The Plan ...

I can't believe it's been over a year since I've blogged! I know life gets in the way at times but hell!! Where have I been and what have I done with this past year? I vow to do better. Since this blog is essentially my life's journal it needs to be prioritized into my schedule. I can't even begin to recap an entire year in one post but I can share some highlights.

Let's see, where to begin? I guess I'll just bullet point events as they pop into my head:

• Heidi's and Mark's wedding - June 9!
• Heidi's and Mark's baby announcement - shortly thereafter June 9!!
• Peanut moved on to Rainbow Bridge - May 7
• Cari completed her 4th year at JMU - May 11
• Trip to Carlsbad - May 15
• Morgan turned THREE! - June 15
• Bradley's and Emily's wedding - June 16
• Vacation in the Smoky Mountains - June 17-23

I'm sure there's been so much more but I'll just start with those. Needless to say it's been a busy year so far and this fall is going to be just as busy. That's why I need to get my act together and be consistent with blogging.

"Big Pool!!"

After sleeping late, Heidi came over for lunch and we all headed over to Regina's for some pool time. Morgan is talking up a storm and parroting any and everything she hears. It's so cute!! I had picked up a float and some water balls (you know the baby loves her some balls). On the way over we were telling her that we were going to a big pool. She knows what a pool is because her MaMaw has an above ground and she loves it. You should've seen her face when she saw the big in-ground pool! So cute!!

She was a bit clingy in the beginning. I think she was just overwhelmed. It didn't take her long to get over it though. She absolutely LOVED when Regina turned on the fountains. It's hysterical how she loves to get under them and get her head all wet! Heidi put her floaties on and before long she was jumping off the stairs, the side of the pool and even the diving board. She was fearless!! We'd be playing in the water and she'd look at me and say, "Jump?" LOL When I said, "Sure, go ahead!" she'd go up the stairs and walk around to the side and jump to me. I can't even begin to tell you how many times she did that. Regina called her the little energizer bunny because she did not stop the entire afternoon. She wasn't the only one who was gonna sleep good that night.

Regina made these incredible chicken nachos for us to snack on (should've taken a pic of those too). It was the perfect afternoon! We have to do that again before the end of the summer. It was heaven!!

Heidi said Morgan fell asleep in the car on the way home, around 4:30. She had to wake her up to try and get some dinner in her and Morgan cried through it. Went back to sleep and didn't get up until almost 7am Saturday morning. I think we wore her out! :)

So sad ...

The anticipation for the final Harry Potter film had been building for months, years actually. I think many of us had conflicting emotions about this film. I was so excited about seeing it, but at the same time was so sad that it's over. We had to say goodbye to Harry, Hermoine, Ron and the rest of the gang.

Cari and Matt drove down on Thursday and we met at PMS Deli for lunch. From there we ran some errands and the rest of the afternoon and evening flew by! We left here around 10:00pm to pick up Regina and get to the theater a little early (or so we thought) so we could make sure we got a good seat. R-I-G-H-T ... There were 18 theaters (some large, some small) showing the movie at midnight. You could sit anywhere you could find a seat - with the exception of the 3D theater. We went through most of them an even 90 minuets early we couldn't find four seats in any upper section. It was crazy!! We ended up sitting in the back row of a lower section - closer than we'd have liked but it was the best we could find. The time passed fairly quickly (playing Angry Birds - LOL) and soon the lights went down and it was time ... for previews. After 20, or more, minutes of previews the movie finally started!

Those two hours went by fast. I loved the movie and thought they did a good job (mostly) of portraying the book correctly. They did change a few things but for the most part it was accurate. It was a late night. I think we got to bed around 3:00-3:30am. But it was awesome.

25 Years!!

I guess I'm just getting bloody old. Bob and I have been married for TWENTY FIVE YEARS!!! Wow! It still blows me away! I'm so lucky to have found a man who puts up with me day in and day out. I know I'm not the easiest person to live with some days - especially with this hormone deprived, menopausal body now. There are days even I don't want to be around me. They suck. Still he loves me anyway. He may not like me some days but he still loves me. There are so many instabilities in life it's comforting to have a partner who is stable. I've always said he's my rock, my grounding rod. We are so very different, Bob and I. Like night and day on lots of things. But where it counts, home, family, core values and such, we meld pretty well.

He surprised me with my very own new Nook Color reader!! I was so excited!! I still have my issues with not being able to share digital books I buy but I guess I'll learn to work around it. At least with the Nook I can borrow books from the library and read them for free. You still can't do that on the Kindle. (On a side note, Dad is loving his Kindle!) I was in the middle of reading Iris Johansen's "On The Run" and immediately went to the library to see if I could check it out and finish it on my Nook. I could!! That was pretty cool! It's going to be so nice traveling with it! I'll really get that experience on our trip to Alaska.

We went to Burton's Grill at Hilltop for dinner. It was one of the best dinners we've ever had! Bob and I split their Mediterranean Salad for an appetizer and it's always good (with a nice bottle of wine of course). For our main course they had fresh Alaskan Sockeye Salmon that was to die for! It was over some kind of fresh corn salsa (and you know I love corn!) and slices of fresh tomatoes from Pungo. We ordered Creme Brulee that finished it off nicely! We waddled back to our car. What a wonderful day!!

Ahem (clearing my throat) ...

... no literally. I've been feeling poorly since Monday. Woke up with a sore throat and just dragging. The coughing started Wednesday night. My voice started going Friday afternoon. Today (Sunday) is the second day of absolutely no voice whatsoever. I talk to myself - a lot. And yes, I answer myself too. Is that an indication of intelligence or Alzheimer's? Not sure but I'll choose intelligence thank you. I've always talked to myself, even growing up. I remember trying to figure algebra problems and talking my way through it in class. Maybe it's a product of being an only child. Who knows? Anyway, now I'm whispering to myself. I forget I don't have a voice until I try to say something. If it wasn't so frustrating it would be funny. Anyway ...

Can't believe it's been two months since I've blogged. So many of life has whizzed by!! And wait, two months from today we'll be on a plane heading to Alaska! I can't believe it's that close! We've been planning this for months now. It's incredible to believe it's only weeks away now. I am so not ready! Well I'm ready, but not ready. You know what I mean! I've always wanted to go to Alaska - always. So we decided to take the trip of a lifetime for our 25th wedding anniversary! OMG the pictures I'm gonna take!

Mother's Day - Cari made me an awesome chocolate pecan pie! We had breakfast at Rock-a-fellers and snow crabs for dinner. It was a wonderful day!

Kenny!! Our summer started with a bang on June 4 going to see Kenny at Fed Ex Field. Jamie went with us and the yewts (Cari and Matt) met us at the hotel. We got to the parking lot as they opened the doors and had a wonderful time tailgating most of the afternoon. Carla and Eddie joined us - it was great reconnecting with them again. (More on this in a separate post.)

After coming home from Kenny on Sunday, I started getting serious about getting my act together for Nashville! Cari arrived Tuesday about lunchtime and the frivolity followed!! The whole trip (with the exception of Miranda Lambert being a bitch) was awesome! For me, the best thing about it was just being together. Six full days with Cari and Missy! We had a ball!!

We landed about 11:30pm Monday night - exhausted and elated. Cari had planned to stay through Father's day and Matt arrived Thursday afternoon so he'd be here for Morgan's 2nd birthday party (which was awesome!) on Saturday. The Troupe crew met at Jewish Mother for breakfast Sunday morning - that's always a fun time! Cari left Monday for Harrisonburg Monday afternoon. The bug that was working on my body had already latched on. It was a long week. So that's where I am right now. Time to back up and fill in some blanks ...

Happy 2nd Birthday to Morgan!!!

It's funny. On one hand I can't believe it's been two years since Morgan was born. On the other hand, it's hard to remember back to a time she wasn't a part of our lives. She's always been beautiful but I swear she's even more so every time I see her. It's humbling to realize there's a little bit of me in there somewhere. She was napping when we arrived so was a little groggy at first. Cari was so excited for Matt to finally meet her! Whether she remembered Cari or not (it had been about six months) it didn't take Morgan long to warm up to her. Babies and kids naturally take to Cari - she's like a magnet to them.

We ate, opened presents - LOTS of presents! - sang, had cake and played in the pool! Tiffany and Lauren were blowing up the beach balls I brought - Cars, Princesses and Nemo. Morgan saw the Cars one and said, "vrooom vrooom!" It was so cute! She's always loved balls - and the movie, "Cars." This summer she's a little fish in the pool too. Poor thing, she was shivering and turning blue in the pool but still didn't want to get out.

For more birthday photos, click here.

Happy Easter! Blessings Galore ...

The weekend started on Friday by having lunch with Heidi for her birthday. How in the hell she's supposed to be 29 still has me completely stumped. Didn't I just turn 29 a couple of years ago? Anyway, we had a wonderful visit even though Morgan was sick with a double ear infection. She was still a sweetie and pretty dang pleasant considering how crappy she must've felt. Lauren and Tiffany had been trying to get her to tell Heidi "Happy Birthday" and she was so proud of herself saying "Bir-day!!" It was SO CUTE!! The only thing is that she's associating her Easter baskets with "Bir-day!!" I guess she'll have it figured out soon enough.

Saturday morning we left early to drop Peanut off with Dad before heading to Charlottesville to meet Cari and Matt for lunch. We ended up at a favorite Italian restaurant. Cari and I both got pasta with their famous "Pink Sauce," Matt ordered a Stromboli and Bob a personal pan pizza. Everything was wonderful and we certainly walked away satisfied. After browsing some of the shops it was time to hit the brewery - Starrhill Brewery, about 13 miles away in Crozet. It wasn't a "Cari" thing to do but we knew Matt would really enjoy it - and he did. I don't think they've seen the last of him. We enjoyed sampling six of their creations on tap - well we enjoyed most of them. One, Double Platinum, was perfectly horrid! It's extra hoppy and literally turns your mouth inside out! Nasty Asty!! None of us could even finish the sample. After filling two of Rick's Growlers with Cryptical and Love it was time to move on.

Before we left though, I wanted Cari to open some of the goodies I took her. A couple of months ago she ran across a fabulous deal on a complete set of all seven NCIS seasons on ebay. Unable to resist, I bought them. She's a hopeless NCIS junkie. She was thrilled when she saw I brought them to her. Our neighbor, who is NCIS, managed to finagle a personalized autograph of Michael Weatherly for her. I hadn't said a peep to her about any of this and was dying to see her surprise when she took it out of the bag (along with MY personalized autograph of Mark Harmon!!). Surprise is putting it mildly. She was amazed!! And softy that he is our neighbor said her joy over it made HIS day!

On the way to Harrisonburg Bob and I stopped at the hotel to check in and freshen up. Salad Creations, one of the local places was where we found ourselves for dinner. To my knowledge, we don't have anything like that here. They have quite a few salads on the menu, but you can also create your own. It was very reasonable and everything is fresh - it tasted wonderful!

The movie "Source Code" was next on our agenda. It was certainly different! Bob stayed awake through it - that's saying something! We went back to Cari's apartment to enjoy a cup of tea before going back to our hotel room. By the time I had my face washed and pjs on it was nearly 11:30. Bob was soon snoring and I didn't get much reading done.

This morning Cari wanted to fix us some of her wonderful banana pancakes for breakfast. She was right - they were delicious!! After visiting some more over an awesome breakfast it was time to leave for home.

Delivering the Growlers was the last thing on our agenda for today. We had no intention of assisting to "kill" them - but that's just what we did. So, all in all it was a perfect weekend - time spent with younguns, family, friends, good food and last but not least, good beer = good times. Like I said ... Blessings Galore ...

Happy Easter!

Spring!!

Well I guess spring is officially here. While most people are loving this weather, me not so much. The pollen is killing me. The yellow/green dust from all the pines covers everything. I'm a prisoner in my own home. By the time the pollen is mostly gone it'll be so hot I'll still be miserable. Between allergies and menopause I've really become more of a winter person. Fall has always been my favorite time of year anyway - now even more so.

Anyway, I'll do a week in review. I can only review the latest week because I can't remember enough to review the whole month and a half I've missed. Last week wasn't my best week. Oh it started off good - it just went in the toilet pretty quickly - and I mean that literally. I finally got a new iPhone on March 17. That piece of crap LG Voyager was really on its last leg. I was loving my new phone!! There's a few quirks that I'm not thrilled with but mostly I was in love with it. Monday I met Heidi and Morgan at Mom and Dad's so we could all go to lunch together. It was lovely! The weather was good (for most people, that means sweating while doing nothing for me), lunch (at Panera) was delicious and we had four generations together! That doesn't happen every day. When we got back to the house I just slipped my phone into my back pocket and grabbed my keys - left my purse in the car. Long story short, I went to the bathroom before leaving to come home and guess what? I forgot my phone was in my back pocket. When I went to pull my pants down that baby flipped right out and went swimming!! You have never seen anyone dive so fast into a toilet in your life! It was only in there a second - thank goodness it was clean water! (All of a sudden I really didn't even have to go anymore!) My heart sunk about as fast as my phone. Not pretty.

I dried it off and it appeared to be okay. I took a breath. I thought maybe I retrieved it fast enough. I didn't say a peep to anyone about what happened. Still hoping against hope it wasn't damaged I took it out to snap a picture of Morgan ... um, not good. The view was all cloudy. First major sign it didn't escape unharmed. I left not long after that and was constantly checking the phone to see if the camera was any better. I plugged it into the radio and it even played my tunes fine. I still had hope ... for a while. Until I picked it up and it was hot to the touch. Not a good sign. I didn't know if it would dry itself out or just continue to get worse. In the end, I decided to go by Best Buy and ask what they recommended. Thankfully, we purchased the Black Tie program and it was exchanged without a problem. I had to go back to my piece of crap phone for a few days but on Thursday morning I got the call saying my phone was in and I could come pick it up. That was a happy day.

Knitting
I am making my first wearable garment - well I guess that isn't actually true because I started a Kimono last spring. But a Kimono is a cardigan and it doesn't have to fit particularly well to be acceptable. I started a Miley-tee a couple of weeks ago. The yarn I'm using is Cascades Ultra Pima and it's a beautiful rich teal color. I love the sheen of this yarn. It's 100% cotton so it's not exactly forgiving to work with but I think it will be worth it. Anyway, Friday morning at S&B I was so excited to get to the point of putting the sleeves on a holder and just working in the round on the body. The sleeves and body of the top added up to nearly 400 stitches per round - it takes a while to complete a round. I had never been ecstatic with the way the "v" had come together when joined but figured there was some little finishing technique that would "improve" it. Well I broke one of the sacred rules when I started this top - I didn't read the pattern all the way through before casting on. As written, the "v" is fairly deep. Since I didn't want to have to wear something under the top, I decided to join it earlier than the pattern stated. Well, the instructions for joining were further down on the directions and I didn't "catch" it until about 3" past where I joined. I was sick. I knew ultimately I had to frog (rip out) all the way back to the join and do it again. Three inches may not sound like much but when you're looking at nearly 400 stitches per round ... well, let's just say it's a lot. Saturday morning I sucked it up and ripped it back. Challenging though it was I managed to get all the stitches back on a needle and have been playing catch up. I'm still not back to where was on Friday but I'll get there.

I also had to rip out some socks I was working on - quite a few times. Not a very productive week for knitting. But ... there's always the next week!! I finally got the Kimono I started last spring seamed on Monday. Karen came over to help me figure it out and between us we did. So yaaahh!! It isn't perfect but nothing I make is so that's ok. This was a learning experience and I didn't spend big bucks on the yarn for this project so if it ends up being a knock around the house sweater, that works for me. I still have to do 7" worth of garter stitch all around the front (lapel) so it's not done - but a whole lot closer than before!! It will be my auto-pilot project - except when it's too hot, which would be today. It's supposed to be almost 90 degrees today. I'm hibernating.

TTFN,
QB

Mar 1! How did that happen?

I can't believe it's been three weeks since I've blogged! I think it's because I just haven't felt up to par lately. My sinuses just aren't very happy these days. It's not bad enough to put me in bed but it is bad enough to keep me from being motivated to accomplish anything productive and the energy needed to accomplish anything productive. I haven't even done much knitting lately. I did finish a pair of baby clogs for Morgan (but I'm afraid they're a wee bit too little for her - sad, so sad) and a couple of dishcloths. After rummaging in my stash, I pulled out yarn for another pair of baby clogs and the little owl. I actually started the owl - got the body done. Haven't picked it up since. Haven't touched the clogs. Sigh ... I guess that's just not what I want to do right now because I found myself just staring at the TV not knitting at all. So last Thursday night I pulled out a ball of sock yarn to start a pair of socks and retrieved my Lady Eleanor (entrelac stole) that was put on the back burner the end of September (so I could complete some Christmas gifts). Now this stole is in James C. Brett Marble in gorgeous brown, gold, green and orange. I LOVE how it's working up. But it's unlikely I'll wear if before fall. If I don't finish it soon, though, it'll get too hot to work on it. So, hopefully, I'll get it done before it gets hot.

Went to get some baby love Valentine's Day. Nothing like some baby love to brighten and sweeten your day. We played together, laughed together and had a wonderful time. We hadn't been out to lunch in a while and ended up at IHOP. I won't even go into that story here. But suffice to say it was not a good experience and I came home and wrote a letter, a very detailed letter, a letter with pictures. I haven't heard anything from IHOP and I may not. But I could not let this experience go without letter the powers that be know how bad it really was.

OTN: I started my first pair of 2-at-a-time, toe-up socks Saturday. This is the only way to go for socks. The toes are done and I've got about 1-1/2" on the feet done. I'm really like thing so far. I've also done several tiers on my entrelac stole.

Today I'm going to pick up my first set of photos to start scrapbooking our Florida trip. I haven't scrapped in so long I won't even know where to start but I'm gonna give it a whirl.

Went to the annual quilt show with Mom on Sunday. It's the first time we've ever been. Wow! It was incredible! We'll do our best not to miss it again. I'm not even a quilter and I loved it. Quilts today are just crazy gorgeous! They really are works of art. I'm gearing up to start Cari's music t-shirt quilt though. I've been talking about this thing for years. It's gonna feel good to actually start it (with Fran's help of course!).

I think that's all the news for this time. Hopefully I'll have pics to share next time (socks, stole, layouts, quilting progress, etc.)

Happy March 1st!

Home Sweet Home

As I sit on the plane flying home reflecting on this incredible, wonderful, beautiful, exhausting week we’ve had I can’t help but be filled with mixed emotions. We could’ve spent so much more time at each park we visited, but I don’t think our bodies could handle any more days. We’re all exhausted – a good, satisfied exhausted, but exhausted nonetheless. Mom and Cari began the trip with laryngitis and coughing. Mom’s voice came back in a few days but she still has a congested cough. Cari hasn’t felt her best but has managed. Bob started feeling bad Wednesday, even opting out of going to Universal on Thursday and stayed behind in bed instead. He plugged along at Hollywood yesterday but is still feeling like crap this morning. I am so thankful I haven’t felt any of this so far – I’m not quite sure how I’ve managed to escape whatever this mess is living with all these sick people all week, but at least if I come down with it now I’ll be home.

We have gone hard this week – every day. No need for a gym these last seven days. I know we’ve managed to walk at least three miles a day – and most of that walking with a backpack on my shoulders that I’m afraid to guess how much it weighs and a Nikon D200 with a zoom lens hanging around my neck – I need a massage. I’m taking the rest of the weekend off. I’ll pick back up Monday … maybe. I can’t wait to get home and get caught up on the rest of my journaling and start editing photos. I managed to journal the first two or three days but the rest of the week I only made bullet point notes. I have well over 1,000 photos to sift through – and that’s with already doing a major weeding out of only so-so images. It’s going to be a challenge to pick only the best of each attraction/event to edit and print. I bought a 200-photo Disney album. Do you think I can get it down to 200 photos? Then I’ll have to go through again and choose the ones I want to use for scrabooking. I’m also ready to get back to eating normal. That was the biggest downside this last week – our food choices were pretty limited.

My top three for the week:

            Harry Potter Land and having a Butterbeer (Islands of Adventure)

            Photographing the Castle at night (Magic Kingdom)

            The Hulk roller coaster (Islands of Adventure)

Bob's top three for the week:
           The Extreme Stunt Show (Hollywood)
           The Whale Show (SeaWorld)

           Buzz Lightyear ride (Magic Kingdom)

Cari's top three for the week:
          The Hulk roller coaster (Islands of Adventure)
          Harry Potter World and having a Butterbeer (Islands of Adventure)
          Rock'n Roller Coaster (Hollywood)

Mom's top three for the week:
         (still pending...)

Home …

Dropped Mom off and picked up Peanut, stopped by Panera to pick up some lunch and it was about 1:30 by the time we got home. After eating I got a small burst of energy and managed to unpack most of my stuff before crashing. We all crashed. Bob’s still sick and crawled directly into bed – and has stayed there.

A White Christmas! (sort of ...)

We haven't had a white Christmas since 1948, and we barely had one this year ... but we sure had a white day after Christmas this year! Talk about the blizzard of Christmas 2010. I started taking pictures as soon as my feet hit the floor - and pretty much all day long. Cari, Matt and I went out once but the rest of my shots were taken from inside and open doors. Oh wait, I did go back out to get some of the Cardinal shots. It snowed all day long and was still snowing when we went to bed around midnight. Sometime in the afternoon I put a ruler in the snow on the deck (it's actually still there) and it measured about 7". By the time we went to bed it was up to 12" ... crazy!

As we watched the 11 o'clock news they said with the preliminary totals this is the third biggest snow on record for our area. No way was anyone expecting this. In fact, we were on the border for the 2"-4" area. Guess they missed that huh?

Christmas Day

Cari's last clue for her Treasure Hunt was at the bottom of her stocking. As she pulled it out, she sighed knowing she'd have to put her thinking cap on so early in the morning. She had time to think about where to start looking while we opened the rest of our gifts. It took a few tries but she finally figured out where to look. And here she is grinning with her new "baby" ...

Getting her to put it away and get ready for brunch was a challenge, but she managed.

We had a wonderful breakfast with the Troupes. Lots of food and alcohol (Mimosas, Poinsettias, Bloody Marys), conversation and general chaos. Later in the afternoon we drove to Mom and Dad's, ate again and visited. Zachary has a cold and wasn't feeling his best but was still too damn cute in his little Santa hat.

We headed home around 5pm since snow was predicted. We wanted to get home before it started and the roads got bad - plus we were tired. LOL While we were sitting around watching football and vegging out, I got up to look out the window around 9pm and freaked out ... HUGE flakes were falling and it was coming down fast!! Cari and I immediately grabbed our cameras and began shooting through open doors. It didn't take long for us to get shoes and coats on and head outside though. So exciting!!

No telling what we'll wake up to in the morning ...

Christmas Eve ...

I can't believe it's been over two months since I've blogged. Will definitely have to remedy that next year. Life has been busy as always - I guess more so as we moved into the holidays. I started Christmas knitting November 1st - I'm still Christmas knitting. I never get everything done I want or intend to complete, but that's just what I do. I love making things for people who I know really appreciate and love and effort behind the gift. As many as I have managed to make in the last two months, there are plenty more I wanted to get to that I didn't - time just runs out on me. So those projects will probably be completed some time during the year and just given to the recipient whenever it's done.

I've got lots to do today. There are a a couple of gifts not wrapped, only because I need bigger bags, but those are the only ones left "naked." Bob and I went out yesterday (yeah, I know) and managed to find some new dishes. Since we're hosting brunch Christmas morning it'll be nice to have pretty new plates to use. They're just white square plates and pretty boring, but are nice quality and hopefully they'll wear better than the last set we had. The old set was only about 6.5 years old but were pretty ragged looking. So in addition to all I had planned yesterday, we ended up out in the madness looking for dishes. THEN I had to come home and open everything, load the dishwasher and clean out the cabinets (trying to find a place to put the old stuff until I can get rid of them). So I didn't get started on my cooking yesterday like I had planned.

I still have to finish Cari's clues for her Treasure Hunt tonight. We started that tradition about eight years ago when she got her flute for Christmas in 7th grade. The next year the big gift at the end was her piccolo. I missed a couple of years in the middle there somewhere but, believe it or not even at 21 now, it's something she looks forward to and requests each year.  I only have about three clues written as of this morning. We'll do the Treasure Hunt tonight. I really need to be writing those clues instead of sitting here blogging because I have to do that when it's quiet. I'll get to that next. So for now I guess this will be it.

Oh, I wanted to mention Florida too!!! I am finally beginning to get a little excited about vacation! We've never taken a vacation this close to Christmas before. I'll tell you one thing, it certainly takes long term the excitement out of the equation. There simply isn't time to think about AFTER Christmas when you have so much to do FOR Christmas. But now that it's Christmas Eve and most of what's gonna get done is done, I'm allowing myself to start thinking past Christmas Day ... I am SO looking forward to not only vacation, but getting to spend an entire week with Mom.

OK, and am going to finish for now ... hopefully I'll get a chance to check in tomorrow after things settle down a bit. So,

tata for now

ETA - it's almost midnight, we've made it through the day. The packages are wrapped, the food is prepared. Gift are basking in the light of the tree for the last night before being ripped open and discovered. In 24 hours it will be all over for another year. An entire year sounds like it's so far away. Unbelievably is comes incredibly fast. So here I sit reflecting a bit. Probably won't reflect too long because I've already taken my Ambien. LOL You'll probably be able to tell when it starts kicking in - I'll make even less sense than usual. :) Cari started her treasure hunt before 10:00pm. I actually stumped her (temporarily) on a couple of clues. She really had to think a while before she got them. Bob helped on a couple of them, giving her a direct clue she'd never miss. I was ready to slap him! Then Cari was ready to slap me. She usually gets her big gift at the end of her treasure hunt. Well this year I took a detour. She got all but her big gift tonight. She'll get the clue for the last gift at the bottom of her stocking in the morning. She isn't too happy about that part. But it'll go fast in the morning so all will be well.

Midnight now so I'm heading to bed ...

some random thoughts ...

Twenty-one years ago right now I wasn't even in labor yet - that would begin in about another hour (around 8:30am). I remember being so relieved when my water broke - relieved that FINALLY the time had come to see this beautiful new little person Bob and I had created. That sounds good doesn't it? While it's true, in reality I was simply miserable! LOL Of course it was Friday the 13th - my due date was the 18th. What can I say? Friday the 13th's are fabulous days for me! I can remember calling Bob telling him to come back home, jumping in the shower (had to shave my legs dontchaknow?), picking up Heidi from school and driving to Mom's (my doctor was in Portsmouth) and waiting until I was ready to go to the hospital. I'm sure there are parts of that day that are a complete blur, but there are parts that still remain vivid in this boggled up, hormone deprived memory of mine. Bottom line, our little bundle of joy was born at 4:00pm on the dot.
I can remember moments thinking, "I wonder what she'll look like and be like as an adult." Incredibly, now I know. It's so difficult to wrap my head around the fact that it's been twenty-one years now. If I haven't learned anything else in these last fifty years, I've learned that the days, weeks, months and years go by so quickly it'll make your head spin. It doesn't seem like it in the moment, but damn! How did I get to be this old? With one daughter 28 (and a 16 month old grand baby) and the other one now 21? Cari's in her third year at JMU. I swear it seems only months ago I was going through the motions trying to enjoy all the "lasts" of her senior year of high school. It just doesn't seem possible it's been nearly two and a half years ago we attended Orientation and weeks after that dropping her off to live in a dorm for the first time. Talk about an adjustment! I'm happy to say I did manage to adjust to my quiet, empty nest. Oh I still miss her and we talk most days, but I've learned to enjoy my "me" time.

And we're off in a few hours to surprise her at dinner tonight. I'm so excited!! Cari and I are pretty close in our thought processes so it's not easy to surprise each other. So far, I think I've managed to keep this under my hat. She thinks we're coming Saturday for her birthday. Yeah, like I'd really not be there for her twenty-first birthday. I can't wait to see her face. :)

Fast forward to nearly 11pm. I think we managed to surprise her. We were waiting at the restaurant when she, Matt and Jocelyn walked in. I was so excited I couldn't stand it. Cari has always been just a wee bit more reserved in showing her excitement - except when it comes to Kenny, no holding back there. We had a wonderful dinner at Kyoto - a Japanese style restaurant, a quick stop at the mall, then off to Outback for dessert and some fruity drinks. Cari's first legal drink in public was a Mai Tai. All too soon it was time for us to part. It was a short visit but I'll take it. Nothing could've kept me from being here to celebrate her 21st birthday. Back to the grindstone tomorrow ...

Happy 21st Birthday!

I Blinked

Happy Birthday Honey

Can’t believe you’re 21.

How can that be possible?

Where has the time gone?

I have this slideshow

Flipping through my mind

Of so many memories

As I rewind.

What happened? What went wrong?

I guess I blinked, just a little too long.

Just yesterday

You were a little girl

With pigtails and braids

In a make-believe world.

Now you’re a young woman

Living her own life

Making her own decisions

Like a bird taking flight.

What happened? What went wrong?

I guess I blinked, just a little too long.

Even as a teenager

You were such a delight

We laughed ‘til we cried

Many a night.

Now you’re off at college

Doing your own thing

And I watch with pride

As you spread your wings.

What happened? What went right?

I guess I blinked, and woke to a beautiful sight.

Love you,

Mom

Paper or Plastic?

How about cloth? So, went to the doctor yesterday for my annual checkup - that's always so much fun. You know, after this experience I think I'm going to investigate purchasing my own gown for the future. No, I'm serious! The nurse did let me wait until the doctor was finished in the next room so I wouldn't have to sit there naked and"draped" (and I use that word loosely) forever. Still, sitting there for five minutes in that state is rather uncomfortable. They don't use real cloth gowns anymore. They use freakin' paper. She gave me a cropped top from paper (that opens in the front) and a sheet of paper to place over my lower half. ... Um, ok. First off, as I was trying to put the "top" on I kept hearing it tear. Bloody hell! There is nothing to help keep it closed in the front. If I pulled it down far enough in the front to hold it closed, the back barely covered my shoulder blades ... keep in mind I just have a stiff, thin piece of paper covering my lower half in the front, so my entire backside is just hanging in the breeze so to speak. I tried tucking it in under my thighs - didn't work so well. I'd pull the back down and I'd hear something tear - again. I'd try holding it closed in the front and the damn thing was up around my shoulders in the back. UGH!

By the time she (the doctor) came in I gave her this evil eye and said, "You know isn't very effective, right?" Yeah yeah yeah - she went to explain they used to have the cloth gowns (yeah, I know - I remember them!) and they went to paper because the cloth gowns weren't cost effective. That brings me back to why I'll purchase my own for next time. She asked me if I wanted her to get me another "sheet?" "Um, no, let's just get this over with so I can get dressed!" That being said, she proceeds to start this conversation with me about any questions or concerns I have, what prescriptions I need refills on, etc. After sitting there holding my front together for a good 10 minutes or so (I think my hand and arm was locked in that position), she decided to get this show on the road and says, "OK, lift your arms." Now I've just spent how long trying to hold everything together, needing another pair of hands to do it successfully and she tells me to raise my arms. Uh huh. You know what happens - everything just falls away. I know I'm at the doctor, but really? Oh but wait! I gets better!!

After the boob exam, she tells me to scoot to the end of the table. Sound simple? While it should be, it seems nothing is simple with me. Oh, and I'm back to trying to hold everything together again ... I've "flashed" a few times during the conversation and exam so am a bit sweaty ... can you see where I'm going with this? The freakin' paper is sticking to me like glue!! As I try to scoot to the end of the table, I'm taking all the paper with me! Nice huh? Un-be-lieve-able. It wasn't pretty. I'm sure it's nothing she hasn't seen before but still ... anyone know where I can buy my own real cloth gown?

Hopefully I have until next year to solve this little issue ...

Neptune Festival

The Neptune Festival has once again come and gone. The entire Troupe clan met down at the beach Saturday morning to browse the craft vendors. It was hot. I mean really hot. It was record setting hot. The car read 97 deg on the way home around 2:30 but the official temperature at Norfolk International was 96. I don't know if it was just too hot or if the art show wasn't that great this year. We found a few things that really caught our attention but not much. The one thing was all had to walk away with was these fabulous "YaYa Hats." They are just too cool! Every female in our group had to have one. We took this shot after our lunch at Ocean Eddies:

Soon after lunch Bob and I ended up heading home. The sun was brutal and it felt like a July or August day - both of us were just done.

Sunday morning Bob played golf but I met Mike, Paddy, Lynne, Bill, Lisa and Camryn down at 9th Street to see the sand castles. They never fail to completely amaze me. The talent to create these incredible masterpieces blows me away. The weather had done an about face and it was very windy, cool and threatening to rain. We were only down there for about an hour but well worth the effort.

Maybe next year I'll try to get down there before the crowds and get some nice shots without people.

American Citizen!

I was so incredibly honored to be a witness at Regina's swearing in ceremony today. This day has been coming for a long time. Excitement (and frustration) had been building for weeks anticipating this day. It was finally here and Regina had her own cheering section - hell we had almost an entire pew! Everyone from S&B was there, plus Rick and Kathleen. She had been told the ceremony would begin at 10:30 so we all arrived around 10am. Soon after she was informed the ceremony would be divided into two groups and she was in the 12:30 group. Since there wasn't anywhere to wait for two hours, we decided to walk to a nearby coffee shop to wait. The poor security guards didn't quite know what to make of us - they were all pretty somber the first time we passed them. We seem to make a scene no matter where we go or what we do. The Norfolk Courthouse was no exception. One of the guards we passed on the way out said, "You guys remind me of a sitcom!" I responded by saying, "You have no idea."

After grabbing a snack and something to drink, we headed back to the courthouse about 11:45. At this point, the poor guards just shook their heads at us. As we filed into the courtroom and took our seats and the giggling began. I swear you just can't take us anywhere. It was pretty pathetic at one point. We'll laugh over anything. Behaving just isn't in our vocabulary. But boy we know how to have fun. The ceremony finally began and we sobered up a bit. It was interesting to see where everyone was from - several from Germany, lots from the Phillipines, a few from Pakistan and Aghanistan, and the UK. It was going pretty well until Ben Loyola got up to speak. Good grief! Thank goodness Fran had her purse and was doling out the tissues. He had us all in tears. His story was incredibly moving and his emotions almost got the best of him on several occasions.

The entire ceremony really made me stop and think about what it means to be an American citizen - something a lot of us take for granted on a daily basis. I am so thankful to Regina for the opportunity of this experience. Of course we were whooping it up and waving our little flags as we exited the courthouse - the guards were just a grinning as we left ... I wonder why?

We found ourselves at 4-5-6 Fish for a celebratory lunch where we did a bit more whooping and quite a few toasts to the new citizen. It was an awesome day and I am so proud to be an American!

OBX Weekend!

OBX Weekend

Missy rented a cottage for the weekend - a birthday celebration. Mom, Missy, Regina and I were all so ready to get away for a couple of days! Of course Missy had black napkins, plates, balloons, and a birthday ice cream cake. Nothing goes with wine like ice cream cake! LOL Regina had made a yummy lasagne for dinner and all we had to do was heat it up. Settling in for the evening, we got out our yarn and put "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" on - Regina had never seen it before. I gave Mom my old iPod and she was in music heaven - you should've seen her giggle with excitement! Hope the thing doesn't die next week!

Saturday morning we had Oven Baked Strawberry French Toast for breakfast (can you say yummm!?) and headed down to the beach with our books and chairs. Mom, Regina and I walked the shore collecting shells (not sure why, it just seemed the thing to do) while Missy sat and read her book. After lunch we showered and did a bit of shopping - Mom wanted to go buy a little iHome and we wanted to hit the yarn shop before it closed. Mom bought me some baby alpaca I had picked out for my birthday. Can't wait to make that scarf! We went to The Black Pelican for dinner - Mom, Regina and I got delicious Nuts and Berries Salad topped with grilled shrimp. Missy got a shrimp and crab bake - it was divine! Regina made us some tea when we got back to the cottage and we decided to take a walk on the beach to work off our dinner. Mom, however, stayed behind to enjoy her new music. The beach at night was magical. All too soon, it was time to pack up and head back to reality. We all agreed we need to plan one of these weekends again - very soon. It was very therapeutic for all of us.

Happy Birthday!!!

Auntie Joan and Lynne arrive from England on the 10th. Since Bob and I were out of town the weekend we didn't see them until the big birthday dinner Tuesday night. Jean turned 80 on the 15th and Joan turned 88 on the 16th. We had a wonderful celebration at Zoes on 19th Street. Joan and Lynne both are loads of fun! It was awesome to see them again. Since Herb, Jean and Joan were leaving the following morning for Myrtle Beach, I planned to go to hang out at Mike & Paddy's pool with Lynne. Peanut and I had a wonderful afternoon visiting with Lynne and Grendle. We had such a nice day I decided it would be a good plan for Thursday as well! Bob stopped by after work and we all went to a nearby Mexican restaurant for dinner. I've had such a wonderful time getting to know Lynne more these last couple of days. It really makes me want to go to England even more now ...

... and tomorrow I head to the OBX for the weekend!! sigh ... life is good :)