worst?  Connecticut has great beaches all within an hours distance from where you live.  It's less than (2) hours from NYC by train and less than (3) hours from Boston, I love Boston! both of which are obviously great cities with vast cultures and much to do.  Connecticut can be a wonderful state for opportunity career wise, but with that said, it can be your worst enemy if you aren't the best at what you do.  It is very expensive to live here Word! and most people are not friendly, are materialistic and typically not sincere.  The “small town” feel I am used to is pretty much non-existent.  It is very difficult to find sincere, straight-forward people here. Well, you can always come back to NY sweetie! I welcome you with open arms!

3. What is your favorite food to eat? And what is your favorite food to cook?  Sushi is hands-down my favorite food to eat.  Yay! Love Sushi! I love cooking lasagna, Mac n' cheese, stews, and anything I can make in my Crockpot.  Even though I hat to cook, I do love making all the pasta dishes! I also love making and decorating cupcakes. Well with 2 little girls you can get lots of practice doing that!

4. What is your favorite smell or scent?  Fresh brewed coffee, that morning smell after it's rained all night, pine needles, tomato plant leaves/stems, Eww, are you kidding me, they stink! my kids and husbands natural body scents, fresh grapefruit

5. If you were given a week and all the money you need - how would you spend it?  I would pay off all current bills, I would purchase new vehicles for my husband and I, I would set up college funds for both my girls, I would purchase a new home, I would have my mother's house torn down and let her create her dream home on her current land, Awwwww. I would plan a trip to Italy for a month, and I would hire a financial planner and make some serious investments that would allow my funds to grow and plan for my retirement. Wow girl, sounds like you got a plan!

6. What is the last music you listened to (and be honest!)? I went to a bar last night in Norwalk, CT and listened to a singer from the band called “Almost Easy.”  He was literally the best voice I have EVER heard in person that was not a professional musician.  He was absolutely amazing.  He sang cover songs - everything from Dave Matthews Band to Britney Spears and it was fantastic. Oh wow that sounds great.

7. If you could give one million dollars to one charity, what would it be? And why?  It would definitely be the American Cancer Society.  I would love to someday have a cure, or even better, a way to prevent cancer as sadly, I do feel more and more people in the years to come are going to die from something cancer related. Yep, same same!

8. What is the one thing around the house that you hate doing?  Folding laundry!!! Me too!!!!

9. What is your favorite thing to do for fun?  Having drinks with my girlfriends, hanging out with my husband, having playtime with my girls and just sitting on the porch in the morning before everyone is awake while have a cup of coffee, I love doing that too! I love getting up before everyone else is up and just sitting in the quiet of the house. listening to the birds sing.

10. Surprise me! 
Some Things to Remember in Life:

Remember that people in your life have a purpose - if they aren't holding up their end of the bargain, cut them loose.  Life is too precious to give them another second of your time.

Never regret anything in life.  If you regret it, you didn't learn from it.

Learn to love yourself and most importantly learn to love your own company.  If you can't spend time with yourself, how can you expect anyone else to?

Take a second out of your busy life to just look around.  I mean really look around and take in your surroundings; you might be surprised at what you see.

Words to live by.

Something you may not know about me: 

I am a complete worry wart and overstress about all the little details in life to the point that it sometimes takes me an hour to fall asleep at night. 

I am my worst enemy and will never be 100% happy with whom I am, but that's where I get my motivation in life to keep striving for nothing but the best. 

I can sometimes be very judgmental and have a tendency to “scan” people within (5) minutes of meeting them, at which time I have already decided whether I like them or don't like them.

I am very driven and know exactly what I want in life, unfortunately, time seems to always get in my way.  Time and I have a very love/hate relationship.

I would love someday to take a week vacation....alone.

You hit the nail right on the head! That is so you!

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 Other interviews so far -

Ashley, my daughter from "Fictionista"
Jen, my friend from "At Random"    
Aris, an author friend from - "Aris Whittier"
Casey, my niece - HERE 
Juju, a book blogging friend -  "Tales of Whimsy"
Vonnie, Book blogging and Shelfari friend - "Vonnie's Reading Corner" 

Gina, Book blog friend from - "Hott Books"