Everyday, Ordinary Joy

Cancer, how dare you!

2012-01-17T12:49:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I found out that a very dear friend Bonnie was diagnosed with breast cancer. She lost her mother to breast cancer 2 years ago. Deb, a friend of Bonnie and I lost her mother and a month later found out her breast cancer had reoccurred after 18 years! Another friend is fighting cancer and was recently given 2 years to live. Sam's friend Travis' Mother is dying of cancer. WTF!!!! For some reason Travis' mother, who I barely know, is REALLY bothering me. I think about her and her situation and I cry. I don't understand it. I pray for all my friends, and now say some extras for Bonnie, Deb, Denise and Travis' Mother! Nothing else I can do for all of them. how sad!

2012

2012-01-17T12:47:00.000-08:00

I have decided that I am going to share my thought, etc.... I always have a lot going on in my head and I think it is a good idea to get them out. Be forewarned....some of what I have to say may not be very politically correct, so if you can't handle it, don't read it!

A Week in the Life- Day 2

2010-05-04T12:46:00.000-07:00

I realized something today. This is going to be a very boring week in the life. I probably should have waited until the summer when I am off from work. Oh well....I started and I am going to finish! Maybe I will do it again sometime during the summer.

Here I am in the morning, before leaving for work. Bruce stayed home because he wasn't feeling well and I had to drive myself to work. I am such a spoiled baby because Bruce and I commute to work together. The only time I have to drive myself is when he is sick or has a meeting, if I have a meeting, or one of us has to do something after work. I shouldn't complain because I get dropped off and picked up just about EVERY DAY!! One good thing about driving myself today is that I took Bruce's car. He has XM radio and I was able to listen to XM44, Classic Alternative. That's my favorite radio station and I don't get to listen to it often because Bruce HATES it!

This is what I see all day at work, my computer and a wall of pics of my sweet handsome son!
The calendar helps me count the days... 40 days left till June 30th, but I will be gone before that. Something nice to look forward to.

Nice ride home today. We have been having a little traffic on RT 130, but today it was clear. Listening to some Depeche Mode made the ride a little more pleasant.

I was so tired when I got home from work today. I didn't sleep well last night and I just wanted to take a nap. Thankfully I prepared the lasagna yesterday so all I had to do was pop it in the oven.

A Week in the Life Day 1

2010-05-02T17:53:00.000-07:00

Once again I am copycatting (is that even a word??) Danielle Taylor. She did a week in the life project. It sounded like a great idea, so I decided to try it too. I have no discipline but I am going to try my hardest to make it through the entire 7 days and post it here on the blog and continue on to finish the actual scrapbook.

So here goes...
I love to sleep late but lately I have been getting up early. Sleeping past 9 is late for me these days.

Got up, took a shower and did what I do every day, put my hair in the velcro rollers

It was such a beautiful day, and what did I do? Went grocery shopping.
It had been weeks since we did a real grocery shopping and it felt like it took forever. I treated myself to a special treat when I got home
Good Humor Strawberry Shortcake

Sunday is the only day I can really cook. During the week I throw meals together, but I love to cook and miss not having the opportunity to do it often. Most weekends we run around on Saturday and Sunday. It was nice to have a day where I didn't HAVE to do anyting. Sam asked for lasagna last week so I decided to make it for him.

The Dreamfields pasta is delish! Can't wait to eat it tomorrow night after Bruce and Sam get home from soccer practice.

Sunday is my favorite TV night. Amazing Race and Cold Case
I don't know what I am going to do on Sunday nights now. It was the Cold Case season finale, and next week is the season finale of the Amazing Race.

Assorted photos from the Orphanage

2009-11-11T05:34:00.001-08:00

Sam and Sister Catalina. I don't know why this photo appears twice.

Orphanage visit

2009-11-11T04:44:00.000-08:00

Don Wilson picked us up at 2:30 for our 3 pm visit at the orphanage. We had a wonderful welcome. Everyone was glad to see us and were very interested in our story. One of the volunteers, Lisa, translated for us. She was so nice and helpful.
When we first arrived Sister Catalina (the sister who runs the place) wasn't there so Lisa took us around with one of the other sisters. We visited the area where the babies live and went out to play with the toddlers. It was so hard to see all those babies and wonder what will happen to them.

Sister Catalina arrived and came up to meet us. She was so sweet! She loved hearing Sam's story and was really glad that he came back to visit. She was very grateful for all the things we brought. The economy there took a big hit like ours did and donations are not what they used to be. We spoke to Sister Catalina about the need of the orphanage, and what we could do to help. She thought for a while and then a big smile appeared on her face. She told us about a 16 year old boy, Jorge, who lived at the orphanage who is going to mechanic school. She said Jorge and Sam were about the same age and reminded her of each other. They needed funding to keep Jorge in school and to help when he was done. We thought it was a great idea. We had about $500 left from everyones kind donations and we had already spent about $500 on the stuff we brought. We decided to donate another $500 from my brother, sister and I. Michael ran to the ATM and took out the additional $500 and gave her $1000. Half of that money will go to take care of Jorges school and what he needs. The other half will be used for whatever Sister Catalina feels is most important. We got to meet Jorge. He was a very polit, shy young man. It's an amazing feeling knowing that you are making a difference in someones life.
Here is a photo of Jorge and Sister Catalina.

The staff was able to find Sam's file. Unfortunately there were no surprised in it. I already had all the papers that were in there.

Sister Catalina invited us into her office for a drink, (of orange soda). She must have know that it was Sam's favorite!

We took so many photos, I couldn't decide which ones to share. The slow speed of our internet access makes it a pain in the butt to upload a lot of photos. I tried twice to upload some, but keep getting failures, so I guess it will have to wait till I get home.

I am only one day behind on these updates. I can't believe that we are leaving tomorrow.
The spell checker isn't working, so please forgive the typos

The middle of the world!

2009-11-10T17:58:00.000-08:00

Our driver, Don Wilson, picked us up at around 9:30am. Our first stop was el Panecillo to see the statue of the Virgin of Quito. Awesome views of all of Quito from there. Spent a little while taking photos and Janet and I talked about when the Amazing Race did a segment there. I have to look it up on Youtube now.

From there we headed north to Mitad del Mundo, the middle of the world. Bruce and I had been there before but now that they found that the actual equator was not where they thought it was, there is a new tourist area. It was really interesting. We had an english speaking guide and they give you a lot of history of how different indiginous people lived. They also have a bunch of demonstrations/experiments that we got to participate in. One was to show that you are weaker when you are right on the equator line, one showed how you couldn't walk a straight line along the equator because the north and the south are both pulling you. Another was being ab le to balance an egg on the head of a small nail. Out of our whole group, Sam was the only one who could do it. He got a special certificate

After that we went to the original equator monument. We took a lot of silly photos, but this one was by far the best.

Don Wilson took us to a great place for lunch that had an awesome buffet. The food was great and we had so much fun. As usual, Michael entertained us. He was dancing and had us and other people in the restaurant cracking up.

On the way back we stopped at the Centro de Salud #8, the place where Sam was found. The center was closed but we took some photos and he at least got a chance to see it. It was the first time I had been there too and it was interesting to see.

Next, the orphanage!

Rolling blackouts, etc...

2009-11-10T02:32:00.000-08:00

It's been difficult to post. Between rolling blackouts throughout the city, running around and spotty internet access, it is really hard to get a chunk of time to do it.
Tonight, after coming back from the Cloud Forest I will (hopefully) update.

Photos from Saturday

2009-11-10T02:22:00.000-08:00

My favorite photo of the day

At laguna de Cuicocha

Saturday

2009-11-07T22:08:00.000-08:00

It's 1 am, so this is going to be short. I promise a long update tomorrow with photos (i haven't' downloaded them yet)
We hired the guy who picked us up at the airport, Don Wilson, to take us to Otavalo market today. We spent the whole day out, went to the market and bought some stuff. It was pretty amazing there. They have all these people selling just about anything that you could think of. From toilet paper to animals. We had a good time there and bought some nice things. From there we went to Cotocachi, a town not too far away that is well known for their leather goods. We didn't' even shop while we were there. Ate lunch at a nice place and then headed to lake Cuicocha, an ecological reserve. this is a crater lake and the area is very beautiful. We took a small hike here. I thought I was going to die. This was no easy hike. We had fun there making fun of ourselves (me and Janet) about falling or dropping dead! On the way back we stopped in Cayambe where they have determined through GPS the true equator. There is a research project there that has created an amazing sundial and we learned a lot about the equator and the earth.
When we got back to Quito we took a walk to look for some snacks to bring back and then went out to dinner at La Rhonda, a very nice Ecuadorian restaurant. There was an Andean band playing and it was awesome. Like the bunch of idiots that we are, none of us brought a camera.
Tomorrow (actually later today)Don Wilson is picking us up to go to el Panecillo, the Mitad del Mundo and then possibly the telerfico(sp?) He is picking us up at 9 so I guess I should get some sleep.

More tomorrow, including photos from today

We're here!

2009-11-06T13:35:00.000-08:00

We arrived last night. I don't even know what time it was when we finally got to the hotel. Sam thinks it was around midnight.
We checked in, went to our room (#1 for us, #6 for Janet and Michael), and went right to sleep

Today, after breakfast we went to Quicentro Mall. My brother forgot the charger to his camera and we wanted to see if we could find one. Unfortunately we weren't able to. Enjoy walking around the mall. Had lunch in the food court, Sam had KFC-he is SO adventurous, Michael and Janet had Taco Bell and Pizza Hut and I had rice and shrimp from an Ecuadorian place. Michael and Janet both wished they had been more adventurous. Not sure what we are doing tonight.
Sam and I are going to the orphanage on Monday at 3pm.
Tomorrow we are going to Otavalo to the market. We are being picked up at 8am.

Day after tomorrow

2009-11-03T09:00:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to share...
This is what 15 onsies, 18 boxes of bandaids, 10 coloring books, 8 boxes of 48ct crayons, 20 bibs, 5 pair of sweat pants, 20 4 packs of childrens toothbrushes, 50 pair of childrens socks, 21 pair of infant socks, 13 boxes of large crayons, 3 3 pc infant outfits, 16 bottles of childrens tylenol and 18 tubes of desitin ointment look like packed into a suitcase.

2009-11-02T07:52:00.000-08:00

WOW! Just a few more days and we will be on our way to Ecuador. I've been busy planning and shopping and packing. I feel a little overwhelmed, but that's just me. Tonight we are going shopping for stuff to bring to the orphanage with the money everyone has so kindly donated. We are so lucky to have such wonderful people in our lives that care enough about Sam to donate so much. Thank you all again!
The orphanage staff did a great job of taking care of my baby while he was waiting for Bruce and I to come get him. I wonder if he stayed there a few days now they could kick his butt into shape. I remember that the sisters there took no nonsense from those kids. I guess thats how you have to be when you have so many kids and so little staff.

So keep checking here for stories and photos from our trip. Those of you who know my brother know there will be stories, and they will be funny!

10 days

2009-10-26T13:15:00.000-07:00

Only 10 days left until we leave for Ecuador. I know Sam is getting excited and so am I. We have been collecting money from our friends and family to purchase items for the orphanage. We will buy some stuff here and will wait until we are down there to purchase the rest. If the orphanage needs something that we can buy, we will do it when we are down there. I'm sure there is a lot they need. Thanks to everyone who has donated already.

Getting ready for Ecuador

2009-10-13T08:44:00.000-07:00

Bruce and I adopted our son Sam in Ecuador in 1992. On November 5th, Sam and I are returning to Ecuador for a visit. My brother Michael and sister Janet are going to accompany us. Unfortunately Bruce isn't joining us due to health concerns. The city we will be staying in, Quito, is at a VERY high altitude (almost 10,000 feet) and since Bruce had trouble with his lungs last year he doesn't think it is a good idea to make the trip at this time. We will miss him A LOT! My plan is to update this blog every day, at least once. That way everyone can keep up with what we are doing. I plan to share lots of photos and knowing my brother and sister, i'm sure we will have lots of funny experiences and stories to share.

I want to thank everyone who has responded to our request for donations for the orphanage. My brother Michael has been amazing with getting his friends and co-workers to donate. If you haven't responded and want to donate, it is not too late!!!

If anyone has suggestions on things to do while we are there, let me know. I am planning our activities and would love some suggestions to add to my list.

The LAST week

2009-06-15T17:41:00.000-07:00

I am counting down the days. Only 1 1/2 days of work left. YIPPEE!!!!!!

Tonight I made one of my favorite meals. We call it Eduardo Pasta. Here is the story:

Several years ago I was the president of the local chapter of Stars of David, a Jewish adoptive families support group. I received a phone call from a woman from an exchange student organization who told me that she had found my name on the Stars of David website and she was in a bind and was wondering if anyone in our group could help her out. She was in charge of placing foreign students with host families in the United States. She had a young man who was scheduled to arrive from Italy the next week. The family that was was supposed to stay with were having some problems and couldn't take him. He has requested a Jewish family and she thought that someone from our group could help. It sounded like it would be really interesting, so I spoke to Bruce and we decided to host the young man, Eduardo. He arrived on a Friday, and we traveled to north NJ to pick him up. He seemed like a nice boy, and we had heard from the coordinator that he came from a VERY wealthy family. I remember googling his family and found out they had $$$$$$. From the time we picked him up he was on the cell phone to his father in Italy. We arrived home and he stayed outside for a little while talking on the phone and then Bruce and him went to the golf driving range.
We gave him his own room, with a sofa bed, and had explained to the coordinator when she came for a home inspection that we could get a bed in he was uncomfortable. To make a long story short, 3 days later I got a call from the coordinator asking me what was going on. Eduardo had been on the phone with his father telling him he had to get out of this "village". He said that our "village" was dirty, that we made him sleep with the dog, that "the boy" didn't speak English, and he couldn't share a bathroom with "that boy". Needless to say, I was speechless. I told her that she needed to get him out of our home as soon as possible. It was such a nightmare. The only good thing that came out of it was that he taught me how to make this wonderful pasta dish. It is so easy too!

Where have I been?

2009-06-12T11:17:00.000-07:00

My last post was April 22. I can't believe it's been that long! We've been busy with Sam's soccer and baseball games. Tomorrow is the last soccer game of the season. I hope I remember to take some photos to post here. He's had a great season, scoring goals and playing really hard. We're really proud of him!
I've been keeping up with the recipe scrapbook page swap at my local scrapbook store, Scrappers Cove. Here are 2 of the pages that i've done. One was a Valentine's Day theme and the other was Summer Favorites.
I would love to get a another group together to do a swap like this. If you are interested, let me know and we can make arrangements.

On Wednesday at 12:00 I will leave work and won't return until September 1. I am looking forward to relaxing and getting some of my house projects. The first thing I'm going to do is paint the livingroom/diningroom

Bye Bye Saturn

2009-04-22T08:21:00.000-07:00

After 16+ years I am getting rid of my 1993 Saturn. I know it's time for it to go, but I really love that car. Since it failed inspection for an exhaust leak. I realized that it was time to let it go to Saturn Heaven. There was no justification to invest any money in that car, even though it only has around 90,000 miles on it. I say around 90,000 because the odometer stopped working and it says 84 thousand something. We hardly put any mileage on it because Bruce and I commute togeter most of the time. So last night we bought a new car (well new to us). Its a 2008 Chevy Cobalt with only 17,000 miles on it and still has all the warranties too. Sam is so excited that he no longer has to drive the "piece of shit car". He said the best thing is that the new car has a jack so he can play his Ipod through the car speakers.

Earth Day

2009-04-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

I figured it was time to post an update. It's a beautiful day, and it's Earth Day!
We are big Ironmen fans, thanks to my brother Michael. We love going to the games. We took the Mias to the last game of the season. Ann is a BIG Evan McNeeley fan and I tool lots of photos for her. I took a whole bunch when he was in the penalty box or as I once explained it to Alyssa Horana, he was in time out! I liked this one the best.
Our Passover Seder was very nice. The in-laws and the Mias joined us. I love cooking for family and friends. I really should do it more often. I love setting the table with my good china, sterling and crystal.

Bruce has not been feeling that great. The cellulitis in his leg keep coming back.(4times in 6 weeks) We've been to the ER a few times and he is now working with an Infection Disease specialist. Hopefully he is on the right track now and will get it resolved once and for all!

I'm counting down the days until I am off for the summer. I am going to look for some part time work (if you know of anything available, let me know).

Finally Spring

2009-04-04T13:00:00.000-07:00

I really think Spring has arrived. There are buds on the trees and I am excited to see some buds on my hydrangea bushes in the front of the house. They looked so nice last year. I bought the 2 bushes at the same time, but for some reason one of them didn't want to grow. Its been about 3 years and the little one, which I call the baby, is finally starting to grow.

There are a few days, during the start of Spring, when you look into a wooded area and see a slight green haze. That is one of my favorite things to see. I think next year I am going to try to get some photos but for some reason I don't think that I will be able to capture it.

I participate in a recipe swap at a local scrapbook store, Scrappers Cove. Every month is a different theme. We make 6x6 scrapbook pages with the recipe on it and when we meet we bring the finished dish as well as the copies of the recipe pages for everyone. We have a lot of fun seeing the great ideas people come up with. We meet on the first Friday of the month. This month we used Spring as the theme and made dishes that were light (not diet type light). I made my White Chocolate Easter Cake and it was a hit. Here's a pic of my swap.

Roxy's Spa Day

2009-03-16T17:29:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Sam took his SAT's and Roxy had a spa day. We took her to the Barking Spa in Milltown and she had the works! They even put a bow on her tail.

Looking at the before and after, you wonder what took us so long.

Give me back that fish!

2009-03-13T07:57:00.000-07:00

I can't get this out of my head. I even have Bruce singing it all the time.
Tell me what you think.

Show and Tell

2009-03-09T17:58:00.000-07:00

Last week I took a class at my local scrapbook store. We learned how to make these adorable purses out of cardstock. We even made matching cards to go with one.
The black one is scored and has crystals where the score lines meet. It really looks great with the textured paper.

Here are pics of the other one I made there, with the matching cards, and the one I made after I came home.

Catch up time

2009-02-19T11:46:00.000-08:00

Ok, I know I said that I was going to post more often, but I haven't. So here is a little catch up.

Sam is taking an SAT class at the High School. It's held on Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings. Every Saturday they take a practice SAT. He improved 210 point in one week. The biggest jump was in writing. Unfortunately most colleges aren't looking at the writing yet. I know that writing is his strength. Hopefully the score will continue to rise.

Valentines Day
Ever since South Pacific Chinese Restaurant in Edison closed several years ago I have been searching for a place that still served the old school style chinese food and is decorated in the kitchy Polynesian-Tiki style. Luckily about a year and a half ago I discovered Chan's Dragon Inn, in Ridgefield NJ.

This place is awesome!!!! It takes me back years. So, Ann, John, Sam, Bruce and I went up there for our Valentine's dinner. The food was so good. Since you couldn't be with us, I will share our meal with you

"> Awesome won ton soup

Yummy eggroll RIBS!!!!

Guess we liked them, don't ya think?

My FAVORITE!!!! Lobster Cantonese

Roast pork fried rice, pepper steak with mushrooms, butterflied shrimp with bacon. There was none left to take home...we ate it ALL!

Sunday - Sam's lucky day

2009-02-08T18:56:00.000-08:00

Today we headed up to Newark to watch the NJ Ironmen. As I've said before, I love going to the Prudential Center to watch them play. Thanks Michael, for the tickets.
Unfortunately they lost, and I was kind of bummed. They had traded Freddy Moojen to Chicago last week and it came back to bite them today. He scored twice! One of the things that they do at the arena is sell little soccer balls for $1. Then during halftime everyone throws them onto the field and trys to get closest to the flag. The winner gets a $100 gift certificate to a soccer store. Sam and his friends always participate, but instead of trying to get it close to the flag they throw it to the other side of the stadium and try to hit someone. Aren't they sweet?? So today I buy a ball and Sam buys one (with my money LOL) He tells me that he is going to try to hit someone on the other side and I tell him that he is wasting $1. He tells me that since the money goes to charity, Grassroots Soccer, that it shouldn't matter, so I agree and tell him to go for it. I throw my ball and get it no where near the flag. When they announce the winner, ball #816, I couldn't remember if Sam's was 819 or 816. Then I remember that it was 816, because when he showed the ball to me I first thought it said big (the numbers looked like letters when I first saw it). I couldn't believe that he won until they announced his name. He was in the bathroom and I couldn't wait for him to come back. I was so excited! When he got back and I told him that he won, he couldn't believe it either. He had thrown it to the other side. We figure that he threw it, someone either caught it or picked it up and threw it back onto the field. We were cracking up. A few minutes after he got his gift certificate, the Ironmen dancers came on the field and threw mini soccer balls and shirts into the stands. Sam caught one of the mini balls. The woman sitting behind us said "Wow...it sure is his lucky day" It sure was!

Saturday

2009-02-08T18:51:00.000-08:00

Saturday was very relaxing. I stayed in my pj's all day and didn't do too much of anything. My brother Michael came over to play Guitar Hero with Sam. I sang a few songs with them and had a lot of fun.

Snowy Day

2009-02-03T16:02:00.000-08:00

It snowed all day today. We only got about 2 inches, but it is so beautiful. I took this photo from the front door at Willets today.

Long Time....

2009-02-03T11:20:00.000-08:00

Wow! I can't believe that it's been so long since my last post so here is a quick update.
We spent Christmas with the L's, as we usually do and had a GREAT time. We also spent New Years Eve with the L's, and as usual had a wonderful time. One of the best things about spending time with them is that we laugh a lot! Rebecca was going to give me a makeover on Christmas but we never got to it, so on New Years Eve she asked if we could. The only one who didn't get a makeover was Sam. It was hysterical. Aren't the boys beauties???

As usual I made a lot of resolutions that I know I won't keep. First and foremost I am going to work VERY hard on mailing things when I say I will. Everyone who knows me knows that this is one of my biggest problems. I am also going to call people back when they call me.

January 4th was my 50th birthday. Bruce and Sam hosted a wonderful party, that was held at Carmen & Lasanta's home. They are such terrific friends! I had a great time and hope everyone who attend did too. I am lucky to have so many wonderful friend.

January brought a new Stampin Up catalog. The usual excitement wasn't there this year. Dawn would usually be the one to create the excitement. We would usually track the catalogs and follow the catalog chatter on Splitcoaststampers. One evening I was cooking dinner, the doorbell rang and it was Mr Brown delivering my catalog order. Normally I would have stopped what I was doing and checked it out, but I didn't. I really felt the void that was left when Dawn passed away. We had our first stamping/scrapping get together since her loss and it was kinda sad. We did have a good time, but we were sad. We made these cute boxes for Valentine's Day.

Another resolution is that I am going to post more often.

1st & 2nd nights of Hanukkah

2008-12-22T18:32:00.000-08:00

I love Hanukkah! I love sitting in the glow of the candles as they burn. When Sam was little we used to play dreidel and it was so nice. The warm glow of the candles made me feel so good.

Last night we played Uno and Scattergories. We always crack up with some of the answers Sam comes up with.
Tonight we gave Sam Guitar Hero World Tour, Band Kit for the Wii. We love playing Rockband (PS2), so I know we will love playing this one too. We did a few songs already and had a lot of fun.

Following Danielle I am posting a picture of a recipe that I made tonight. Pasta with roasted cauliflower and ham, from Rachael Ray's magazine. It was AWESOME!!!

2 more days of work this week and then we are off until Jan 5th. I don't know if I will be recovered from my 50th birthday on the 4th.

More Goodbyes

2008-12-18T11:37:00.000-08:00

This just seems to be my season for loss. Lynn, my friend and co-worker for the last 10 years is retiring. Today was her last day. We enjoyed a nice lunch of pizza, Diane's special salad and chocolate pecan pie and a homemade cake made by Dorothy. The food was yummy and the company was nice too. Mary C came over and so did Rose and Janice (people who used to work here). It was really nice to see them since we don't get together often.

SAD, SAD DAY

2008-12-17T06:38:00.000-08:00

Last night I received bad news. My good friend Dawn passed away. It was sudden and unexpected. I am in total shock. I just can't believe it. When her sister Judy called to tell me I sat with my mouth hanging open.
Dawn was a dear friend. She was thoughtful and caring. I remember one morning when Bruce & I were driving to work. We passed her on RT 130 and saw her crossing herself as we passed. She didn't see us and I couldn't imagine what she was doing. When I spoke to her later I mentioned it and she laughed. She had seen a dead deer on the side of the road, and any time she saw a dead animal on the road she said a prayer for them. I thought that was so sweet.

I will miss her, probably more than I realize now. We would email each other many times a day and I know I will feel that void. She could aways make me laugh. Just last week I got a card and a gift from her through campus mail. The card said "Girlfriends Matter". Those words are so true!

From the House of Dogs

2008-12-16T11:27:00.000-08:00

This is what the well dressed dog is wearing this season. She's a cutie!

Another Monday

2008-12-15T07:01:00.000-08:00

We had a busy weekend thanks to my brother Michael.

Saturday night we went to see the NJ Devils play. I'd never been to a professional hockey game but I really enjoyed it. I was looking forward to the view from his regular seats, center ice, 13th row, but was blown away by his other seats 1st row behind the goal

What a great view, and the pic was taken with my cell phone, so no zoom or anything.

Sunday Bruce and I, Sam and his friend Andrew went to the Ironmen home opener. We've been looking forward to this since the end of last season. I have to be honest, I was disappointed. Not just because they lost the game, but the play was really sloppy.
Hopefully it was just a case of them needing to practice playing together a little more. I did like some of the new players and missed seeing Freddy Moojen play. Hope you get better soon Freddy!!>
The goalie on the Chicago Storm was so obnoxious. It was a tossup who wanted to punch him in the face more, me or Andrew. This guy just didn't shut up.

I also enjoyed meeting Ethan Zohn, who took the first kick. He was really friendly, and very cute!

We are going to put up our Hanukkah decorations tonight (if I ever get them up from the basement) I'm almost done with the shopping and feel good about that. I still have to buy for Bruce. I have ideas, but nothing that I am sure of. Maybe I will hit the stores tomorrow night.

Shop till I ????

2008-12-02T11:53:00.000-08:00

Well the holiday shopping has begun. Sam gave us a list of things he wants. I loved it when we could buy a bunch of crap from the dollar store. No chance of that now. Everything he wants is so expensive. I didn't realize that Hanukkah is only 3 weeks away. I don't want to be running around at the last minute. I still have no clue what to get for Rick and his family, but then again, I never know what to get for them. If I have time this weekend I will go out and hopefully get all the shopping done.

I am working on a recipe swap that I am participating in at the Scrappers Cove. I would love to do one with my friends. If anyone is interseted in doing a 6X6 recipe page swap, let me know. It is a lot of fun. I did a few swaps like this a few years ago and have 2 great albums, one for breakfast foods and the other for desserts. SIGN UP!!!! I will even help by hosting a scrapping day at my house.

I think we are going to Carmen's house tonight to drop off some tickets. I love spending time with her and especially her girls. Alyssa is SO much fun. Sam enjoys visiting them too.

BYE BYE BRACES

2008-12-01T11:22:00.000-08:00

The braces are finally off! This is what $6,000 worth of orthodontic work looks like. I have to admit (not that I am biased or anything) that he looks really good. If he doesn't wear the retainers and I kill him, you will all know why and I know you will kind enough to take up a collection for bail money. LOL

Now that they are off I can finish the scrapbook page that I started when he got them. I have the before, the during and now the after. Woo Hoo!

BIGGEST IDIOT OF THE YEAR---That's ME!!!!!

2008-11-21T12:41:00.000-08:00

ok, laugh if you want to, but do it to my face.

Earlier today while on facebook i get an IM from Mary telling me she was just checking out our bosses facebook. I didn't know she had one so I went to take a look at it. I searched for her but didn't have any luck. They have an option to search by email address, so I entered her email address and hit submit. Much to my surprise I get a message saying that my invitation to join facebook has been sent. I put the email address in the wrong place. What a dummy!. I wrote back to Mary to tell her and she was cracking up (can you blame her?) She quickly went on facebook and blocked the big boss. So now the boss joined facebook (thanks to me) and she has one friend (that would be me).

Don't you think I deserve the title?

A Seat with a View

2008-11-20T11:20:00.000-08:00

If you ever wanted to know what I look at all day, this is it. How do you like the monkeys?

Card Challenge

2008-11-20T08:19:00.000-08:00

A while back I gave myself a challenge... I wanted to use one stamp set, make a bunch of cards, and end up with cards that have a totally different look. These were some of my favorites. I used the "Upsy Daisy" stamp set and all other supplies from Stampin' Up!

Before & After

2008-11-20T08:14:00.000-08:00

Here are before and after grooming pics of Roxy.

The Chill

2008-11-19T06:43:00.000-08:00

It's starting to get cold here. I had to break down and take out my winter coat yesterday. I even put a coat on the little dog when I took her out this morning. I will have to post a pic of that, she's adorable. It's so funny putting clothes on her. I just worry that she will get cold. I used to think about getting a coat or sweater for Belle but Bruce thought it was crazy. She's a big dog, all 67 lbs of her, and Bruce always said she would look stupid with a coat. She's such a pretty girl!

Now Roxy, all 7.3 lbs of her, looks ADORABLE in a coat. It's like having a baby to dress up. Some might say she is the daughter I never had. Bruce calls her my doghter. I can't imagine how someone could have abandoned her. Granted, she is a pain in the ass, but she's so cute it almost makes up for it. I think she will be great with a little obedience training.

Scrappin'

2008-11-18T18:08:00.000-08:00

I participated in a challenge type thing on the Jewish Scrapbooking website. We got 3 items and had come up with a page that used them. Here is mine.

First Entry

2008-11-18T13:17:00.000-08:00

I've been inspired by Danielle. Thank you, Danielle! Toying around with the idea of a blog for quite a while, even attempted it once or twice, but never really put any effort into it.