Puppies, Pearls & Poolside with the Girls

Snow way!

2011-10-28T19:07:00.010-04:00

(My daughter is on the right, her friend is on the left )

I'm such a bad blogger. I don't know where the time goes! It's been so long since I've checked in. So here is a quick catch up...

Kids got out of school, summer started and then....

1-Daughter went to a Taylor S. concert with a friend. Sat in 2nd row/center stage, had the time of her life. Shook hands with TS. Still hasn't washed her hand. This was after her other friend picked a bunch of them up in a limo to leave school on the last day. Why take the bus if you don't have to? This kid has some fabulous friends!

2-Other daughter went on 1,123 sleepovers & to 211 pool parties. The kid was never home. She had a great summer.

3-Went on a summer getaway just a few hours away to Mystic, CT and had a ball! We had more fun than some of the tropical vacations that we've gone on, go figure.

4-Took a quick trip to NYC to the gift show. Always a good time but I must say the city smelled a little stinky this time. Not sure why but it was disturbing.

5-I worked...A lot.

6-My parents spent the summer here until hurricane Irene chased them back to Florida.

7-Instead of worrying, we spent the night before the big hurricane doing cannon balls into the pool and acting like a big bunch of kids. We were convinced that we would get blown away the next day so we tried to have one last day of fun. The weather was beautiful then the storm hit and we lost power for 4-5 days. It's a blur now. We were just fine but our neighbor's basement wall collapsed. People's houses floated away. In a word, horrifying.

8-A week later everything flooded again. Cruel weather.

9-Kids started Cheer practice in August which is when our summer fun came to a screeching halt.

10-Procrastinated on closing the pool until yesterday. The pool man finished just 10 minutes before the snow started flying here in NY. Oh joy! There goes Fall right out the window. Old man winter is BACK. We're supposed to get hit hard again tomorrow.

11-My girls are on their way to the next round of cheer competition again. They cleaned house again this year. If they make it through the next round they will go to Disney. Holy moly.

I'll do better at keeping up with blogging, I promise!

Turkeys, Duck Tape & The News

2011-05-11T15:53:00.000-04:00

Am I the only person who is tired of the endless news reports relating to recent earth shattering developments in the world? I am burned out. I'm tired of the minute by minute updates. The speculation, the sound of the impending doom and gloom. I'm tired of the politics, the infighting, and people's opinions. I'm also quite tired of newspapers cropping Hillary out of photos because women aren't supposed to be in a position of authority in other parts of the world. I may not always agree with her politics but...damn you Photoshop.

So rather than tell you my opinion about current events, I am going to talk about something a little less serious. Me. I had a great Mother's day. Did you? Mother's day happens to be my new favorite holiday. My family really stepped it up this year. Sure Christmas was great, but Mother's day kicked it's butt. I didn't get Christmas day off like I did on Mother's day. Think about it. I was wrapping, cooking, serving and cleaning up on Christmas, but not on Mother's day my friend. No one would dare ask me to lift a finger around here on the sacred day of Mothers. Even the dogs were forced to observe this year.

The puppies are p*ssed. Can you see it in their faces?

My gift started off with my youngest daughter. She surprised me by sleeping on the couch to strategically place herself between me and my beloved dogs. They were unable to make their daily trek into my to bedroom at 5 AM to wake me up. She stopped them at the gate. No backstage passes? Access denied. So that was a huge gift. I got to sleep in. I would have been happy if Mother's day ended right there.

I was also showered with gifts and cards through out the day. I received this fabulous duck tape flower pen made by the same multi talented dog blocking daughter. I'm not sure if you are aware but there is a duck tape movement out there. You can't believe what the kids are making out of this stuff. I also received a moon shaped serving dish that my eldest bought for me with her own money that she earned babysitting. What a milestone. She's growing up so fast.

In addition, I received a beautiful Vera B. Java laptop bag (that I may have dropped a few hints about). Then I was treated to a lobster for dinner. Seriously. I was queen for the day, and it gets better.

Let's turn back the clock to Saturday morning.

I woke up at 5 AM compliments of the dogs. Later, I fell back to sleep on the couch.

Not weird.

I woke up a little while later to see a real live turkey staring at me through the window.

Weird.

Then my brother posts on face book that he's in the woods to hunting down a turkey.

Weird.

Later, I stopped by a friend's house. Her mom passed away a few months ago and she was having an estate sale. She immediately shows me her mother's turkey china that she is trying to sell.

Weird.

What's even weirder, is that I've been lusting after this particular china for years. It's not being made anymore so you have to either buy it on a china replacement website or hunt it down on evilbay or something. Either way, I was not about to invest heavily into turkey china. It's pricey and you can really only use it 1 day out of the year. I was not willing to part with my hard earned $$ to buy it. But I still wanted it. Oh I wanted that turkey china.

Back to the estate sale. My friend's mother had a service for 12 and none of her kids wanted the turkey china (go figure), so it was for sale. I stammered and stuttered and kept turning the plates over showing her the markings and saying things like "are you sure you want to sell this?" "do you know who made this?" "do you know what this is worth?" All the things you wouldn't say if you were on American Pickers or the Pawn Stars. Seriously. I blew it. I've learned nothing from those shows.

What my friend wanted for the entire set (including a huge platter) was less than what that one platter would cost you on a china replacement website. My husband took matters into his own hands and made the decision to buy the set for me, and that was that. At last, I was the proud owner of turkey china. I realize not everyone understands my obsession with turkey china. I can't explain it. There is a picture in my head of the perfect Thanksgiving table. I am there, with my family and we are eating off turkey china and life is good.

So a few years ago my family bought me this antique Noritake tea set. Another friend of mine was having an estate sale after her aunt passed. (what's with me and estate sales???) I fell in love with the set. Is it creepy you ask, having used items given to you as a Mother's day gift? Not at all. I actually feel honored to have heirlooms that were passed down through my friend's families. I'm sure there was better way to say that. It makes them more special in my opinion.

Mother's day totally recharged my batteries. Not just because I scored turkey china or a Vera bag, or that sweet pen and serving bowl, but because my family spent the day showing me they love me and appreciate all the things I do for them. They put in a lot of effort to making my day perfect. They had a plan and I love it when a plan comes together.

My plan is to continue to savor this feeling and use it to block out all of the doom and gloom that the world is throwing at me for as long as I can.

So until next time...

Calling Chuck Norris...

2011-04-03T10:09:00.025-04:00

Everyone around here keeps blaming mother nature for the dreadfully cold weather and spring snow storms that we are having here in the great northeast. Really? I think Old Man Winter might be the culprit.

The girls finished up their competition season yesterday with a 2nd place trophy. I think the judges confused them with another squad (who accidentally took the 1st place trophy home) but at the risk of sounding like a big cry baby(too late)... 2nd place is still awesome. My girls were just a little more awesome than 2nd place. They did an outstanding job throughout the season and more often than not, took 1st place when they competed. I'm very proud and I'm also glad it's over for now. Time for a break.

Friday was the 5th grade carnival at our elementary school. The kids do such a great job on this every year. My favorite part is the raffle. The prizes that they bring in are just awesome! Last year it was a flat screen tv and about 100 other items like a brand new ds thingy, tickets to sporting events, gift certificates etc. This year the biggies were a mountain bike, a 4th generation ipod touch, loads of other fun stuff that I can't seem to remember.

We bought each of the girls $10 worth of tickets and let them enter for anything that their heart desired. Well, my oldest was all about the spa gift baskets, ipod touch, the bike...you know...all the pricey stuff. My little one decided that she couldn't live without a Chuck Norris poster. That's right. Apparently it's what her heart desired. She liked all the funny sayings on it. I'm sure you've heard them. You know, Chuck Norris ordered a Big Mac at Burger King, and got one. Don't pretend you don't get that joke. I'm pretty sure I've seen you at the drivethru.

When the time came for the drawing she had this worried look on her face like MAYBE she wasn't going to be taking Chuck home with us. Sure enough, when it came time announce the winner, my baby girl was jumping for joy. That's right. She won Chuck and it only cost me $10 for a .50 cent poster. Talk about a bargain. Sometimes you just can't put a price on happiness right?

won't this look adorable in her room?

That $50 gift card to Toy's R Us or the $250 ipod touch certainly would not have put a smile on her face like Chuck did. Gosh I'm lucky she's so easy to please. Who knew. Note to self...stop buying expensive Christmas gifts and call Chuck about slapping Old Man Winter around. We need some sun and we need it now and apparently Chuck Norris might just be the only guy who can make that happen.

I'm ready to be poolside

2011-02-18T10:31:00.007-05:00

This picture is from last Easter. It was warm enough to be poolside. I'm ready. Is anyone else ready or is it just me? I've had it. The snow was cute at first, now it's just irritating.

There's a park at the end of our street. I saw some workers down there the other day. Being the nosey person that I am, I asked what they were up to. They told me the park is getting new wooden swing sets and it sounds like they are also considering replacing a bunch of other outdated equipment. I wonder who's paying for that? I was actually excited to hear about all of this until I realized my kids are getting too old to care about the playground. Makes me a little sad.

In other news, the girls came in 1st place at a local cheer competition the other day. They were so excited. They beat 3 other squads in their division. I was so proud! I love that they found something we can all do together and it's good exercise so that's a plus. I do get a kick out of being called "Coach" if I'm being completely honest. Hopefully this little activity will keep us all busy for the next few months until the sun decides to come back around and thaw us out of our misery here in NY!

Staying Busy

2011-02-10T13:35:00.004-05:00

I've been stuck indoors for what feels like years here in the great northeast. It just won't stop snowing and when it's not snowing we're getting hit with an ice storm.

I decided to work on some new designs for my fine silver line of jewelry. Here are a few. I just donated this first one to a charity auction to benefit our local library. The auction is this weekend and I was thinking Valentines day is Monday so this might work for them.

My oldest daughter asked for a Claddagh ring for Christmas. I made this next necklace with her in mind. Did you know that Claddaghs are often given from a mother to her daughter? I didn't know that. I gave her the ring for Christmas with an emerald stone (which is her birthstone). She loves it. She might get this necklace soon.... (she deserves it...STRAIGHT A's and loads of great comments on her report card for this quarter)

She just got an ipod touch so the necklace may seem a little boring compared to that. I may hold off for a bit.

I made this last one for my friend who lost her bff (best furry friend) around the holidays. It happened so fast. Her dog was only 5 years old and had kidney failure. She was devastated. I felt so bad and wanted to make her something. I really like the way it turned out. Before I could get it to her she adopted a new puppy. Last I heard he was still working on mastering the art of going outside to do his business...oh the joys of puppyhood.

My kids and my job are keeping me very busy. My dogs are mad that all their balls are burried under snow banks that are so high that I won't be able to find them until June. We haven't played fetch in weeks. I am so bad. I haven't even taken the time to put away all the Christmas decorations yet. . The kids have had something like 3-4 snow days already. What have you been up to? I hope you are staying warm!

At last...

2010-08-12T21:16:00.003-04:00

Before...

After...

Finally my new double wall oven is here and I'm loving it! Well, I love the way it looks, I have haven't had much time to use it. Now I don't need that micro on the counter anymore. More space, sleek design. Love it!

4 weeks left until the kids go back to school. They both started Pop Warner Cheerleading 2 weeks ago. The squad was short on coaches so I was asked to be an assistant coach. I think my duties are mostly to supervise the kids to make sure no one goes MIA. Oh, and I get free water bottles from the snack bar. No one has requested that I do cartwheels or splits yet so....Rah, I'm good. This volunteer stuff is cutting in to my poolside time but I guess I have to be there anyway 4 nights a week so why not help out.

Back to the oven. I did notice that it plays a little song every time you open it. That might just make me crazy. I don't need everyone here on high alert when I'm sneaking around the kitchen making myself a midnight snack. I already see that the dogs have figured this out and come running when the music starts...what the heck? Paging Pavolv. I'm going to have to find out how to shut that feature down.

I.am.clinging.to.summer....

How about you?

Nice Day for a White Wedding

2010-08-01T09:49:00.009-04:00

If you live anywhere near NY you know what went on here yesterday. Big wedding in Rhinebeck. We don't live too far from there so the news was all a buzz with minute by minute updates on everything from the menu to the celebrity sightings.

of course I was invited, so I thought I would share a few photos from the beautiful day.

*disclaimer, I was not invited and these are not my photos.

A bride couldn't ask for better weather on her wedding day. There was no humidity, not a cloud in the sky and there was a light breeze. PERFECT! I cried when I saw her walking down the aisle.
*not really because I wasn't there, but she did look beautiful and Bill looks like he dropped a few pounds, wonder what his secret is?

This is a bird's eye view of the estate where the wedding took place. I took this as we flew over on our way to the wedding.
*I did no such thing

Some of the guests were bussed in.
*guess they didn't rate since they didn't get flown in like I did

We had our own fabulous wedding going on right here on our street yesterday. Tents, chairs and cars galore. Sadly the tour buses that brought the majority of the guests to this wedding must not have been told that this is a dead end street. There is no place to turn around. The wedding planner must have dropped the ball on that small detail. All the buses had to back out...over a mile! Now that took some time. The road was blocked for a good long time. Eventually it all worked out. We made it back here from "the wedding in Rhinebeck" (aka: dinner with friends at our favorite restaurant down the street, if you really want to get technical) just in time to hear the band playing down the road last night. It certainly was a great day for a weddings in upstate NY!

What I can't live without in the kitchen...

2010-07-22T19:59:00.006-04:00

My husband and I are foodies and, yes it shows, but that's another story. Here are a few of my favorite things that I can't live without in the kitchen. First up is my le creuset dutch oven. We use this to make everything from slow cooked chicken to pot roast. If it gets lost, I'll be lost. We have several pieces of this brand and they are super heavy duty and they work wonderfully. I actually prefer that they be all different colors. I'm not sure why but I dont' like them being all matchy matchy.

My potato masher. Kind of boring, I know, but there's nothing like home made mashed potatoes. No instant stuff served here. It also comes in handy for making egg salad. I use this so often that sometimes it doesn't even make it through the dishwasher before I'm looking for it again. I'm putting this on the list just because I use it so frequently.

My sun tea maker/dispenser. I make a fresh batch of sun tea every other day. I've been mixing my tea with lemonade. There's a name for this drink...do you know what it is? Think golf. By the way I gave up diet coke. Cold turkey. I'm all about the tea now. I hope it's better for me.

My grind and brew. Need I say more. This baby does it all every day without fail.

And here is the one thing I HAVE been doing without that is about to be replaced...
My Jenn Air double wall oven. We had a power surge recently that took out this bad boy along with a few other precious appliances. After a month or two of repair men trying to fix it, we have finally gotten word that a new oven is the only remedy. Wish they would have told me that the first three times they came out to fix it. They tried their best. The end result is that we're getting a brandy new wall oven so I guess I shouldn't be complaining. I'm just tired of waiting for it to be fixed. I'm glad we have the gas grill. Things could be so much worse.

So those are a few of my favorites kichen things that I can't live without. What's in your kitchen that you can't live without?

Summer Fun

2010-07-21T10:17:00.004-04:00

This summer seems to be flying by! I can't believe we are heading for the end of July.

My parents are here from FL in their RV and my girls have been taking turns camping with them. They call it camping. With indoor plumbing, cable TV and Internet I guess it's not really camping but close enough. They're having a ball.

We had a little graduation party for my oldest earlier this month. She graduated from elementary school. Family & friends came over for a BBQ pool party. Good times!

My sister in law kicking back by the pool...

It's been hot hot hot here in the great Northeast so the pool heater is off and the air conditioner is on. The pool is getting lots of use.

Here's a rare appearance by the husband! Catching up with with his dad and his sister and some friends....

My oldest has been babysitting (mommy's helper) for a neighbor and she is loving it. They are paying her way too much money but It's not my call (I'm told!). She's putting most of it in the bank and is enjoying going on little shopping trips with her 'funny money'. She loves to buy books so I don't really have a problem with her spending it.

So far this summer has been a blast. I just hope it slows down a bit because I'm not ready for it to be over. Right now I'm taking tours of local dog kennels in the event that we want to go on quick get away. I'm not sure if I want to board the pooches or just have someone stay here with them. Decisions decisions. The kennel that I like is an hour from here. I think if we were going away for a few weeks it would be worth it to take my pooches there. The owner LOVES, breeds and shows goldens so I just get the feeling that if you board a golden with her they will get a little extra love! Truth is I've never boarded them in the 3 years that I've had them. Typically someone stays here with them but I thought this might be easier. Who knows.

So tell me what you are up to this summer? What do you do with your pooch when you leave town? I think my dogs might like a little get away so I'm leaning towards boarding them...

GIVEAWAY

2010-07-08T15:33:00.003-04:00

My friend Gwen at Handbag Obsessed is giving away a $70 gift card that's good at any of the 200+ CSN stores. Hurry over and enter!

Upcoming CSN Review

2010-06-28T11:23:00.006-04:00

CSN Stores has asked me to do a review of one of their products. I can't wait! Coincidentally I've been checking out their selection of dining room tables and chairs. I can't believe how many they offer.

This picture is very close to what I'm looking for. I want a leather seat with a fabric back, but the fabric shown doesn't match my decor. I absolutely love the rustic style of the table. It expands which is great because while we are a family of only 4, we do a lot of entertaining. It's nice to be able to adjust the size of the table accordingly. The set I have now is just not cutting it. The chairs aren't that comfortable. If I can't find the fabric that I want on the back of the chair I might look into reupholstering the chairs shown in the photo. That should cost too much right? ;)

Anyway, I'll be posting the review of whatever product I pick soon.

Hair Today, Middle School Tomorrow

2010-06-25T17:56:00.012-04:00

For as long as I remember I've been fighting with my daughter to get her hair cut. It was getting to be an everyday *discussion*. She insisted that she wanted to wait until after 5th grade graduation. I was counting down the days.

A few days before the her graduation she shocked me by asking if I would take her to get it chopped off. I called her best friend's mom who is a hair stylist. She told me to bring her right over. When I got there the mom measured out her Madison's hair and told her that it was finally long enough. Huh? Finally long enough for what? Turns out the entire time Madison had been growing out her hair out so she could donate it to locks of love. She never told me.

I am so proud of her.

Madison's hair before

Madison's hair after!

5th Grade Graduation. I LOVE HER NEW STYLE and I'm so proud of her.

We've had a busy week. We went on her 5th grade field trip to 6 flags. What a blast that was. It's not often that the two of us get to go off on our own. I like to have one on one time with each of my kids, but it doesn't always happen. Perfect day.

Everyday this week there has been a fun activity to wind down the school year, ending with her graduation on Thursday. After school was officially over and graduation was done, we met some other parents and kids from her class at a local park and spent the day swimming and playing kick ball. What a fun fun week this has been. I'm so thankful my kids go to a great school and the parents are so much fun to be around.

Now I'm the mom of a middle schooler. I'll need some time for that one to sink in...

SITC 1...too soapy?

2010-06-14T11:23:00.004-04:00

So I mentioned that I'm a little behind on watching movies. Sex in the city 2 is out and I can't see it until I watch the first one. Netflix to the rescue.

I watched it this weekend. Hmm....did anyone notice that this seems to have been filmed like a soap opera? Seriously, I felt like I was watching General Hospital. I was really disappointed. I'm not sure why I found it so distracting. It seemed to bounce back and forth between filming styles. Did anyone else notice this or is it just me? For those of you who have already seen "2" is it soapy style too? I hope not!

BTW we did take the kids to Shrek 3 at the theater. It wasn't playing at my favorite small venue so we took them to the mall. They loved it. $53 for tickets, $12 for candy, thank goodness for Netflix.

Party of 7

2010-06-01T09:17:00.010-04:00

I'm not a big fan of sleepovers. They shouldn't be called sleepovers because the kids really don't sleep. My daughter turned 11 last week. She wanted to have a sleepover with 5 girls. That makes 7 when you add my two in. 7 seems like a lot, but I eventually I came to the conclusion that this wouldn't be the end of the world. She picked 5 girls who are all pretty easy going, all know each other and all seem to get along. Perfect.

The kids had Friday off from school so I decided Thursday would be a good night to do this. That way the kids would have a few days to recover. I didn't realize that the kids would be watching their "maturity" video Thursday in school at the end of the day. The principal plans it this way so that the kids hopefully forget all about it by the time they come back after Memorial day. Lucky for me I got to field all the sex ed questions as soon as they all piled off the bus. Oh the parents had a big laugh over that one. Poor planning on my part. I watched the video a few weeks ago so I was not surprised by the questions, comments and new vocabulary flying around. It was interesting.

Party of 7

they went swimming

towels for everyone

we ate pizza, went out by the fire and made Smores...

...then came the girl talk

personalized pillows for every girl (to fight with of course). Pillow fights are required at sleep overs.

Most of the girls stayed the next day and went swimming. The sleep over only lasted 26 hours and 46 minutes but who's counting? (I'm kidding, it was fun!)

We had a BBQ/pool party on Sunday with my brothers & family. Great weather and a really action packed fun filled weekend. What did you do?

What would Nancy Drew do?

2010-05-25T08:16:00.007-04:00

Last night before I went to bed my oldest asked me to wash an outfit for her to wear to school today. Today is her 11th birthday. It was late and I was on my way to bed. No shot at doing wash. She played the "it's going to be my birthday!" card. No sale. She was mad, I was mad. We were both tired and mad. She has been told on more than one occasion that she needs to get her laundry to me before 10 pm. Seriously. I don't stay up all night washing clothes. I tried offering up a few other outfits. No sale. She's 11. Need I say more? I stuck to my guns.

Anywhoo...I got up early and made her this shirt. I've been working on the design for a few weeks. I'm neurotic. I've been moving the text around, changing the font styles. I wanted the "Nancy Drew" to look like Nancy's signature. Had to find the right color shirt, the right color thread. It was down to the wire this morning. Nothing like a self imposed deadline to end the endless indecision. I pulled out a pair of shorts that we bought for her and wrapped them up with the shirt. I gave them to her when she woke up. She was squealing with excitement. She wore the outfit to school and was grinning from ear to ear.

She LOVES Nancy Drew. She can polish off a ND book in one night. She's almost done with the classic collection and enjoys reading the books a second and third time. A friend of mine was kind enough to give her 40-50 of her ND books that she had when she was a little girl. What a treasure. So all is well with the birthday girl.

Shirt: $3
ND design: $0
Making up with the birthday girl: priceless

So Little Time

2010-05-20T16:08:00.005-04:00

I can't watch the new Sex in the City Movie because I haven't seen the first one yet. I never started watching the show on TV until it was almost over. My friend Shelley had every episode on tape. She loaned them to me and I watched every season inside of a month. It doesn't surprise me that I haven't seen the first movie based on my past performance. I'll have to check with Netflix.

Now speaking of movies. I saw Dan in Real Life recently. I love Steve C. I mean I REALLY love him. It's weird because he's not my type. But I love him. Good flick. It's 2 years old. Again, I'm a little tardy.

So I'm a little behind the times. I think it's because I spend a lot of time working, then I spend a lot of time on my family and the time I have left over is...pretty hard to find. And there is no TV by the pool.

Now there are some shows that I refuse to miss. The Office & New Old Christine. I can always find time for those two and if I don't I have the dvr that records them. Love that. You can watch a 30 minute show in 15 minutes if you skip over the commercials.

I took the girls to see that JoBro movie last year in 3 D and nearly threw up. Not a fan of the 3D technology. It was painful in so many ways. I bet I'll see the new Shrek movie before Sex in the City (1) . Just a hunch that I will find time to take the kids before I log on to Netflix. We have a cool movie theater around here that is super small, sells home made desserts, fabulous coffee and popcorn with real butter. I'll take that over the big theater in the mall any day. Monster brownies, java & Shrek. I can barely wait.

So what are you looking forward to seeing?

One flew over the...bed

2010-04-28T16:16:00.013-04:00

Last night I was lying in bed watching TV. I was just drifting off in that dream like state where you are sort of awake but you are almost asleep. I was doing that when I thought I saw something fly over my bed. First I checked to make sure it wasn't that handsome sparkly vampire guy from the movies. Sadly friends, it was not.

Maybe I imagined it? Just to be safe, I woke up my husband and told him I was pretty sure an enourmous killer moth or a small bird or bat was in the room. He was in the midst of dismissing my ridiculous claim when it flew overhead again. Then it flew over again. It was circling around my head. It was a BAT!

I ducked under the covers and my husband took off to find something to catch it with. Yes, catch it. Not kill it. Are you aware that there's some weird bat killing something or other going around and bats are in short supply? It's true (I think). I love bats, sort of. They eat bugs and I don't like bugs. In 2 years living out in the country I have seen maybe 3 bats. That's not normal. I noticed one the other night swooping around the front yard and I was excited. Imagine that. I was excited. Seriously someone told me there is something killing the bats around here and they control the mosquito population and that's why there are so many of those nasty things around.

OK back to my drama. Now Batty (that's what I call him now) is swooping around my room. I'm pretty sure he wanted to attack me. Bats can carry Rabies. Rabies means needles. "Must catch bat" I whispered from under the covers.

I can't say for sure what went down in the minutes that followed. As I mentioned I was hiding under the covers fearing for my life. I heard something whipping around (a towel perhaps?) then I heard a thud. That's when I figured the bat was a goner. My husband would have made a bigger thud if the bat took him down.

At last it was safe to come out from under the covers. Good thing. I was running out of air. My husband scooped up Batty and took him outside to his final resting destination. I was a little sad. Batty was not scary at all, other than the swooping around my bedroom in the middle of the night threatening to bite me and give me rabies. If not for all of that bad behavior, I would have been fine with him hanging out watching TV with me. Manners matter.

So it took me a while to fall asleep after that. Can you imagine? Good times. Did you ever have a run in with a bat? Are you a catch and release type or a kill 'em dead type?

Random

2010-04-17T06:47:00.005-04:00

It's been a warm spring here in NY. I don't remember it being this warm this early in the year in a long time.

We have about a million sticks laying around out property but these two have to chew on the same one. Puzzling.

The other day my daughter came home from school and told me that she was asked to sing a solo at the Spring concert. She's so excited. I always get nervous about this stuff. My stomach lurched when she told. How would I have felt at her age if someone asked me get up and sing in front of the school, by myself? I would have called in sick. When she got the part of Lady MacBeth, I was nervous about that too, but she always does great and she loves being up on stage. No shortage of confidence.

Her birthday is coming, she's graduating from elementary school this June and she's getting ready for Middle school. She's growing up so fast.

Mother's day is coming so things are busy at work for me. After that we have spring concerts, dance recitals, field trips and graduation. It's only going to get busier.

We made a trip to the double decker gourmet cupcake bus the other day. That trip NEVER gets old. Who's the smarty that thought of driving around in a double decker bus selling gourmet cupcakes? The line was all the way out the door and down the side of the bus. Genius.

I'm looking forward to the pool being open soon. Summer is right around the corner. I can almost feel it!

What are you looking forward to?

Easter 2010

2010-04-07T09:06:00.003-04:00

We had unseasonably warm weather on Easter. I broke out the flip flops and laid by the pool. That has NEVER happened before. We usually do a lot of entertaining of family for the holidays. My husband and I took this one off. We celebrated with just the 4 of us. I have to say it was quite relaxing to be able to loaf around for a change.

The Easter bunny sets the breakfast table with Pottery Barn Kids accessories. I can't help but wonder when the kids will think they're too old for this.

coloring eggs... (I'm proud to say this year that there are no Christmas decorations lurking in the background pretending to be Easter decor)

The Easter loot. Candy, kites, chaise lounge covers for the pool, sidewalk chalk, other stuff and things that the kids like. We've had a blast with the kites this week. I forgot how much running around you do getting those things up in the air. I like sneaky workouts.

Temps were in the 70's and may have even hit 80. We were poolside for days even though the pool is not officially open yet.

Bunnies & cookies from the Florida grandparents.

Last year my daughter and I were sick in bed with the flu. This year my daughter was nursing a knee injury that's taking it's own sweet time to heal. I guess that's better than being stuck in bed. We had an Easter egg hunt. I made a big french toast breakfast. My husband made a fabulous prime rib dinner. We visited with the neighbors and laid by the pool. I give Easter 2010 a big thumbs up. Super relaxing. We're half way through spring break week and I'm enjoying the heck out of it. It has to be the warm weather. How was your Easter?

Letterboxing

2010-03-28T10:23:00.006-04:00

Have you ever heard of Letterboxing? My girls took a stamp carving class at school and their teacher introduced them to the secret world of letterboxing.

What you need to participate:

A trail name: This is your code name. It can be anything you want it to be.

A signature stamp: It's a rubber stamp. You can carve it yourself or buy one from the craft store. It can be anything you want it to be and often it resembles your trail name. If your trail name was tuilpgirl you might have a tulip as your signature stamp. You will need an ink pad too.

A log book: This is a journal that you stamp in whenever you find a hidden stamp. You can make one or buy one at the dollar store. It can be plain or fancy, whatever works.

Letterboxes are waterproof containers that are hidden all over the world by letterboxers. The container typically contains

a hand carved stamp
a log book
an ink pad
a note explaining what this is

The object of this activity is to try to find these hidden boxes using clues and treasure maps provided by the person who hid the box. Here's how it works. The letterboxer hides their waterproof box somewhere in the world.

They posts clues on a website directing fellow letterboxers to the location of the hidden box.

You search for the box

and if you find it,

you use their hidden stamp to make an image of it in your log book.

You collect images in your log book of each hidden stamp that you find.

Before you return the letterbox to it's hiding place, you take your own signature stamp and stamp it in their log book. This serves as proof that you were there and you found their hidden stamp. You can write a note to the owner and of course you would want to sign this with your trail name. You don't use your real name. It is a secret society so...be secretive. It's also fun to read through the entries from the people who found the hidden letterbox before you.

That's it.. now just go to one of several websites (we use atlasquest or letterboxing.org) and search for hidden boxes in your area. See if anything pops up. Most people who hide letterboxes hide them in public places or inside libraries or restaurants. The pictures in this post are from our latest letterboxing adventure. What I love about letterboxing is that it's cheap, it's fun and it's good exercise. Quality time. Some of the hidden boxes require a hike to find them. We did 2 miles yesterday. My girls LOVE letterboxing. Let me know if you try it!

Pretty or Not Prom Story

2010-03-15T20:29:00.023-04:00

Whether your date was the man of your dreams
or just the guy who finally wore you down,
tell us about your Prom night.
Whether you were treated to surf-n-turf or Value Meal #5,
tell us about your Prom night.
Whether you put out or just wish you had,
tell us about your Prom night...with Supah and Mommybrain...

Oh I went to the prom...I went to 4 of them. I was the queen of my Junior prom (stop laughing, save it, you'll need it when you see my *crown*) There was that dreamy guy from the private boy's academy who asked me to my Junior prom and then his friend who asked me to my Senior Prom AND his Senior prom at the country club. On paper it sounds like something right out of a young girls dream, more like a nightmare in reality...let me break it down for you.

Prom#1 - I broke up with my boyfriend 1 week before prom. Had no date. Why did I break up with him you ask? Well I bought this fabulous nightgown/purple dress and he rented a ....PURPLE TUX...deal breaker. Yes, I broke up with him because of the color of his tux. I was horrified. What in the hell was he thinking. He probably had a fur coat that I didn't know about too. My friend's brother took pity on my shallow self and offered to take me. One catch. He had his SAT's the next day so, he had to be home by 9:30!!!! WHAT??? I was the freaking queen! Whatever. Early night for queen shallow. Your loss dude. To sum up this prom...Sweaty nervous non dancing boys and jittery girls jammed into Jessica McClintock Little House on the Prairie dresses. If our necklines were any higher the dress would have covered our faces. (This guy deserves a medal for taking me on such short notice and not running for the hills when he saw that dress)

Tell me they didn't steal my king's crown straight from the set of the Imperial margarine commercial and my floral wreath, you can stop laughing now. While we're here, take a close look at where that boy's hands are...not the king, the couple BEHIND us...ahem. I could have gone with him too. Mr. McHandsy was one of my best buddies. Too late. I was out of luck. No McHandsy for me. By the time I ditched the purple tux guy everyone had a date.

Prom#2 - I had to go back the following year to crown the new queen. Great. Didn't have a date...AGAIN. Why is that you ask. Because I broke up with guy I was dating a few weeks before the prom that's why. Different guy this time, but how embarrassing is that? Was I psychotic or what? My emergency SAT loving date from last year finds me a "dreamy" guy from his private school that says he'll take me to my prom if I go with him to his. And by "dreamy" I mean nerdy. I couldn't remember his name the entire night. His name was Joe. Seriously. I had trouble with the name Joe? What was I drinking? My dress was less than fabulous. It was not queen worthy. It was ugly. The Scarlet O'Hara look was in. Ugh. More fabric and layers and ruffles than I care to think about. I needed to end this royal chaos. I didn't want to go. What in the heck were they going to do to me if I didn't go back? Seriously. Send the guards out from the Royal Palace to hunt me down? I think not.

The look on my face says it all. I'm over it. Please don't make me go mom.

Prom #3 - A week later it was off to the country club with Dreamy McNerd. Yawn. I'm pretty sure he drove a station wagon. Whatev. Wore same ugly dress but cut all the fabulous bows off it so as to make it look entirely different. That worked (not). Again with the purple dress. I don't even like purple! WTF was I thinking? 2 purple dresses = zero fashion sense.

Prom #4...I'm 23. My baby brother is taking his girlfriend to her high school prom. Yes he was a cradle robber, whatever. It was OK back then. So her school needs more chaperone's for the big prom. She asked me if I would chaperon. I'm 23! I'm all grown up. VERY responsible. Maybe I'll meet a hot teacher (OK whatever, free meal) So....a few days before said prom I get a call from the girlfriend. Seems that 1 of the 13 kids who goes to her school can't find a date. He's a nice 18 year old boy who comes from a fine family. Just can't find a date. They want to know if I would be so kind as to be his date. I mean, I'm going to be there anyway right? 23 - 18. Sounds illegal but OK.. I'm in. Why not. I'll have to drive because...he doesn't have a license.

(I cannot for the life of me find a picture...and I looked fabulous too! Little house on the prairie and Scarlet O'Hara days were long gone. Little black dresses were in, sweet!)

Turns out the be the BEST PROM EVER! Holy crap. Dancing is now cool. Boys can dance! Even the music is better. No lame wedding band, we had a DJ for crying out loud! Love Shack baby... My date is crowned the King. Of course he is. I'm a former queen damn it! And all this time I thought I was the only prom royalty type who couldn't find a date. Hah! I think not. Apparently it's an epidemic! Life is good. Oh did we have fun. No pressure to be cool. Was NOT afraid to sweat. Didn't care what the other girls thought of my dress. Hell I didn't even know the other girls. Had a good time and we danced like fools the entire night. 23 years old. Yes indeed. When it was over, I went out bar hopping and he went to the prom party. If that's not perfection, I don't know what is. Who had a better story than me in the bars that night? NO ONE, that's who. Yes yes, I went to the prom when I was 23. There's probably some big fancy law against that these days...oh those were the days my friend. To be 23 and goin' to the prom again...sounds a little weird now that I said it out loud.

And the winner is....

2010-03-12T21:14:00.001-05:00

We had 14 entries...
Drawing was held today at 5:00PM EST:
And the winner is...Frannie Fires Back!

Congratulations. Contact me and I'll get you hooked up with your prize.

Thank you everyone for entering and have a great weekend!

French Press Coffee Maker Giveaway

2010-03-04T11:34:00.013-05:00

The final tally for snow accumulation last week was 32 inches. That's a lot of snow. At least the power stayed on. Last year we were without power for a full week after a major snow and ice storm. We spent days huddled around our fireplace sitting on bar stools trying stay warm.

It took us a few days to get a generator hooked up. Once we got it running (thanks to our wonderful neighbors) we were back in business...sort of. We found out that our coffee maker sustained damaged when the power went out. No java, no worries. My husband has a french coffee press. All we had to do was heat up some water, put in the coffee grounds and VOILA we were good to go. You don't need a filter or power for that matter. It's great for camping.

Have you ever used a french coffee press? Do you want to give it a try? Now one of you can. CSN Stores is providing a Bodum Brazil 3 Cup French Press Coffeemaker for me to giveaway and winning couldn't be easier. All you have to do is leave me a comment or two or three...

one entry if you tell us the one thing you can't live without when the power goes out

extra entry if you already follow my blog

extra entry if you sign up to follow my blog

extra entry if you tweet about this

extra entry if you post about this on your blog

Leave me a separate comment for each entry because the more times you enter the better your chances of winning are. Good luck! Contest ends Friday March 12, 2010 at 5pm EST. Winner will be drawn and announced at that time.

I will also be reviewing a toaster oven provided to me by CSN soon. It's time for my girls to graduate from their easy bake oven. We're going to give it a try with a small toaster oven before turning them loose with the big wall oven. Baby steps!

This is neither fun, nor funny

2010-03-02T08:48:00.010-05:00

I was working at home yesterday like I always do. Minding my own business. I see 4 police cars and 3 animal control trucks go down my dead end street.

Turns out that a pack of 4 dogs (all with collars and tags) went into our neighbor's goat pen and killed their pet goats. Ate them.

Our road was blocked by state troopers and guns were drawn. They couldn't get the dogs out of the pen. Lots of snapping and snarling. Otherwise friendly dogs went berserk.

After 2 hours the results are 1 gun shot, 2 tasers and 1 noose, 1 goat is struggling to survive, all the others are dead. All four dogs are gone, some forever. That seems fair.

My heart goes out to our neighbors. These goats were their pets. Imagine coming home to find your pet (fill in the blank) being eaten by domestic dogs. Otherwise friendly black labs eating your (fill in the blank). In a word, horrific.

I'm mad at the owners, not the dogs. It nature. It's pack mentality. It's what dogs do when they congregate and are left to roam around the countryside. Our society has a bad habit of humanizing animals. Just ask the Dog Whisperer, he'll tell you. Big mistake when you forget a dog is a dog.

We want to give hugs to whales who have been confined to a bath tub for 28 years while being forced to jump through hula hoops for food. We want to believe he's happy and he's down with being couped up. We've lost sight of reality. Common sense says he's rather be with his pod cruising the ocean. We want to believe the elephants are thrilled to be performing under the big tent. We want to believe our dogs are almost human and would never eat a goat.

We all love our pets and it truly sucks when one of them eats something they shouldn't. A person. A goat. Whatever. It sucks.

26 Inches and Counting

2010-02-24T11:49:00.003-05:00

I feel like we're being burried alive!

Can I Pick Your Ear?

2010-02-23T14:38:00.014-05:00

Recently someone asked if they could "pick my ear" . I think this person meant to ask if she could "pick my brain" or "bend my ear". The mixed metaphor made me laugh. Request denied by the way.

I came across a list online of literary pet peeves, commonly misused words and commonly misused phrases. I'm guilty of using some of them and others drive me batty when people use them.

Here's the list. By the way, this isn't my list but I can't remember where I found it so I can't give credit. I thought it was entertaining so I'm sharing it.

using "anyways" - should be anyway as anyways is not a word.

using the phrase "you have two chances, slim and none" - it should be "slim & fat" because "none chance" makes no sense.

using the phrase "I could care less" because it should be the negative "I couldn't care less" . If you could care less then you have the capacity to care less and that defeats the purpose of saying this to begin with.

using the phrase "for all intensive purposes" - should be for all intents and purposes.

use of the word "irregardless" in any context such as "Irregardless of the fact..." or something along those lines. The correct segues include "regardless" or "irrespective"

using the word "gonna" instead of "going to"

using "a whole nother" when speaking , as in " that's a whole nother ball of wax" should be whole other, or completely different.

using the word towards instead of toward, there is no s.

using the French word "voila" in a phonetic form, Wah-la, walla, wahlah, wallah etc. I see this on facebook all the time and it makes me think that Sesame Street is to blame. I'm pretty sure they said WALLA on that show all the time. My French teacher would fail you if you uttered "walla" in her class...

the overuse of dots (dot dot dot) "...." guilty...as....charged....

How many are you guilty of using? I've used 3 that I know of. Probably more. Do any of these bug you when you see or hear them being used? If someone says "walla" to me my head jerks to the side, but I would never correct them. As my French teacher would say, "if you can't say voila say ta-da!"

Ta-da probably isn't even a word but that's a whole nother ball of wax and I could care less.

My Very Own Silver Medal

2010-02-18T12:38:00.009-05:00

Random thoughts...

In honor of the Olympics, I bring you my very own silver medal. I didn't win it, I made it.

I have been learning how to make fine silver jewelry and this is one of my creations. I'm pretty damned proud of myself. We have been working on this fine silver line for my business for what seems like forever, so between work and kids and all that other stuff I have to do (like take a shower and feed the puppies) I have had precious little time to blog.

Speaking of Olympics, I watch them. Not religiously or anything but if you missed "McTwister" (The Double McTwist 1260) last night then you missed a good one. That boy can fly and if you don't know what I'm talking about go find out! Gold medal!!! Yay!

Also, I'm in love with this boy and I'm watching him like a hawk. I'm routing for him to win another medal this weekend.

One other point of interest (to me) I caught a few episodes of the last season of Dancing with the Stars and Louie Vito was a contestant. I often wondered just who is Louie and just WHAT is he famous for??? I never mustered up enough energy or interest to google him. Thanks to the Olympics, I found out that he's a snowboarder. Sooo mystery solved and I might even find him slightly less irritating now.

Growing up we had a summer home near Lake Placid and when the Olympics were there it was so close to us that we got sucked in. The winter Olympics are big around these parts so...I'm a fan.

Reporting to you live from my couch, this is my random Olympic wrap up. I am not a super fan, but I do watch. I am so short on time I copied a comment that I left on my friends blog (POS) about the Olympics and used it for this post. I won't be getting any medals for blogging. No big whoop. Back to the trenches.

Lady Macbeth is in the house!

2010-02-09T16:33:00.000-05:00

My daughter's 5th grade class is performing Shakespeare's Macbeth today and tomorrow. My daughter is playing the part of Lady Macbeth. Her class has been practicing since they came back from Christmas break.

The editor of our local paper interviewed her and some other kids one night during a rehearsal. They put a little bit of the article on their website. if you click that link you will see the first part of the article and a picture of some of her classmates. Her picture was in the paper but it didn't make it to their online teaser. They did a pretty extensive interview with her and she was beyond thrilled that it made it into the paper. (um...so was I)

I went to the performance this morning. I posted two short video clips of her today here on my business blog if you want to go check it out. I posted some photos below. To say I'm proud would be an understatement. She had to audition for the part. If you play the second clip it will become obvious to you why they picked her for Act 2...

Because the kids are using the Elizabethan script, which is rather difficult, the major parts were shared by 2 students. They have one set of actors for Act 1 and a second set for Act 2. Here Banquo, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are being introduced before the play so the audience understands why they will see a different cast in Act 2.

the banquet scene where Macbeth sees a ghost while Lady Macbeth helps herself to a glass of vino. That's my girl.

Lady Macbeth is giving Macbeth a tongue lashing here. Wonder why this comes so naturally for her? Thinking...thinking...

Lady Macbeth's famous sleepwalking scene. She gets to swear here so...she has that going for her.

One of the local news channels filmed the play today. I know that performing Shakespeare when you are 10 is difficult. I'm glad that the community recognizes this as well and has rallied around the kids to show them how proud we all are of them. The phone hasn't stopped ringing. They were ALL beaming today!

The final bow of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth (Act 2)

So I've been MIA because I'm up to my ears with this play and work and...I'm reciting lines in my sleep. Much like Lady Macbeth!

One Of Those Days

2010-01-27T08:26:00.003-05:00

Did you ever have one of those days? You hear a story on the news about a teacher who jumped off a bridge and killed herself and how no one saw it coming, not her family, not her friends, not her co-workers. It's a huge mystery as to why she took her life because she was JUST on facebook playing farmville hours before. So curiosity gets the best of you and you take a look at the photo, thinking, it's REALLY unlikely that you know this person but, hey, you never know. Then you see the picture and it stops you dead in your tracks because it turns out to be your friend. I'm having one of those days.

Deal Breakers - Meme Monday

2010-01-25T07:53:00.005-05:00

This weeks All About Meme Monday with Supah and Mommybrain is "That's a Deal Breaker"

If you watch 30 Rock, you know about Liz Lemon and her deal breakers. If not, a deal breaker is ‘the catch’ that a particular individual cannot overlook and ultimately outweighs any redeeming quality the individual may possess. (thank you Urban Dictionary)

Here are my fashion deal breakers when it comes to my man:

Speedo - unless he's an Olympic swimmer - it's a deal breaker
Man thong or any thong for that matter
Socks with sandals
Scrubs - unless he's in a medical profession I'm pretty sure it's against the law
Fur coat

There you have it, my top 5 fashion deal breakers. By the way I did have to "shut it down" once when a boyfriend showed up in a fur coat. Even now it makes me shudder to recall that mental picture. I'm sure there are manly fur coats out there but this WAS NOT one of them. Total deal breaker. If you want to play along go here. Happy Monday!

An Email From My Daughter

2010-01-17T20:32:00.004-05:00

Back in October my daughter had H1N1. She threw up just as the Halloween parade started, never got to go trick or treating and was sick for what seemed like weeks.

I found this email on her computer when I was trying to fix it today. I laughed so hard I almost cried. She would kill me if she knew I was sharing this. I copied and pasted it here, didn't change anything. I think she's adorable. Does she sound like a 3rd grader writing to her friend? Vomitish might just be my new favorite word. Keep in mind this is the same child who told me one day (when she was 5) that she felt like "a flower that was wilting in the hot sun" I said "does that man you're thirsty?" she said "yup it does"
Anyway, here it is...

dear Anna, sorry I haven't been in school for a while:(

Ihave HINI influenzea it is the worst illness ever! I wish my meds tasted like friendly's ice cream or mac and cheese. The meds are endless! I haven't had any real food sience the morning of the halloween parade and the worst part I don't remember anything and I couldn't be in the costume parade
:(
on the bright side,my mom is telling of my grief as you're reading this sad,sad,sad,sad,sad,sad,sad,sad,sad,sad,sad,sad,sad,sad,sad,sad,sad,sad,sad, e-mail

I also cannot eat pretty much anything.Trust me when I say this swine flu is a long,dark,petrifying road

it's also very vomitish.

from,mikayla

Do You Fondue?

2010-01-14T08:51:00.015-05:00

Have you been to one of the fondue restaurants? Until last year fondue conjured up thoughts of boiling hot oil which didn't appeal to me. Last year we tried one of the local restaurants. Much to my surprise we didn't need to use hot boiling oil. We dropped about $150 on 2 tiny meals and one dessert that we shared between 4 people. It was more like a large snack. It was fun and tasty, but expensive. I decided we could do this at home and get a bigger bang for our buck.

I went out and bought 2 fondue pots from Target ($60 investment). I prefer electric heat and not an open flame. You have more control over the temp and it's less dangerous in my opinion.

I bought some plain white square plates. They are the perfect size and shape for serving the raw foods that we are going to cook. They fit well on the table with all the fondue pots.

I fill each pot (to the fill line) with approximately 2 boxes of chicken stock, some sea salt, a few pepper corns, a bay leaf, and some chopped green onion. I let that simmer for about 20 minutes on low. If you notice that the stock is evaporating you can add more stock or water to bring it back up to the fill line on the pot. I guess you could use any type of stock you want, vegetable or beef as well as chicken.

I typically put the following food out on the small white square plates (this is for the 4 of us) 2 boneless chicken breasts cubed, 1 filet mignon cubed, 1 piece of medium size piece of salmon cubed, 16-20 medium to large shrimp, 1 lobster tail cubed. Just to clarify, this food is raw, and everything except the shrimp is cut into bit size pieces. Each type of food is on it's own separate plate to avoid cross contamination prior to cooking.

Everyone gets a long white platter and 4 color coded fondue forks. This helps keep every one's food straight. You pick your raw food up with your fork and it goes directly into the pot. You don't eat off the fondue fork, you put the cooked item on your platter. Using your regular silverware, you can then dip it in your favorite sauce on your own personal platter. No community dipping. You have to be sure the chicken is cooked for the kids when it comes out of the pot. My kids have gotten really good at this so they need very little supervision but for smaller kids, this may not be a great idea.

Here's a list of what we use for dipping sauces...

You can use anything but our kids are doing this too so I have to keep it friendly for them which means:

Honey mustard

Ketchup

Melted butter
Maple butter

We like:

Buffalo sauce
Bleu Cheese dressing
Mayo or sour cream mixed with horseradish
Tarragon mustard
Dill mustard

Thai peanut sauce
Raspberry dressing

(whatever else I can find)

We have such a great time doing this. It's really fun to watch the kids eat things they would never try before. Now my youngest love$ lob$ter and $hrimp. We use 2 pots for the 4 of us to avoid being overcrowded. It's just easier.

When we're done I clean out one of the pots (and forks of course) and throw in a bag of chocolate chips on low heat. When they start to melt I add a little heavy cream and mix using a plastic whisk until it's smooth. Don't over cook. Then I put out a plate of freshly cut fruit, marshmallows and cut up rice crispy treats. You can use anything really. Dip away. We've had a few people over to try this. HUGE hit. You just have to be aware of the raw food and all the safety precautions that go along with them. Once you figure that out it's fondue heaven. Good times!

Miss Kitty

2010-01-11T21:08:00.004-05:00

We'll miss her...

Happy Birthday!

2010-01-07T15:37:00.017-05:00

One...

Two...

Three...

Four....

Five...

Six...

Seven ...

(Kids, like puppies, grow very quickly )

Eight...

NINE!!!

Happy Birthday to my nine year old!

Kitty Drama

2010-01-05T19:28:00.015-05:00

So if you are a new follower (and I thank you for being a new follower, or a follower period. Wait, thank you to all my wonder followers, new and old) then you may not know about my cat...Cruella deKitty. You can read about her here.

So I've been keeping my most recent Kitty drama under wraps. Didn't want to spoil your holiday with my kitty woes and I was afraid Supah would bestow another kitty blog award on me. I can't take it right now. (see sidebar for my fab kitty blog award that I earned from this post)

Let me start this story by saying, Kitty is old. O.L.D. old. She's seen her better days. Around Thanksgiving she started smelling really funny. Not funny "ha ha", more like "smelly cat" funny. (name that show)

Sooo...this smell got worse and worse. I knew what was going down. Kitty is O.L.D. old. I facebooked my friend Kerry, the vet. She said it was probably time. Kitty doesn't just stink, she is also loosing control of all her bodily functions. Seriously, it's more than I can deal with. She's dying. My husband is the new kitty nanny. He carries her to the bathroom. I kid you not. He is her nursemaid. I call him Flo. (short for Florence) (Nightingale, that is)

Back to the smell and the horrible mess. Soooo...I made an appointment with the vet to end the suffering. The day comes. My kids cry. I cry. We all say goodbye. It's time. My friend the vet said it was time and I believe her. She knows her stuff by God. And she is like the biggest animal lover on the planet. So Kitty must go. Kerry said so. Did I mention that already? KERRY SAID SO!!!

Kitty leaves in her kitty carrier...we sob. I yelled out the door "donate the carrier, we're never getting another cat so...just leave that carrier at the vet's office!" (I'm charitable like that.) It was going to be a horrible holiday without her. Honestly. I cried. I have never been without Kitty since my huband and I started dating. Then we had the kids and they have never been without her. Until that very moment, the moment when she left, it never much mattered. I had a flash back of bringing my first baby home. Kitty was all a twitter. She was protective of Madison. Strange, but true. She was crazy about her. Kitty hates everyone, did I mention that? But she loved the kid. So I had my flashback moment, I cried. I was sad.

But the smell was getting better so things were looking up. I convinced the kids she was going to visit our Auntie Jean in heaven. She harassed Auntie Jean for 13+ years while we lived next door to her. Auntie Jean died last year and obviously she misses Kitty so...Kitty must go...be with Auntie Jean...now. Smell be gone. Pee is for the toilet, not the floor. But I love Kitty. So it's OK that she's ruining my house. Really, but it's time.

Ahem...Soooo... a few hours later, after much crying...my husband returns...he opens the door... the cold air rushes in behind him....and guess what... he brought home the stupid kitty carrier, and KITTY CAME HOME TOO!!! KITTY CAME HOME!!! wait...Kitty came home????? WTH? WHY did Kitty come home???

Turns out my husband couldn't go through with it. He opted for the million dollar vet bills, daily (hourly) medication and around the clock care. Seriously Flo??? You have that kinda time?

Now it's been a few weeks. Poor Kitty is having seizures. So I ask you blog friends, am I the Grim Reaper or the voice of reason here? Am I the angel of death or am I the sensible person who doesn't think animals should suffer so that we can spare ourselves from shedding a few tears?

I think it's time for Kitty to go. I think it's cruel to keep her when she can barely walk and has to be carried to her poop palace and can't find her food. She's having seizures. It's very sad to watch this. She's a mess and my husband can't let her go. We are all ready for her to go, except for him. What do I do? Anybody? Anybody? I know he's waiting for me to take charge so he can blame me. He's just not the kind of guy who can put a cat down. Apparently he'd prefer to see her deteriorate right before his very eyes with the hopes that some miracle will take place that will replace her failing kidneys and turn back the hands of time.

Seriously, when is enough enough? I do love Kitty even though I joke about her and never gave her a proper name. I hate seeing her in pain.

He said to me the other day, and I quote..."if this were one of your dogs we wouldn't be having this conversation" Um, no we wouldn't dude man (that's what I call him when I'm ticked). I would move heaven and earth to save the pooches, but they are all of 2 years old and not 15 years old...oh, and they don't puke on everything I love. I feel like a schmuck. What to do? What.to.do...

Until next time...

Post It Note Tuesday what will you say today?

2010-01-05T09:24:00.005-05:00

Play along with Supah if you want to

Happy New Year

2009-12-31T08:50:00.004-05:00

I hope all my blog friends have a great time tonight.

I don't know about you but I'm REALLY looking forward to 2010.

Resolutions? I'm not making any...how about you?

Happy New Year!

Old days...just like I don't remember

2009-12-28T17:17:00.006-05:00

Today was my birthday. We went to lunch at one of my favorite restaurants which is located in this silver art deco diner.

This place is where I spent most of my 20's and some of my 30's. It was the place to be after a night of clubbing. Did I just say clubbing? Funny to sit there now with my kids...oh the memories...or lack there of. This was the place to be...until we had kids. The food is to die for. It closed for while and then reopened recently. I remember the last meal that we ordered there before it closed. My husband and I took my daughter there when she was just a few months old. We sat down, ordered and she burst out in tears. We packed up our dinners and went home. We never went back. We walked out thinking that this was not going to transition into a place we could take the kid. Not at that age. Take out was the answer. We lived pretty close so we ordered from there quite often. $7 for this meal...

they are famous around here for their chicken terri and cold spinach noodles. When the terri and the dressing from the noodles mixes, it's crazy good. We were sad when it closed. But it's back and better than ever and this time, no crying baby and no hang over. I did have a few flash backs...but it was all good. Perfectly fun day with the family.

Christmas 2009

2009-12-27T10:00:00.015-05:00

While waiting for this...

some of us did too much of this...

Not me of course...

Christmas day we opened a lot of these...

And there were some big Christmas surprises for me... My older brother who I don't see very often surprised us with a visit. The best presents quite often are those you can't wrap...

4 days of cooking...Prime Rib, Lobster Mac & Cheese, Lasagna, Quiche, cookies, cakes....all the goodies you could possibly hope for...

We changed the tablescape for every meal...that took some doing...

Some live music from our resident flutist

No shortage of matching PJ's

Time to snuggle up with Uncle and call it a day...

I did get my ring ~ but my best gift was the company of family and friends. The food this year was the best ever. The company was even better. Christmas 2009 was wonderful. Hope you had a good one!

The Holiday At Our House

2009-12-23T18:01:00.023-05:00

Tour starts here...

Everyone enters our house through the hearth room. Why do I even have a foyer? I'm not sure. You'd have to walk right on by these doors to get to the foyer. NO ONE does that. Seriously. Why would they?

The hearth room is my favorite room in the house. Quiet, no TV, no radio, roaring fireplace. Great place to read. That's my Christmas tree. Brown & gold.

Look at that bow. I didn't spend all that money going to college for nothing after all.

The family tree is out there....in the loud family room where it belongs.

This is a shot of my husband's handwork. Those white lights are our shrubs out back. The blue tree is his creation in the back yard. I don't ask questions. It's the loud room. There's the colorful family tree over there in the corner where all the presents go. The kids do most of the decorating on this one. They have another tree up in their tv room but I didn't get any pictures of that one.

The kids Winnie the Pooh Christmas village on my antique blanket chest. I got the chest from my grandmother and I use it in the dining room. We throw in a few gingerbread houses in for good measure, some old Christmas trees my mom made when she took a ceramic class circa 1960 something, and some houses my aunt sends to the girls every year. It's a mish mash of fun.

I can relate to Eeyore

Favorite ornaments... center is one of my snow baby ornaments. I have one for each of my girls My baby girl used to posed like this until she was about 2. I miss those days. The other one is off to the far right.

My Spode Golden Retriever ornament. I think my fur babies snuck out and posed for this when I wasn't looking.

This is the family room. Stockings compliments of Pottery Barn. Not my first choice, but it's for the kids. They like color. Mine would be brown crushed velvet or something. Never mind the cords hanging all over the place. Ignore ignore ignore. They will be hidden from view before tomorrow night.

My parents and grandmother gave me this nativity set over the span of a few years. I bought an entire second set... in case anything broke. I'm weird like that. Now I've decided to give one to each of the girls when they get older. OK, truth be told I heard they were discontinuing the set and being the control freak that I am I bought the second set and stashed it away. Yup. This is how I spend my free time. Hunting down nativity sets. Think about it. How lame would I be if I were missing say...one of the three wise men because my mom forgot to buy it one year? It's hard turning your Christmas decor/fate over to a mere mortal like your mom or grandmother. What if??? What if they never finished buying me the set and the "flying angel" was no more? People would laugh. I'm sure of it. I see the looky loo's taking inventory when they come over to rock around our Christmas tree. Move along people it's ALL there...move along.

now for the big ending...from the Jaden auction came this little gem called I caught Santa...thanks Supah for the great idea...my girls are going to loose it when they see this picture of Santa snoozing in our hearth room. Very cool. Merry Christmas!

Cupcakes On the Go

2009-12-20T08:00:00.010-05:00

This new 50's style gourmet cupcakery opened about an hour from here. Too far for me to go this time of year with my schedule. No road trip for cupcakes in my future. Just the same, I've been dying to try one (or more). So imagine my delight when we spotted this beast....

parked a few miles from our home...it's their cupcake bus. They took their cupcakes on the road! My girls and I boarded the bus, laid down $30 and then enjoyed some cupcake bliss. Red velvet rocks. We did have a great time sitting in our car eating them and making a TOTAL mess. Oh well. Sometimes you just have to do that. We froze most of them for Christmas. I hope I can wait that long. TASTY!

M. I. A.

2009-12-19T07:21:00.007-05:00

I've been M.I.A because of work.

It's that time of year when I work around the clock getting Christmas orders out the door. Well the majority of my "fun" ended last night at 11 pm when I finished (sort of) . I have more to do but I can breathe again because the bulk of my work is done.

I've missed reading your blogs so I have some catching up to do. Today it's all about my girls. I haven't seen them in a few weeks. Oh we're still living in the same house but I haven't seen much of them. So today we're making cookies all.day.long. Then we're putting up the nativity set and their Winne the Pooh Christmas village. I saved those two things for them to do now because we decorated before Thanksgiving so this will help them get back in the Christmas spirit and welcome me back into real life.

Wow, I blinked and the first 3 weeks of December are gone. I enjoy what I do and I love my customers so it's worth it. Oh, and there's a little thing called paying the bills, so that's also my inspiration! I even bumped into a few blog friends who ordered gifts for the holiday ;) so thanks ladies!

I have no cute pictures. I can't even find my camera. My office looks like a hurricane just blew through. That picture of the ring. It's the only thing on my Christmas list. Time to get our Christmas on at Poolside.

So what'd I miss???

Recipe for a Snow Day

2009-12-09T19:16:00.002-05:00

Want to get yourself a snow day?

Here what you need...

2 ice cubes (throw them out the window)

1 pair of under ware (put them in the freezer)

1 spoon (place it under your pillow)

1 pair of PJ's (wear them inside out and backwards)

It worked! No school today.

Try it but just don't over do it on the ice cubes. I'm told 3 will get you an ice storm.

2009-12-08T08:23:00.018-05:00

Raising Z tagged me for this fun Christmas Meme.

I included some Christmas pictures from last year.

1. Have you started your Christmas Shopping?
Yes

2008 with our friend C who came home from college for a visit.

2. Tell me about your special Traditions.
I always make gingerbread houses with my girls before Christmas. We invite relatives or friends over for a little gingerbread house decorating party. Also at some point during the holiday we host a dinner for my baby brother and his family (I've posted some photos of my niece before). My SIL and I shop for matching clothes and slippers for all the girls. I buy them all matching Christmas PJ's to wear that night. They have special Christmas plates and we make them a bunch of kiddie appetizers. I usually give them all a personalized ornament that night. We typically have a prime rib dinner for the adults and then we exchange gifts. Recently my FIL and SIL have been coming on Christmas Eve and spending a few days with us as well. So that's a new tradition. My older brother used to celebrate with us too but it's been a few years since he and his family have come. They like to celebrate at home. I totally get it. At some point if we have too many guests the meal gets changed from prime rib to lasagna because seriously...prime rib for 15? Can't be done in this kitchen. Who do I look like Paula Deen?

3. When do you put up your Tree?
Way before turkey day. I'm in retail. No time to do that after Black Friday.

Christmas 2008

4. Are you a Black Friday Shopper?
Only from my computer, and I heart Black Friday shoppers.

5. Do you Travel at Christmas or Stay home?
HOME...I refuse to leave during Christmas.

6. What is your funniest Christmas memory?
I have some pretty sad memories of Christmas which I won't get into here. Nothing funny stands out in my mind except this....as a child I seemed to always have the flu around the holiday. I remember one year coming out to see the gifts under the tree and not feeling so great. Santa brought me an orange sled. I laid down in it because I felt dizzy. Then I promptly threw up in it. What a bummer.I didn't open one gift. I may not have great funny memories from my childhood but I have made it a point to make Christmas very special for my kids. I refuse to let anyone wreck it so I don't invite trouble makers over to celebrate with us. If you cause trouble I will kick your arse out. I barricade all the doors when the good people get here so they can't leave. Some day I'll explain. The good news is that Christmas here is magical. I don't let the past get in the way of my kids making fabulous childhood memories.

7. What is your favorite Christmas Movie?
A Christmas Story. Makes me laugh every time. That movies is the best.

8. Do you do your own Christmas baking? What is your favorite treat?
I do bake. I love the cookies but I also make a mean quiche. I usually make a few so people can eat them whenever they want while visiting.

9. Fake or Real Tree?
We have 3 fake trees inside and 3 fake trees outside. Allergies to pine mold in the family make it hard to have a real tree.

10. What day does the actual panic set in to get it all done?
hmmm....due to my job, it starts before Thanksgiving.

11. Are you still wrapping presents on Christmas Eve?
Sometimes, but I won't be this year! I'm DONE!!!

reading the Night Before Christmas with Aunt KK

12. What is your favorite family fun time at Christmas?
Oh it would have to be when my niece comes over. Last year I bought them all snowmobile sleds. We took them outside and let them go crazy. It was hysterical. Screaming and laughing. Dogs chasing them down the hill which my brother dubbed "Puppy Poop Pass" while trying to avoid stepping in puppy poop. When my brother would push them down the hill the girls would SCREAM! It was really fun. Usually the girls sing us Christmas songs and get really silly. Just being with everyone is fun for me. Then we all lay on the couches and pass out from the overload of food we just ate.

13. What Christmas craft do you like best??
Decorating gingerbread houses with the girls and friends.

14. Christmas music?
I have a long list of favorites which includes Christmas Wrapping, Mary Did You Know, Christmas Must Be Tonight, I love Gene Autrey's version of Rudolph, my all time favorite Christmas song is O Holy Nite. Brings me to tears every time if the right person is singing it. Have you heard Sponge Bob's new song "Don't be Jerk, It's Christmas"? Love it.

15.) When do you plan to finish all your shopping? I'M DONE!

I tag:

Hiding From the Kids
The Entertaining House
Things I Can't Say
Sunshine Meg
Glitter By Grammie
Frannie Fires Back
Semi Slacker Mom
My Life, My Thoughts
Life After College
Headaches Hormones & Hotflashes
Just Add Walter
Supah Mommy

Just simply copy and paste the questions into your blog, and then answer them.

Toxic Rodent for Christmas

2009-12-07T16:50:00.009-05:00

I was so excited to get this little motorized rodent for my baby girl this Christmas. It's the number one thing on her never ending, ever changing Christmas list. This thing is sold out everywhere (that I looked) and I finally sucked it up and paid 3X's more on Amaz. than what I could have if I bought it at the Mart. Problem is that the Mart didn't have the motorized rodent so what's a mom to do? I spent the extra $20 and got the kid the motorized rodent, that's what I did.

ANYTHING to avoid getting the real deal for crying out loud. I have enough living things in this house depending on me to feed them every day. Can't take any more pressure.

So today on the news I hear a report (or I should say 100 reports) that this little critter is toxic. Great. Thank you for sharing that you idiots. Here's the thing. I'm busy, I'm done shopping and you know what.... I.don't.care. The kid wants the motorized rodent.

I'll just hope she doesn't decide to suck on it or eat it. Drama over.

Now I'm waiting for my mother to call to set off the alarm that this thing is going to kill my daughter...waiting...waiting...OH THERE SHE IS NOW...must go run and tell her I.don't.care.

Just another Cyber Monday

2009-11-30T19:05:00.006-05:00

So it was a busy Cyber Monday in the world of online shopping. More importantly we received our first Christmas card today. My blog friend Raising Z sent us a beautiful card with her kids pictures on it. She's a girl after my own heart. I LOVE Christmas cards and I don't throw out kids pictures. Just can't do it. I noticed her card was from my favorite online photo place, Shutterfly. Great minds think alike! She inspired me to post my very own Shutterfly creation now...so, here it is our 2009 Christmas card, well the outside anyway...good day.

Thanksgiving 09

2009-11-27T17:24:00.005-05:00

getting ready for dinner

getting some much needed help in the kitchen

This was the best Thanksgiving dinner ever. Seriously. We bought a turkey from a local farm. It was the best turkey I've ever eaten.

Thanksgiving eve one of my dogs decided to dig a trench along the back of our house. She was covered from nose to tail in mud. Of course this was after we cleaned the house and I was on my way to bed. I nearly cried. Then my kids trashed their TV room. I was about to loose it when a strange thing happened. I thought of my mother in law who passed away a few years ago. She just sort of popped in my head I thought about how she would react. This is what ran through my head...it just doesn't matter, laugh about it, no one cares if your house is clean, people live here, let it show. I started laughing and everyone thought I lost my mind. At least I had a good time. No tears, just muddy paws & a little mess. Best Thanksgiving that I can recall. Hope you had a great day...I did.

the day after, making gingerbread houses with the aunt.

What was I thinking?

2009-11-23T17:49:00.009-05:00

This picture is another one from our photo shoot. Just a random photo because I have no clue what else to post up here because I.am.so.freaking.busy!

People have TOTALLY started their Christmas shopping and I am swamped (ever so grateful, seriously grateful, I take nothing for granted with the economy the way it is) My customers are the best. Love the people who order early. We are already running out of things. It's crazy!

I got a call today from a morning show style editor who ordered a few things from us for a segment on Christmas gifts that will air early in December. Hope that goes well. Time will tell.

We are having company for Thanksgiving and Christmas. What.was.I.thinking?

Seriously, I'm a spaz, what was I thinking? It's going to be non stop work for me from now until January. No rest, and I'll be inclinded to keep putting periods between every word I type. Like this
THANK.GOD.MY.HUSBAND.COOKS.

Back to work...it's almost time to go get yer gobble on...

Favorite Picture Friday

2009-11-21T07:53:00.003-05:00

One of this years Christmas photos...
Have a great weekend friends!

Different Reason

2009-11-19T06:00:00.001-05:00

My cousin Stephen passed Tuesday from a secondary infection after this damned flu. Just 41 years old. He was born with Cerebral Palsy. Never able to talk or walk but modern technology allowed him to communicate using a computer. It's was amazing when they unlocked what was going on in his mind. Things he could never say. He loved music. My aunt would bring him over for a visit when we were kids and we'd listen to Casey Kasem's top 40 count down on my transistor radio. I was obsessed with writing every song down for him. Not sure why.

He and I were born less than a year apart. I think it must have been hard for his mom to watch me grow up, walk, talk and hit milestones when her son wasn't able to. He was confined to a wheel chair his entire life.

His parents passed away and he was moved to a group home where he thrived. He had a girlfriend and at last, a social life. After being moved to the home, his siblings had a hard time convincing him to leave, even for a quick dinner out. He loved being there, he loved the people there and he basically refused to leave.

His sisters Bev and Barb are two of my favorite cousins. They remind me of a grown up version of my own girls. Polar opposites, physically and otherwise. They are taking this particularly hard. I'm off to see my family today. I only wish it was for a different reason.

50 is the new 40 when it comes to Mammograms

2009-11-18T07:57:00.006-05:00

Yesterday I heard reports on just about every news program about new recommendations released by the Preventive Services Task Force of the Department of Health and Human Services regarding screening for breast cancer in women age 40-50. .

The condensed version is:

they no longer recommend mammograms until age 50 (changed from age 40)
mammograms should be done every 2 years (changed from annual exams)
they recommend that doctors stop teaching women how to do self breast exams

The reasons they gave for the drastic changes... false positives create too much stress for healthy women. The cost of the exams are too much considering that so few women really have a problem. Risk (low) -vs- cost (high). Women are over treated for false positives. But critics of the new rules say ignoring the health risk is not worth it. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women and the seventh leading cause of death overall for women. Plenty of opposition came out yesterday saying it is completely irresponsible to make these kinds of recommendations. Some came out in favor saying that even though catching breast cancer early is the key to surviving it, they still think these are good recommendations. This is confusing at best.

Just curious what my blog friends think about this. Do you think this is in anyway related to the pending government health care option that is currently being voted on? Is this just setting the stage for insurance companies to save money on routine testing that EVERY woman has been told they need starting at the age 40? Is this health care rationing? It's been drilled into our head that we need this testing starting at age 40 and now they tell us, no, it's no longer necessary unless there is some sort of history in your family. Was the original recommendation just a money maker for doctors? Is everything an evil twisted plot to rob the public of their hard earned money and make doctors rich. Have insurance companies been paying for unneeded testing & procedures all this time? Was this all a hoax?

Do you feel like we are moving forward or taking a step back with respect to women's health care? The overwhelming feeling was that if the government says you don't need it, insurance companies will move quickly to stop paying for it. Is that what women want? If this was a test for men would they be so quick to change the age for testing a full 10 years? These are the questions that rattle around in my brain.

If I want a mammogram, no government recommendation or lack of insurance coverage will stop me from getting one but I wonder about the people who don't have the means. I'm interested to hear what you have to say. Thoughts?

See you Poolside!

Post It Note Tuesday what will you say today?

2009-11-17T06:31:00.003-05:00

It's Post It Note Tuesday...go here to play with Supah Mommy how is hosting this fabulous thing.

See you Poolside!

What we did this weekend

2009-11-15T16:16:00.027-05:00

We usually do our Christmas pictures in October. This year things got a little behind with everyone being sick. I get so busy this time of year with work that I really have to get everything done early or it won't get done at all. This isn't the picture, but here are the girls getting ready. This year and last year I let them pick out their own outfits. They have gotten really casual. I decided to post some old pictures of them below. I do miss the good old days when they had no say in what they wore. Those days are LONG gone. Oh well, casual is good too. I guess I've had my fun. Here are a few highlights...(cue the song "through the years")

4 years ago - the photographer blew this up to poster size and hung it in her studio window. My girls FLIPPED when they saw it the first time we drove by. They thought they were famous. It was really funny. You had to be there. Screaming from the back seat "MOM MOM WE'RE FAMOUS!!!" as we drove by...oh that was funny. They were too little to know a billboard from a store window. Whatever.

3 years ago

2 years ago.

Like you don't take your dogs for a Christmas picture? This was the year when we got the fur babies and I couldn't resist bringing them. Aren't they good posers? They were 6 months old here. This shot was not my idea, but I did love it.

2 years ago when the fur babies came to town. Yes, I had a thing for animal print jackets, but I'm over it. This was the last year I went down that road.

And yes, we put up our trees early. Again, if I don't do it now, then we won't have one. That little tree in the first picture is in our hearth room. The girls put a really cute colorful tree up in their TV room as well. We haven't put the big one up yet in our family room so there is still something too look forward to. I know, I know. The turkey hasn't even hit the table. This is just the way it is at our house. I won't even share with you the fact that I am pretty much done with my Christmas shopping. Hey, if I'm going to cater to the Christmas shoppers (some of you what line of work I'm in) then I have to get my own shopping done early. Not to mention that we almost always have company during the holiday so I have precious little time to do these things as Christmas gets closer.

When do you put your tree up? Do you send out photo cards? I love getting photo cards and I can't bring myself to throw them out when the holiday is over. I have to save the pictures of all the kiddies in our life. I love to pull out the old ones and see how they have changed over the years. I'm a picture freak.

I've been AWOL lately because it turns out that I had a secondary infection after the H1N1 thingy. Fun fun fun. I slept. A LOT! This took much longer than I thought to get over. After some antibiotics I appear to be on the mend. I'm ready for turkey. Bring it on.

See you Poolside!

Giveaway

2009-11-08T14:30:00.008-05:00

Someones feeling generous today. If you want to enter to win one of 3 monogrammed scarves hop on over here to enter. And if you see anyone who looks familiar...shhh...I am a member of the blogging protection program. Poolside is the place where I go to get away from my job so don't blow my cover...but feel free to enter. Just don't mention Poolside because I will deduct points if you do (kidding) (OK maybe not) (you don't want my family to find this blog do you?) (didn't think so) (this means I'm whispering)

See you Poolside!

Favorite Picture Friday

2009-11-06T12:50:00.003-05:00

Happy Friday! The pooches got a treat today. I haven't had much time to play with them because I've been running the H1N1 infirmary over here.

My daughter is up out of bed for the first time since last Friday. This took much longer than I thought it would. I am just waiting for the next person on the house to get it. I can't imagine that the rest of us could escape it. Time will tell!

Have a great weekend friends.

See you Poolside!

Swine Flu

2009-11-03T16:44:00.004-05:00

Well it's official. Swine flu is in the house. I just got back from the Dr. with my baby girl. She is on day 4 with a fever all the other good stuff that goes along with it and a horrible cough that wont allow her to get any sleep rest.

I have been on the phone with the Dr. every day. Let me preface this story by stating that I love our Ped. This is not a reflection on him. This is a reflection on his front line who I'm sure have heard it all and seen it all with the H1N1 hysteria. I get it.

Here is a word of advice for all you Dr. Moms out there. NEVER DOUBT YOUR INSTINCTS when it comes to your kids. You know when something is wrong. Don't second guess yourself. I wanted her to be seen two days ago and the nurse said no because her symptoms were normal for this and that type of illness. Today I demanded an appointment. The nurse told me "well, if it will make YOU feel better, fine..." (insert screeching record sound here)

The rant that I responded with is not something I care to repeat to all of you since I would like to keep my reputation of being semi-civilized. Long story short, I made it very clear that I don't need to feel better, my kid does. She is coughing up bloody junk and she needs to see a Dr.

I was issued an apology when we arrived today and was assured that she absolutely needed to be there and needed to be seen and that I was right and the nurse was wrong. Then they talked me down off the ledge and taught me how to breathe again. They ushered us in like we were someone important. Thank you. I was told that she was one step away from being admitted to the ER for complications due to a secondary infection even though she doesn't have Asthma.

So she is on Z Pack to see if that will knock this out of her. If not, we'll do whatever we have to.

I just hate playing the hysterical mom card but I'll do whatever it takes. I'm not looking for a fight. I just know when there is something wrong with my kid and coughing up bloody junk is a problem. End of story.

I'm off to tend to the girl and try to get some sleep.

See you Poolside!

Post It Note Tuesday what will you say today?

2009-11-03T10:54:00.001-05:00

See you Poolside!

Halloween 2009

2009-10-30T17:20:00.005-04:00

Here's Pippi...don't you love the hair? I'm not sure if you can see it but her overalls say Pippi on them. She got tons of compliments on her costume. I only helped her a little bit. She even had her monkey.

that's the monkey on her lap.

cool braids!

of course Pippi would have her monogram on her clothing. She was resourceful. She'd have figured out a way. It doesn't hurt that this Pippi's mom personalizes "stuff" for a living.

Here's my angel.

Sadly, she threw up 5 minutes before the parade started at school. No parading for her. I'm glad I was right there when it happened so there was no drama. I had a plastic bag in my purse and no one was the wiser. Except the janitor that helped us out. Dad took her home right away. Let's hope it's not SF. Holding my breath.

I'm off to tend to the sick one. Have a great weekend!

See you Poolside!

Haters

2009-10-26T12:05:00.003-04:00

I have precious little time to be original today. Work is calling. I read this on a friend's blog and decided to re-post it here (with her permission) because this really hit home with me especially the line "they see my glory, but they don't know my story".

Stop over and see my friend Southern Living Preppy Style if you get a chance.

Haters
By Maya Angelou

A hater is someone who is jealous and envious and spends all their time trying to make you look small so they can look tall.

They are very negative people to say the least. Nothing is ever good enough!

When you make your mark, you will always attract some haters... That's why you have to be careful with whom you share your blessings and your dreams, because some folk can't handle seeing you blessed...

It's dangerous to be like somebody else... If God wanted you to be like somebody else, He would have given you what He gave them! Right?

You never know what people have gone through to get what they have...

The problem I have with haters is that they see my glory, but they don't know my story...

If the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, you can rest assured that the water bill is higher there too!

We've all got some haters among us!
Some people envy you because you can:

a) Have a relationship with God
b) Light up a room when you walk in
c) Start your own business
d) Tell a man/woman to hit the curb (if he/she isn't about the right thing)
e) you are a strong person and don't let people run you over
f) you have a strong and loving marriage and they can't get in-between spouses to spoil it Haters can't stand to see you happy.

Haters will never want to see you succeed. Most of our haters are people who are supposed to be on our side (like some family and friends).

How do you handle your undercover haters?

You can handle these haters by:

1. Knowing who you are & who your true friends are *(VERY IMPORTANT!!)

2. Having a purpose to your life: Purpose does not mean having a job. You can have a job and still be unfulfilled. A purpose is having a clear sense of what God has called you to be. Your purpose is not defined by what others think about you.

3. By remembering that what you have is by divine prerogative and not human manipulation. Fulfill your dreams! You only have one life to live...when its your time to leave this earth, you want to be able to say, 'I've lived my life and fulfilled my dreams, Now I'm ready to go HOME!

When God gives you favor, you can tell your haters, 'Don't look at me...Look at who is in charge of me...

See you Poolside!

Favorite Picture Friday

2009-10-23T01:00:00.002-04:00

Thing 1 and Thing 2 with their favorite toys. Waiting for someone to play with them...anybody...anybody?

Happy weekend friends!
See you Poolside!

Post It Note Tuesday what will you say today?

2009-10-20T09:04:00.008-04:00

Why bother wasting your breath, spewing verbalness... when you can simply sum it all up in one neat n tidy little post it note. Supah is hosting Post it Note Tuesday. Stop by her blog to participate.

See you Poolside!

Meme Monday - I've Never...

2009-10-19T09:31:00.006-04:00

Supah Mommy is hosting MeMe Monday...topic is 5 things you have never done that make you stand out from the crowd. I hope I got that right...

I've never....
-done drugs
-smoked anything
-been arrested
-skied for more than 5 minutes without hitting a tree
-gotten a tattoo

What haven't you done?
See you Poolside!

Lobster Mac & Cheese

2009-10-18T11:22:00.015-04:00

I was really sad to hear one of my favorite restaurants in the area closed. A mother and son ran the place. Mom cooked, son was the host. Korean infusion. Her Lobster mac & cheese was to die for. I suspect that they fell victim to this awful economy. Also construction in front of the place was a total mess and made it practically impossible to get there. Who wants to pay $24 for a plate of mac & cheese? I do. There was a whole lobster in there and they gave you enough for 3 meals. I used to eat it for days. I loved the place. It made you feel like you were in NYC. Very Manhattan, but with a mom chef cooking for you so there was some TLC added. She made everything to order. This food wasn't sitting for days, it was sitting for minutes. Her son the host was not pushy and obnoxious. He made you feel like he invited you over to his house after school for some of his mom's (fill in the blank with whatever you ordered). Great duo.

I'm done boo hooing and I decided to take a stab at making my own version. I saw Barefoot Contessa today making some on the food channel so know I'm all confident that I can do it too. I love her! I'm thinking of taking a few test runs before Christmas in order to perfect it by then. It would be so easy to put this in a chaffing dish and forget about it so that when company comes on Christmas Eve they can dig in and I can enjoy the holiday. Comfort food infused with decadence, who doesn't need that?

Here's the recipe I'm starting with. It's a cross between Barefoot's recipe & Chef Mom's recipe (which I don't have so I'm guessing on this)

1 1/2 lbs of cooked lobster meat, chunky, not shredded up..leave it big but not huge.

1 box of pasta (1 pound) (pick your favorite)

1 quart of milk

1/4 stick of butter

flour (not sure how much, but enough to make a rue, usually equal to the amount of butter?)

pinch of salt

some black pepper

a pinch of nutmeg

2 C shredded sharp cheddar cheese

2 C shredded Gruyere

1/2 C shredded Parmesan

1/2 C shredded Swiss

1/2 C shredded Romano

bread crumbs (really not sure how much)

Cook the pasta, set aside

Melt the butter, add flour to make a rue. Cook the rue for a few minutes, whisk in milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg and stir until thick. Easy on the nutmeg...I don't measure these things though.

Add in all the cheese and stir until melted. (you can set aside your favorite cheese to top this with if you want or mix it all in, up to you)

Mix pasta and cheese sauce together, then gently mix in the lobster meat. Pour into baking dish. Top with breadcrumbs and bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

This is just my test run. Let me know if you have any ideas that would improve this. Other cheeses, spices?

I can't believe this place closed while chain restaurants are thriving. I guess the stomach gets what the budget can afford. I'm sure this duo will be back in another restaurant soon. I'll be looking for them...and until then I'll be missing Chef Mom's Korean potato pancakes and her tuna and... OK, now I'm boo hooing again :(

See you Poolside!

Fall Fest 2009

2009-10-12T12:43:00.039-04:00

Fall Fest '09 was a blast. I haven't recovered yet. Thanks to all my blog friends who gave me some really great ideas for the party including food and activites. Gracias!

The Menu

veggie pizza (perfect colors for fall)
buffalo chicken dip
cheesy mexican dip
mini pulled pork sandwiches
cheesy yellow squash casserole with stuffing
baked ziti
chili
corn chowder
dessert (too much to list) but smores were a big hit.
wine from the vineyard down the road
cider from the local orchard
beer from around the globe

I made all the food except for my husbands famous corn chowder and the desserts. No one showed up empty handed so the guests provided the pies, cookies, brownies, you name it, we had it. Here are some photos... (you know you had a good time when you forget to take pictures DURING the party!)

A scarecrow greeted the guests...

New stone stairs & railing leading up to the fire pit

My husband built the stone staircase & the fire pit out back. He did a great job.

The fire pit. We had about 40-50 people out here by the time the night was over. This is where the boys kept their stash of ... (see photo below)

Here's a sample of the beer menu

We had wine tasting on the patio. The leaves were a perfect mix of green, orange and crimson.

Another scarecrow guarding the vino.

The view of our pond

corn husks and pumpkins everywhere

Setting up inside...here's the dessert table

Some gourds from the farm down the road

Here we're setting up the chaffing dishes and a few crock pots. These allowed me to enjoy the party and not worry about the food. What a life saver. The foyer is the next room to get a make over. Can't wait!

Here are my daughter's pictures. She's the only one who thought to take some during the party. This reminded me to take the date setting off her camera, or at least set it to the right date for her.

EVERYONE got their face painted.

Getting the fire going

old friends!

no party is complete without throwing a few gang signs.
KK and Leo. Are you scared of the Scarecrow KK?

We had wine tasting on the front patio, smores out back by the fire pit, most of the food was inside. We ate too much. We drank too much. The leaves were at their peak and the weather was just right for a bon fire. THIS PARTY WAS SO MUCH FUN! Saw some old friends, new friends, neighbors and relatives. The kids did face painting, games, prizes...so well behaved, every last one of them. What a great time. I'm pooped and so are the dogs...until next time...

See you Poolside!

Post It Note Tuesday what will you say today?

2009-10-06T10:02:00.009-04:00

Adventures of A Wanna Be Supah Mommy is hosting Post it Note Tuesday. If you want to play along it's easy. Here's a link for making your own post it notes. POST IT NOTES

All you'll need to do is create them, save them and then upload them to your blog post.

You can go here to link up to others who are participating

Here are mine for today...

See you Poolside!

Favorite Picture Friday Halloween 2008

2009-10-02T08:04:00.009-04:00

Halloween 2008. I was particularly proud of my oldest daughter who single handily made her own Sarah costume. She likes to make her costumes rather than to buy them and I love that about her. Sarah was all over the news this time last year and my daughter seized the moment. She decided it would be fun to dress like her for Halloween. She nailed it. The hair, the wave, the wink, trotting through our town sporting her bitty baby dressed like Trig (?)

My kid had 99.9% approval rating on the costume. People lined up for photos with her. You kind of had to be there. She was a riot and the pictures don't really do her justice. Only one person had a snarky comment for her while we trick or treated throughout our overwhelmingly left leaning village. Please, it's a costume. Everyone else had the good sense to appreciate my daughter's uncanny resemblance to Sarah regardless of their political or personal views.
(Look out Tina Fey!)

My youngest was the movie star in the pink dress. When someone asked her what she thought of all the attention her sister's costume was getting that night she said "NO COMMENT!"

Cheers!!!

See you Poolside!

Fall Fest

2009-09-30T08:53:00.011-04:00

The leaves are turning orange, the corn stalks are up, the pumpkins are out and the mums have been planted. It can only mean one thing. An outdoor FALL FEST is coming to Poolside. I have a few weeks to get a plan together for this Fall Fest party. If you have any great idea, please share!

Do you have any ideas for:

-Activites to keep the kids busy. Most will be 8 - 12 years old. Games they can play or activities they can do without a ton of help from the adults (they will be busy eating and drinking and yapping)

-tailgating recipes, Fall recipes, what's your favorite dish for this time of year?

Thanks friends!

See you Poolside!

Stick 'Em Up...Post It Note Tuesday what will you say today?

2009-09-29T05:00:00.002-04:00

Adventures of A Wanna Be Supah Mommy is hosting Post it Note Tuesday. If you want to play along it's easy.

Here's a link for making your own post it notes. POST IT NOTES

All you'll need to do is create them, save them and then upload them to your blog post. You can go here to link up to others who are participating

Here are mine for today...

See you Poolside!

All About MEme Monday - Survior Edition

2009-09-28T08:37:00.017-04:00

5 Things that I cannot possibly live without on a daily basis

hosted by Supah & Mommybrain

1. My Family

Without them I'm lost. Husband, Peaches, Cream, Handsome (pooch 1) and Pretty (pooch 2). (I am not listing Cruella deKitty because she puked on the seat that I sit on in the dining room this weekend so this is her punishment.) If anyone in the line up is missing for any length of time, I'm miserable.

Like the time my husband locked Pretty in the garage BY ACCIDENT (right) for 4 hours. I was devastated. I thought she ran away. I didn't see her in there when I checked because she was sleeping in a box. She doesn't bark when she wants something. She only barks to alert you of danger danger, like if she spies a leaf blowing across the yard or something. She would never bother you to let her out of the garage where we keep all the deadly dog chemicals. That one cost the husband dearly. Meanwhile Pretty probably thought she was on a doggie vacation from her pesky brother. Perception is everything.

2. My Computer
Without it I can't pay the bills. Seriously, it's how I make a living.

3. Honey Bunches of Oats
I eat them every day for breakfast. E.V.E.R.Y D.A.Y...and if we are out of them, my day just doesn't start like it should. I would compare it to forgetting to brush your teeth and then you remember when you are half way to where you are going and you are all skeeved out for the rest of the day. Not that this has EVER happened to me. Remember, I work at home. Ahem...

4. My Jewels
Specifically my mommy bracelet and my engagement & wedding rings. If I accidentally leave home without them, I feel like I forgot to brush my teeth (see #3 above). I have been known to turn around and go back home to get them. Not like if I was 4 hours away, but more like if were only 4 minutes away.

5. Sirius Satellite Radio
It's what I listen to all day every day while I'm working. Confession: I am a Howard Stern fan. When he gets too gross or too far out there, I just change over to some other fab channel. I love my Sirius radio. LOVE IT!

See you Poolside!

Accomplishments of a Wildly Disadvantaged Person

2009-09-24T14:09:00.016-04:00

Accomplishments of a Wildly Disadvantaged Person - Someone used that phrase yesterday during a conversation with me about our president. I had to give that one some thought. I don't pretend to know all there is to know about our president and what he went through growing up. Wildly disadvantaged? I think I heard that he went to Harvard and was raised by his grandparents and went to some other decent schools, dad wasn't there, mom was "out there". Honestly, I didn't have enough info to agree or disagree and I concluded that it's probably subjective, or relative. He probably had it better than some but not as good as others.

Wildly disadvantaged.

My mind quickly skipped over to my childhood friend Jeannie. Now there's a girl who was wildly disadvantaged in my opinion. She was born with her legs and feet sort of turned around behind her. She had no hands, just a few fingers that were fused together on one arm. One arm didn't develop much at all, probably not even to her elbow. I think she was missing some bones in her legs which resulted in her being very short. Her legs didn't bend. Thalidomide, the wonder drug right?

We lived next door to each other. I was 5. The first day that I laid eyes on her I'm embarrassed to say I turned around and ran all the way home. She was persistent. She followed me. She didn't take no for an answer. She had a hook arm. I was scared. I ran and she chased me. She wanted me to touch her arm, just so I would know that there was no reason to be afraid. I nearly passed out. She didn't give up. She won the battle and I quickly realized that she was not so scary. We became fast friends. I went from being frightened to being fiercely protective.

We were in the same grade and she had a sister that was 2 years older than we were. I was friends with her too. The three of us played together after school everyday. We played we fought, we jumped rope, we rode bikes. Did I forget to mention that she spent quite a bit of time at the Shriners Hospital getting her legs turned back around (among other things)? Well she did. I was always so sad to see her leave to go to the hospital. I loved pushing her around in the wheel chair. She preferred to walk. I loved giving people that stared at her the hairy "WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT???" eye ball. She would stop and talk to people who stared and I would give them the hairy eyeball. She was much better with people, all people it seemed. Especially weirdo's & unstable people like me. We were told not to help her in school. Her parents wanted her to be independent and we liked waiting on her. We would throw out her lunch tray, help her get her books together. Nope, parents put a stop to it. We thought they were mean. I liked to think she needed me but in reality, she didn't. OK so there was this one time that she needed me. She almost flew off the octopus ride at 6 Flags. She was literally flying off the ride and I was doing my best to hold her down. WE WERE SCARED TO DEATH. When we got off the ride we were breathless, laughing hysterically, we fell on the ground and peed our pants because...we were kids.

In high school she was not allowed to go on a class trip. I think it was to Spain. The teachers didn't want to deal with her and her wheel chair. The entire school protested and had a sit in. Eventually it all got worked out. I think her mom went on the trip or something or paid an assistant to go with her. The details are sketchy now. The bottom line is Jeannine didn't take no for an answer. Ever. Why shouldn't she be able to go to Spain? The tv reporters interviewed her. The school looked pretty insensitive. I dare say stupid.

As often happens with childhood friends, we went our separate ways. A few years ago she looked me up. She asked about my life...I told her about the kids, the husband, the business, the house. That was my big list of accomplishments. I may have volunteered for a few things here and there. Nothing noteworthy.

I asked her what she had been up to. The accomplishments came fast and furious and each was more exciting and better than the last. The first was that she could drive a car. She went to college. She got married. She got a degree or two and a job. While at college, she started an organization called SODA, Student Organization for Disability Awareness. She was appointed by the North Carolina Governor to the NC Council on Developmental Disabilities. I'm sure I'm not doing her resume justice here, I'm paraphrasing. In 2008 she became the chairman of SILC, Statewide Independent Living Council. She had become a fierce advocate for the disabled. There's more, but I'll stop here. Let's just say her reputation for the work she has done for the disabled precedes her.

We stayed in touch, an email here and there, Christmas cards. She sent me a few pictures of her niece and nephews when they came to visit her. She photo shopped them hanging like monkeys from limbs of a very tall tree in her back yard. She emailed the photo to her sister with a note saying "Hey Mom look what Aunt Jeannie is letting us do!" I wish I saved that picture. It was good work. Her sister freaked.

So yesterday I decided to email her. It's been 8 months since I heard from her. My email bounced back. I thought I would try looking her up on FaceBook. What popped up stopped me in my tracks. "A life well lived" No...

How did I not know until now? It's been 2 months since she died. She lived in NC. I guess the news didn't make it up to my neck of the woods. I've been sitting and thinking about her. Not about her being a wildly disadvantaged person. I'm thinking about the accomplishments of this wildly driven, selfless, insightful, compassionate person who was a leading advocate for people with disabilities. She was a daughter, a sister and a wife, a friend. She accomplished so much in 42 years. She far exceeded any expectation that people had for her. She is an inspiration for people everywhere, disabled or not. She never let anything get in her way.

The disability action network posted this on YouTube in her memory.

This was a long post. I'm not going to apologize for that. She deserves far more than this. But thank you to those who stuck with me to read it all.

Post It Note Tuesday what will you say today?

2009-09-22T08:07:00.006-04:00

Adventures of A Wanna Be Supah Mommy is hosting Post it Note Tuesday.. If you want to play along it's easy. Here's a link for making your own post it notes. POST IT NOTES

All you'll need to do is create them, save them and then upload them to your blog post. You can go here to link up to others who are participating

Here are mine for today...

See you Poolside!

Honored at last

2009-09-22T08:00:00.003-04:00

So... my friend Supah Mommy periodically awards bloggers who are brave enough to blog about their cat this fabulous award. I MAY have had to (ahem) *remind* her that I blogged about my cat (aka: Cruella deKitty) and she did not hesitate to present me with her fabulous award. There was a big party/celebration (sorry you missed it!) and all that because that's how Supah rolls.

Thank you Supah...thank you from the bottom of my kitty hatin' heart. OK I don't hate my cat, but you don't see me puking on her cherished belongings now do you?

See you Poolside!

All About MEme Monday: Don't INTERRUPT MEme during these SHOWS.

2009-09-21T08:33:00.005-04:00

with MommyBrain and SupahMOmmy
Five television shows I am totally looking forward to this season...
and no one (hiss) best interrupt MEme.

1. The Office
my all time favorite show.
Do you need an aspirin, because you seem a little fussy? (name that episode)

2. The New Adventures of Old Christine
Better than Seinfeld? It is for me anyway.

3. The Real Housewives of New Jersey
Is this even coming back? No one will ever top Teresa's table flip in my book.

4. 30 Rock
Tracy Morgan cracks.me.up

5. Two & a Half Men
I'm still watching this even though Charlie S is a nut job. Truther? Bleck. Shut it Charlie, you are almost unwatchable with all your political nonsense. I may have to replace you with The Dog Whisperer. TSHHHHT!

See you Poolside!

Favorite Picture Friday

2009-09-18T08:50:00.005-04:00

Fall Fun 2009
Have a great weekend everyone!
See you Poolside!

The Things We Do For Love

2009-09-12T11:42:00.008-04:00

FACT:

I took my grandmother to see Englebert Humperdink in concert.

CONFESSION:

I thought he was a little bit hot.

It's true.

She died two years ago and my mom found the ticket stub while going through her belongings. My grandmother had written on the back of it "had a GREAT time with Janine!" which made me get all choked up. Glad I took her. It was her one and only Englebert concert so....yeah. I can't explain my sudden attraction to him. I guess I got caught up in the moment. I may have had a few beers. Wait, probably not because I was driving her. No good excuse. He's a mystery man. He has some mystical power that drives those lady fans of his nuts, nuts I tell you.

I lived with her for a good portion of my childhood. She played his music all the time. I must have total recall because I knew every freaking word to every freaking song he sang.

Damn I miss her.

See you Poolside!

Favorite Picture Friday

2009-09-11T08:08:00.001-04:00

Don't judge. I liked having them home for the summer, but Mommy needs a break. Actually Mommy needs to get back to work.

On a more serious note... I remember what I was doing 8 years ago ...do you?

I was holding my 8 month old daughter on my hip, flipping channels with the other hand. We were changing from the Teletubbies over to Barney. During the flipping I saw images I couldn't believe.

I live a few hours from NYC. Within minutes helicopters and fighter jets were flying over head. Choppers and fighter jets. That's all I could hear. They're loud. I could hear my neighbor screaming. Her daughter worked in one of the towers. I called my husband to tell him to come home as I watched the second tower collapse before my eyes. I started to make a list in my mind of all our friends that worked in the towers. The rest of the day was a blur. Calling people to find out if our friends were dead or alive.

All our friends made it out alive. We should never forget those who didn't.

Triple Play

2009-09-10T11:15:00.006-04:00

In baseball, an unassisted triple play occurs when a defensive player makes all three putouts by himself in one continuous play, without any teammates touching the ball

May 2008 - Indians second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera turned the 14th unassisted triple play in major league history.

May 2009 - My 10 year old niece Sierra had an unassisted triple play during a game in her girls softball league. She's the youngest player on the team. She was moved up from a younger pee wee team to the big leagues. When I was 10 I barely knew how to stay out of traffic. I'm amazed that she didn't stop with just catching the ball. I would have been jumping for joy at that point and wouldn't have thought to do anything further.

That's my brother in the green hat kneeling down watching his daughter in the pink helmet.

Way to go sweetie. Your aunt is ignorant when it comes to sports and didn't realize what a big deal this was. Congratulations!

See you Poolside!

So long summer...

2009-09-09T08:11:00.010-04:00

This Labor day weekend was the best! Here's what we did...

My friend Kenny who lives in Hawaii sent us some tiny umbrellas for our big party weekend. We're thinking about doing a house swap. His family will come stay here and we will use his house in Maui. Who's getting the better deal? (Pretty sure we are)

Once the sun went down it was time for a fire in the back yard. Smores.

and of course our neighbor delivered again with fireworks to say good bye to summer....
(oh and the new editing tool stinks...just my opinion!)

See you Poolside!

Favorite Picture Friday

2009-09-04T07:42:00.004-04:00

I love this picture. Our friend is a photographer and she came over to our house last Fall to take some pictures for Christmas cards. I didn't pick it for the card. I knew grandma would want full face shots, but I still like the picture.

Happy weekend!

See you Poolside!

She's voting us off the island...

2009-09-02T16:30:00.022-04:00

I mentioned previously that my great Aunt Jane is researching our family history. She turned up some pretty interesting facts. Our ancestors once owned a strip of land in the East river of NYC called Blackwell Island, now called Roosevelt Island. Yup. I'm a Blackwell. Among other things. And they owned a pretty pricey strip of land down in NYC (shown above) .
*the island is shown in the photo above. The photo that doesn't belong to me, much like the island. Credit to whoever owns it.

My g-g-grandfather lived a double life. Two identities. We think my g-g-grandmother was a governess that worked for the Blackwell family. He may have married her in secrecy. We know they lived under another name. His family did not approve. Funny thing is they spelled their "name" wrong all the time. If you lie, you must remember the lie or else people will suspect you are lying.

Yes it's true that there was a lunatic asylum on this island at one time. This may also explain some of my issues and character flaws. But let's look beyond all that and talk about the real issues. I want my island back. It's worth a bundle. When I get it, you can all come live there too. We may have to vote a few celebs off ...such as....THIS COUPLE!

"GASP! They are voting us off the island..."

Ok. Let's let them stay.

Oh wait.

Turns out they already moved.

Or DID they???

Can you see I've got my Nancy Drew on?

No stoppin' me now.

Don't start packing yet though.

Things aren't looking so good in the whole "getting back my island" thing.

Oh well.

One can dream.

See you Poolside!

Effortless?

2009-08-31T12:07:00.023-04:00

When I said we were going out like a lion this summer, I wasn't kidding. There was a steady stream of traffic here at Poolside. The past two weeks are a blur. I may have blacked out. Not sure. In a word. Overwhelmed. Just call me Martha. With no help. And less money.

Me, my girls and my mom getting ready for dinner out. Chef needed a night off.

It started with my mom coming to town. I have to get used to the fact that all bets are off when Mammie walks through that door. The dogs are wild the kids are wild and unfortunately I turn into a Kate Gosselin. Mostly because we run Poolside like a well oiled machine and I don't need anyone mucking up the works over here. My sanity depends on it. A delicate balance is what we have. I work here. I play here and I run a tight ship. (I wonder how many more idiomatic expressions I can come up with in this post, somebody save me) It seems to me that some people intentionally try to undermine my efforts to keep everyone calm around here. It could be that I'm just paranoid. The kids love it when she comes. Honestly, I do too. Relaxing? Not so much.

We had friends, cousins, brothers, nieces, aunts and uncles stopping by. I could have used a chef, a maid and a revolving door. Oh and a towel boy. And a waiter. I like entertaining but it does tire me out. I feel like the Tasmanian devil. The funny thing is that people tell me that I make it look so effortless. Really? It doesn't feel effortless. Do you think they are being sarcastic?

I remember going to my great aunt's house as a kid. She threw all the family parties (hmm...sounds familiar) and she made it look effortless. I have to remember to thank her for all the effort that she put in to those "effortless" parties that I loved going to as a kid.

Speaking of my great aunt, I did have a visit with her and my uncle last week. She gave me a lot of information about our family tree. She has been busy researching our family history. Very interesting stuff. I had a Nancy Drew moment with her. I was more like Bess or George. She was Nancy. Totally into this mystery. That's her below. She is my grandfather's baby sister. She and my mom are close in age. They look and sound very much alike.

Uncle H, Cream, Mom, Great Aunt Jane, Peaches

I won't bore you with anymore details of our visits, mysteries & parties. Suffice to say that I. am .worn. out.

My mom left Friday night and my in-laws arrived a few hours later. Change the beds, cook, serve, clean up, prepare for the next meal, repeat. That's my gig. They just left last night. While they were here we had some pool fun, retail therapy and a little block party. Sweet ending to a busy busy few weeks.

Trying to squeeze a few more fun days before the kids go back to school. But today, we just need to rest...You know where you can find me!

See you Poolside!

Favorite Picture Friday

2009-08-28T09:12:00.007-04:00

The lazy days of summer. Fishing in the Adirondacks. I like how Peaches is propped up against her dad and Cream is sashaying down the dock like it's a runway.

We are at maximum capacity here at Poolside. Monday things should be back to normal when all the company leaves. Entertaining is lots of work, but lots of fun too. Making memories. That's what it's all about right?

Hope you all have a great weekend!

See you Poolside!

Please don't go...

2009-08-18T08:14:00.015-04:00

One of our old neighbors hanging with the ladies...

Summer, please don't go.

If you don't flip the calendar over to the new month will time will slow down? The answer is no, I've tried it and it doesn't work. My kids go back to school after Labor day so the push is on. We need to have tons of fun before summer ends. We had a rainy start but Mother Nature has stepped it up and given us some long stretches of sunshine recently. We're good now.

My kids got their class assignments in the mail. One sobbed, the other jumped for joy. I bet the jumper will be sobbing and the sobber will be jumping sometime soon. Isn't that the way it works?

Enough about school....our social calendar is booked solid. I guess we're trying to go out in a blaze of glory. My mom is flying in this week. Family party this weekend along with assorted visitors and other parties and neighborhood parties and play dates...and...and... my head is going to pop off, but this will be fun. We will not be going out like a lamb this summer. No sir. We're lions. Or maybe butterflies.

The school has a butterfly sanctuary thingy and I took the kids the other day. Very impressive. The free guided tour was about a half hour long and the whole thing is run by the kids. Some kids were tour guides, some were face painters, some worked the gift shop. Impressive. Nice job kids. This school district rocks. Glad to be part of it.

Here's our old neighbor dog Duff with his mom & grandpa. Duff was a little shocked to see how big my dogs got since we left the hood.

We also had a whole big bunch of our old neighbors over for a BBQ by the pool. It was good to see them. The day we pulled out with moving van and swore we'd see them all the time was apparently not a very realistic expectation. Not like living on the same street. Just 30 minutes away and it took us a year to get together. Reality bites. Life is busy and life gets in the way. It was good to see them. How could you not love a visit from the Duff?

Speaking of life, I decided to take today off and visit some relations. We're pooling it off premises today. A little mental break before my Mother gets here tomorrow. And that my friends, is a topic for another day.

See you Poolside!

Favorite Picture Friday

2009-08-14T06:54:00.004-04:00

They grow up so fast...

Have a great weekend!

See you Poolside!

Thanks Dave

2009-08-12T14:09:00.002-04:00

My post "Unforgettable" was a runner up for post of the day over at Authorblog.
Thank you Dave. It took some doing, but I figured out how to get over there after seeing comments from some of readers.

I'm honored!

See you Poolside!

Does this body make me look pregnant?

2009-08-10T19:54:00.049-04:00

My Dr. neighbor was over the other night chatting it up with us when this story came up. Oh how we laughed...it's funny...now... sort of. It's a funny little story about how one of our neighbors insulted both of us in one fell swoop. We diagnosed her with diarrhea of the mouth. (because he's Dr. and he can do that. I just agreed with him. I'm not a Dr. I just live near one.)

When we moved here last year my dogs were still adjusting. No leash, big yard, new found freedom. In and out was their favorite new game to play. I would get up in the morning, let them outside and leave the door open for them so they could come in and out at will. My very own homemade version of a doggie door. Except it's the people door. Whatever. I'm energy challenged so I didn't want to keep getting up.

The rules of the in and out game state that I am required to lay on the couch, staying very very still, eyes closed (snoring is optional). I have mastered this game.

So, there I was, lying on the couch, eyes closed, doing my best to play by the rules (no cheating) when I felt a wet tongue licking my face. Upon opening my eyes I saw a dog who had not been invited to play this game.

"Who are you and what did you do with my dogs?" I said
No reply. Just heavy panting.
"Out you go then" I said to the sneaky panting kissing bandit intruder dog
More panting

I was forced to break the rules by getting up off the couch. This completely knocked me out of the running the all time record of lying perfectly still during the in and out game. I took intruder dog by the collar and dragged him out the doggie/people door.

I found a woman standing in my yard with a leash in her hand looking dogless.
"so sorry!" she yells
"no problem" I yell
"are you Todd's wife?" she yells
"no, Todd's wife lives across the street and she's nine months pregnant" I yell
"I know" she yells
(insert scratching record sound here)

Did she seriously just mistake me for a woman who's 9 months pregnant?

Apologizing, she said there was a simple explanation for this case of mistaken identity. She and her mother had just been discussing the two new families that moved in down the street (us and the Dr.) The word on the street was that the "pregnant one" (Dr.'s wife) who was 9 months along, really only looked about 5 months pregnant. See! All better. Simple mistake.
(insert scratching record sound here)

Did she seriously just say I look 5 months pregnant?

She went on to say that she mistakenly assumed the Dr. and his wife lived in my house because it's a tad nicer than the one across the street (the one that the Dr. actually lives in) and she heard that the "other wife" (aka: me) owns a business and works at home.
(insert scratching record sound here)

Did she seriously just say that my house was nicer than the Doctor's house?
OK. All better. Carry on.

Wait...

Did she just say that I should be living across the street in the "less nice"house because I'm not a doctor and I'm just a work at home mom?

Who stole this woman's internal filter?
Why is she on my lawn?
Where is my couch?
*Note to self - Close doggie/people door from now on.

See you Poolside!

Unforgettable

2009-08-08T14:07:00.025-04:00

Did he ever REALLY love me? He. just. can't. remember...

My nephew came over the other day. He tells me he's dating a new girl who's father (and I quote) "thinks he may have dated you in high school but he can't remember" to which I replied calmly "OH REALLY?????? HE CAN'T REMEMBER???"

Seriously did you ever say to yourself (or anyone else) "I can't remember if I dated (fill in blank)" I think not.

I've been practicing a Julia Sugarbaker style rant, in case I want to call him to clear this up.

"Hey, it's me...you remember me? It's your "I can't remember if you were my girlfriend" girlfriend from high school. I heard there may be some confusion about us dating during our crazy high school years. Seriously stud muffin, you can't remember if we dated? Well let me jog your memory for you. Considering that you uttered not one word to me during our 4 fabulous years together, I think we can conclude that we DID NOT date. Considering that my one and only memory of you is how you didn't move a muscle to help your baby sister who fell ass over tea kettle down your snow covered icy driveway in the middle of winter as she ran to catch the bus, breaking her arm in the process, it's safe to say we did not date. As she lay there writhing in pain, and you sat there paralyzed with laughter, any aspirations I may have had of dating you went right out that bus window. No, I think I passed on you and your bad manners. And let me just say one last thing, if we had ever dated, I promise you that there would be no question in your mind as to whether we "did" or "didn't" do anything because like many other boys in that God forsaken school that my parents moved me to during their "reunited" tour, you would NOT have been able to forget about me. Of. this. I. am .certain."

(Maybe the many other boys part is a little over the top, should I take that out?)

Let's hope these two crazy kids don't get married. I don't want to have to see my conveniently paralyzed pretend ex boyfriend with his failing memory at my nephew's wedding.

See you Poolside!

Beach? Really?

2009-08-07T22:05:00.008-04:00

Went to the beach with a few friends today. After I said we would go I was thinking, beach? What beach? Who knew we had a beach within a few miles of our house? Not me apparently. I need to get out more. We had a fun day and now we have a cool new hang out. What kid doesn't love to play in the sand?

Yesterday a few girls came over for the afternoon. Is it a bad thing that I let them beat each other with the noodles? They seemed to enjoy it and no one cried so that's a bonus.

Ahhhh...summer.

See you Poolside!

Favorite Picture Friday

2009-08-07T02:19:00.000-04:00

These are found around the track during racing season...cool huh?

See you Poolside!

Boats, Snipers & Cheeseburgers in Paradise

2009-08-02T08:15:00.039-04:00

The Captain's fleet

The people (Captain & D) who used to own our home host a party every year at their new place complete with live music, open bar and great food. They invite all of the people who live on our street as well as friends and relatives.

They stopped by last year just after we moved in to personally invite us to their party and did the same this year. They invite everyone in person because it gives them a good reason to come back to their old neighborhood and say hi. I think that says a lot about them and a lot about our neighborhood. They spend the entire day driving around hand delivering invitations catching up with everyone. In this high tech fast paced "email it in" world that we live in, there is something to be said for old school face to face visits. I like it. It also convinced me that our street is full of fine people who are easy to live near and worth coming back for. I like that too.

Last year I couldn't wait to get to the party. It's natural to be curious about the kind of home they bought when they left here, isn't it? Maybe it's just plain nosey. Either way I loved every minute of it. I had to know why they gave up this house that I love so much. What about our view? What did they trade that in for? I had a a lot of questions. The minute we arrived, there were some obvious answers to a few of my questions. It turns out that they traded one fabulous view for another. The new house is located the banks of the Hudson River. He's a retired police investigator turned boat Captain with a fleet of boats docked on the Hudson (those are his boats in the first picture) Makes sense he would want to live on the river. The view of the river, while different than ours, is just as breath taking. Their new house. Well that's fabulous too. It's fun when you have permission to be nosey.

So the party was yesterday and we had a great time.

Peaches and one of our neighbors on board the Julia Mae. Minnie is disembarking via the river rather than the gang plank. Bye bye Minnie. No more party for you.

The kids loved playing on the boat that was docked at the house. With steel drums playing in the background we drank on the banks of the Hudson while catching up with our neighbors, dinning on jerked chicken and cheeseburgers (in paradise). What a great party. We've had a shortage of sunny days here. Yesterday was the exception. Perfect party weather. It felt like summer finally arrived.

Here's my husband day dreaming in the wine cellar. Wishing they built this in our house before they decided to move on...

Last year I was checking out the big things, the view, the gardens. This time I took in the finer details. Making our way to the wine cellar this year, I noticed a framed letter hanging on the wall. There were many, but this one stood out. It was from President Ronald Reagan congratulating the Captain on his bravery. He caught a sniper who had killed 5 people in our area when he was a member of the police force. I had to ask Captain for the details on that one. He's a good story teller. I loved hearing about all the drama leading up to the arrest and how Captain was almost the 6th person to be killed. Nancy Drew was getting her fill out of this visit.

When we were leaving Captain asked me if I was still loving the new house after a year of living there. I told him I wake up everyday not really believing that it's our house. I love the house, I love the neighbors and I am thankful I'm here, but it's still hard to believe it's ours. He smiled and said "that's exactly how I felt everyday when I lived there" and I swore I spotted a little tear making it's way out of the corner of his eye. He gave me a hug and said "see you next year?"

Oh yeah Captain, we'll see you next year.

See you Poolside!

Favorite Picture Friday - Cruella deKitty

2009-07-31T02:09:00.003-04:00

This picture is not thrilling. It's just Kitty and Bashia hanging out together. Why is it one of my favorites? Because it took me 2 years to get this to happen. Peace in my home at last. Here's the thing...Kitty is not a dog lover. She's a dog hater. She makes coats out of dog fur in her spare time. Cruella deKitty.

I adopted Kitty 12 years ago. Her prior owner bought a puppy and Kitty attacked it repeatedly. That's how she rolls. She pretty much hates all animals. Kitty was headed for the shelter. I couldn't stand to see her go even though I didn't want a cat. Pets aren't disposable unless they eat your baby or something.

So it took her 2 years to be able to sit this close to the dogs. Now they totally submit to her feline super powers. She probably would have adjusted to her last canine room mate too given some time. Beau actually went after a neighbor dog that got too close to Kitty the other day. Apparently he's working security for her now.

If only she and I could get along. We have a love hate relationship. Kitty pukes on everything I love and I hate it. She got me the other day. Right by my office chair, stepped right in it. At least it wasn't in my printer this time. That's just the way it is with Kitty. No respect.

See you Poolside!

Giveaway

2009-07-29T15:29:00.003-04:00

Click here to enter to win this fab chalkboard over on Spoil The Baby. Giveaway ends 8/5/09.

See you Poolside!

Favorite Picture Friday

2009-07-24T02:25:00.000-04:00

I've spent most of my summers in the Adirondacks. Home of the Adirondack chair of course.

Feeling a bit like Edith Ann here...

See you Poolside!

Shots

2009-07-20T19:20:00.014-04:00

Our trip to the Dr. part 2 ...I have no funny pictures for this...

I decided to tell the girls one hour before departing for torture time so they had time to brush, flush and all that other stuff, but not enough time to allow them to dwell on them impending doom.

Big mistake. One child melted in seconds. Let's call her Basket case. I gave up immediately. I had to call in the big guns. Dad to the rescue. I can't drive (very well) when I'm flustered and there is no need to kill everyone by running the car off the road while driving them to this life saving act of torture.

So we got there, we waited, we sobbed, we cried out in pain, we screamed...and this was just in the waiting room. My Cherub giggled. She giggles when she's nervous. That, I can tolerate.

Finally they call us in. Basket case gets to go first because she is in a mood. She was saying things she shouldn't be saying and was being down right rude to our beloved Dr. O ...so I had to stop the exam right there...we don't talk to Dr. O this way. (Insert attitude adjustment here)

Rewind to 1999. I'm a new mom of 2 months. A nervous tired new mom of 2 months who's baby decides she doesn't feel like breathing any more. I'm in the ER in the middle of the night watching every breath she takes ready to pounce on her or ring the buzzer or do whatever will save her. The neurologist tells me that she may have permanent brain damage because she has had 10 or more seizures today where she has stopped breathing. Oh goodie. OK did I mentioned she has the highest score in her school for the national Language Arts test she took this year? I think I did. Obviously no brain damage, maybe the opposite.

During this ER ordeal, Basket case's pediatrician (beloved Dr. O) got up out of his bed in the middle of the night when he was not on call to drive 20 miles to the ER to tell me in person that my little basket case was not going to die that night. He wanted to let me know in person that he would be there in the morning to run some tests and all would be well. He couldn't sleep because he knew I was worried. He knew what Neuro guy told me and he assured me he was wrong and they would duke this out in the morning. That worked for me. I didn't sleep though. Please.

Did I mention he was NOT on call that night? Two words for you Dr. O from the nervous tired new mom who thought that she was about to lose her baby because of payback for some terrible things she must have done as a child/teen/young adult whatever...two words for you...forever grateful... OK, back to 2009...

Basket case is sitting on my lap facing me with her head buried in my chest, sobbing like crazy and clinging to me for dear life. I didn't hate that. It's been a while since she felt the need to crawl up on my lap and cling to me.

First shot she screams and cries. On the second shot she screamed and growled at the nurse. It was a little Linda Blairish. Kind of scary...
"GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME NOOOOOOOOOOW!"

Even Cherub was startled.

Now, at first I did not fully appreciate her comment. But I was thinking as I sat there in her sea of slobber, I like your style kid. This phrase may come in handy when you start dating. I'm not going to break your spirit. Say it like you mean it. Isn't that what we teach our kids? She has no problem conveying her thoughts and feelings to others. No grey area here. Get your hands off me now. I like it. Wish I had thought of that. Say it with me..."Get your hands off me now!" Everybody...

Round 2 was a no brainer. Cherub just took it. Just like her mom. She's a knuckle biter. The idea is to inflict more pain on yourself than what's coming at you in that needle. Control freak much? Just like mom.

So how was your day?

See you Poolside!

Spoiling Aunt

2009-07-20T09:33:00.007-04:00

Today is not a day that I've been looking forward to. The girls have their annual check ups and both need an immunization or a booster or something that boils down to a shot. The only thing I hate worse than getting a shot is making the girls get one. I just wish I could send someone else with them so I don't have to witness the torture.

I talk a good game but I'm a big baby. I tell them how it's not that painful and that a scraped knee hurts a lot longer and a lot worse. I'm not sure I believe my own hype. I hate shots but I'm going to keep a brave face. It was actually easier taking them when they were babies. At least they couldn't yap at me for hours after the shots accusing me of child abuse. I'll resort to bribery, I just know it. These annual check ups wind up costing me a fortune when you add in the bribes. I don't think congressional budget office is taking the cost of the bribes into account with all the number crunching they are doing with national health care. That's another kettle of fish...

Oh well...on a brighter note...

Love this picture of my niece.

This weekend was great. My brother brought my niece over for a fun day at the pool. I'm trying to get her for a week this summer. I may have to settle for less. She's a pleasure to have around. She calls me her "spoiling aunt". All of her other aunts should just step aside. Don't even think about trying to dethrone me. Can't be done. Move along...

See you Poolside!

Camp Chaos

2009-07-13T17:55:00.000-04:00

Do you send your kids to summer camp? I don't. This seems to freak people out. When they find out that my kids stay home all summer, seemingly normal people turn into raving lunatics. Friends, family and strangers, makes no difference. There's one in every crowd. I typically don't pry into someone business and then offer advice where there isn't even a problem. I'm nosey, don't get me wrong, but I don't lecture.

This question has been asked about a million times since school let out ..."Why aren't you sending your kids to summer camp?" Followed by a recommendation of where I should send them and a lecture on why they shouldn't be home.

I've tried to be polite and give a short simple explanation. That doesn't seem to work. I feel like these people are salesmen for summer camp international and they've all been told that they must convince me to send my kids to camp. Is there a bonus involved? Is the fate of mankind at risk? If I keep the kids home will all the polar bears to die?

A simple explanation doesn't seem to stop the lunacy. I decided that I am going to carry a list with me that I can read off when this subject comes up. Sort of like a cop reading a perp their Miranda rights...

you have the right to remain silent (and I hope you will)
we have the right to stay home all summer
If we have a horrible time, we have no one to blame but ourselves.
if you choose not remain silent, you may be removed from my Christmas card list (gasp!) don't make me do it!
my kids like to sleep in and so do I
I am on a hiatus from packing lunches until September 09
we are vacationing at the rectangle resort located directly off the side of the house
no one watches my kids better than I do and I trust no one
we have a pond, a pool, an algae riddled frog observatory (ever since the water pump broke on the "water feature"), a few acres that back up to a mountain and 2 dogs that need to be played with. Oh, and a basketball hoop.
they can fish, swim ,hike, bike, scoot, catch frogs and play games anytime they want right here at Camp Chaos
4 of their American Girl dolls still need haircuts
unstructured play time rules

I would never tell someone how to raise their kids and I apologize to anyone that I've done that to. Can you imagine if I started lecturing people on how they should be keeping their kids home during the summer? Your kids, your choice. I'm more of a live and let live kind of gal.

I have to wonder why anyone cares if my kids are going to camp. I try not to judge anyone about their life choices (out loud). I wish people would stop judging me. It's like I make them nervous or something....is it that out of the ordinary to be home all summer?

So tell me, where are your kids going?

Really?

What makes you think that's such a good idea?

Do you want to know what I think?

I didn't think so!

See you Poolside!

Favorite Picture Friday

2009-07-10T04:11:00.001-04:00

We were at a wedding. We hadn't told anyone that we were expecting our first baby. I had to run out to buy new dress earlier that day because I couldn't squeeze into the one I was supposed to wear. I think I was in denial. Hence the last minute shopping trip. Question of the evening..."Why aren't you drinking?"

See you Poolside!

IN YOUR SENIOR YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL...

2009-07-06T17:33:00.010-04:00

That's me in the middle with my friends Lori and Sue coming back to school just after knee surgery, no uniform for me!
Semi Slacker did this and I thought it would be fun...play along!

IN YOUR SENIOR YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL...

1. Did you date someone from your school? Yes.

2. Did you car pool to school? No, I rode alone, with nobody else...

3. What kind of car did you have? A Chevy something, I just remember it was huge. (Malibu?)

4. What kind of car do you have now? 2009 Mercedes Benz ML350 (black)

5. Its Sunday night...where are you now? Home, always!

6. It is Sunday night...where were you then? At my friend Lori's house.

7. What kind of job did you have in high school? Worked for a landscaping company. I planted flower beds at a local mall and picked weeds all summer. You can't believe how many weeds it takes to fill a shopping cart. Dirty job.

8. What kind of job do you do now? Work at home mom, I own an on line boutique, or three. I make a lot of personalized "stuff".

9. Were you a party animal? No but I did have fun, I think...wait, I can't remember. Ok, maybe a little.

10. Were you considered a flirt? Not so much

11. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? None in Senior year, stopped all that in middle school.

12. Were you a nerd? Not so much, but I enjoyed the company of nerds.

13. Did you get suspended or expelled? Never

14. Can you sing the fight song? Heck yeah. I was a cheerleader.

15. Who was your favorite teacher? Mr. F, my Social Studies teacher

16. Where did you sit during lunch? Lunchroom with some boys who were considered unpopular (nerds). They were a lot of fun and super nice. A few turned out to be VERY handsome so you never know girls don't count the nerds out! One is a successful electrician who works for us when we need that kind of stuff done around the house. He's a nerd turned hunk.

17. What was your school's full name? I don't want this to come up in the search engines so I'm skipping this one.

18. When did you graduate? 1984

19. What was your school mascot? Bulldog

20. If you could go back and do it again, would you? No way. No how.

21. Did you have fun at Prom? Sure, I was voted prom queen so that part was fun. But the most fun I had was going to another school's prom when I was 23...long story, but boy was that fun. Not in a child molester way though...OK, it was a small school, first I was asked to be a chaperone, then one boy needed a date, I looked the part, teachers begged me, had his parents blessing (very important), it was so much fun! It was all about dancing. He was voted king. Go figure the kid couldn't get a date but was the king of the prom. Way more fun than my own prom.

22. Do you still talk to the person you went to Prom with? My prom, yes, If I run into him, sure. His sister was here a few weeks ago. I still love his family.

23. Are you planning on going to your next reunion? No way. No how.

24. Do you still talk to people from school? Yes. My daughters are best friends with two girls who are sisters. Their mom and I used to ride the bus together when she was in elementary school and I was in high school. I always loved yapping with her on the bus. We both moved away and then later in life moved to the same town. Now our kids are bff's. Did you follow that? So I see her all the time. A few others too. Facebook is also helpful. I've been talking a lot more classmates than I used to. Love it!

25. School Colors? Maroon and Gold

26. What celebrities came from your high school? The only one that comes to mind is a whack packer on the Howard S. show. His claim to fame is drinking. I'm guessing if you listen to Howard you know who this is. Not really much to brag about. Sorry if I missed anyone else. I have no clue. I wasn't there very long. I was "imported" for high school and left to go to college. I wasn't a lifer.

27. Did you play a sport? Volley Ball, made the team by accident and I was a cheerleader. I know, most people don't consider that a sport. I get it.

28. What was your favorite club? Yearbook

29. What class or teacher did you fear? Typing and the teacher who taught it. He was miserable.

30. What class was your favorite? Human relations (psych class). Same teacher as in #15 above. He was a great teacher. He really understood kids.

See you Poolside!

Weekend Recap

2009-07-06T12:08:00.015-04:00

The front yard fireworks did not disappoint. They were fabulous! My dogs did not agree. Beau spent the night hiding in the shower. We enjoyed them. I feel like we should make a financial contribution to our neighbors who put on the display, but fireworks are illegal here so then that would make me an accessory after the fact or something.

We had a few friends stop over during the weekend but for the most part it was a very low key around here. It was nice to not have anything to do for a change.

I wear glasses, I'm not a big fan of contacts. They give me a headache. I never have had a great pair of prescription sun glasses. The frames are typically very small and never cover enough of my eyes. I'm always squinting. FINALLY I found a pair of prescription sunglasses (DKNY) that are larger than usual and the best part is that I can actually see now. My husband keeps calling me Posh. Thanks honey. I think we could fit three of her in this body but whatever. At least he's not calling me Scary or Sporty. I never liked them.

Anyway, little things make me SO happy. Like, being able to see for instance!

Hope your weekend was fab.

See you Poolside!

Sisterly Love

2009-07-04T18:14:00.003-04:00

I love you because Mom said I have to...

Happy 4th of July!!!!

See you Poolside!