Trust that little voice in your head .....

It's a New Year

2009-01-14T10:53:00.002-05:00

So...one of my goal for the New Year is to jump start this blog again. I have been doing the facebook thing but I have had many family members that asked for the blog to come back so here it is. :)

Today Mike starts his first day in the Borgata Winter Open poker tournament in AC. To keep up with how he is doing click on his blog - http://heffmike.blogspot.com/.

Let's hope he does well with this tourney !

More to come....J

Poker Craziness

2008-05-22T11:31:00.004-04:00

Mike, my wonderful hubby, has already got a seat on the Battle of the Bloggers Poker Tournament on June 8th -- IF, he wins, could mean another trip to Vegas for us this summer for free. ;)

Last night we both played the Mookie and had a great time. (It took my mind off of my sister Emily for awhile. We got her autopsy last Friday and we have all had a hard time with it. ) I finished 7th and Mike - 8th. We get to do it again tonight -- both Riverchasers online and AIPS tonight. Maybe if I win Mookie or Riverchasers I could also get a seat in the BTB3 and play in the WSOP. Check out his blog for more info on our night of fun. :)

It's a better chance of winning than the lottery........

More blogging over the long weekend.....I have many photos to post of us and the kiddies. :)

Ashleigh makes headlines

2008-03-31T16:08:00.003-04:00

My niece Ashleigh made the front page of the paper Sunday in the Hattiesburg American. I haven't seen Ashleigh since she got her hair cut. She looks so cute in this photo and sooooo much like my sister Emily (also her Mom). :)

Hard to believe I use to be the one of running all over town taking photos for the Hattiesburg American.

Poker update

2008-03-28T12:07:00.002-04:00

So, I ended up bubbling out last night in 11th place on Riverchasers BBT on Fult Tilt. I am not going to go into detail like Mike does, but it boils down to I had AK - ended up going all in at some point and the person with QT ended up spiking on the river. Oh well...such is poker. :)

Overall I think I played well. This has been my second time to play Riverchasers and both times I did pretty good. Of course my play is so different than Mike's that he doesn't understand why catch hands and people fold when I raise. I guess it's the redhair. :)

Poker, Poker, Poker

2008-03-27T21:22:00.003-04:00

So, Mike and I are both playing in the same online tournaments tonight on Full Tilt. Riverchasers which has 95 people playing and AIPS III which has 143 players. Of all the tables somehow Mike and I ended up on the same table for BOTH tournaments. In fact in the AIPS he is directly to me left. Should make for an interesting evening.

We will see who makes it farthest, who gets more cash, who takes down who for this evenings entertainment. hehehehe. Last time I finished 7th in Riverchasers...can I make it to the final table ?

Stay tuned for more.....

Fun in Pittsburgh

2008-03-25T09:45:00.006-04:00

Mike and I had a ball visiting in Pittsburgh with Jill, Riley and Phil. It was our first time to meet Jill's new man and he is wonderful. We had a blast at Jill's birthday party. Afterward we drove about 40 miles up to West Virginia to play poker at a new poker room called Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort.

You can read more about it on Mike's blog. It was fun playing live for really money. It has been awhile since we did that. We ended up $161 in the black so that was gas money for the trip. ;)

Here are a few pictures from the weekend and Jill's party:

Mike after a hard night at the Irish Bar snuggles up it Riley's bed with the Sponge Bob Pineapple.

Jill and Riley

Jill and Phil

Jill with her special birthday drawing of "her" as a police report -- go figure :)

Phil having a silly time with all

Mike takes a self portrait of us kissin'

Jill and I

Mike and Jill

Phil friends from college - they were a trip !

Meet the new nephew

2008-03-23T09:41:00.001-04:00

Michelle and Philip said it was ok to post these happy new photos of my new nephew. He is doing great ! Very healthy and is a wonderful baby. And tons of red hair. :)

I am an Aunt...again :)

2008-03-18T08:01:00.007-04:00

On Friday, March 15 at 11:17 pm Cason Lee Smith made his entrance early into the world weighing 4pounds 15oz and 17 inches long. It is reported by "Nannie" (my mom) that he has curly red fuzz like a few other boys in the this family. I guess that story on redhead dying out has not reached our family yet. These crazy "ginger people". :)

Pictures soon to come of the wee one.....

This is the first baby for my brother Philip and his wife Michelle. Both baby and Mom are doing great and they both came home on Monday.

As far as when Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Mike get too see their new nephew -- we are hoping to go down to Mississippi with the kids for a visit during the summer.

Here is a photo of the new parents from my wedding.

Spring Break and spring to come

2008-03-16T20:12:00.000-04:00

Mike and I took Katy and Gabe to BWI Airport today for a trip down for them to visit their Dad in Mississippi. Which means right now we are child free for the week (we don't count Adam anymore as a kid since he is almost 19). On Thursday we take a few days off and head up to Pittsburgh to see Jill, Phil and Riley for Jill's big birthday bash. I can't wait to Jill !!

Spring seems to be trying to make an appearance here. One day it is warm, next day down in the 30's. I am ready for the 70's to get here soon. To learn more about our crazy weather check out my favorite DC weather blog -- Capital Weather Gang.

The Cherry Blossom Festival starts in two weeks -- just in time for them to bloom, the signal of spring in DC and on even a better note -- a visit from Mike parents that weekend. This year we are going to brave the crowds and get a up close look along the tidal basin.

Hard to believe it has been a year

2008-02-19T13:01:00.003-05:00

Hmmm...... This time last year (Feb 19) Mike's condo got a contract and we bid on out place.

So many good and wonderful things along with a few tragic things have happen this year.

A few highlights:

Feb 12th - Mike and I become officially engaged
Feb 24 - Put in a contract on your house and won the bid !
March 12th - Mike moves into my house in Annandale
March 30 - Vacation to St. Pete and Key West
April 20th - Close on our house, Mike moves into new house
April, May, June - Mad rush to work on our new house before kids and I move in
June 13th - Adam graduates Annandale High School
June 16h - Mike and I tie the knot
June 22 - Big move from Annandale to Reston
June 23 - Sad, sad day - Emily passes away
June 26th - Travel to Mississippi for Emily's funeral
July 3rd - Start honeymoon to California
July, August - Unpack the house like crazy people
July 31 - Kids return home from Miss, Summer camp begins
Sept 4 - School begins
Oct 19th - Jenn's 20th High School Reunion
Nov 15 th - Successful run the HWES Fall Festival
Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec.... - Run around like crazy people taking kids to Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Soccer, Chess Club, Swim Team
Dec - Holidays - need we say more :)
Jan, Feb - more of Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Chess Club, Swim Team
Feb 9th - Weekend at Red Fox Inn

Now -- more weekend home projects, soccer begins soon, we count the days until Spring and Summer. And hopefully go on a vacation soon.....:)

Busy, busy

2008-02-19T12:50:00.003-05:00

Sorry I have not had time to post. Every weekend Mike, I and the kids have something going on. And I have been starting a great new project at work. So...here is an update on what has been happening...

Gabe won 1st place in his Den and 2nd place in his pack during the Pinewood Derby, He completes in the districts this Saturday

Katy is now doing swim team 4 days a week and is getting quite good. She came home with best report cards she has ever had -- making almost all A's and the honor roll.

Mike FINALLY is getting moved to Mon-Fri -- all day shift at AOL. Whee !

Mike and I celebrate my birthday and V'day by going to Middleburg for the weekend of Feb 9th. We stayed at the Red Fox Inn which was nice. And check out a new wine bar in Middleburg, by Boxwood Winery, who also plans to open one in Reston. We also went to the 1st Annual Virginia Wine Expo (an indoor event) and had a great time trying new wines.

That's all for now....I'll update over the weekend. ;)

Let it snow...please let it snow......

2008-01-15T11:53:00.000-05:00

Maybe it is because I am a southern girl but I am fascinated by snow. (And weather in general) Right now we are getting a very tiny snow squal moving through. And just like magic the sun is out again and all the snow stops. A very tiny dusting here in NOVA. Let's hope we do better than this soon. There is really something magically about watching the snow fall and everything turning white. I love when we get a lot of snow and no one is out, not even a car on the road -- the stillness and the snow is so peaceful.

Capital Weather is great about letting us know when it might snow -- so far we have not gotten much this year. I am ready for one big one then onto spring. :)

New blog features

2008-01-02T18:16:00.001-05:00

I have been a tad under the weather today but while resting I added a few new features to the blog. You can subscribe now to it and it will email you when there is an update. Or you can have it go to your RSS feed.

I also added lots new links including a feature on wines (in the links). Lots of great wines to try, places to see, ect.

I am also starting a new blog i will send out the link for soon on my weight loss journey. I think if I can blog about it --says what works for me, what doesn't work it might help me and other people along the way.

Hope everyone had a great start to the New Year !

Happy New Year !! 2008 !!

2007-12-31T20:40:00.000-05:00

Well...what a year it has been. A contrast between the very, very good (My marriage to Mike) and the very, very sad (Emily's death). As this new year starts in less than 4 hours I am very optimistic that this year will be one of the best.

Mike and I are very blessed and we both try to remember that and remind each other of that every day. I am so lucky to be Mom to my great kids...Adam, Gabe and Katy.

One of my New Year Resolutions is to start blogging again, on hopefully, a daily basis again.

A fellow blogger on the world wide web welcomed a brand new baby girl on this New Year's Eve....I can't think of a better way to end 2007 and start 2008 -- congrats Becky and Brendan !

Here is a toast wishing everyone -- our family, friends (especially my pregnant SIL and other expecting friends) and many others a wonderful, happy and very blessed 2008 !

I am famous ..but no one knows it

2007-11-13T21:19:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite blogs to read is The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs. It is rolling on the floor, laughing your ass off, funny. Well, while I was searching 80's photos for my class reunion I came across a really throwback ad for Apple. Though "Steve" might get a kick out of it so I sent it to him and he posted in within an hour. So, the "much love to Jennifer" is me. :)

Check out the comments under the photo he posted on his blog --they are priceless.

I'll be signing autographs later .........

Thanksgiving ...just around the corner

2007-11-13T21:03:00.000-05:00

I can't believe next week is Thanksgiving. And shortly after that is Christmas. And December 16th Mike and I will be married 6 months. Whee! Not sure how we are going to celebrate --we might wait and do it after the kids leave for Mississippi because we will have 5 days without work or kiddies. It will be like a honeymoon again.

Speaking of work ..Mike is in NYC right now for work. He says he has a huge corner room in a fancy hotel. We are hoping maybe in a month or two me and the kids can go up with him on one of these trips. They have never been to NYC and I really want to show them the city. Hopefully we can get the fancy room then too. I love visiting NYC --Mike and I have had a couple of great trips up there. Wish I was up there with him right now....looking for me some new subway socks. :)

Halloween and M&M

2007-10-31T14:31:00.000-04:00

You know they say after a loved one dies that the first holidays without them are the hardest. Most would think Christmas but not Halloween. But, I am finding this Halloween very hard without Em around.

You see my sister LOVED Halloween -- she loved the candy -- did I say she loved the candy ? That is one of the reasons why her nickname was M&M.

And all the dressing up. Once she was a Mom she loved getting Ashleigh and Noah dressed up.

I can remember all the crazy customs we dressed up as kids. We would walk down to "new neighbors" house and she would be dressed as a crazy witch and give us tons of candy. My mom would make candy apples, that we loved, and popcorn balls. Emily, Philip and I would go out with my Aunt Kathy along with Brad, Chad and Valerie. What fun we had !

I know this sounds silly but when I was home in Brookhaven I went by her grave and decorated with Halloween flowers with little spiders. Then I left her some Jolly Ranchers and a Blow Pop. Some of her favorites. :)

Happy Halloween to all and be safe -- And Em -- Happy Halloween to you too ! Miss you !

The furry creatures of Reston....

2007-10-23T09:40:00.000-04:00

This photo taken by Adam in our backyard (which is also the woods) is dedicated to Mike. See Mike --Katy and Gabe aren't the only ones gathering acorns. :)

Wrapping up the week.....

2007-10-19T09:03:00.000-04:00

Wow ! It's Friday all ready. It has been a week since I was in Brookhaven for my 20-year-reunion. A fun time was had by all and it was great to catch up with friends from 20 years ago. Our class decided to have a 25-year so I guess we will all see each other again in 2013.

I got to go to the Mississippi School for the Arts while I was there. I wish we had something that awesome when I was a growing up there. The darkroom is to die for --it is HUGE ! Here is a photo below of the campus and the view of Brookhaven from the 6th floor dorms.

While I was in Mississippi I got to go through some of Emily's things. It's funny because Emily and I growing up traded clothes all the time.So, it felt only right that I kept a few of her favorite pieces of clothing. I don't know if I will wear them but it makes me feel good to know they are in my closet.

I was telling my mom about a story from high school and she said"you never told me that" and I told her there were many things I probably didn't tell her back then because Em and I always kept each others secrets.

The weirdest thing happened on the way back to Washington and mad me think that Emily is watching out for us. After take off and we were above the clouds I look down out of the window of the plane and saw the strangest thing. In the clouds was a shadow of the plane....but around the shadow there was a bright rainbow that circled all the way around the plane. See the photo below. I know it might sound silly but part of me thought that it might be Em watching out for me and saying hi ! I have flown many, many times and have never seen that. Ok..maybe I am nuts but I do have faith that God and his angles touch us sometimes in unexpected ways.

In other good news -- Mike and many others survived the latest rounds of AOL layoffs this week - yea ! Sad news is that 11 people that he did work with in photo did get let go. His schedule is changing he is going more to a day shift during the week which I am happy about. Now maybe I will be less of a single mom and be able to workout every once in awhile.

But, there were some of didn't get laid off that actually complained when they had to switch departments or shifts. Which leads me to the Friday story -- people need to be grateful for all things in life. ;)

MY FRIDAY STORY

Rain Washed
Author Unknown

A little girl had been shopping with her Mom in Target. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful red haired, freckle faced image of innocence. It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time to flow down the spout. We all stood there under the awning and just inside the door of the Target.

We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day. I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I got lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories of running, splashing so carefree as a child came pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day.

The little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in, "Mom, let's run through the rain," she said. "What?" Mom asked.

"Let's run through the rain!" She repeated.

"No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a bit," Mom replied.

This young child waited about another minute and repeated, "Mom, let's run through the rain."

"We'll get soaked if we do," Mom said.

"No, we won't, Mom. That's not what you said this morning," the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom's arm.

"This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?"

"Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, 'If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything!'"

The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn't hear anything but the rain. We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few minutes. Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say. Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child's life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith.

"Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. If God let's us get wet, well maybe we just needed washing," Mom said.

Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and yes, through the puddles. They held their shopping bags over their heads just in case. They got soaked. But they were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars.

And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing.

Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, and they can take away your health. But no one can ever take away your precious memories... So, don't forget to make time and take opportunities to make memories everyday. To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven.

I hope you still take the time to run through the rain.

Gabe's got braces

2007-10-09T08:29:00.000-04:00

Well, now I have put my third child into braces. :) Adam, Bri (who still has them) and now Gabe. Katy will be next in about another year or two. Hopefully Gabe will be out of his by the time Katy gets hers on. Total in all after they are all done.....about $20,000 before insurance.

Gabe is really sore today so he gets to stay home and eat soup and shakes.

Here are Gabe's before and after photos.......

Before

After

10 Ten Things I Miss About High School

2007-10-04T13:02:00.000-04:00

OK…we have all been there; high school was never easy on any of us. I get to go back in time next weekend to my Brookhaven High School 20^th Reunion – Go Panthers!! It got me to thinking ...what I really miss about high school compared to being an adult. Hope you enjoy….and feel free to add yours to the comments.

10 Ten Things I Miss About High School

10.) Pep Rallies – Where else can you go and yell at other people as loud as you want and be rewarded with a spirit stick? This just does not happen in the real world unless you work for Wal-Mart.

9.) Learning for Free - You got to learn lots of cool stuff and you didn’t have to pay for it. Yes, at the time you though school sucked. But, if I want to take German or learn to play the flute now they charge me big bucks – unless…. I steal my kid’s textbooks. But, what fun is that – no passing notes.

8.) The Drama – and I don’t mean the School Play -- Being in high school is better than any soap opera – you are livin’ it up in drama. Who did what to who where? Maybe that is why I went into journalism. Drama as an adult will usually just get you fired or on You Tube.

7.) The Glory Days of Summer – When the only care you had in the world is laying out in the sun, tubing the Bogue Chitto River and hanging out with your friends. The only thing you worried about was when Top Gun was going to show at the local movies. Summer now are just like any other day – I work, take kids to summer camp, go to sleep and do it all over again.

6.) Your Friends – Everyday was Girls Night Out -- Remember when your friends were your whole life – you talked to them for hours on the phone, spent days and days doing fun stuff together. Remember slam books? I guess that is My Space now. These days I am lucky I get to do a pedicure with a friend once every six months.

5.) Dancing – We danced in high school – slow dancing, fast dancing – after football games, in the spring, just for the hell of it – I mean the 80’s was the best time for music. :) The last time I danced…my wedding. One song- two minutes…tops!

4.) Driving for Fun – I didn’t care that my car was a yellow station wagon – I had wheels and gas was 99 cents. I could cruise Brookway Blvd. for hours with my friends and find simple pleasure in that. Now, I hate driving – the traffic, the auguring kids in the backseat, $3 for gas – kind of takes the fun out of it.

3.) No Internet, No Cell Phones, No Xbox 360 – I love my technology but there was life before IM and Google. Sometime it was nice not being able to be found. And, I thought Atari and Pac Man were the greatest inventions ever. Now my kids don’t even have to go to the library or use an encyclopedia – it is all there with the touch of mouse. And if I want to find them -- GPS on those cell phones. :)

2.) No Bills! – I mean that what we had parents for – they paid for everything – gas, clothes, a field trip to D.C. – that was the life – we just didn’t know it then. Any money back then I made all was spent on me, me, me. Now, I have to be all responsible and stuff. :)

1.) Making Out - Kissing is one of life's most innocent guilty pleasures – who does not remember playing Seven Minutes in Heaven and Spin the Bottle. (And don’t worry parents of mine– I was a “good girl” in high school) Back then, I had time to have a make-out session - no one knocked on the door or yelled Mom. Now, I cannot remember the last time had a French kiss lasting longer than 3 seconds. I mean sex is great but don’t you ever miss the fun in making out in a dark closet somewhere? :)

How can we do this to so many children ?

2007-09-28T13:17:00.000-04:00

I hate that there are so many children that have to go many, many months and years without seeing their parents and living in fear that Mom or Dad might never come home.

Three months

2007-09-23T17:26:00.000-04:00

Today marks three months since Emily passed away. I went to sleep last night and woke up this morning thinking about her. You know, I feel like I should be more depressed but I know Emily would have hated that.

Instead, I move forward with life, cleaning the deck, getting ready to add to pizzazz to it with new stain. I taught Katy today how to ride a bike without any training wheels or help. :) We went to the skate park and watch Gabe try and do a half-pike. Afterwards, Gabe, Katy and I went and ate ice cream from Ben and Jerry’s (one of Em’s favorite foods) and toasted her life with chocolate. We just sat, watched the fountain and all the people gathered around it and talked about their favorite “Aunt Em” stories.

Life to me to so precious, I think that more so after Emily's death. I almost feel like if you take life for granted, if you wallow in your own fears and short comings you are asking for bad karma to come your way. I guess that is the “damn optimist” in me. I have three friends right now that are all dealing with their fathers' having cancer and I think – Thank God all mine and Mike’s parents are healthy. I am so happy that a have a close relationship with all my families – no matter what state or country they are in.

I see friends who have a disabled child and I am so grateful my children are both happy and healthy. I am happy most days for the life I have. And if I wake up and wish for more I just try to remember to be thankful for what I have.

I wish Emily could have lived a long life. I would have loved to see us as old ladies – regaling stories of our youth. I understand she watches over Noah and Ashleigh like she never could have before. I am happy she finally has the peace and love she sought for so long.

“A brief candle; both ends burning
An endless mile; a bus wheel turning
A friend to share the lonesome times
A handshake and a sip of wine
So say it loud and let it ring
We are all a part of everything
The future, present and the past
Fly on proud bird
You're free at last.”
written en route for the funeral of, Ronnie Van Zant of the band, Lynyrd Skynyrd.

I still miss you Em – but just know I feel your presence at the strangest times and know you are okay.

No move to NYC for us ....

2007-09-18T09:20:00.000-04:00

As some of you may have seen AOL is moving their corporate headquarters to NYC. That does not mean that where Mike works is closing. In fact, they just opened another daycare center on the Dulles Campus, so that might give an indication that the 4,000 people there will stay put.

In the Washington Post today...." The company said that while senior executives would depart for Manhattan, most of the 4,000 employees at the Dulles campus would remain. "

Good for us -- I would hate to try and have the 5 of us live in a 1000 sq ft apt for $3000 a month in Manhattan. ;)

Coming soon....

2007-09-07T13:11:00.000-04:00

Katybug...a retrospective look...coming soon...the first nine years. :)

We are getting ready today for Katy's 9th Birthday Party tomorrow. This year it get to be on her birthday !! And since we have a heated outdoor pool in Reston she gets pool party. In fact it is a High School Musical Swim Party and Sleepover -- with a sing along to HSM. Just can't wait for that. :)

Here is a sneak preview of Katy's nine years of photos......

Katy, age 3, in St. Pete Florida

Katy, age 8, at the wedding in June

School starts back today !

2007-09-04T10:02:00.000-04:00

WOW !! Katy and Gabe in 4th and 5th grade !! When we moved to Virginia, Bri was only in 4th grade and now she is a freshman in high school. Adam, now a freshman in college !!

This year Katy and Gabe start a new school. I little different for them because they went to Beech Tree since Kindergarten. Here are some photos I have taken of Katy and Gabe the 1st day of every school year for the past 6 years. This morning Gabe would not let me take the photo at the school ...nor could I walk him to class. :) (In case you wonder where Adam is..that was the time when it was not "cool" to have your mom following you with a camera. )

Today, 2007 ! 5th and 4th grade !

2006-- Katy, 3rd and Gabe, 4th grade

2005 - Katy, 2nd and Gabe, 3rd grade

2004 - Katy, 1st and Gabe, 2nd grade

2003 - Katy, Kindergarten and Gabe, 1st grade

2003 - 1st year in Virginia and Gabriel 1st day of kindergarten. He is getting a hug from big sister Briana, 4th grade, and little sister Katy, who is in Pre-k at St. Phillips at that time.

WOW...can you say time flies!!

Last day for pool fun

2007-09-03T22:25:00.000-04:00

Today is the last day for Glade Pool, the one 2 minutes from our house, to be open for the summer. So, in honor of the closing we went and swam for 3 hours, had pizza for dinner at the pool and just enjoyed the last lazy day of summer before school starts tomorrow. :) Katy does still get to have a pool party though because there are two heated pool in Reston that stay open until Sept 30th. Whee !

Ice cream truck visits the pool for a last minute treat

Gabe coming out of the cold blue water

Katy, now a big time swimmer, has been practicing her strokes

Katy FINALLY goes off the diving board -- whee !

Great Country Fun

2007-09-02T23:08:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, Mike and I decided that we need a day out with the kids, away from the house...so we drove out to the country, across the hills and streams of Loudoun County to Great Country Farms.

Of course everyone else had the same idea so it was PACKED. We had to wait 1 1/2 for pancakes but in spite of that we did end up having fun. We got to pick potatoes fresh out of the field and that night we had so many that I made some homemade mashed potatoes -- which were enjoyed by all. :)

Here are a few photos from the day......

Mike and the donkeys -- they are having a heart-to-heart chat

Gabe and Mike try to fiqure out on of the mazes at the farm

Me and Katy -- she is resting for a moment on the way to pick potatoes

Hurrying through the field getting fresh potatoes

This spud is for you
My favorite photo of the day -- Gabe in the apple orchard

So hilarious and somewhat true....

2007-08-27T18:27:00.000-04:00

I came across this today on a few blogs:

Ten Good Reasons You May not Want to Have Kids and 20 Reasons Not to Have Children, 10 Reasons to Have Children

Or my life the way it really is might be what some parents want to title it. It is hilarious !

My favorite "You will be a bad parent if you don't listen to them. You are obligated to listen to all kinds of nonsensical irrelevant crap, all kinds of worthless interests and recaps of the Hannah Montana marathon they had on TV last weekend. You are obligated to tell them about life, sex, how to spend money, hygiene, calculus etc. "

Of course, I don't think they put in that you are exhausted pretty much 24/7. And if you are a single parent, there are not enough close to enough hours in the day to get it all done.

With that being said they are also wonderfully rewarding, give you boundless love and if you are lucky they will bless you a thousand times over. Now, that does not necessarily mean that I want another one. The three I have keep me quite busy enough. Plus, I get to be a new aunt soon and lots of friends my age are now having babies so plenty of babies to play with -- then return back to the parents. :)

Exciting News !!!

2007-08-27T14:19:00.000-04:00

Looks like I am about to be an Aunt Jennifer again !! My brother Philip and his wife Michelle are expecting !! Yea !! Our whole family is so excited we can't stand it. She is due around April 20th. Of course my Mom hopes it is twins ;) LOL !

Must Write Thank You Notes, Must Write Thank You Notes

2007-08-26T18:54:00.000-04:00

Ok...if you see me, talk to me or email me please remind me that I must finish writing thank you notes. I need to be the Thank You note bot. I just got our very cool thank you notes back last Saturday and they are already addressed. So, now I just need to find 6 spare hours to finish these...correct ? Easy, peasy....it will be just like writing a college term paper in 5 hours.

Now don't get me wrong....it is not that I am not grateful for all the wonderful things we have been given. And I do, really do, want to thank every person in special way. Now, I just need to leave all the other house chores, and the last of the unpacking and get this done. :)

Must Write Thank You Notes, Must Write Thank You Notes,Must Write Thank You Notes, Must Write Thank You Notes,Must Write Thank You Notes, Must Write Thank You Notes :)

Hot, Hot, Hot

2007-08-24T14:38:00.000-04:00

After five straight days of temperatures mainly in the 60s and 70s, are going to hit 90 today and 100, maybe in 105 tomorrow. To make matters worse, the humidity will be brutal. So, we are planning on cooling down by the pool on Saturday and maybe even Sunday. Now that Katy has become such a good swimmer she wants to go more. Our pool near the house is very nice -- it has diving boards and water slides...of course I bet the water will be very cold because of all the rain and cool temps but after n 100 temps it will feel nice. we have friends coming over Saturday evening for a BBQ and celebrate the last of summer. :)

Photo is not of our neighborhood pool --i wish -- but though it might cool us down to look at it. :)

New Style Van ???

2007-08-23T10:38:00.000-04:00

Hmmmm.......this morning coming into work I pulled up beside this......not sure what inspires someone to paint a van purple and then glue dinosaurs all over it....but it is an interesting artists concept.

Finally....something good about getting older....

2007-08-23T10:04:00.000-04:00

Elderly Staying Sexually Active reports the Washington Post today:

"Many people maintain rich, active sex lives well into their 80s, according to the first detailed examination of sexuality among older Americans.

The nationally representative survey of more than 3,000 U.S. adults ages 57 to 85 found that more than half to three-quarters of those questioned remain sexually active, with a significant proportion engaging in frequent and varied sexual behavior."

Good to know there is something to look forward to in the later years. I hope that I still wear my hair long, have a camera in my hand and Mike and I get to travel....along with lots of other elderly fun. ;)

Adam's First Day of College

2007-08-22T13:16:00.001-04:00

WOW !! I have a freshman in COLLEGE !! Way to go ADAM ! We went to his freshman ordination on Tuesday. And starts classes today.

Man, it did not seem like that long ago that I was standing in line to get my college ID. Of course ,I did point out to Adam that he was born at the end of my sophomore year. The great thing is because I was married I got it get a grant for school...lol. Of course I told Adam that I was him I would not try to to repeat that route. Much harder to study when you have an infant at home. :)

But, I would not trade him for the world. He has made me, his Dad and the rest of my family so very proud.

TGIF !!!

2007-08-17T15:27:00.000-04:00

Whee ! Thank god it is Friday ! And thank goodness no really events going on this weekend so we can unpack more boxes, Craigs list stuff we don't want or need and maybe even take the kids to see Harry Potter on Sunday. Weather is suppose to be great so we are grilling tomorrow night !

Christina has our cool Thank You notes done so we can start getting those out too next week. I love to be able to cross things off the list.

Have a good weekend ya'll !

Two months married today ...whee !

2007-08-16T10:05:00.001-04:00

Well...Mike and I have made it through two months of marriage. Talk about a making use of those vows right away...what a ride the last two months have been. :)

But, we are finally settling into life. This weekend we are unpacking the last of the boxes. Yea ! The house will be nice and organized for the most part.

So...even though it sounds silly we are going to celebrate tonight with a bit of champagne. And a nice candlelight meal on our wonderful back porch. We will give thanks for our great life together, the support of my kids and our families and the blessing of the house we bought.

I am not sure if we will celebrate again until maybe 6 months ...or even a year. But, celebrating tonight seems quite right to do !

New Photos added

2007-08-15T14:22:00.001-04:00

I just added Adam's graduation photos to Shutterfly. And more family photos from the spring to my Smugmug account. I also added a few photos of took at Rochelle and John's wedding this past weekend.

And what a wonderful wedding. It was right on the water in Maryland and the weather was perfect. And when Rochelle walked in with her dad and did the father/daughter dance there was not a dry eye in the place. Rochelle's dad has been quite ill so it was a wonderful sight to see him there.

Jalynna Singing in PopStar Kids

2007-08-14T11:16:00.000-04:00

Here is Dad and Minda's granddaughter and my niece Jalynna singing in the Philippines on the TV show PopStar Kids. She came in 2nd place and she should have won first ! She has an amazing singing voice for 11-years-old !! The first video is her sining Miracle which you can view on the blog and the second one is from the finale which you have to it this link to see - Jalynna singing.

I am sure we will here much more from here in the coming years ....

Unpacking....and angels

2007-08-10T10:29:00.001-04:00

I look around the house and there are still boxes of mine that need to be unpacked. I know Mike must think I am a lazy bum because he has manged to unpack most of his. Of course, he did move into the house in April so he has had a few month of leeway time on me.

I know this sounds nutty but it is a very emotional process for me to unpack. Every time I open a box I find some reminder of Emily just waiting to be looked at. A photograph, a set of earrings she gave me, a pair of shorts that we went shopping together for. Even though Emily did not live near me I am shocked as to how much she intertwined with my adult life. Of course we are sisters and siblings so she has been part of my life since I was 2 1/2. I don't know why it surprises me to find so much of her inside those boxes but it does.

Just last night I pulled out a box I had full of perfume. Emily loved perfume. When I went home at Christmas she would come into my room everyday and ask to borrow some of mine. At the time it drove me a little batty because she had her own but she said she loved wearing something different. And it just made me so damn sad to realize when I go home in October for my class reunion that Emily will not be there to steal my perfume.

Of course in the mist of all this unpacking I have my ipod playing in the background -- when I hear the song In the Arms of the Angel by Sarah McLaughlin. It was so poignant and maybe it was Emily's way of letting me know she does has comfort now. And that she is a little redhead angel now. :)

In the Arms of the Angel by Sarah McLaughlin

Spend all your time waiting
for that second chance
for a break that would make it okay
there's always some reason
to feel not good enough
and it's hard at the end of the day
I need some distraction
oh beautiful release
memories seep from my veins
let me be empty
oh and weightless then maybe
I'll find some peace tonight

In the arms of the angel
fly away from here
from this dark cold hotel room
and the endlessness that you feel
you are pulled from the wreckage
of your silent reverie
you're in the arms of the angel
may you find some comfort here

So tired of the straight line
and everywhere you turn
there's vultures and thieves at your back
the storm keeps on twisting
you keep on building the lies
that you make up for all that you lack
it don't make no difference
escaping one last time
it's easier to believe
in this sweet madness oh
this glorious sadness that brings me to my knees

In the arms of the angel
fly away from here
from this dark cold hotel room
and the endlessness that you feel
you are pulled from the wreckage
of your silent reverie
you're in the arms of the angel
may you find some comfort here
you're in the arms of the angel
may you find some comfort here

Photos, Photos and More Photos :)

2007-08-07T14:37:00.000-04:00

OK ! I finally have uploaded the photos from the Wedding, Honeymoon, and other pre-wedding events. The photos are on Shutterfly. You will be able to order prints, frames, calenders and hey ....don't you want a luggage tag of us ? ;)

I still need to add more edits from the wedding and put them in order. And I still need to load Adam's graduation photos from another camera. Along with many other photos from the past two months. But, this is a start.

And, if you have photos from the wedding please create a gallery on Shutterfly (with your name on it) and post them so we can see them. :)

These are going to be on a password protected site. Here is the link - Our Wedding Photos. If you have not gotten an email from me with the password please email or call me for it.

I am sorry all the photos are not going to be available to all my blog readers. There are many people at these events who might not want to be on the open web. But, I did upload around 25 pictures from the wedding to my Smugmug account that you are welcome to view and comment on. Mike and Jenn's Winery Wedding Photos is the link. I will also add some honeymoon photos later so you can check out those too. :)

Back to being a mommy

2007-07-31T15:15:00.000-04:00

The Katy and Gabe come back Saturday. Yeah ! It has been a nice break but I am ready to be a full-time Mom again. I always miss them when they are at their Dad's but this summer has been harder than usually. I guess with Emily's death it just has made me a little more on edge about having them so far away.

They will start day camp on Monday and I promised them we are going to check out every pool in Reston during the rest of the summer. :) Katy is going to be taking a month of swim lesson so she can get ready to be on the winter swim team at the Y. Adam starts college August 22nd !! Seems hard to believe that he is starting that journey of his life.

And now that they will be back I will finally have an excuse to see the Harry Potter movie. And I have crazily agreed to get them hamsters -- we are taking one off a friends litter.

This is the one of the many reasons I love having kids -- I get to do all the fun kid stuff and just say I am tagging along -- but secretly it is fun being a little bit of a kid again. I love the silliness and the laughter of them and being able to be as silly as they are.

So many adults are pissed off all the time over the stupidest stuff -- and yes I do get mad at times -- do we all -- but it is such a waste of time and energy to spend the precious moments of life being angry.

If anything Emily's death has brought home to me once again is that there is only one life to live - I choose to live mine the happiest I can. I am going to try not to worry or be angry. I am going to look at the my husband and children and tell them each day that I love them. I am going to let my parents know once again how much I appreciate the life and love they gave me. I am going to teach my children not to be afraid to live -- to try new things and be glad that God has given us so many, many blessings.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. " - Mark Twain

Or as 85-year Nadine Stair old says:

If I Had My Life to Live Over

I'd dare to make more mistakes next time.
I'd relax. I would limber up.
I would be sillier than I have been this trip.
I would take fewer things seriously.
I would take more chances.
I would take more trips.
I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers.
I would eat more ice cream and less beans.

I would perhaps have more actual troubles but I'd
have fewer imaginary ones.

You see, I'm one of those people who live sensibly
and sanely hour after hour, day after day.

Oh, I've had my moments and if I had it to do over
again, I'd have more of them. In fact,
I'd try to have nothing else. Just moments.

One after another, instead of living so many
years ahead of each day.

I've been one of those people who never go anywhere
without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a raincoat
and a parachute.

If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot
earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall.

If I had it to do again, I would travel lighter next time.
I would go to more dances.
I would ride more merry-go-rounds.
I would pick more daisies.

For once I can say --- I was RIGHT !!!

2007-07-26T15:50:00.000-04:00

Way back in the cold of winter I kept saying to my beloved over and over again that we wanted to hurry up and sell his condo so we could buy ahead of the spring market. And IF we could find that perfect house and bid on it while it was still very brrrrr outside the better we would be. And IF we could get those sellers to then close in the Spring...well life would be even better.

Well folks...that is what we did. I knew the market was very close to being at the lowest point at that time. I had read and read and read about Northern Virginia real estate until I was blue in the face. As Mike put it once..." we might want to think about getting another realtor when you know more than he does." So, we got Bonnie, our wonderful realtor, and the rest is history.

With all that being said, today there came out the charts on Fairfax real estate over the past couple of years and look what month everything was the lowest in every category. -- February 2007 -- and when did we put in a contract on out place -- February 2007. :)

Now... let's just hope our wonderful home continues on the upward tread of gaining equity.

Amazing people, amazing world

2007-07-18T14:43:00.000-04:00

I have been amazed how many people have hit my blog through Google and read about Emily. Many were friends of hers I didn't even know. Today, one of her friends, Kelley, who I have never met send me a comment through the blog. It is great to read about how many people loved and cared for my little sister. (And Kelly -- if you read this look at your comment - I sent a reply).

Out of the blue, I got a card in the mail Tuesday from one of my and Emily's closest friends and neighbor growing up -- Kim Cockern. I have not seen or heard from Kim in 20 years but it was so nice getting that from her.

I came across 3 text messages on my phone that Emily sent me the end of May. They all sounds so positive and upbeat...and in everyone she ended them with ...I Love You. I can't bear to part with any of them and I forwarded them to my email address so I will always have them.

This time a month ago we were talking on the phone -- she asked me about Mike and the kids, told me the latest saga in her life...nothing major. Just Em being Em.

Emily would be surprised and thrilled to know that so many people loved and cared about her. And miss her..... I know I miss her. :)

You know, so many people have asked me how I am doing. Most days I am fine. There are times when I see something that reminds me of Emily and I get sad but mostly I try to remind myself that she is at peace and in a better place. I know she is watching over Ashleigh and Noah ...and I am sure also keeping an eye out for Gabe, Katy, Adam and Bri. (Photo in the blog is of her and Adam -- she loved being an aunt) When I think of that... it makes me feel better. Thanks Em ! And we all love you !

Yes...we are back

2007-07-17T14:36:00.000-04:00

Yes..back from a wonderful honeymoon. Here is one picture to tide you over.This was taken in Jenner, Calf. In the background is where the Russian River flows into the Pacific. Magnificent views from here. We also had a great time visiting wineries all over Napa, Sonoma, Russian River and everywhere in between. I'll post more pictures soon.

We are also getting the wedding pictures this week and should post a link to view them by the weekend.

Don't except many posts this week from me -- I am trying to catch up at work after being gone away forever and when I am not there I am working on unpacking boxes and boxes and boxes at the house. :)

One the way to honeymoon...finally

2007-07-04T14:47:00.001-04:00

Well....we are sitting here in the wacky Denver airport (the terminal looks like many circus tents) on are way to be in the wine country of California soon.

This is a much, much needed break for both Mike and I -- after weeks of very happy events, very sad events and seeing many family members and friends we are looking very forward to some alone time soon. :)

We might be updating the blog while gone...of course we brought the camera. :) But we will see.....

Have a happy 4th to all !!

We are back......

2007-07-01T22:59:00.000-04:00

After a very, very long week in Mississippi and several flight delays we are back. Emily's funeral was unbelievably moving and sad. My good friend Kelly Green did the music and every time I would hear his voice sing it would make me feel better. Emily played and loved the guitar so he played his during the mass.

During a time like this you realize how fragile life is and how incredible your parents are. I saw amazing strength and love in my Mom and Dad. I loved my children with my while heart and soul so I can't even imagine how hard this is for them. Yet, they both seem to find much comfort knowing my sister was finally at peace. Even though Emily and I had are differences at times and I didn't agree with the way she sometimes lived her life I am going to miss her terribly. She is my only sister.

She was zany, beautiful, smart and very outgoing. I will miss hearing her voice and seeing her do kooky faces. I will also miss the silly nicknames she gave everyone she knew and loved. It is funny -- we both ended up giving some part of each other to our daughters -- Ashliegh, my niece, is named for my middle name Leigh and Katy is named Kathleen -- which is the Irish form for Catherine, for Emily's middle name. I know my neice, Ashleigh, 7, and my nephew, Noah, 9, will grow up now without their mom. Please continue to keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

With that being said I really good not have made it through the week without the support of my husband (as of two weeks now) Mike. He was a source of stabily and strength for me.And helped me laugh when I needed it most. My friends and family love him even more than they did. My children were also a wonderful comfort for both me, their grandparents and cousins.

“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”

2007-06-29T00:53:00.000-04:00

Emily Catherine Smith DiLisio, 35, died June 23, 2007, in Hattiesburg. She was born in Brookhaven on Nov. 23, 1971, to Philip E. Smith Sr. and Phyllis Bonfiglio Hobbs. In 1989 she graduated from Brookhaven High School and was named the Brookhaven Lions Club Water Carnival Queen. She attended Copiah-Lincoln Community College and the University of Southern Mississippi. She was a 1991 graduate of Pensacola Junior College, with an associate degree in computer networking. She served in the United States Navy. She was a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Hattiesburg.

Survivors are her father and stepmother, Philip E. Smith Sr. and Minda Smith, of Dubai, United Arab Emirates; her mother and stepfather, Phyllis Hobbs and Russell Hobbs, of Hattiesburg; her son, Noah Steven DiLisio, of Hattiesburg; her daughter, Ashleigh Faith DiLisio, of Hattiesburg; her brothers, Philip E. Smith Jr. and wife Michelle Smith, of Brookhaven, and Sean Philip Smith and Tomas Herman Smith, both of Dubai, United Arab Emirates; and her sister, Jennifer Leigh Davis Heffner and husband Mike Heffner, of Reston, Va.

You will be very, very missed little sister ......

2007-06-25T00:19:00.000-04:00

Emily Catherine Smith DiLisio
11-23-71 to 06-23-2007

We all love you M&M - Watch out for all of us from above

Married and Moved...finally :)

2007-06-22T12:24:00.000-04:00

Well...the wedding was very beautiful......of course. Many more pictures and stories to come. And we finally got my stuffed moved from Annandale to Reston. Yeah !!

Ok...back to unpacking....

Sorry ...been really, really busy

2007-06-12T07:12:00.000-04:00

Sorry, I have not blogged in the past week and a half. It has been insanely busy with the wedding, graduation, house renovation, work and kids all going on at the same time. Good news though is that in the last month I have dropped 10 pounds for a total of 15 so far. Whee ! I have tons of photos to post that I will try and get too soon.

Only 5 days until the Wedding -- 1 day until Adam Graduation !

The house looks amazing...Mike has worked non-stop on it for the past two weeks. It is almost finished. The kitchen looks so wonderful now and I love the colors we picked out. I promise to post before and after pics soon -- just finishing up a few small things. :)

So much venting..too little time

2007-05-30T17:52:00.000-04:00

First...I love my children very, very much but today I am so ready for them to go spend 6 weeks with Lance in Mississippi. I need a much needed break from the arguing, homework, taxi service -- all that entails being a Mom. Of course Lance gets it easy because not only does he not have to deal with homework or bedtimes but his parents are right their to be instant babysitters. :)

Second...I so hate Town and Country Realty -- you should see the list of stuff they want done before I move out. I kid you not -- there is more on this list than there was on home move-out list for Mike's condo. Basically they want it to look better than it did when I moved in.

All I can say is that I better get all my deposit back from these people. Beside me taking photos I am asking Bonnie, our realtor, to be there when the walk through is done at the end of the month.

Third....Packing, packing and more packing on top on getting Adam's gradution invites out THIS week.

On a good note -- The new house is coming along. Mike's dad came up and painted, painted and painted some more. :) The man is a genuis with paint. We could have never have gotten all of it done without him. Gracias ! In a week in a half the main floor on the house should look a lot different and better.

And I posted a bunch of stuff for free and for sale on craigs list -- An old gazebo I was giving away to whoever wanted to come take it apart -- I got like 50 emails. I guess the word Free ! inspired people. :)

Been a hell of a week.....

2007-05-24T20:36:00.000-04:00

I am glad tomorrow starts Memorial Day Weekend...of course it will be busy.

If I had an Aladdin's Lamp I would wish for a tropical beach, a glass of nice red wine and a new book to read.

More than likely it will be a nutty weekend with lots to do and irritable people. Fun ! Fun ! :)

Don't worry...be happy

2007-05-21T21:38:00.000-04:00

You know the T-shirts...I see people wearing them all the time...they say Life Is Good. The people wearing them are usually happy, go-lucky people that don't see the dark side ever time they look in the mirror. I secretly love those t-shirts. I would love to wear one and let the world know...you know what....Life is Good. Even when life has it bad days it is still pretty darn good. Of course..then I would have another friend telling me that I am such a "f---ing optimist". :) Like optimism is a bad thing. I guess it is those happy Irish genes that bring it out in me. So blame my genetics.

I saw a very good friend today and thought for a moment... when was the last time I saw him smile ? Was it a week ago, two weeks ? I hope to god I never go more than 24 hours without something to smile and be grateful about. It is depressing just thinking about being that unhappy and worried.

So ....for you pessimists out there....here are some "f----ing" optimistic quotes that might make you think about the happy side of life...and believe...even for a short time..that Life is Good. :)

“If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought.”

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.”

“In the long run, the pessimist may be proved right, but the optimist has a better time on the trip.”

"If you observe a really happy man, you will find him building a boat, writing a symphony, educating his child, growing double dahlias or looking for dinosaur eggs in the Gobi Desert. He will not be searching for happiness as if it were a collar button that had rolled under the radiator, striving for it as a goal in itself. He will have become aware that he is happy in the course of living life twenty-four crowded hours of each day."

2007-05-20T20:55:00.000-04:00

Mike - I saw this on PostSecret tonight -- and thought of you............

What we doing in our spare time

2007-05-17T09:55:00.000-04:00

Since Mike is living at the new house and I am still in Annandale, he is getting the fun task of taking down most of the wallpaper in the living room. It is a slow and tedius process but he is making good progress. I hope by Memorial Day Weekend we will have it close to being painted because I want to move my dining room furniture in before the graduation party.

On more renovation notes - I went out to Herclules Iron Works in Chantilly and worked with the most wonderful older man named Nick on a design for our stair rail upstairs that has to be replaced. He was great and the rail is going to look so nice and be much sturdy. The one we have not does not meet Fairfax code (it is 30 inches tall instead of 36) and someone could flip over it.

We have a handyman coming out next Thursday to install it and do general painting in the stairway...then new carpet upstairs after that.

I should hear back today an estimate on countertops and a few other kitchen things we want to do.

One month to go

2007-05-16T07:08:00.000-04:00

Welll..one month to go until Mike and I get married. Lots to do between now and then and not a lot of time to do it. :) I am so ready for us to be in the same house together.

Everynight I am packing a little at a time for the move to our new house after the wedding. I am still trying to get some work done on the new house but it seems to take forever to get estimates out of contractors. So....we will see what gets done between now and then. :)

Ever wonder what I really do.....

2007-05-11T12:08:00.000-04:00

Our Senior Multimedia Editor, who has has worked for K12 Inc. for five years and helped bring me on-board here, has written a great article on the K12 blog about what media editors at K12 do. It has has some great examples of the some of the work we do. Or course I still do photography too. :) Which will always be my first love -- but I love photo editing too -- especially when it has a purpose in teaching.

Take a read.....

Developing K12 Courses: Selecting media

Been another crazy week

2007-05-10T12:00:00.000-04:00

Been a very crazy week -- as usual now days. But we did get the new attic fan installed this week and the insulation guys came out today and took us from a R-13 insulation in the attic to a R-55. So..now our nice air and heat will not rise out of the attic saving as $$$ on heating and cooling bills.

I met with another contractor on Wednesday -- Ramsy, a nice Aussie, came highly recommend from our realtor Bonnie. And he has done very good work on a friend's house so I hope his bid comes in right or at our budget amount because I would really like to see him do the work. We want to get granite counter tops put in a redo the kitchen bar along with a few other things.

Mike's parent are in town -- will plan on taking them out for a nice dinner Saturday at Tavern on the Lake - right in Reston on the water at Lake Anne.

I hope over the weekdn we can get down all the wallpaper in the dining room and start preparing that for painting next weekend.

Adam's Graduation

2007-05-08T22:50:00.000-04:00

We got Adam's graduation invitations on Monday. They look so nice. We should be sending them out the send of May. He went today to sign up for his classes for college. He did very, very well on his college placement tests so he is going to be taking honors classes. I can't believe that he is graduating.

And it is very funny because it is 20 years ago I graduated. Brookhaven High School Class of 1987. Whee ! In fact our 20 year reunion is in October.

My man -- kicking doorknob butt

2007-05-06T18:54:00.000-04:00

One of the things we knew in buying the house is that some of the doors did not close too well -- either they were hung wrong or doorknobs were not put on properly. This weekend Mike decided to tackle this problem. Whoa ! What a pain in the butt it turned out to be but my very smart man prevailed over the smart ass doorknob (Mr. Doorknob above) and now we have a bedroom door that closes and locks !

Plus -- we have "pocket doors" in our bathroom. Saves space but another very problematic door. It kept coming off the track so after Mike trying this, that and the other he finally showed it who was boss and it is now back on the track and in no danger of coming off.

Next butt kicking for the week -- The wallpaper in the dining room. Mike said he feels like he needs to be doing more in the house during the week soooooo I showed him how to take off wallpaper. It is very fun to do -- not. :)

Me -- I get to meet with more burly contractors this week on the work we want done and deal with with a roofer installing our new attic fan. Whee !

Thank god it's Friday !!

2007-05-04T10:16:00.000-04:00

I am so ready for the weekend. Going to be another busy one -- but not as quite as busy as last weekend. Next weekend (Mother's Day) Mike's parents are coming up to see the house for the first time. Yea!

So....this weekend we are starting off with the kids doing a tour of their new school in Reston. Mike is checking them out early from Beech Tree and then we are all going on the tour.

Then we are going to take the kids to go see the new spider man movie tonight...maybe use the free dinners from Chevy's I won. Another trip to Lowe's after that.

We are going to stay at the new house both Friday and Saturday night. First, we are going to get a lot all this furniture we want to sell and move it out of the spare room upstairs. Then maybe we will start working on some of the projects.

Hopefully it will be a productive weekend. :)

Need some color

2007-05-03T13:37:00.000-04:00

I have decided that I need to make some changes to our new house so it feels like mine. Right now I walk in and it says blah -- because if all the weird country blues and whites. White paint and ugly wallpaper everywhere. Not that I have a problem with blue -- I like blue -- he is a good guy -- but I am more of a earthy tones girl. I like the reds, greens, browns and blacks.

So, I have decided to do one small project first. The front foyer. It is the first thing people see when they walk in. Plus, I think it will be good for everyone to see how a space is transformed.

My thoughts on this are to have muted red toned wall -- along the stairway will be a coordinating brown or taupe. The metal railings of the stairs will be replaced with wood ones at some point and have the stairs will have a carpet runner that goes up the wood stairs.

On the main wall - the first thing you see when you walk it -- will be a REAL Persian rug my Dad and Minda bought for me. It is so funny because Minda picked out the most wonderful rug with all my favorite colors -- I am sure I would have picked the same one. It is a medium size rug so I will hang it on the wall - it will fit perfect there -- like it is made for that space.

To the right will be a decorative mirror I have had for a while with a small antique table of my grandmother's underneath.

Then I would like to find a cool looking clock for a small wall, then something else to go beside the front door -- not sure what that is yet. (Maybe I can convince Dad and Minda to bring me another rug for the smaller wall) :)

On the floor will be a rug that matches one of the colors in the Persian rug and the ceramic tile floor.

And at some point I am going to change out the light fixture in the foyer -- something not brass or ugly. But..that might be awhile.

After the foyer is done I want to paint the dining room and add my furniture. That will also be hung with beautiful panels my Dad and Minda also bought me years ago. With all my black dining room furniture that will have an Asian type look with a green for the walls and a light green for the ceiling - I hope.

And then I want to tackle the kitchen -- I want to update it with painting the cabinets and walls, adding new drawer/cabinet pulls, new gas stove and if, just if, I can convince Mike (or get a part-time job this summer) I want to put in granite or quartz counter tops to really update it out of the 70's. Right now is had yucky light blue Formica counter tops. Ugh!

We have decided to put the basement off for awhile -- just let Adam live in one part of it until he goes off to senior college in 2 years. Maybe we will take down wallpaper and paneling in the pool room at some point sooner but other area will have to wait.

I think just fixing up the main living areas with paint and a few other things will help a lot. Get rid of the 70 and 80's feel. :)

OK - off to look at the color wheel......and pick out some paint !

Play ball.....

2007-05-02T10:30:00.000-04:00

Very excited to hear that my brother Sean was chosen to play in Disney's Salute to Baseball Festival July 3-9. Way to go Sean !! So after coming for the graduation and wedding all the way from the UAE then they will travel to Brookhaven and then off to Orlando. All I can say is I hope my very talented brother ends up in the major leagues one day.

Oh Happy Day !

2007-05-01T22:07:00.000-04:00

Best news today.....my cleaning lady Margarita is going to be able to also clean our house in Reston. I thought she just did houses in Annandale and Springfield but she also does houses in Reston on Thursdays. Yea ! This is wonderful because it is so hard to find someone trustworthy to clean. She does a great job. :) Some people might think it is frivolous to have a house cleaner but she only comes every other week and I could not have been a productive single mom without her. She even gave me a reduced rate because she knew how much I need her help sometime. And thanks to my friend Kim for recommending her. ;)

In the wee small hours of the morning....

2007-05-01T05:25:00.000-04:00

For some strange reason I woke up at 3 am this morning and I have not been able to get back to sleep. Which for me is weird because I can usually sleep anywhere, anytime. Part of it is my mind can not shut off with all the things I have to do with work, two homes, kids schedules, wedding, Adam's graduation, his college, a freelance project... and wait... myself. Just a tad busy right now. :)

So, I have spent the last 2 hours posting items to Craigslist we want to sell. Craigslist is an online classified that is very popular in the area. I LOVE Craigslist and have bought and sold many, many items this way.

Here is one of my latest ads.

Ok...going to try and get an hour of shut eye before the alarm goes off in an hour.

Baby"Zacky"

2007-04-30T10:05:00.000-04:00

I was one of the hosts for my friend Jane's baby shower on Sunday. (She is also another friend from the White House) This shower was lots of fun because baby Zachary (or "Zacky" as big brother Austin likes to call him) was in attendance.

We would have had the shower earlier but Jane was on bedrest for a few month. But, by many prayers and modern medicine Zachary came right on time is a healthy, happy baby boy.

Jane, Kim, Zachary and big brother Austin

Close up of Baby Zachary

Katy with her new friend Zachary

White House Press Photographers Gala

2007-04-29T05:03:00.000-04:00

After a busy busy Saturday of house stuff, soccer games, wedding make-up try outs -- Mike and I got all dressed up at went to the White House Press Photographers Gala at the Ritz in Washington, DC.

It's the 86th Annual Awards Dinner in honor of the President of the United States and the Winners of the Annual Still and Video Contest .

It is lots and lots of fun and we get to see people we have not seen all year. Here are a couple of photos from the event:

Self-portrait of Mike and I

Rochelle, Monica, Mike and John -- Rochelle and John are also getting amrried this summer and have bought a condo about a mile from our new place in Reston.

Chris and Janet -- Janet is a very good friend of mine from my days of working at the White House.

Packed gala -- lots of glam this year and great swag at the end that included a Domke computer bag, Nikon flashlight and Digital Railroad Edit Naked T-shirt.

Wood floors -- uncovered

2007-04-28T04:55:00.000-04:00

We stayed at the new house for the first time Friday night. The kids seemed to get a kick out of the hot tub. We also had my neighbor Zach, who is a great carpet guy, come and remove the carpet and pad off the wood floors. They are in almost perfect condition !! Yea! And I love the color of the wood. We are not going to have to do a thing to them. It what an amazing difference it make to the room with the ugly blue carpet gone. :)

What is hardest in life...

2007-04-25T19:19:00.000-04:00

I think one of the hardest things sometimes to deal with is having a teenager. They can be such a delight at times and other times you really do want to strangle them. A BIG, BIG Thank you goes out to my boss (who also has 2 teenagers) who let me leave early today and work from home while dealing with the latest teen drama. :)

It's official ...the house is ours !

2007-04-23T23:13:00.000-04:00

All the i's are crossed and the t's are dotted. The house is now in our hands. Mike went ahead and moved his stuff in from storage. We meet our neighbors and they have 4 boys, two the same age and grade as Katy and Gabe. They are already fast friends and the kids wore so worn out from playing outside with them they feel asleep on the way home last night. I really like their mom - she seems very down to earth but protective.

I am already starting to learn a few things about home ownership and renovation. We had our first contractor come out. He wad great, gave wonderful ideas but I am sure we will never hire him because he was very expensive. But, right now I am just researching. Same way I did with real estate and that is one reason we got such a good deal.

First, renovating can be as expensive as building new. I found out a lot of the cost in renovating is the demolishing of all the really tacky stuff in your house. So, my new fashion accessories for spring will be a hammer, a strong putty knife, work gloves and a mask. Down the horrible drop ceiling, off will come the ugly brown paneling, out with the old half ass kitchen in the basement. (The photos you see here are of our basement) If we can do the work ourselves then that will save us lots of cash. Any company visiting will be required to take down at least one wall of paneling. ....just joking.

Pool room in basement now....

What we want the pool room to look like (and we would keep our "not as fancy" pool table)

Second, buy your countertops, cabinets, appliances from a direct wholesalers. Yes, this will be a pain in the ass to go pick up but it will also save us lots of cash.

What the basement kitchen looks like now...

An idea of what we want that area to look like...no stoves !

Third, once again Craigslist is are friend. It is amazing what people on Craigslist will take for free. Do we need to throw away the old ceiling tiles or 25 year old fridge ? Hell no ! People will gladly come to our house and take these things.

Main room in basement now....(and there is space behind me)

We want to separate that space to an extra room -- that can be bedroom, exercise area or what ever we want to do with it.

I am sure there will be many more lessons and ideas coming in. I have a company that specializes in basements coming in this morning. Another one I am sure we will not hire but I get so many ideas when they come over. :)

So I will leave you with this for the night.......

"Whatever you want in life, you must give up something to get it. The greater the value, the greater the sacrifice required of you. Everything has a price. There's a price to pay if you want to make things better, and a price to pay for just leaving things as they are. Nothing worthwhile ever comes easily."

This must have been talking about renovating the basement !!

Can't wait for tomorrow....

2007-04-22T23:47:00.000-04:00

In less than 12 hours Mike and I will be closing on our house. Whee !! I can't wait -- it is like waiting for Santa to come. :) I also feel so incredibility blessed. I have future husband who wants to build our lives in this great house. I have three beautiful, smart healthy children. And many, many family and friends who love us, pary for us and think good thoughts for us everyday.

In honor of our new house - here is an Irish Blessing for our new house. Read it and think happy thoughts and many more blessings for us.

Irish House Blessing
We believe in living deeply, Laughing often and loving always. We believe we were brought together To support and care for each other. We believe that everyone's feelings count, And that the uniqueness of each of us Strengthens all of us. We believe in the power of Forgiving to heal And the power of love to carry us through. We believe in one another, In this family, In this house. Failte!

Saturday's in Annandale means soccer time

2007-04-18T10:26:00.000-04:00

Soccer madness -- For the next 6 Saturdays (and a couple of Sundays) Mike and I are dividing time between Katy's and Gabe's soccer games. This is Katy's third season to play and she is getting much better. Mike has been work some with her and even has noticed a difference in her play. Gabriel, who always did baseball decided to switch over to soccer this spring. His coach, Coach Randi, is a kick-ass coach that also plays. Her son is on the team but she still gives lots of support to everyone. She says that for it being his first year he is doing great and plays like he has been doing it for several years.

Here are a few pictures from their first games:

Gabe along with his best friend Eric (on left beside him) and other players eat oranges and listen to Coach Randi during the half. They won the game 5-2.

Katy and her teammates look to see what their positions on the field are during a break while Coach Mark give a pep talk. They also won their game 2-1.

Katy and Gabe before the game. Gabe has the serious game face on while Katy smiles (as usual)

Mike and Katy soccer mascot "Tiger" watch Gabe game. Notice how bundled up Mike is. It was very brrrrrrr this past Saturday.

Almost ours.....

2007-04-18T09:42:00.000-04:00

I took a quick drive by of the house this morning before work. Only 5 more days until it is ours.

This has been an amazing process. Our realtor, Bonnie Donald-Peters, a cute, half-Korean, mom of two, PTA Fun Fair coordinator and bulldog real estate agent, has been so wonderful throughout this whole ordeal.

Yesterday, we found out there were about 5 things that the sellers and us agreed they would fix before closing that had not been done. Never fear future owners -- Bonnie is here !

She whipped their realtor into shape and I know she will make sure it all gets done. :) Of course with Bonnie that might mean she bring over the hammers and fixes it herself...lol.

We are also finally going to get the cable, Internet and phone arranged to today to be hooked up. The owners, for some reason, have not wanted to put it the cut-off order. But, thank again to Bonnie and their realtor Belinda, they will be doing that today.

We have the movers set up for Monday to move all Mike's stuff from storage over. We also have a contractor coming out to give us an estimate on some work we what to have done.

And next weekend we have our neighbor in Annandale, who also is a carpet guy, come out and take out all the old carpet so we can see the condition of the wood floors.

I am sure over the next year or two Mike and I will spend our weekends at Lowe's and Home Depot. :)

More stuff from the shooting....

2007-04-17T15:13:00.000-04:00

Found out the shooter was from Centerville, Va. Of course he is from Fairfax County!

Mike sent me this earlier.....

AOL News has obtained two plays a classmate says were written by Cho Seung-Hui. Ian MacFarlane, the former classmate and current AOL employee, provided us with the plays. A note from Mr. MacFarlane and links to the works appear below.

Plays and story

I know he was 23 and at college but didn't his parents have a clue that smeothing might be seriously wrong with him. I imagine we will hear over and over again that something was not quite right with him all through high school and college.

I worked with a reporter once that was like that and it would come as no surprise to me at all if I read that he shot up a newsroom one day.

On a happier note

2007-04-17T11:36:00.000-04:00

Our wedding invitatations were mailed on Saturday. Those close family and friends should be getting them this week. :)

We are trying to firm up plans - Mike and I picked out the tuxes last week. I finalized the menu. We are going to hopefully pop by La Grange in the next few weeks and pick out the wines that will be served. Everything is moving along.

Please...no more laws on gun control

2007-04-17T11:13:00.000-04:00

Note to Lawmakers:

Don't let what happened in Virginia Tech be a reason for MORE gun control. As noted in the Washington Post today -- Would the university have suffered the same tragedy if Virginia law did not prohibit the carrying of guns on campus?

You know -- having more laws on the books do not make the crazy people out there say "Hey ! I could not buy that gun. I'll just give up the idea of getting a weapon and gunning people down"If they are determined enough they will beg, borrow or steal a weapon while the rest of us are sitting there defenseless.

If our second amendment right - The right to bear arms - was not always being challenged then maybe someone on that campus would have been armed and could have protected themselves.

OK, I am not a card carrying member of the NRA, but I do believe that should have the fundamental right to protect ourselves. Maybe people would think twice about arming themselves to the hilt and gunning people down if they knew that someone might be able to defend themselves

Great blog today that puts this much better than I.

Dozens massacred in gun free zone. AGAIN!

What is the world coming too ?

2007-04-16T20:25:00.000-04:00

Virginia was in the news today but for once it was not good news.

From the AP: A gunman opened fire in a Virginia Tech dorm and then, two hours later, shot up a classroom building across campus Monday, killing 32 people in the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history. The gunman committed suicide, bringing the death toll to 33.
Virginia Tech is nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwestern Virginia near Blacksburg, basically in the middle of nowhere. It campus is home to more than 25,000 students - bigger than most Virginia small towns.

It is a place where as a parent you would feel pretty safe sending your child for college. It is one of the one top universities in Virginia and also a good 4 1/ 2 hours from here.

Now instead of Virginia Tech being known for a great engineering and math school or for having a winning football team it will also have a place of being the site of the most deadliest shooting in US history. Not quite the accolades Virginia is looking for.

What causes this type of violence to come out in our young ? When I went to high school and college we didn't worry about being shot. We didn't have to go through security check points at football games and have our bags checked. Why has society turned so deadly ?What the hell is going on ?
My heart goes out to parents who had to make that long drive today to check on injured children or just to go to hold them in your arms and KNOW the are safe. Or worse the parents that have to go identify their child in the morgue.

As more details come out on this story we must remember one important thing -- you never know is going to happen in life. Hold the ones you love dear and never let them forget they are the are the most important thing in your life.

Countdown.........

2007-04-16T15:57:00.000-04:00

7 more days until we close on the house

56 more days until Adam's Graduation

60 days until the wedding

67 days until I get to move to Reston

I am not sure to be excitied to or to look for a part-time job to pay for all of this :)

More cold weather ??

2007-04-13T11:38:00.000-04:00

I have to say I am so sick of the bleeping cold weather here ! It is suppose to be spring ! Now they are saying lots of rain, wind, cold and maybe snow flurries for the next few days. GRRRRRR !!

From Capital Weather --
There's no spinning this for positive press. This weekend will, in general, be mostly undesirable with a chance of miserable (Saturday night through Sunday) thanks to a powerful Nor'easter. Find the duck boots, waterproof scarf, dress in layers -- oh, and any umbrella you try to use later this weekend will prove useless as it is destroyed in the wind.

As Mike likes to say...bad, bad...bad, bad, bad and bad.

Parent bragging -- Warning !

2007-04-12T23:48:00.000-04:00

Ok -- taking a minute here to brag on my daughter Katy who had pretty much all O's, which means Outstandings, on her report card this time. Her teachers could not say enough good things about her progress. When I told eight-year-old Katy how proud I was of her she says "Mom, this is how I am going to get in a good college. " Well, duh on me ! :)

She also brought home a cabbage plant that she had been growing. She told me that if she plants it and grows it the biggest she can win a $1000 scholarship which she is all excited about. :)

Gabe did really well too -- he struggled a bit with reading this time but we are going to be working on getting that pulled up. His soccer coach called last night to brag on him. Even though he has never played before she said he did the best of all the players during practice Thursday night. They both have their first spring games on Saturday. Hopefully the rain will hold out until after the games.

Vacation.....The Atlantic side of Flordia and Key West part....

2007-04-12T10:32:00.000-04:00

On our way to to see Shirley in Delray Beach we took some of A1A and stop to see the Atlantic along the way. I was very surprised how blue the Atalntic was here -- a little south of Port. St. Lucie -- must be the nuclear power plant up the road.

On our way to Key Wesy we stopped by a place our friend Robin recommended- Key Fisheries Market in Marathon. Mike tried their Lobster Reuben which was very interesting. And Shirl and I stopped for a quick picture.

Finally - we are in Key West -- the home of many, many chickens and roosters. Including a few that come for a drink in the bar.

Where we hung a business card at capt jack's. There were 1000's hung up all over the place. We were going to hang up one of our but thought this might be more creative.

Mike and I on Mallory Square

The gang -- Me, Shirl and Mike on Mallory Square

Mike was one of 12 guys choosen to be part of the "act" during the sunset celebration at Mallory Square in Key West.

Mike (last on the left) as part of the strong men pulling the rope during the act. Yes..the guy was juggling swords while balancing on a rope.

Sunset in Key West :)

A few vacation photos....the St. Pete part...

2007-04-11T09:56:00.000-04:00

Mike on jet ski (and me too) off St. Pete Beach -- very cool and choppy water but lots of fun

This is shot from my cell phone (kinda blurry) but shows how choppy the water is while jet sking -- on shore is St. Pete Beach

There is a reason why they call it the Sunshine Skyway
This is on our way to Sarasota -- didn't take any pictures there -- too busy having fun.

Sunset at Clearwater Beach -- the clouds came in the way right before it hit the water but still pretty. We were sitting at Jimmy's Fish House and Iguana Bar, having dinner, listening to reggae with these folks pictured below....

My friend Leonora, her fiancee Larry and gorgeous daughter Lauren. Katy and Lauren were buddies when we lived in St. Pete -- they are the same age and grade.

Lane, Me and Leonora -- what a bunch we are. Our kids are all the same ages and what adventures we have had. Mike and I along with the kids are going back for a visit in January.
We plan on doing the Orlando thing with all of our kids before they all become pre-teens with attitudes.

Lane and Dan's boys Ry and Tucker -- along with Murphy -- sorry would have gotten Taz (there other dog) but he was to hyper to sit still. :) Gabe and Ry played baseball together when we lived in St. Pete.

We had a great time in St. Pete -- we also got to see our friends Dirk, Bill and Robin but we were silly and forgotten to bring the camera when we saw them. It was a short trip this time. Hopefully we will see them all at the wedding in June. If not, see you in Jan 08.

What Flordia is really like

2007-04-10T21:33:00.000-04:00

Most people like to think of Florida as this.....pretty sunsets in Key West

but really it is more like this....

dilapidated buildings......

tacky signs......

and lots of orange groves :)

We're back...and greeted in Virginia with SNOW!

2007-04-06T22:55:00.000-04:00

Wow ! What a wonderful greeting back from Florida -- an expected 1 to 3 inches of snow tonight here in Virginia. From Capitol Weather - "An unusual, although not unprecedented, late season snow event is likely late tonight and early Saturday as a low pressure area develops and strengthens off the Delmarva coast. Based on the latest model runs (including the one still in progress at post time), the most likely amount in the metro area is 1-3", with higher amounts to the south and east, toward the Bay and the Eastern Shore."

Well, the weather in Florida was great. We wore shorts the entire time, got to see many friends, visit great places and see two sunsets from both Clearwater and Key West. It was a wonderfully nice, relaxing and full of adventures.

I will post more photos and tales this weekend. :) Stay tuned.....

Big winner...yeah..my man

2007-04-06T22:04:00.000-04:00

Mike took home a second place in the Best of Photojournalism Contest !! WHEEE!!!!!!

In the Photo Galleries/Sports (Over) category, judges picked “Crazy or Sane?” by The Washington Post (washingtpost.com) for first place, and “Did You See That?” by America Online Sports for second place.

Meltzer said, “Second place went to a well-edited selection of sports photos of the year, in which we couldn't find a weak image. Well thought out and well edited. "

Well...of course ....Mike was the editor. :) Here is a link to the DYST gallery if you would like to see his awesome work.

Wedding dress ....done

2007-04-05T21:19:00.000-04:00

Finally ! I ordered my wedding dress. I found it in Florida and ordered it from there. Very non-traditional but it looks great on me. And one of my closest friends, Shirley, helped me pick it out. (Along with some long-distance help from Jill too).

The only hint you get before my wedding day is that it is not white. :)

On vacation ....not quite yet

2007-03-30T10:27:00.000-04:00

Once we saw the kids off on their plane to New Orleans we went to check in at our gate and find out the flight was overbooked - -shocking ! They were looking for volunteers to be flexiable and go on the next flight so we did. Now we have almost $800 in Southwest travel vouchers and hopefully we will get on the 12:50 flight. If not there are 3 more out today. We didn't have to be anywhere so why not. :) Florida will still be there.

May the post be with you....

2007-03-29T13:45:00.000-04:00

On May 27th the US Postal Serivce will start selling Star Wars stamps. They have represented all 6 movies and I think the one with Han Solo is wonderful. I am very sad they come out after we send out wedding invitiations because how cool would that have been. Maybe we can use them on thank you notes.

The R2D2 mailboxes are great and somehow it fills me with with pride to know the outragous amount of taxes I give our US Government is used in such an awesome way. :) May the Force by With You.

Very interesting stats......

2007-03-28T11:26:00.000-04:00

Well...hello to any readers I have out there. I hope you find this site somewhat interesting. :)

I have tracking sites on my blog so I can see who is hitting it, how many times, from what website or search engine, what ISP address and when.

If I ever decide to blog more for mainstream readers than for just friends and family it is nice to already have the tracking in place. But, it is very interesting when I get hits from China, Australia, Canada -- and they are reading it !! I know most of the hits are coming from eblogger but it is still cool to know some dude in Greenland is reading my blog.

Vacation soon...yummy !

2007-03-28T10:46:00.000-04:00

So, Friday we put the kids on a plane to Mississippi at 9:30AM and we catch a flight to Florida at 10:30 AM. I am looking very forward to being back down in Florida for a few days. We are going to St. Pete (our old stomping grounds) for the weekend and then driving over to Ft. Lauderdale area to stay with one of my closest friends -- shout out to Shirl aka "Little Missy" for a few days. I never laugh more than I am with Shirley -- we always find great adventures.

While visiting Shirl the three of us are going to Key West -- I can't wait ! It is one of the places I always wanted to visit and somehow never made it down too while I lived in Florida. We are onlt there for a quick visit but I am hoping to return for a long stay next spring break. :)

Then we are going to go to the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in South Florida -- made famous now because Anna Nicole Smith died there. I don't so much care about that but I would not mind playing a few hands of poker.

We are also going to check out other cool places like -- Morikami for a spin through the gardens. Maybe look at the JFK bunker, and have a stroll and dinner at South Beach.

Whatever we end up doing it will be a nice break from work. I will miss the kids and wish they could come with us with but it is time for them to spend with their Dad. It is also very nice for Mike and I to get some time together without kiddies. :)

Quotes of the day......

2007-03-26T09:52:00.000-04:00

I love quotes. They inspire me, amuse me and say it more eloquently than anything I might say. ;)

Here are a few of my favorites today.....

"Life is what we make it. Always has been, always will be."

- Grandma Moses

“Stop acting as if life is a rehearsal. Live this day as if it were your last. The past is over and gone. The future is not guaranteed.”

- Rig Vaga

“How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours.”

- Wayne Dyer

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?

- Marianne Williamson

Shock and awe

2007-03-22T14:18:00.000-04:00

Mike: You know, I would like to help out more.
Jennifer: How ?
Mike: Maybe do the grocery shopping ?
Jennifer: Are you kidding ?
Mike: No, I could go after work to Wegmans, the best grocery store in the whole world, and shop for us.
Jennifer: Are you kidding ?
Mike: No, It will be fun. You could make a list, and even put brands you like and I can shop for them.
Jennifer: Are you kidding ?
Mike: No, I like going to the Wegmans and at night after work there is no crowds.
Jennifer: Am I dreaming ?
Mike: No, this is for real. Make a list of what you need.
Jennifer stands in the kitchen in shock. Makes lists and knows that she is marring a man that can go to the grocery store with a list, come back with it filled with happy, healthy foods. And he even cooks for us !!

Life is good :) Better than good, life is great !!

Is this a cool t-shirt or what ??

2007-03-21T21:00:00.000-04:00

"Lock ness Imposter"

Very cute...see more on their website -- it has other cool t-shirts for kids and parents too !

Spring is here...sort of

2007-03-21T20:12:00.000-04:00

Yea ! First day of spring ! I am so ready for warm weather. Today was a balmy 43. Ok...Miss Spring ...you need to do much better than that.

I got all the addresses finished tonight for the wedding so invites will be going out in about two weeks.

So, I found out last week that my project for work got cancelled and was a little bumbed out. :(
But, I got put on a much bigger project along with two of my favorite co-workers. We are going to work on getting all of the photos K12 has purchased for many, many, many past projects and get them ready for the new DAM system. The damn DAM as we lovingly refer to it. What is a DAM you may ask ? A Digital Asset Management system or a very wonderful place to store and retrive photographs. Whee ! :::::::::::much dancin here from the K12 media staff::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Iraq war ...4 year later...

2007-03-19T17:00:00.000-04:00

My friend Jill sent this to me today and I want to post it for all to read. No matter if you are for the war or against the war I think the author of this op-ed piece gives us all room to think.

Why aren't the Bush daughters in Iraq ?

When I was working for President Bush as a photo editor I came to hate photo editing his trips to Walter Reed Medical Center. Photo after photo there would be injured soldiers with blank looks on their faces, no idea who President Bush or anyone was for that matter. The President and Mrs. Bush would stand there, smile and solders without arms, legs, eyes would shake his hand. It was one of the saddest damn things I have ever edited. I hated it. Often during this process I would lock the office door and just cry while editing.

In less than two months my son will be 18. He could go and fight for this country if he wanted. But, I caution him in making that decision because sometimes I wonder what we are fighting for. Is it for freedom or peace or are we just in the middle of a civil war ? I have to admit I support the troops but I do not want my child coming home without a leg, arm or not at all.

I explained to Adam that many, many times it is the innocent that die in the war. In Iraq, Civilian deaths are rarely counted but make up a large majority of the causalities of this war. Yes, many people died on 9/11, but does that justify the taking of far more lives in civilian and soilders deaths ? It has been for 4 years since we enter the war on Iraq. So much has changed since then in my life and in the world. But, the question remains the same ....what are we fighting for ? What are we dying for ?

Just questions to ponder....

Cork'd ... a cool site

2007-03-18T23:18:00.000-04:00

Cork'd is a really cool little site. You can......

Catalog, rate, and review wines in your Wine Journal.
Find out what your buddies are tasting.
Discover and keep track of new wines you'd like to buy and try.

I started a small wine journal. Now I just need to type in all the wines we have. :)

Crazy, busy weekend

2007-03-18T21:45:00.000-04:00

Ok -- Time for a quick post after a short and busy weekend.....

Katy and Gabe did Odyssey of the Mind all day on Saturday. It is really amazing what there team did. I video taped it and will try to post it soon. We are not sure what the scores are yet and if they are going to state. Last year Gabe's team placed first and went to state.

Late Saturday we took the kids to see the house for the first time. They really liked it and thought the hot tub and pool table were great. Gabe loved the woods. :) The owners, as nice as they are, did drive us a little batty. I will just be glad when we close and can start working on it.

Tomorrow is another work day....but vacation in two weeks !! Florida here we come. :)

Top 5 of what makes me furious today and what does not

2007-03-16T14:39:00.000-04:00

For all those negative people in the world -- I'll start here first:

1.) Sleet and snow in the middle of March
2.) Parents that go on every field trip so no other parents can go
3.) The fact that the project I was going to be working on starting today has been cancelled and now I have to do "boring" stuff
4.) People that I try to have conversations with that just "go off on a tangent" for no real apparent reason.
5.) My stupid AOL is not sending any emails out for some weird reason

And now for the positive:
1.) We got a full commitment letter on our loan so we are all set to close 6 weeks ahead of the date - Whee ! My first "real" house
2.) It is Friday !
3.) A friend and I went shopping at Whole Foods at lunch (and I showed her the outside of the house :)
4.) Spring is just around the corner
5.) My life, even though it can be annoying, is extraordinarily blessed

Now back to the wedding.....

2007-03-15T16:20:00.001-04:00

Ok...I have spent a little time this week doing wedding stuff. We are trying to mail the first group of invitations out on April 5 so we have had to wrap up who we are inviting, addresses, ect. My friend Christina is designing a really, really cool invitation for us. It will be different than any invite you have gotten before but also very modern, elegant and reflects our winery theme. Her business, Paperzest, has done some really amazing things...you can check them out if you like on the web.

I can't believe it is only 3 months away. These last three months have flown by. It will be half way through the year before we know it.