Scrappin My Bliss

Art Journaling 2012

2012-01-07T15:10:00.001-05:00

Something I love to do, but don't share often, is art journal. I plan to share more in 2012!

Usually when I art journal, I place what I do in to two categories, both of which keep from sharing my pages: either way too personal or (I feel it is) way too hideous to share. Yes, I do let my inner critic get to me. No more! While I will still continue to make pages that I do feel are too personal to share, and that is OK, I will no longer deem any of the art I create "too hideous." That is so against what I love about art journaling....the fact that it is free-form, funky. Basically, it is what it is.

To encourage me to share more of my art journaling adventures I will be joining in Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's Art Journal Every Day this year. If you are unfamiliar with Julie's work you must check it out. She is an amazing artist. And I can say I have had the privilege of meeting her, too!

So, here is a page I am actually excited to share. Simple, yet meaningful to me...

I created this a few days ago with a technique I actually learned from Julie's blog, the drip. I used two shades of Adirondack Color Wash and sprayed them heavily at the top of the page, allowing them to form longs drips down the page. The journaling is done with acrylic paint (white on letter stamps for "BE" and black for the free-hand painted words). The flowers on the side of the page were stamped using a thin coat of white acrylic on a Hero Arts rubber stamp. I used Claudine Hellmuth acrylics in this, but I also use Liquitex quite a bit.

This shows the facing page that I got random squirts on! I plan to add to and build something on that page at some point, also.

I also wanted to share a couple backgrounds that I have started. The top was made using a few different colors of Maya Road Mists. The bottom was made using Lyra Watercolor crayons and a wet brush. Sometimes when I just feel the urge to get messy and play I will do a bunch of backgrounds in my book then come back to build on them when the mood strikes.

I'm linking up this post to Julie's first Art Journal Every Day post for 2012. I hope you will go to her blog to check out all the amazing creations linked up there!
~*~*~*~*~
In the interest of full disclosure I need to put this out there from the start: I know me. I know how I am. I know I won't actually art journal every single day this year. I have decided that is OK! I will do it as often as I can and as often as the creative juices are flowing freely!

Merry Merry....

2011-12-24T13:45:00.000-05:00

So it is no secret that in this 2nd half of 2011 I have been a terrible blogger. Still, I couldn't let Christmas Eve go by and not post something. And I certainly couldn't miss an opportunity to wish all of my bloggy friends a very Merry Christmas, or Happy Hannukah, or Joyous Whatever You Celebrate at this time of year!!!

This entire month has been one busy blur. I still can't quite accept that is already December 24. At this time next week we will be ticking away the final hours of Twenty-Eleven and getting ready to usher in Twenty-Twelve.

So what I have I been doing this month? Well, working, mostly. Working has sucked up and enormous amount of time and the stress of it definitely contributed to it not feeling too Christmas-y. But, it is what it is. I have a good stable job and at this time of year more than any other I am thankful for it.

I baked...a lot. I have always enjoyed baking. I don't like having all those yummy baked goods around my house, though! Too tempting! Luckily I enjoy the process of baking more, and I thoroughly enjoy sharing what I make. So I have sent in loads of yummies with Kevin for his office and brought in bunches to mine. I have given to neighbors and baked for my family and friends.

Some of that baking for friends was shared on Friday evening December 16 when I got together with girlfriends for a Girls Night In Christmas Party and (very informal) Cookie Swap!

Some of the yummy goodies we all divided up to take home

We had lots of other yumminess and, of course, an array of liquid refreshments....

My fabulous friends

Mom even stopped by after her own Girls Night In with her friends up the road

Even Bailey got in on the fun before Kevin took him upstairs. No boys allowed after a certain time!

That was just one of the fun parties this month. On Friday December 9, Kevin, Joe, and I attended a big Christmas party with my friend Shawn from work, his wife Erin, and his brothers Brian and Kevin. Erin's Dad has a few parties a year at a local social club and it is always a wicked good time!!! Dinner, live band, and FULL OPEN BAR all night (which is why I am never able to write about it right away....ahem!). The following pics were taken with my phone, well in to the night, and there are either people's fingers or weird ghost-y light things in most of them. Oh well...

My handsome hubs!

Joe

Me and Brian. We are pretty bad when we get together and drink! We pretty much lose track of how many each of us have...then we dance and act stupid and have a blast!

Me with Shawn and Brian. At this point I was pretty much using them to lean on...

Stefan and Michelle. So cute! They are engaged! I love them because they don't believe I'm 40!

Brothers. Trouble! ;-)

I love this pic...even though Kevin was pretty much holding me up and that weird finger ghosty thing is in it I still love it. My hubs is such a good guy!!!

And speaking of what an awesome guy he is....

Kevin rang the bell for the Salvation Army in Harvard Square in Cambridge this year!!! So very proud of him for doing such an amazing thing!!!

Of course, when I have had the time, there has been Christmas crafting. That is my December journal in progress and the Christmas card we sent out this year.

My GLU friends and I continued a beloved tradition....

.....exchanging handmade ornaments! So exciting and fun to receive the box each year. One of our friends described as "it is like opening a box of hugs from treasured friends!"

(Yes one of those ornies says 2010. They were misplaced last year and added to this year's bunch.)

Speaking of more craftiness....

.....my Mom taught me to sew!!! I made Christmas stockings for Bailey, Kevin, and me!

This one is Bailey's!

I love the pom-pom trim! Fun and a bit retro!

And the best thing we saw this month.....

.....seeing this little guy perform with the rest of this third grade class in the school Christmas concert!

Love love love!!!

While we were at the school, the principal got up to speak after the second grade classes performed. She asked a little boy to step forward then she explained that his Dad has been serving in Afghanistan for a couple years and it had been a very long time since he had been home. Then she told the little boy that we all just wanted him to know that we all think his Dad is a hero and we are grateful and thankful for all he does. Then she said that since he is such a good boy he deserves a surprise. I started to hear gasps and whispers and I looked across the gym and spotted him: the soldier waiting there in his desert fatigues!!! Tears immediately filled my eyes, and the eyes of everyone in the room, then the principal told the little boy his Dad is home!!! When he stepped in to the gym that kid sprinted off the stage so fast and flew in to his Dad's arms!!! It was truly the most precious thing to see. The gym erupted in to cheers and woohoos and a long standing ovation and they just hugged and hugged!!! Even all the guys in the room were crying!!! If I had my wits about me I would have snapped a picture but I was too busy wiping my tears and cheering!!! Even without a pic, though, I will never ever forget that moment.

The joy of the morning events was misplaced with shock and sadness later in the day when we learned that one of our city's firefighters lost his life battling a blaze at a local apartment building. What makes this harder is I knew him. He is only a year older than me. He graduated a year before me and was also a member of our church, I hadn't seen him in several years but my brother was good friends with him. He leaves behind a wife and three young children. Two days before Christmas. So sad and tragic and unfair. Please keep this hero's family in your thoughts and prayers.

Wow. I didn't mean to end on such a sad note, but this blog has always been about keeping it real.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas Eve!!!!!!!!

Don't forget...you can track Santa's journey around the globe through NORAD!

Fall Journal Pics.....

2011-12-01T19:05:00.000-05:00

As promised, here are the pics of my Fall Journal for 2011. There are quite a lot so I made them in to a slideshow. If there is something you want to look closer at you can pause the slides. Please feel free to ask any questions you like about my process, products used, etc.

(After the slideshow was done I realized a few of the pics are not rotated. Sorry for that.)

~* Fall Journal 2011......

2011-11-30T15:47:00.002-05:00

is COMPLETE!!!

Pictures soon.......

I'm still here, I promise!

2011-11-27T16:55:00.000-05:00

I have slacked off on blogging again....BIG time.

So here's a cutie photo to distract you from my lack of posting ;-)

Ironically, I have a million and one post ideas floating around in my mind, loads of photos to share, updates on fun fall stuff to write about, and so much more....I just can't seem to settle myself down long enough to to write. The days fly by, one hour blurs in the next, and then it is 5AM and starting the craziness all over again.

But, I am here. And I will write. And write and write and write.

I promise!

Its almost HOLIDAY time!!!

2011-10-04T15:25:00.001-05:00

You can pre-order your copy of Holiday with Matthew Mead now by clicking here. I can't wait to get my hands on this year's issue! I absolutely loved last years issue...such fabulous Christmas inspiration and yummy eye candy!!!

2011-09-11T17:11:00.000-05:00

9/11/01 - 9/11/11

Never forget....

I can feel it...

2011-09-07T12:20:00.002-05:00

Can you? Can you sense it coming? I can...and it thrills me to no end!

Autumn is my absolute most favorite time of year. And the fact that I live in New England makes it all the more special. Truly, autumn in New England is a season to savor. New England just does autumn right!

I can feel it coming. Though the days are still mostly warm the nights have taken on a chill. The mornings, too. The wind blows with a bit more gusto....it's blustery. I just love that word.

And don't even get me started on the light. Oh the light! That golden-hued warmth that saturates a fall afternoon. It is so hard to describe, but it is just so gorgeous. It actually starts to get this way in late August, a sure sign that fall is ready to make its grand entrance.

I know the calendar still says it is technically summer, but as far as I am concerned, when the page turns to September 1 fall has arrived...at least in my heart. It is a season of warmth and coziness, of renewal and fresh starts (doesn't the start of a new school year bring with it the excitement that anything is possible, even if you are no longer a student?!), of comfortable azure-skied days and crisp, million-starred nights, of leaves and pumpkins and apples and woodsmoke curling from the chimneys.

{{{sigh}}}

I am so ready for all of it!

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.
—George Eliot

Lots to share!!!

2011-09-06T14:15:00.000-05:00

I have been busy! That is a good thing, but I have neglected sharing all the fun stuff, and I love to share the fun stuff. I actually don't have too much time right now but I really wanted to post. I promise separate posts for each of these things with more detail but for now here is a just a tease of what has been going on...

We took an amazing vacation to gorgeous Bar Harbor in northern Maine!

This is the view from our hotel balcony!

Self-portrait on Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park

At the Bar Harbor town dock

Main Street in Bar Harbor

Sunrise taken from our hotel balcony

Then we got home in time to see our nephew begin THIRD GRADE!!!

I simply cannot believe he is in third grade already. The years go way too fast...

As per tradition I had to make him a cake to celebrate his first day....

...and he loved it!!!

And, of course, since it is now, finally, SEPTEMBER, my thoughts turn to all things AUTUMN!!! And as is my tradition each year, I had to make my annual fall journal!!!

Here are just a few peeks at a few of the pages...

For those of you that follow my blog you know this is something I do each year. You can view last year's completed journal here.

So now that it is September you can expect a LOT of Autumn posts....again something you expect if you have followed my blog! I am a fanatic! I can't help it!

Memories over 30 years in the making.....

2011-08-21T12:36:00.002-05:00

"What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us."

~Helen Keller

How do you put in to words memories that span a huge part of your life? I am writing this morning, tired (after getting to bed at 3:30AM and only sleeping for a few hours), happy, and feeling overwhelmed and grateful!

I haven't blogged much about this, but my brother and I attended summer camp for a good chunk of our childhood, in to our teen years, and early 20's. The camp was run by our church and everyone that attended was all Greek kids that we have known pretty much our entire lives. The camp is no longer in existence, having been replaced in the early 90's by a much larger camp run by the Greek Archdiocese of America. I am so sad my nephew and his generation will never get to experience what we did...though, much of what was, umm, accepted in the 70's and 80's, like hanging campers by their underwear from a flagpole probably wouldn't fly now! :-)

I want to try to put in to words how much camp meant to all of us that attended, but at the same time I don't want to. First, because honestly if you weren't there you just wouldn't really get it. And also because it was such a personal and wonderful experience shared by a relatively small number of people....it is like it all ours and it is kind of hard to share.

So, with that said...I will let these pictures that I took last night at the reunion we had do most of the talking. Most of us, though still fairly local, have not seen each other in over 20 years! In the last few years, as the popularity of Facebook grew, a group was formed. We talked and talked over this time about getting together but none of us actually took action. Finally our friend Jamie stepped up and made it happen! She picked a date and time and location and got the ball rolling. The result of her hard work? An amazing night with amazing people that will always be an important part of a special time in my life! And now that we finally did this and we saw how great it was we definitely will not let another 20 years go by before doing it again!

Get ready to see a whole bunch of Greeks!

Enjoy the pics!

Chris, Chris, me, Nick

Corrina and Peter

(so bummed this one came out blurry)

Jonathan (my brother) and Evangeline

Mark, JIm, Francine, George

Pam, Mary, Nick, Jennifer

Jim

Love him! Always such a goof!

Jim and Chris

Eleni, Teena, Jim, Tina

Nick, Jim

Brothers goofing around! All we were missing was their

younger brother Tommy who couldn't make it :(

Nick, Jim

Steva, Steve, Kerri, Michelle, Dean

Nick

George

Nick and Peter

This is so great...every year at camp someone won Camper of the Year. Peter knows someone who makes trophies so he had this one made up for "Camper of the Year 30 Years Later"or something like that...

...and presented it to Jamie for getting us all together!!!

So very cool!!!

Ernie was our camp director for several years (after many years at camp!) and lives out of state now and unfortunately couldn't make it up for the reunion. So he sent up dozens of gorgeous long stem red roses for all the girls! So sweet!

And Peter put together a DVD of camp pictures through the years and set it all to music...and he made a copy for every one us!!! So very thoughtful!

It was a FABULOUS night! So many laughs, stories, hugs, and memories!!! The few words I have said here hardly do it justice, because really, how do you adequately describe such precious memories?

I know, I know, but I gotta share......

2011-08-14T15:50:00.002-05:00

We picked all of this just this morning!!!

All of this wonderful fruity, veggie goodness...

"Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad."
~Anonymous

...in all of its rich, colorful, healthy glory!!!

It was worth picking it all in a steady drizzle!!!

We (and our family) will enjoy this deliciousness in many forms this week!

Spicy jalapenos and sweet banana peppers

Savory-sweet bell peppers

Cherry tomatoes (and a few Romas and Big Boys)

All this incredible color and flavor!

All right outside our back door!

YUM!!!

By the way....I canNOT get enough of these banana peppers!!!

I am putting them in/on everything!!!

~*~*~*~*~

The tomatoes we picked today are just the start. Our 8 little plants grew in to 8 giant monsters just dripping with tomatoes! There are vines and fruit EVERYWHERE!!! And they are all starting to ripen. So, what's a city girl gardener to do?

Ball Enamel Waterbath Canning Set

Teach herself to can!

Yep! I'm a-gonna put up those 'maters just like my country diva sistas!

I have really enjoyed being able to give away bounty from our garden to our family and friends, but I don't want to give it all away! We worked hard! And I want us to enjoy that healthy bounty in to the colder months. The fall and winter is when I actually enjoy cooking! I love getting up early on a Saturday or Sunday morning and making a big pot of homemade sauce or soup. I buy cans of crushed, diced, or stewed tomatoes constantly. Why not enjoy my own, fresh, grown by us tomatoes?!

So, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, and dadgummit that means I gotta can! ;-)

In fact, I am so enthusiastic about learning this new skill that I braved HellMart on tax-free weekend here in MA to stock up on mason jars.

My plan is to mostly can crushed/diced tomatoes to use in sauces and soups, but I also make a pretty kick-ass salsa, and with our abundance of jalapenos I will can a bunch of salsa, too! Football season is almost here and we enjoy having our friends over for Patriots games. Chips & salsa and ice cold beer is the go-to game day snack! And the one other thing I plan on trying is making some pickles.

But, juuuuust in case I really get in to this canning thing, this book

The Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving

is also on its way to me!

~*~*~*~*~

My lack of blogging...and then when I do blog it is all gardens gardens gardens...would make it seem like there really is not much going on in my world. Hmmm. I guess that is kind of accurate. Gardening really has been the highlight of my summer so far, with the exception of a few fun things here and there.

BUT, good stuff is on the horizon, including:

~ a long-awaited trip to Bar Harbor

(which means many many many photos of my beloved New England!)

~ AUTUMN is almost here!!!

(which means TONS of stuff to blog about!!!)

~ speaking of Autumn, I have started work on this year's Fall Journal

(pics and a post to come SOON!)

~ My brother and I are going to our camp reunion!

(yeah, I have a "date" coming up with my brother! LOL)

~ Oh, did I mention AUTUMN is almost here?!?!?!?!

Happy 30th Birthday MTV

2011-08-01T19:34:00.000-05:00

Yep...30 years ago today, at 12:01AM August 1, 1981, MTV was born!

MTV was HUGE to me in the 80's for many reasons, and I totally have a post about this brewing in my mind, but in order to do it proper justice and cover all I want to cover...I can't do it now.

I gotta get to bed!

MTV is 30....which makes me 40, people!

A girl needs her beauty sleep!

Harvesting...

2011-07-22T20:19:00.000-05:00

Can you stand another garden post?! I can't help myself!!!

We picked all this tonight!!!!!!

29 cucumbers!!!

Our first two spaghetti squash!!!

Bunches of green beans and jalapenos!!!

Zucchini, of course. There is always zucchini!

Bell pepper and banana peppers!!!

I have to say one of the pleasures in gardening this year, besides getting to pick all this fresh organic goodness all summer, is being able to share it all! The last couple years our garden was very small and produced just enough for us and maybe a little for our family. This year, besides giving tons to our family, we are giving stuff away to neighbors and friends and co-workers. It is so much fun!!!

Civic/friend duty...

2011-07-22T08:00:00.001-05:00

Our friend Teddy is running for mayor!

(yes, I will call our future mayor Teddy!)

My brother and Teddy have been friends since kindergarten. So I have known our future mayor since he and my brother and all their other bratty friends were running around doing bratty things!!! ;-) Kinda blows my mind that one of them will soon be the new leader of our city (yes I am that confident...).

So, I am doing my civic/friend duty and helping out with his campaign however I can...like addeessing hundreds upon hundreds of mailers.

Hey...it keeps me out of the heat holding campaign signs!

(just kidding! I would do that, too...closer to November! LOL)

Got cukes?!

2011-07-21T19:32:00.000-05:00

19 cukes!!!

picked Sunday 7/17/11

And currently there are more out there ready and almost ready to be picked...more than I can count!

We also have about 20 spaghetti squash in varying stages of almost-readiness!!!

Garden 2011.....

WINNING!!!

Cukes & zukes & Tahoes, oh my!

2011-07-16T14:52:00.001-05:00

veggies picked 7.15.11

Seemingly overnight our garden is producing massive amounts of produce! Especially cucumbers and zucchini! Yesterday afternoon I went out and picked 20 cukes alone and couldn't even count all that was still growing and yet to start forming!

The zucchini is going crazy, too, and they are playing games with us. We will go out there and find some normal sized ones ready to pick and scope out the others that are still growing. We move vines and leaves and think we are checking every inch....then a few hours later one of us will go out there again and seemingly out of nowhere one of those behemoths seem to appear.

I generally prefer we pick them when they are the size of the two on the right in the picture, but it seems that no matter how diligent we think we are, no matter how observant we think we are a few manage to hide and grow in to something you could club a person with! Just this morning Kevin found another ginormous one (not pictured).

In addition to the cukes and zukes, we also picked loads of string beans (there are only a couple in this photo, for, ya know, artistic reasons...) and we picked a few sweet banana peppers!

Best. Cucumber. Evaaaa.

As soon as I brought the veggies in yesterday I had to enjoy a fresh cucumber. O.M.G. it seriously does make a HUGE difference when you grow them yourself (or purchase direct from a farm, CSA, or farmers market) verses purchasing them at a supermarket.

So speaking of SUVs....what? You mean we weren't speaking of those? Oh, ok....well, let's!

Wanna see my new baby???

My new-to-me Chevy Tahoe!!!

(yes that is me in the background that I blurred out because I looked like hell in the heat!!!)

We just got her (yes, its a "she") today! And I get to bring her home next Saturday! The dealership we got her from is over an hour from our house so it is much easier to go back on a Saturday than a weeknight after work.

I love love LOVE her!!!

Loved sitting in her, loved driving her, just love!!!

And I feel so blessed and grateful to have her!!!

So, that's my weekend...cukes and zukes and Tahoes!

Welcome to the jungle, we got your fun and games!

2011-07-11T17:56:00.000-05:00

HA! Who's got Guns-n-Roses stuck in their head now?!

Happy to oblige...

:-)

If you've never experienced the joy of accomplishing more than you can imagine, plant a garden.

~ Robert Brault

This...

and this...

and this, too!

All of it. The entire garden this year. In such a short time it has already gone so far beyond what I imagined it could be!

Everything is just growing like crazy!

And we are starting to harvest all kinds of goodness!

The photos I took yesterday really tell the story fine on their own. There is not much I can add. I am just very pleased with our progress so far. For two people who have only been gardening a few years, and the last couple years we just had our one teeny little plot, the fact that we have not only been able to keep EIGHT raised beds plus numerous pots not only alive but thriving it such an amazing feeling of accomplishment!

It is usually hot as hell out there, and the weeding and tending can be back spasm-inducing work, but it is oh so worth it! All the sweat, all the dirt, all the terrible tan lines....all worth it!!!

Cucumbers

String beans

Kevin harvesting string beans

We enjoyed some last night and we will have more tonight!

Zucchini

More zucchini

(now that I am really viewing the photos I am realizing how phallic these look! Oh my!)

See what I mean?! ;-)

Little baby bell peppers just getting their start!

Bell peppers

Sweet banana peppers!

Banana peppers

These little guys will become Big Boy tomatoes later this summer!

Little now...soon to be Big Boy!

Just as a recap, we've got 8 wildly thriving tomato plants (different varieties), 8 pepper plants (different varieties, three different types of cucumber all growing like crazy, two huge zucchini plants, five string bean plants making beans all over the place, an acorn squash plant and spaghetti squash plant that share the same bed and have gotten so big I don't know where one ends and the other begins and there are little baby squash galore in there, two types of radish, carrots, eggplant, and loads of herbs!!!

Tea time...

2011-06-30T17:44:00.000-05:00

(Such an original title for a blog post. Go me!)

Soooo, I love coffee. I mean I really really reeeaaalllyyy love coffee. Not that that is a bad thing. And though I love it I am not downing it all day every day. But I do drink a fair amount. And when I am not drinking coffee I pretty much only drink water, and lots of it. So that is good.

Still, I think I am going to attempt to cut down on my coffee consumption. Notice I did not say "give up coffee." That would just never happen, and really I have no desire to give it up. But I would definitely like to cut back. And I want to drink more tea.

I go through phases with tea. I really like it. It is just that coffee and water seem to come first, before tea. So today at the grocery store I went straight to the tea section to stock up on a favorite brand, Yogi.

These are the three I came home with. A good assortment, I think. What I am going to attempt to do is to still have my morning coffee. Gotta have that. But then throughout the day, especially at work (which is where I seem to consume the most coffee) in between all the water I drink, I plan to drink tea, also. My office is freezing year round so I don't mind consuming hot beverages there, even in summer.

The other thing I love about Yogi tea is this...

...the inspirational messages on every tea bag tag! Love this!

So, Operation Drink More Tea starts....well, if I am being honest, it will probably start on Tuesday July 5 when I go back to work. I will keep you all posted.

Are you a tea drinker? What are some of you favorites?

Living vs. existing...

2011-06-28T14:00:00.055-05:00

Do you ever sometimes feel as if you are just going through the motions day to day? Do you ever wonder if each of your days has purpose? Or does each day just feel like the same old routine, day in and day out, until you stop and wonder "what is the point?"

Damn. When I read back what I just wrote it all sounds so depressing and morose. And that is really not what I mean this post to be. I guess I am just in a bit of a funk. Summer is hard for me. I want to embrace it and savor it and soak in all that can be wonderful about it, but, really...being a grown-up just sucks the fun right out of it.

I hate the heat and even more the humidity. I mean completely loathe it. To me, trying to enjoy anything in the stifling heat and humidity is impossible. I wasn't always like this, though. There was a time that I looooved summer! Absolutely loved it. Of course that was a time when I could spend each day, all day, at the beach. I could be in the water for hours on end. I never ever have the opportunity to swim anymore.

But this post is also not going to be all about me whining about the heat. I mentioned in a previous post that I am going to do my best to savor summer. My dislike of summer, however, is what made me start thinking about this blog post I wanted to write. This past Sunday, our day was consumed with running around on boring errands, doing lots of yard work, cleaning the house, doing laundry.....BLAH! And I stopped to think...a lot of our weekends are like that. And our weekdays are no better...we both wake up well before dawn, we both start work early, we work all day, come home, have dinner, watch a little TV, go to bed. OK, maybe some nights in the summer we do a little more than that since there are more hours of daylight, but for all intents and purposes that is what our weekdays consist of.

Yes it is very true that I have been enormously blessed throughout my life. I have an amazing husband who loves me for me, who is my true partner in this crazy life, and my very best friend. I also have an amazing family and some pretty great friends. Kevin and I both have good stable jobs, we have a nice home, cars to drive, food on the table, and we don't stress about paying bills. I have seen and done a lot. I really shouldn't be complaining and that is not my intention. But sometimes I can't help but feel, as we go through the motions of our day to day life...are we really living, or just simply existing?

Sometimes I wonder, is it really that big a deal to have the luxury of being able to do what we want whenever we want if we...don't? Those pesky grown-up responsibilities get in the way, and it is hard to break free of routine, even a boring one. I know it sounds like I am saying my life is boring, and I am sure right now I am sounding ungrateful for the blessings in my life and neither is the case.

I don't know. I guess we all go through these funks from time to time. Life can't always be non-stop fun and games. And I know I am the only one that can make the most of my life and live it to the fullest. I know I will snap out of this and will once again be able to say to hell with the laundry and housecleaning. Putting it off one more day won't hurt (and if we are out of underwear we can go buy some!). We can't say to hell with work, of course, so we can make our time out of our offices more fun and exciting.

We can choose to live. We don't have to accept simply existing.

Gardening check-in...the herb files!

2011-06-27T15:00:00.017-05:00

So, in addition to our veggie garden that I am clearly enamored with right now (as you know if you read my last post...), I once again have my deck herb garden growing and flourishing and making the air around it smell oh so yummy!

Mmmmm....sage! One of my favorites! When I brush past it releasing its scent I immediately think of Thanksgiving and how I can't roast my turkey without lots of fresh sage!

Wonderfully fragrant mint. All good Greeks have lots of mint!

(r): Greek oregano

(l): Italian parsley

Greek and Italian...just like us!

BASIL!!!!!!

Deliciously fragrant, aromatic, and so incredibly yummy sweet basil!!!

Sweet marjoram. Such a lovely scent and delicate taste. This is the first year I planted it. Can't wait to use it!

Not pictured: thyme, lavender, rosemary, and cilantro (which is giving me fits, again...grrr!).

Garden check-in...

2011-06-26T16:56:00.001-05:00

The greatest gift of the garden is the restoration of the five senses.
~Hanna Rion

To say I am pleased with the progress our garden has made so far this season would be an understatement! Almost everything seems to be thriving and growing like crazy!!! And, today, we had our first harvest.....a big colander full of spicy arugula!!!

This is the first year we planted arugula and so far, so good! I wasn't sure of when to harvest it or really how to, either. I thought you just pull the whole thing up. YouTube to the rescue! I found, like, a bajillion videos on gardening and harvesting and such. I learned that as long as I kept trimming the leaves and pinch off an flowers that start to form my one plant will continue to produce!

And now we can enjoy fresh arugula for a few days till the next time it is ready to be trimmed!

I also learned that I needed to thin out my radishes, so, did that, too...

It is hard to tell in these pics but there is a row of carrots growing in between the rows of radishes.

Yes, I am very pleased with our garden this year! I love the whole raised bed concept. Keeps everything neat and orderly, and weeding is a breeze! We don't get even a small fraction of the amount of weeds we got as when we planted in the ground the last couple years!

Want to see everything else?!? It has all grown so much since last I posted about our garden!

There's "Farmer Kev" looking all rugged and dirty! ;-)

Somehow we bought one too many cuke plants so we planted this one in a large pot and hoped for the best. It is doing so well!!!

Spaghetti squash and acorn squash!

The leaves are getting HUGE!

No, that ugly blue barrel is not a permanent part of our garden!

String beans (that are not properly trellised yet...)

Big old reliable zucchini with their ginormous leaves!

Cucumber plants!

Deliciously fragrant tomato plants!!! For those of you that garden, have you ever noticed how fragrant tomato leaves are?!

These Burpee tomato cages are hands down our best garden purchase this year. Well, they are tied with the raised beds. Really, though, the cages we got the last few years at Home Depot or local garden centers never held up. Tomato vines get thick! So I bit the bullet and bought the Burpee cages, which, yes, cost, like triple what I paid at other places, but I was replacing the one I bought every year anyway so this, to me, was well worth it!

I obviously can't get enough of our tomato plants!

Bell peppers...red, orange, and green! Since I took this pic earlier today all the plants are now caged.

Peppers....jalapeno and sweet banana!

Doesn't he look like he is trying to figure out a way to take a bite out of the plants?!

"I think she is still watching me...."

"Whaaat?! I am so innocent...."

'Maters, 'maters, 'maters!

Feeding...

L@@K!!! Cutie little cherry tomatoes!!!!!!!

I actually did a little dance when I saw these!!!

Blossoms waiting to turn in to tomatoes!

The way I keep gushing about tomatoes you would think I loved them and ate them all the time. The truth is, I don't really like raw tomatoes. I rarely every eat them in salad and if I do it is because they were chopped up pretty small and I didn't notice them. I never ask for them on sandwiches. I know many gardeners think that one of gardening's greatest pleasure is walking out to their yard, plucking a sun-warmed tomato from the vine, and biting in to it like and apple. Ewww! I could never! But...I love to cook with them! I love to make sauces, and salsa, and use them in frittatas, and one homemade pizzas, and in quiche, and really anything. Oh! I will actually eat Insalata Caprese, though...go figure!

Anyhoo, I obviously had a little too much fun photographing our growing garden so I will just leave you with several more photos for your enjoyment!

Are you gardening this year?! I would love to hear all about it, and of course, see pics!!!

We are the CHAMPIONS, my friends!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-06-16T08:41:00.001-05:00

Yeah, baby!!!

Bringing Lord Stanley's Cup home to Boston!!!

Say what you want about Boston. The haters are definitely out there. But there really is no denying it....Boston is a dominant and legendary sports town, and last night our Bruins proved that!!!

Boston Bruins, 2011 Stanley Cup Champions

What a game!!! What a series!!!

Football has always been my first sports love, but after football I am a hockey girl through and through, and I have loved my Boston Bruins since I was a kid! I was only a year old the last time they won the Cup so this victory last night is so very sweet!!!

Tim Thomas is THE man!!! There is no better goalie in the NHL!!! And in addition to being a MAJOR part of the Bruins winning the Stanley Cup he also very fittingly won the Conn Smythe trophy as MVP of the series!

Yep, Boston is a sports town! And a damn fabulous one at that!

In just ten years our teams have brought home all of the major sports championships, a few of them multiple times!!! We have our New England Patriots (Super Bowl champs in '01, '03, and '04), our Boston Red Sox (World Series champs in '04 and '07), our Boston Celtics (NBA champs in '08), and now our Boston Bruins (Stanley Cup champs in '11)!!!!!!!

And people still want to say Boston sucks?!?! To that I say....

kiss my Boston ass!!!!!

I just read online that our boys have touched down at Logan Airport and are in route to the Boston Garden! The victory parade is being planned and should take place in the next few days!!! Beantown will be rocking!

Way to go Bruins!!! You guys are THE BEST and you made us all proud!!!

BOSTON BRUINS

2011

STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS

Embracing summer...or trying to, at least!

2011-06-12T16:24:00.000-05:00

It is no secret that I am not a big fan of summer. I wasn't always this way. I used to absolutely love it. I even loved the heat. Of course, I pretty much lived at the beach day in and day out. I unabashedly baked in the sun for hours on end wearing very little, if any......

sunscreen!!!

(you thought I was going to say clothes, didn't you?!)

Yeah, it is true. I loved summer....the beach, both day (sunning and swimming) and night (cruising around and meeting boys!), the outdoor concerts, camping in the mountains. I just loved all of it. I still love the beach, though I don't go anymore because I am not happy with where I am physically. I love concerts, but one in an indoor air conditioned arena sounds infinitely more enticing than outdoors on a muggy, buggy night. I would still go camping, but middle age has made me a bit soft and the thought of camping the way my friends and I used to (minimal supplies, sleeping on the ground, not showering for days) doesn't really sound all that appealing any more.

Summers here in New England have always been ridiculously hot and disgustingly humid. More than it seems it should reasonably be for someplace in the Northeast. I have just found in recent years that I can't stand it! I absolutely loathe the heat and humidity. Once the thermostat inches past 80 and the heat index starts rising I am a miserable bitch. Funny, though, I never minded it when I could spend every day at the beach, not a care in the world.

Growing up is a bitch.

The ridiculously frigid, bone-chilling New England winters are not my favorite either. It is nice at this time of year to not have to be bundled up in multiple layers of heavy clothes. I love not having to fear the ice that builds up everywhere I walk. I love the longer hours of daylight and getting the garden going.

But, still, we have already been blasted with some nasty humid days and there are for sure many more just lurking around the corner. It is, after all, almost July.

So I am trying something new this year. I am going to attempt to embrace summer....at least I am going to make a real good effort to. Despite my complaining and whining about the humidity there really is much to love about New England in the summer. Well, let's face it, there is much to love about New England year round, and summer is no different. I actually wrote a post a couple years ago about all the great things about summer in New England (ironically, I wrote it on a rainy Sunday in June and I writing this post on a rainy Sunday in June!). This year, in order to try an embrace summer, I did what I do best: I got crafty!

If you have read my blog for any length of time then you know that every year in late August I make a fall journal/scrapbook that encompasses September, October, Halloween, November, and Thanksgiving. The idea is I put the book together in advance then add to it throughout the season and by the time December 1st rolls around I have a handmade, funky, overflowing, crafty keepsake of my most favorite time of year.

So I am trying that for summer, just on a much smaller scale. I am going to try to embrace summer more, but I harbor no illusions that I will ever love it like I love fall, so I am thinking I will not need quite as much space in this journal.

I didn't take any pictures of the process of putting it together but it was really very simple, and everything I used on it is stuff I already had in my stash. The covers are two pieces of bookboard that are roughly 4.5" x 6.5". They are covered in canvas front and back. I misted two sheets of Strathmore Linen Canvas with Maya Road mists in summery colors. Then I just cut pieces to size and used a glue stick to cover the book board. I freehand wrote "Summer 2011" using a white Elmer's paint pen. I inked a random chipboard flower that I had in my stash with Ranger Distress Inks in colors to blend with the mists I used and stuck it on with the glue stick. I used my Crop-A-Dile to punch holes thru the bookboard and bound the book with generic office supply store binder rings (I always keep a bunch on hand in several sizes). There are three sections: June, July, and August. I made the page dividers by cutting down generic manila tabbed folders and misting them. Each section has a page pre-printed with the month (they were cut from a larger 12 x 12 piece of scrapbooking paper I had. I can't remember the brand but if I can figure it out among the mess in my craft room I will come back here and update. And other than that, each section just has random pages cut from scraps of patterned paper, Bazzill cardstock, and Hambly transparencies.

If you are not a big fan of summer, what do you do to make the most of it?!

It's here....GARDEN 2011!!!

2011-05-30T16:46:00.001-05:00

Garden 2011

is planted and it is BIGGER and BETTER

than ever!!!

In fact, it was hard for me to get it all in one picture!!!

Eight 4' x 4' raised beds...

23 different varieties of veggies...

(and maybe a few more to come!!!)

Three different varieties of cucumber...

There are four different varieties of tomato...

Five different varieties of peppers...

This is like my zesty corner...all tomatoes and peppers!!!

(and check out that hunky man!!!)

Oh yeah! And nine different types of herbs...so far!!!

This is what our holiday weekend consisted of!!!

Saturday morning three yards of screened and composted loam was delivered to our driveway. Kevin and my brother set to work assembling the beds and then later Kevin hauled loads of dirt to the backyard to fill them. Sunday we visited THREE different garden centers to get all the plants and seeds we wanted!!! Then we took a break to attend our nephew's 8th birthday in the park...

(Yes, he turned EIGHT!!! Gaahhh!!! Where is the time going?!? But that is a whole 'nother post!)

This morning we awoke super early, headed to a few local cemeteries to visit family graves and pay respect to veterans that have passed on, then it was home to get dirty!!! And get dirty we did!!! And sweaty!!! And sore (but a good sore)!!! And, I'm sure, a bit smelly!!! Oh, well! The end result was worth it!!! All those veggies and herbs planted!!!

...and a few hanging baskets, too!

(These are the two hanging over our deck. There is one more hanging on the side of the house kinda near our front steps and driveway.)

The ones on the deck are a mix of petunias and marigold. The one near our driveway has petunias and two other types of flower I don't know the name of! :-) But all together the basket has red, white, and blue flowers!

So, do you want a rundown of what we planted today?!

* Cherry tomato

* Roma tomato

* Big Boy tomato

* Homestead tomato (an heirloom variety)

* Red bell pepper

* Green bell pepper

* Orange bell pepper

* Banana pepper

* Jalapeno pepper

* Zucchini

* Spaghetti squash

* Acorn squash

* Icebox watermelon

* Radishes (two different varieties that I can't remember the name of)

* Carrots (Danvers Half-Long)

* String beans

* Peas

* Arugula

* Eggplant

* Pickling cucumber (two different varieties)

* "Burpless" cucumber

(I had...have!...hopes of planting romaine lettuce, spinach, summer squash, scallions, and Brandywine tomatoes but have not gotten my hands on any plants. There are still a few more local garden centers I can visit...!)

And for herbs...

* Sweet Basil

* Greek Oregano

*Italian Parsley

* Sweet Marjoram

* German Thyme

* Sage

* Fern Dill

* Cilantro

* Rosemary

* English Lavender

(I still want to plant some chives and I would love to plant fennel!)

Many of the things I would like to plant are better suited to cooler temps so I am hoping to keep our garden up through early to mid-fall, depending on the temps. Many lettuces, spinach, peas, broccoli, etc., are much better suited to cooler temps. The last several days here have been way too hot and nasty humid so we have been watering like crazy, so it is probably best that I haven't found all the plants I would like to find. At some point I would love to plant garlic and Brussels sprouts, too!!!

I am just so excited to have what I consider a "real" garden this year!!! I am hopeful that it will produce a bounty of all things good for us, and plenty to share with family and friends!!!

Are you gardening this year? If so, I would love to see pictures and learn about what you are planting!

Crossing the Rainbow Bridge....

2011-05-13T15:44:00.001-05:00

Kya, 2005 - 2011

Yesterday our sweet girl Kya, my brother's gorgeous Golden Retriever, crossed the Rainbow Bridge. To say we are all heartbroken would be a huge understatement. She was way too young to go, way to young to be sick, just plain way too young. Life can be ridiculously, indescribably unfair at times. And I don't understand why. And it sucks, plain and simple.

I got the call from my brother at 11:45AM yesterday morning. I was sitting at work when my cell phone rang. It is not unusual for me to talk to my brother or husband or parents during the day so I didn't think anything of seeing his number pop up on the screen. Never, ever, ever when I woke up yesterday morning did I think the day would end as it did.

Kya had a growth in her abdomen. She has had it for several months an unfortunately it was in an area where surgery could have actually made things worse. We knew in our minds this could shorten her life....our hearts are having a hard time accepting that it shortened it this much. My brother got a call from his ex-wife that she had to take Kya to the vet yesterday morning. She was lethargic, not wanting to eat, and her belly was rigid. Long story short, the mass had grown and burst, causing internal bleeding. Our sweet girl was suffering and the most humane thing to do was to let her go, let her go to the Rainbow Bridge where she could be happy and whole and well, and she could run and play to her gentle heart's content.

I immediately left work to be with my brother and to see Kya one last time. I will forever treasure the four hours we had with her yesterday on a beautiful sunny afternoon. I will always remember how, finally, after six years, she let me snap as many pictures as I wanted. I have very few pictures of Kya because she was always such a wiggle worm! She was just too excited to sit still for a photo.

I know why she sat still yesterday, though....and I would give anything to have it go back to the way it was, to me chasing her around with my camera, pleading with her to let me get just one good picture, and when I would think she was stopping to let me snap a picture, she would look at me with her big bright eyes, wag her tail...and run away!

I know the quality of these pics are not the best. I had to use my phone and my hand was shaking. I am just so grateful to have them...and that I was able to preserve the last tender moments between my brother and Kya.

My nephew was only a year old when they got Kya. He is seven now, and it kills me that he has had to experience the loss of his beloved dog already. I am so proud of him, though. He is such a loving, smart kid. Even through his sadness he knew he didn't want Kya to have pain or to be sick. He knew he was spending her last hours with her. He was so strong and brave.

It is a fact that I am easily the most overly-emotional member of our family. When it was time for my brother and his ex to put Kya in the car to go back to the vet I couldn't handle it. I was prepared to go with them if my brother needed me or my nephew decided to go. In the end, he wanted to stay home, so together we waited.

Though Kya was clearly not feeling well and she had pain, her tail never stopped wagging yesterday, she never stopped giving us all kisses, and she continued to show the love she always has. It was so hard to look in to her soulful eyes knowing that once they took her for her last car ride she wasn't coming home with them. The tears are still quietly rolling down my cheeks as I type this.

Our parents are away on vacation right now. When they come back we will resume our weekly family dinners over there...and my Bailey is going to be looking everywhere for his cousin. Whenever one dog is at my parent's house and the other isn't, each of them constantly look around for the other.

I know when we make the decision to bring a dog in to our lives, we are never going to have unlimited years with them. Their time with us is always far too short, even if they live to "old age." Still, the joy and happiness and unconditional love they give is priceless. Still, we should have had more time with Kya. It was just way too soon. The time we did have with her was amazing and joyful and wonderful. And I know that we couldn't selfishly hold on. My head knows that....my heart is taking much longer to catch on.

Rest well, sweet girl. We love you. We miss you. Till one day we meet again at the bridge...

~* Christos Anesti *~

2011-04-24T11:43:00.002-05:00

Wishing you a most Happy & Blessed Easter!!!

Christos Anesti ek nekron, (Christ is risen from the dead)

Thanato thanaton patisas, (Trampling down death by death)

Ke ti en tsi mnimasin, (And to those in the tombs)

Zoin charisa a menos. (He has given life)

(This is a traditional hymn sung in the Greek Orthodox Church at midnight Easter service.)

Tsoureki

(traditional Greek Easter bread)

I baked these yesterday using my YiaYia's recipe!

We are getting ready to head to Mom and Dad's shortly. As soon as I can get my butt motivated! I spent the entire day and well in to the evening yesterday in my kitchen cooking and baking all the traditional Greek foods my YiaYia always made!

This year, Orthodox Easter and western Easter fall on the same day, so it will be a low-key celebration with just our small family today. But here are a couple links to some past Easter posts. Click here to read about Orthodox Easter (originally posted in 2009), and click here and here to see pictures from 2009 when the two Easters were on different days....then we have a big party because all of our friends want to come over, too!

Rustic, hearty, simple, yummy...

2011-04-18T18:34:00.000-05:00

I have been baking a lot lately. Not all sweets (well, I still do bake a lot of cookies for the guys in my office and Kevin's office). I looove to bake. It truly is the kitchen task I enjoy the most. There is something very relaxing and comforting about baking to me. However, when you are trying to live healthy baking all the time is probably not the best thing to do. That is one of the reasons I make a lot of cookies for the guys...I get to enjoy the process, they enjoy the end result, and I enjoy having something to hold over them to get what I want! OK OK, that last part was a joke...well, sorta.

My latest baking love is bread.

Rustic, hearty, simple bread. I never really made bread. Working with yeast always seemed complicated (it is not) and I always thought you would need a bread machine (you don't) to make it easier.

As it turns out, all I needed was my Kitchen-Aid with the dough hook (got that), a few simple, pure ingredients (got those), a baking stone (got one of these, too), and this fabulous book...

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois

I so do not want to ever eat bread from a plastic bag ever again. And with this book there is seriously no need to. The authors (geniuses, in my opinion!) truly have made baking bread so easy! Seriously! Their master recipe, the rustic boule, has all of four ingredients. Four! Water, yeast, salt, and flour. That is it!

So, does it really only take five minutes? No. But is it quick? Yes! The concept is their recipes make a very wet dough, allowing you to make large amounts of dough that will keep in the refrigerator for up to 14 days. Literally each Sunday I make a batch of dough then have plenty ready to go any day or night to pop in the oven. That is where the "five minute" concept comes in. When you first mix the dough there is no kneading. Simply put the dough in a large bowl and let it rise for a few hours. Then you can cover it loosely and pop it in the fridge. When you want to bake a loaf, you cut off a piece, "gluten cloak" the dough for about a minute (literally just a quick stretching and forming of the dough in to the desired shape) let it rise for about twenty minutes (the time it would take for the oven to pre-heat anyway), then it is ready to bake. And in no time at all, you have this...

...warm, hearty, healthy, delicious!

I have baked loaves with white flour and wheat flour. I have baked olive oil bread, and bread studded with fresh herbs (rosemary is particularly yummy!). There are still many more recipes in the book to try. Pizza dough is on my list, as are pitas and naan.

doesn't that look amazing???

What I love, especially about the master recipe, is the longer the dough is in the fridge it "ages" and takes on a sourdough quality without having to deal with sourdough starter.

Now, with all this bread baking I am not using it as an excuse to eat as much bread as I want. It is still bread after all! But I feel better about us eating something that I am 100% sure of what's in it. It is so simple and pure. And there is something so satisfying about sitting at your desk at work, and you pull out the sandwich you brought for lunch, and that lean turkey and veggies is sandwiched between two fresh slices of healthy, rustic bread you baked yourself!

Next time I will take more pictures of the process. I get so in to it I don't think of the camera till we are ready to dig in to a fresh loaf!

If you like homemade bread but think it is too much of a hassle to make, or if you have baked it in the past and were not satisfied with the end result then do yourself a favor and try this book. Because, really, whether it is bread or something else, nothing tastes as good as homemade food made from scratch!

*DISCLOSURE: I was not paid for nor was I even asked to do a review of this book. I bought this book on my own and enjoy it so I am sharing. I am, however, a member of Amazon Associates. If you click through the above link and purchase the book I will earn credit toward an Amazon gift card.

One of my happy places...Yankee Candle!

2011-04-16T19:32:00.000-05:00

Today was a good day. Any day I shop at Yankee Candle is a good day.

But, this was not a quick run to my local YC shop around the corner from my house. Nope. Today, we made the long drive out to S. Deerfield, MA to the Yankee Candle Flagship Store! Kevin and I have been several times, but today we went with Christa & Kevin and it was their first time there. I think they loved it as much as we do!

Now, truth be told, I can get the same candles at my local YC stores that I can get there, and not have to drive 2.5 hours out to a rural part of the state to get them. But this place is so much more that just shopping for candles. It is an experience......and one I that I didn't take a single picture of. I know! Me! No pictures!

Never fear, though! You can click here to view a slideshow of pics from the last time Kevin and I went with our friends Sue & Steve! Somehow from that trip I posted pics but didn't really write about it. So I guess this time I will write a bit about it...then post pics of what I bought (which I took when I got home).

So, how can I explain this place? Well, for starters, its HUGE. Like, a gajillion square feet. OK OK, I don't know the actual square footage because frankly I am too lazy to look it up, but it is probably pretty close to a gajillion. ;-) I do know (from the website) that there are over 400,000 candles for sale under this very big roof. But that is not all. They have housewares, garden stuff, home decor, edible goodies (including Stonewall Kitchen yumminess!), books, artwork, and every candle accessory you can imagine. Oh, and did I mention the life-size Christmas-y winter wonderland with bazillions of trees lavishly lit and decorated and the room where it snows every few minutes?! Yeah, they have that, too! And they have Popcornopolis popcorn! And Dylan's Candy Bar! And a charming candle-lit restaurant on the grounds. And an entire section of the store dedicated solely to all things New England. And they sell Vera Bradley and Pandora (two of my {costly} obsessions...). And cute pet stuff. And did I mention all the candles!!!

I also have to add that they have THE nicest people working there! So friendly and personable and very helpful without being pushy. And the sweet girl that rang up our stuff, bless her sweet heart, informed of something I never knew....they let you use up to THREE coupons in one transaction!!! So I didn't have to take time dividing up all my stuff!!!

So, yeah. It is big and huge and overwhelming....but that doesn't stop me! And I pretty much knew where in the store I was headed to do maximum damage.

Wanna see what I got?!?

Oh happy day!!! Lots more jars to add to my collection!!!

(One of these days I will take a pic of all of my candles....you all may think I need some serious help after I post that!)

~* Pineapple Cilantro *~

The website describes it as "...sweet, island pineapple served with a citrus touch of cilantro and sweet coconut." I swear you would not think this would smell good but it smells AMAZING!!! It si burning right now two rooms away from where I am typing this and the soft tropic scent is wafting down the hall and making me think "I wanna go back to the Caribbean!"

~* Mango Peach Salsa *~

The website describes is as "...juicy mangoes and peaches, livened with citrus, ginger flower, and pink pepper." I mostly get the peach notes when I sniff this one (I haven't lit it yet...I will hold off till late spring/early summer) but the other notes are definitely there. Peach is one of my summer favorites (to eat, drink, sniff...) so I am thinking this will be a great choice for warm nights!

~* Pink Sands *~

The website describes it as an "...exotic island escape in the beautiful mix or bright citrus, sweet florals, and spicy vanilla." When I sniff I think, "Ummmm....can I go back to Bermuda, please?!" That is exactly what I thought when I picked up this candle, which is a miracle in and of itself because I am so NOT drawn to pink candles BUT I loved the label. Yes, I am a bit of a label snob...with my candles. Sometimes a bad label can turn me off of buying a good candle. And if I do buy it despite a bad label I will keep it turned around so the label is not seen. Anyway, back to this candle...love it! And I am usually not in to anything floral either, but there is a nice balance between the citrus, the floral, and the vanilla leaving us with a soft, soothing fragrance that I know will be perfect for my guest bathroom.

~* Country Lemonade *~

I love lemon anything! So I was NOT leaving the store till I had a lemon candle in my cart. Country Lemonade won out with its "...bright lemony aroma and just the right touch of sweetness." This will be a kitchen candle for the summer, and I think the scent will nicely complement all of the lemony-scented meals, treats, and drinks I whip up during that time of year. Love the label, too!

~* Sun & Sand *~

My ultimate summer favorite, with it's "...tropical beach breeze of sweet orange flower, lemony citrus, fresh lavender, and powdery musk." I call it "Coppertone in a candle." Seriously! Take a whiff of this fabulous candle and you will instantly be reminded of the Coppertone no-SPF back-in-the-day suntan lotion you and your giggling girlfriends slathered on at the beach during summer vacation. For the past few years this has been my favorite candle to burn in my bathrooms in the summer!

~* God Bless America *~

It was the label that caught my eye. I don't really decorate for most holidays other than fall and Christmas, but I thought this would be nice to have out in July. I hoped it smelled good. I wasn't disappointed. I couldn't quite pick out the notes in it, but I liked it. And I knew it was familiar. The website describes it as "...cooked apples, cinnamon, and brown sugar." Well, there ya go! As American as apple pie! And some of my favorite candle scents all in one!

~* Blueberry *~

My all-time favorite! The candle I have burned for many, many, many years! The one I freaked about them discontinuing (sorry but Blueberry Scone and Blueberry Muffin just did NOT compare!). The one when I am at the YC Outlet in Tilton NH I stock up on (when they have it). And the one I head straight to the Rare Treasures section at the flagship store to grab! This was just another to add to the many I am currently hoarding in this house! It is described as "...a pure, delicious burst of juicy wild blueberry aroma." I describe it as heaven!

We also bought a few multi-packs of Car Gels air fresheners, and a couple bottles of Sun & Sand Anti-Bac Hand Soap (I keep this in our guest bathroom...smells great and the bottle looks so cute on the vanity!).

Yep...it was a great Saturday!

I do still scrapbook occasionally.....

2011-04-11T11:00:00.002-05:00

Considering that I called this blog "Scrappin My Bliss" I figure I should show you all that I do actually scrapbook. :-) I am just not one of those scrapbookers that lives and breathes it. And I am never "caught up" (and have no intention of ever being). And I don't follow "the rules" of scrapbooking.

But, I do actually scrapbook! In fact, I made an album of all the pictures from my 40th birthday at the last Cool Crops weekend we went to (there is a post coming on that, too!).

The pictures pretty much explain themselves so I will just post them. If you click they will enlarge if you feel like reading the journaling.

Being all artsy-crafty and stuff.....

2011-04-10T15:18:00.000-05:00

First, this is totally off-topic but I know my blog header is long overdue for a change. That one is way too wintery! And I am tired of it!

Anyhoooo, I thought I would give you all a glimpse in to some of the artsy-craftiness that has been going on here in my world. I know I slacked with my blogging, but I have been pretty good with creating!

Yep, I have been crafting it old school. Broke out the old glue gun. And burned my fingers way too many times! Ahhh, some things never change. I have been in to making wreaths. This is a project I have wanted to try for quite a while. Some of you may be familiar with the book page wreaths that were all over the crafty blogosphere and Etsy in the last year or so. Well, I have so many old paperbacks that are definitely not literary classics by any stretch of the imagination, and knew I could give this project a shot.

It takes forrr-ev-errrrr! But I love how they turn out! This is so "me." Books. Love. Crafty. Love. So far these are gifts, so just one more sneak peek and that is it...

This one still has a lot of layering left to do. This is actually the bottom of the wreath.

~*~*~*~

The other thing I have just been in love with recently is paint!!!

All types and colors of glorious, wonderful paint!

I have always loved paint! Speaking of old school crafts, did any of you ever do tole painting? It was all the rage in the 80's, and probably 90's, too. You know, that decorative painting on wood? I used to love that. And event though tole painting is not my thing anymore, I never lost my love of paint. I use paint in so many projects: minibooks, scrapbook pages, altered canvases and books, etc.

I love all my brushes!!!

So I have been painting a lot. This is a piece of canvas that I gesso'd then painted with cobalt blue heavy-body artist acrylic. I have plans for it.....

I have really been in to blues lately. It is not a typical color for me at all. I tend more toward the earth tones. But I have found myself reaching more and more for blues in all shades. My friend Staci mentioned a while back she had been very attracted to blues lately, too, so she did some research to find some meaning behind it. She found this...

BLUES: Creativity, Communication, Spiritual Quest (searching), Calming, Peace, Quenching a (Metaphorical) Thirst, Pride, Self-expression, Holiness...

So it makes total sense that blue has been a go-to color for me lately!

I have also been playing around with my art journals a lot. I won't share much about those because they are personal, but I here are a few snippets of a few pages...

And I also can't get enough of painting canvases!

I have been making a series of canvases with quotes from the book "She" by Kobi Yamada. Kind of little crafty reminders of this journey I have set out for myself.

And, in the midst of all this inky, painty, glue-y goodness I have done some scrapbooking, too!

I made an 8" x 8" album of the pics from my 40th birthday party that I will share in a post tomorrow.

So that is what has been happening in my artsy-crafty world. How about you?!

A blank slate, waiting to be planted...

2011-04-08T15:09:00.000-05:00

That is what our backyard is right now. A blank slate. Oh how I love me an empty canvas with which to work! The possibilities are endless!

There are big plans in the works for this scruffy plot of dirt and grass. And they involve all things green!

Late last fall we had the two ginormous trees that overpowered our backyard removed. Yes they were majestic old trees, probably hundreds of years old, towering well above the roof of our home. But they had gotten entirely too big. And the roots were just inches from the foundation of our house.

So away they went. You can still kinda see some of the tiny wood chips from where we had the stumps ground down. Removing these two trees has finally allowed our backyard to be flooded with sunlight. Full sun. All day. Just what is needed to grow a big huge overflowing

GARDEN!!!

Yes! This year we will finally get to plant what I consider our first real garden! Not just a few veggie plants in a patch of dirt next to our driveway. I am talking BIG! I am talking LOTS of plants! I am talking a wide variety of veggies and herbs! Yep...we're taking on an awfully ambitious project. It is one I hope we find success with. I have confidence we will. Oh I am sure there are some things that we find don't work well, and we can tweak those things for next year. As I mentioned the last couple years in my garden posts...we learn as we go. And as I have mentioned in numerous other posts, not just ones that are garden related, I am all about the journey, the process. It is not all about an end result for me (though the end result of a garden is something yummy and wholesome and nutritious!). But, still, even with gardening I am all about learning and growing.

So, these are the plans in the coming weeks and months for this empty space.....

* turn over and till the soil that is there

* my husband and brother are going to build 6 - 8 raised beds that will be laid out in a grid with pathways in between that I plan to cover in crushed stone

* when the beds are built we plan on getting a delivery of really good quality gardening soil which we will beef up with organic hummus and other soil nutrients

* the garden beds will be enclosed with a picket fence with a gate at one end and I am hoping a small arbor at the other.... (did I mention that Kevin isn't necessarily in the loop on all of my plans...?)

* I would like to plant perennials around the outside perimeter of the fence

I have the whole thing sketched out and I have been saving pictures of gardens from magazines and online. Ambitious? Yes. But I think we can do it!

So what are we going to plant? Well, for veggies we are planning on:

* tomatoes...several varieties

* peppers...several varieties

* zucchini

* summer squash

* cucumbers

* string beans

* carrots

* peas

* spinach

* romaine lettuce

* butter lettuce

* eggplant

* broccoli

* scallions

* hopefully pumpkins! Maybe better luck this year???

* butternut squash

* scallions

And, of course, herbs:

* basil

* Greek oregano

* Italian flat-leaf parsley

* chives

* cilantro

* thyme

* mint

* rosemary

and whatever else catches my eye!!!

I simply can't wait to get my hands in the dirt!!!!!!!!!

Ummm....yeah, it's me. For real.

2011-04-03T13:50:00.001-05:00

Holy unintentional blog hiatus, Batman!!! Eeek!

I really didn't set out to be away from my blog for so long. And I really don't know why I was. Just didn't have the mojo to write, I guess. The good news is, you didn't miss much. It has been a looong cold winter here in New England, which, thankfully, is O*V*E*R!

So, to catch you all up since my last post...no we still haven't replaced either my Pampered Chef bowl or the cheesy plastic one. We're real get it done people here can't ya tell?! ;-)

The month of March brought birthdays for two of the loves of my life....

Bailey turned 7 on March 1...

...and of course he got cupcakes to celebrate!

And of course her pretty much inhaled them!!!

Then, on March 26...

...my brother turned 38! And once again I had delusions of being a cake decorator. I swear to you when I write on paper my handwriting is much neater!!! I wrote "Dad" on the cake so my nephew could give it to him! And "P" is what my brother's friends have called him since they were kids. Our last name (well, my maiden name) starts with "P."

My brother and my nephew...the best of buds!!!

How cute is my nephew!!!

Let's see, what else? Went to my fifth Cool Crops with Mom and the girls at the beginning of March and we had a blast as usual!!!

I will share more of these pics in another post. And I suppose I will explain the paper... ;-)

And I have been baking a lot of bread!

Again, more on this in another post. In our attempts to eat cleaner and healthier I am making more and more of what we eat from scratch. This is resulting in a lot more time in the kitchen...some days I don't mind that, some I do. But I feel so much better knowing that I have control over what we are consuming. There is just so much extra crap in mass-produced food. Yuck!!! And I found a great book that makes having fresh wholesome bread super easy and not time-consuming at all. I think more people don't make their own bread because of the time they think it involves.

And along those line of eating clean, now that it is April and spring is here.....

and these are popping up thru the ground....oh hello little tulips!

My thoughts have turned to what else but G*A*R*D*E*N*S!!!!!!

I am sooooo super overly excited to garden this year!!! I know I know, I get this way every year, but this year is different. This year is more exciting than the previous. This year we will have a real true garden! An extensive garden!!! A huge garden!!!

Last fall we had two enormous trees removed from our yard. Though they were lovely and provided cooling shade, they were way too close to the house, the roots were just about at our foundation, and with the high winds we have had in recent years, if they were to topple over, or even if just one of their huge limbs blew off, the damage could be catastrophic. So, now they are gone and what we are left with is a gloriously sunlight flooded back yard that gets full sun all day long!!! Ginormous garden here we come!!!

I have a plan sketched out and I am just waiting...waiting rather impatiently, for the ground to dry up and the temps to warm up more so we can start putting this in to action.......more on this in a later post!

So that should about catch you all up. I am still determined to make this my year of change and I am working on that daily. One step is the cleaner eating I mentioned above. I am asserting my independence more and more. Each day I am trying to do things I love to do. This all sounds so simplistic but it is not. But it is a process I need to go through, and one that I am still fully embracing!

Now for the daunting task of catching up with all of you, my lovely blog friends that I have missed so much. In the coming days I will be popping by your blogs to say hello. I plan to read everything I have missed but please don't be upset if I don't comment on each and every post. I want to make time for all of you!!! Mwwwaaahhh!!!

xoxoxo

Well, sh*t......

2011-02-27T13:55:00.001-05:00

Sooo, a few months ago Kevin shattered my beautiful, expensive Pampered Chef glass mixing bowl! I would say it were an accident, and I guess it kinda was, except that it could have been avoided. I will admit I was in tears as I ranted and stomped and pretty much threw a Greek diva temper tantrum! I used that damn bowl for everything!!! To Kevin's credit he ran out to Target and bought what he thought was a replacement...to hold me over till he could order a new PC bowl. Ummm, yeah, the "replacement" was a clear hard plastic mixing bowl...on clearance for $5!!! It is not the money, honestly. But it is no PC bowl, for sure. However, days turned in to months and since I am a major procrastinator, also, we have yet to order a new PC bowl. And I have admittedly grown to like the $5 Target special......

Today, I dropped it.....and it snapped right in two.....

Awesome.

Kevin is now still dancing around the house, whooping and hollering, "I'm redeemed! I'm off the hook! She broke a plastic bowl! Wooohooo!"

Well, shit.

Plugging right along with CHANGE!!!

2011-02-02T15:22:00.000-05:00

Change is coming -- and you are the cause of it all! It should be almost entirely positive, and you are sure to enjoy the benefits when they do come down. It may take a little longer than you hope.

{ My horoscope today, 2/2/11 }

So I am one month in to 2011, almost two weeks past my 40th birthday, and I gotta say, I am still so excited about my Word for 2011! I feel great! I have been happy (most of the time anyway). I have felt a sense of calm start to wash over me. I am becoming more and more focused on what I want and where I am headed.

There is much about this journey I am on that I am choosing not to share on my very public blog. But there is also much that I will, when the time is right.

One thing I can share is that part of this journey is about healthy living. NOT dieting. "Diet" is such a nasty four-letter word! I would rather drop f-bombs than the d-word! Healthy living...because in the end that is what it is all about. Yes, for me, a huge part of healthy living is weight loss (something I am working on, and succeeding at, day by day!). And the key to weight loss is really VERY simple: eat healthier, fresh, unprocessed foods and exercise. I know this because I have lost weight before. And yes, I have gained it back...when I stopped eating well and moving less. This part of my journey to change will not be easy, and it won't be fast. This will go well beyond 2011. It really has to be with me for my entire life. And that is OK. Because we all have but one life to live, and life is short. I want to make my life count! And I want to make the best of every flippin second!

This is kind of the reason I have been so in to taking pics of myself lately. I love seeing the progress. I love to see my healthy glow. I love to see the look of calm and peace on my face.

How is your 2011 shaping up so far?!

Welcome to Winter in New England.....

2011-02-01T08:53:00.000-05:00

Awesome.

Totally random silly unimportant things that make me happy!

2011-01-31T18:23:00.000-05:00

I love mascara. Always have. I have not worn it in sooo long...not since having my cornea transplant nearly five years ago. I missed it. Sounds like a silly thing to miss but what can I say...I am a bit of a girly-girl.

See, here's the thing...as much as I love mascara and have worn it since I was around 15, I have a bad habit of poking myself in the eye with the wand! So even though my doctor assured me I could still wear eye make-up I was afraid. Afraid of poking my new cornea!

Well, folks, guess what?! I am 40 and I am not afraid any more! I will no longer fear the wand! I am a fabulous and fearless women and dammit I want long, thick, lush lashes!!!

So...this past Saturday I did it! I successfully applied mascara for the first time in almost five years and I did NOT poke myself in the eye!

Annnddd....I did it again on Sunday! And today!

Annnnddd...Saturday night and Sunday night I successfully washed it off, too! And it is waterproof so I had to break out eye makeup remover!

How freakin fabulous am I???!!!

It's the little things, people. It's the little things!

Stay fabulous!!!

Mwaaaahhh!!!

More Gooseberry Patch love!!!

2011-01-28T15:46:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to share some good news...well, good to me!

Last week I received a letter that they wanted to use a recipe I submitted to them in their newest autumn book coming out later this year, Quick and Easy Autumn!!! Then today I got another letter from them that they wanted to publish a Christmas memory I submitted to them titled Waiting for Santa in their upcoming Christmas book being released later this year, Quick and Easy Christmas!

So far January 2011 ROCKS and 40 really is FABULOUS!!!

Ummm, yeah....seriously?!?

2011-01-27T11:30:00.000-05:00

I live in New England. I have all my life. It snows. I get that. I really do. And I do my best not to complain about it because, well, I love New England and can't imagine living anywhere else.

We got yet another storm last night in to this morning. Another foot or so dumped on to the already three feet or so still on the ground from the previous storms. The three feet that has not been able to melt because it has been Arctic cold here.

But again, its New England. New England is in the northeastern United States. It gets cold. It snows.

Here's the thing, though. I don't live in rural New England. I live in a suburb of Boston. A pretty large, fairly congested suburb of Boston. We have nowhere left to put all the white stuff. The snow removal budgets of the cities and towns have been depleted. At the rate school is being cancelled the kids will be in school to July (not that that is a bad thing...). People are actually missing work (which rarely happens because we know how to deal with the stuff).

Anywho, it is what it is, right? So might as well embrace the beauty of it! The sun is shining now so I stepped out my door to take a few pics...

my deck...

another shot of the deck...

snowbanks at the end of my driveway...these actually are extending way in to the street giving the appearance that our driveway is longer than it actually is...

this is the case with everyone's driveways....our street has gotten so narrow from all the snow!

our front yard where you can no longer see our shrubs...

looking toward the side yard, which you can't really see over the snowbanks...

another shot of the snowbanks blocking the side yard...

snowbanks at the end of the driveway...

end of the driveway looking toward our neighbors...

snowbanks built up near the shed...

another shot of the deck from the driveway...

Crazy, huh?!?

Welcome to a New England winter!!!

40 is FABULOUS!!!!!!

2011-01-23T17:33:00.002-05:00

(EDITED: 1/24/11. New pics added)

What can I say??? My 40th birthday was

A*M*A*Z*I*N*G

A. MA. ZING.

Love love loved every bit of my day, and especially...

my night!!!

My awesome husband and amazing parents threw a faaaabulous birthday bash for me and about 50 of my family and friends!!! It was at my parent's house, the home I grew up in, the home where the majority of my birthday parties have taken place. So it was so fitting to celebrate such a milestone there, too (and they just have a much better set-up for entertaining!).

Why yes, I did wear my tiara all night!

At the height of the evening it was literally wall to wall people in there, the faces of the family and friends I love and cherish so much! So the pictures to follow are not the greatest. I pretty much had a drink in my hand all night! And being the social butterfly that I am I was flitting from person to person all night. It is hard in such a crowd to spend as much time with each person as one would like but I did my very best. And I was just really soaking it all in...so my picture taking suffered. Today as I thought about it, there are definitely pics I wish I had, but I love the ones I do have. And the fact that I don't have as many as I would normally like (I still have 60+) just tells me I was there, I was in the moment, I took it all in, and the memories are forever imprinted on my heart! And I am actually pretty happy that I was pretty free with my camera and let others take it...this way I actually ended up in many of the pics (looking oh-so-lovely, sure, but at least I was in them! lol).

Well, since there are so many, I guess I will just let the pictures tell the story...

And I did drink from this glass (courtesy of my friends Erin, Shawn, and Carol) all night!

My "big brother" Greg and his awesome wife Kelly! Greg and I have known each other for 25 years! He was the first person to buy booze for me and my friends...when I was 16 and he was 21! Ummm...he didn't buy me another drink till I was 25!!! Kelly got a kick out that story. They live about an hour away now we don't get to see each other often. I have only met Kelly a handful of times, and last night we got to really spend some good time talking (and continued it today on Facebook)! She loves that I have known him so long and can tell her all his stories!!! lol

Our good friend Christa & Kevin!

My awesome godparents, or Nona and Nono as they are known in Greek! My Nona is in the middle in red. The lady in white is my Nona's mother, Thea Paula. She made awesome pastitsio for the party!

Our friends Ed (Renee's husband) and Lori (Ben's wife)

Our friends Stephen (Sue's husband) and Ben (Lori's husband)

Our friends Patti & Glenn

Our friend (and my co-worker) Carol with Kevin

Our friend George & Chris. Chris is one of my closest friends from college!

Ed & Renee...aren't they adorable!!!

Mom, me, and Sue! Sue started out as my hairdresser about 12 years ago. We quickly became close friends. She still does my hair and Mom's hair but we are friends first!

Isn't my cake AMAZING!!!!!!!! My incredible Mom designed this and had it done at a local bakery, Cakes for Occasions. This bakery has done several of the cakes for those weddings they do on the Today show! Anyway, to say my Mom knows me well is an understatement! Hello, Sony dSLR!!! And to have them add in the quote* I am always repeating and adding to art pieces and such!!! And the black and white damask pattern on the side (which I am kicking myself for not getting a picture of! Grrrr!). It was just a FABULOUS cake!!! And there are only two pieces left that I am hoarding!!!

*The quote is a take on a Thoreau quote: Live the life you've imagined." The quote on the cake is my personal spin on it.

The little joy of my life...my sweet nephew! He came out of the den and pulled himself away from his Wii to help Auntie.....

....get ready to blow out all those candles! Yes, my Mom counted out 40...and one for luck!

My boss Mark and his fiance Tina

(and Mary and Brenda in the background)

Mom lighting the blaze!!! lolol

It is damn loud with 50 people (many of them drinking!) singing Happy Birthday!!!

Good thing I had the little guy to help me!!!

My friend Deanna...another friend of about 22 years!!!

My friend Renee makes the most unbelievable homemade cannoli!!! Everyone waits for them!

Me and Lori

Kevin, me and Ben. This is the only picture that is kind of a pic of me and Kevin.

My friends (and co-workers) Alex, Shawn, and Greg. Don't I work with cute boys! They are a pain in the ass, but cute! I joke, I joke! They really are great guys and fun to work with!

Me and my big bro! It meant so much to me to have him there! I couldn't imagine celebrating such a big birthday without him!

Mom is going to kill me when she sees this pic!!!

So to make her feel better I posted one of me!!! This happened to all of us, from the black food coloring on the cake!

One of my bestest friends, Shannon!!! Another friend of 20+ years!!!

Carol and Shawn

Me and Renee

OK, so for some reason I have gotten in this habit at parties of taking a self-portrait of me and Ed. And for some reason it is after I have had a, well, a few drinks....and Ed always seems to be around when I have had a few drinks. So the pictures always come out like this! Maybe I should try letting him hold the camera...

Renee took this pic!!!

Sam (another co-worker) and Greg

The whole motley crew!!!

Greg, Sam, Alex, me, Carol, and Shawn

I know I have said it before and I will continue to say it...I have the best freakin co-workers! Work isn't always easy, and it isn't always fun, but we are blessed to have our jobs, and lucky we like each other enough that we not only enjoy our workday together but will hang out in our free time, too!

My heart simply cannot take the LOVE!!!

My nephew and his Papou (my AWESOME Dad!!!)

They were both pretty tired at this point but they were troopers!!!

Before I hit "publish post" I looked back over this post and all the faces of the people I love and care about. I have a freakin AWESOME life!!! So blessed in so. many. ways.

I know many in my family and a lot of my friends that were there read this blog. To all of them I must say....THANK YOU!!! Thank you from the very bottom of my heart!!! You all made this my most memorable birthday ever!!!

xoxoxoxoxoxo

(and to those of you I didn't capture with my camera...I wish I did but you are all in my heart!)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
1/24/11:
Just got these few pics from my friend Sue. These show how many people we had in there! Crazy!

But first a super-cute pic she took of my nephew and me!!!

Just a few more hours till my big day...

2011-01-21T15:41:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow, January 22, is my....

BIRTHDAY!!!

And I couldn't be more excited! I know, most women dread turning 40. Not me. Not one bit! I am actually looking forward to it. I am ready to close the door on my 30's and move in to what I feel will be one of the best years of my life!

Why? Because I am going to make it that way! This is the year that I am going to create the life I have always imagined! That is why the Word I chose for this year is change. It is a new year and it is time for a new me! And I am so pumped and ready for it!!!

So bring it on...

bring. it. on.

Because I am so intent on making some changes in my life, and because the final hours of my 30's are ticking away to a new decade of life for me, I have been thinking back over the past 39 years. I have had a good life, and I am blessed in many ways. It hasn't always been easy...hell no! There has been a lot of heartache, trials, and grief. There has also been a lot of smiles, fun, and amazing times!

I ...

* have travelled to many destinations in the US, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Europe...

* have read hundreds, possibly thousands, of books....

* have seen more movies, concerts, and plays than I could ever count...

* have travelled by land, air, and sea...

* have swam with dolphins...

* have seen all four of the Boston sports teams play live...

* played soccer for many years, and I was a cheerleader (gag...I know!)...

* earned a college degree...

* have been a great student...

* still love to learn, as much as I can...

* have loved and lost, and loved again...

* was there the day my nephew was born...

* was there when people I loved died...

* got married...

* bought not one, but two, homes...

* have braved three tattoos (and a fourth is yet to come!)...

* have had my cornea sliced off and a new one attached...

* have made and lost friends, and made many more...

* have stayed in the nicest hotels, and in tents in the middle of nowhere...

* have partied hard, and paid for it...

* have partied hard, and don't regret it because I had a blast...

* have gone out with three different guys in one weekend and got away with it...

* have made stupid mistakes, and learned from them...

* made some bad decisions and bad choices in my life...

* have made great decisions and great choices in my life...

* have had more jobs than I can count and am finally content in the one I have...

* have been published and had my art displayed...

* have had my heart broken by boys, and broke a few...

* have hiked up mountains, and had times when I could barely walk around the block...

* have owned a really cool sports car and some clunkers and loved them all...

* have had the best dogs in my life...

* rescued my dog, and he rescued me...

* have created with wild abandon, not caring one bit if people like my stuff or not...

* have had people come in to my life, briefly, and know there is a reason for it...

* have laughed at myself, many many many times....

* have been laughed at, and it hurts...

* have also learned to say to those people "you don't matter, so eff off!"...

* have hated me, and loved me...

* have climbed a waterfall, swam with stingrays, and snorkeled in some of the most beautiful places...

* have done things my mother would probably want to kill me for...

* have done things to make her proud, too...

* have had some really rough times, and some really amazing times, hard times, easy times, fun times, sad times, times of laughter, times of frustration, times of pride, and times of hurt, times of sadness, and times of immense joy...

* I. Have. Lived.....

Here's to turning 40...and the amazing journey that lies ahead!

Christmas...yeah, its a little late...

2011-01-17T20:28:00.001-05:00

So it occurred to me that in the hustle and bustle of the holidays and how fast they seemed to creep up, and then with all of my "new year, new me" stuff that I am so focused on I never shared any pics from Christmas! Then I realized...most of the pics are still in my camera! Eek! So not like me! I didn't even do any posts on Christmas Eve-Eve, Christmas Eve, or Christmas Day! Definitely not like me...but those were not my fault! Our land line and internet decided to cut out on Christmas Eve morning and we didn't get them back till 12/26 late in the day.

I do have a few pics I can share though...my Christmas Eve table! I took these with my point & shoot so they were pretty convenient to upload. Everything else is on my DSLR and I just don't feel like dragging it out right now. I was really happy with my table, though! I am not one that is usually in to "tablescapes," per se, but I had a little fun "fancy-ing" things up a bit this year, even though it is just Kev and me, my parents, my uncle, and my MIL.

My Christmas dishes are Winterberry by Pfaltzgraff. I love this pattern because it is not overly Christmas-y, but rather winter-y. I use these throughout December. The green goblets and red chargers were purchased at Christmas Tree Shop (those of you in the Northeast will know of what I speak!)...cheap! All of the candle holders are from Michaels. The tea lights are from a jumbo bag bought at CTS years ago...there was something like 200 in there for around $2! The white tapers are just generic ones I picked up at the grocery store that morning, and the chunky red tapers are by Root and I have had them forever!

And here is a picture of our tree taken that night...

Christmas Eve is pretty low key for us. I start out the day at my usual crack of dawn wake up time! I like to get to the grocery store by 7AM to avoid the crowds and crazies. This year I got a great present early that morning...a phone call from Kevin's cousin Kaatje in Belgium who I am close to. She is about ten years younger than me and I haven't seen her in years but there is a sisterly connection between us. She has been hurting lately, doing a lot of soul-searching...we are kind of going through some similar things, and she was telling me how she just really needed to talk to me. She said something that just touched me so much...she said that since we can't talk often she talks to me in her dreams, to help her feel better. Of course we were both in tears at this point! Still, it was such a lovely way to start my Christmas Eve!

After grocery shopping it was home to bake, and cook, and cook, and bake. That takes a big chunk of my day. I actually had not baked a thing all season long till that day! I was so not on my Christmas game this year. It is OK though! I am focused on much more important things right now, things that, once realized, will probably make next Christmas a million times better!!! Usually when all the cooking time is done and last minute wrapping is done, I blog. That wasn't going to happen this year. So I journaled a bit, and spent a good chunk of time staring out the window with Bailey, daydreaming!

When our family arrived we gave our parents and uncle their Christmas stockings. That is a tradition we started with them a few years ago. Stockings have always been my most favorite part of opening gifts and I think our parents and uncle should get to enjoy it, too! Now they totally look forward to it! Then we eat a nice dinner, sit around and talk a lot, and watch Christmas shows or movies before calling it a night!

Once they all go home Kevin and I usually give each other our stockings. This year stockings is all we did for each other. Well, stockings and (don't laugh...) SNUGGIES!!! OK, I guess you can laugh...because they really are the goofiest looking things. But he got me a Patriots snuggie and I got him a Bruins snuggie so they are sort of cool. Sort of...

The reason we only did stockings for each other is because we bought ourselves a couple big gifts this year....

46" Sony Bravia LED HDTV for our living room, plus a new stand and Blu-Ray player!

And, a 32" Sony Bravia LED HDTV for our bedroom plus a Blu-Ray player!

O.M.G. I seriously didn't think it would be that big a deal, but...it so is!!! What a HUGE difference these TVs make, especially when watching sports!!! Unbelievable picture quality, so crisp and clear! It especially make a big difference for me in our bedroom. I tend to watch TV to fall asleep and we used to have this 19" thing in there and with my eye issues it sucked to watch it. Now, I can actually CLEARLY see the screen!!!

Christmas day was the usual flurry of gift opening, eating, sports on TV, etc etc. Of course we have the while day with my nephew which makes things so much fun!!! All of my Christmas Day pics have not been uploaded yet but I do have a pic of the gift I gave my brother. Every year there is usually at least one gift I am ridiculously excited to give and can barely contain myself till Christmas Day. Usually it is something for my nephew. This year it was the gift for my brother. Well, you all know how much I love to take pictures, and besides Bailey, my nephew is pretty much my most frequent photo subject. I was snapping some shots of my nephew one day and captured this shot that I fell in love with...

I knew my brother would loooooove this photo!!! Look at that face!!! Doesn't the missing tooth just totally up the cuteness factor?!

So I had it made in to this....

A 20" x 24" gallery wrapped canvas!!! The look on my brother's face when he opened it was so worth the month of torture of keeping my mouth shut!!!

So there you have it...Christmas 2010 in my world!

Sad...

2011-01-17T10:23:00.000-05:00

I am in mourning today....for my beloved Patriots....that bit the big one yesterday! :(

So it is looking like I will be rooting for an NFC team in the Super Bowl because I cannot, will not, absolutely NOT ever ever ever root for the Jets or the Steelers! I hated both teams before yesterday and it is even worse now!!!

And yes I do get very bitter over football....

:-(

GAME DAY!!!!!!

2011-01-16T09:00:00.001-05:00

* PATRIOTS *

[via google images]

'Nuff said!

:-)

Long weekends.....

2011-01-14T14:29:00.001-05:00

I love me a long weekend. Of course, many that know me would argue that every weekend is a long weekend for me since I don't work on Fridays. But this will be a true long weekend since I have Monday off, too! So thankful for a cool boss!

So, what to do with all this time?! Well, there will be shopping, including picking up this tote in Baroque! It is an early birthday gift from Kevin. I need a new tote for work and Vera Bradley are some of my faves! I also got another early birthday gift from my hubby...well it has been ordered. I should have it in a few weeks! I loooove Lisa Leonard Designs jewelry. I have the True Love necklace and have wanted the Open Circle necklace for so long! And that is what he got me!!! The front of the circle will say create a life you imagine and the back will say follow your bliss kristen. Soooo perfect for the changes I want to make this year!!!

(And I may or may not have ordered the Through My Lens necklace as a gift to myself....)

There will be family dinner tonight, where I get to enjoy this little face...

{November 2010}

...which I can never get enough of!!! This little face makes me so very happy. Looking at this little face makes all of my stress go away!!!

I can't remember if I shared this photo I took of my nephew. I was so happy with how it came out, that I had it made in to a 20" x 24" gallery wrapped canvas to give to my brother and sister-in-law for Christmas, and had a smaller one made for me and my parents! They all loved it! It was probably THE most excited I have ever been to give a gift!

And while I am on the subject of sweet faces, check this one out...

This is my brother's sweet dog Kya. Isn't she gorgeous?! Kya has not been feeling well lately and we have had a bit of a health scare with her. Thankfully she seems to be doing better but we are still waiting on some test results. Any prayers or good healing vibes you could send her way would be so very much appreciated!!! She and Bailey are just THE best of friends...furry cousins as we like to call them! Last week at family dinner at my parent's house poor Bailey was so lost without her there. She had to stay home to rest. He has been looking for her ever since. Luckily they will get to be together tonight!

Wow! I am all over the place today!

So, the weekend! Let's see...there will also be this...

HAHAHA!!!

Football, baby!!!
PATRIOTS, baby!!!
Can ya tell I am just a little excited for this week's game?!? And we will have our friends here to watch with us, so there will be lots of this consumed...

....along with my homemade (healthy!) chili and cornbread!
Mmmmmm!!!
(I will try to remember to take pics of my chili and post my recipe....and by "recipe" I mean stuff I throw in the pot! I never measure!

There will also be more crafting this weekend!!! Lots and lots of it!!! I have been crafting quite a bit lately. I love when my creative juices just keep flowing! A lot of what I have made lately is very personal though so I can't promise I will share, but the stuff I am working on this weekend I can definitely share a few sneak peeks of. They are gifts for friends and I can't share completely till they get them!

In the first part of the day Sunday I am having a "Shop & Save" class at my house. I reconnected with a friend from high school on Facebook and she is a coupon queen! She was always posting on these amazing deals she would get while out shopping, like grocery shopping for her family of four and purchasing over $150 worth of groceries for $30!!! She mentioned that she loves to share her tips and secrets by doing these classes for friends and colleagues. The more deals she posted about the more intrigued I became so I figured, why not?! It is always fun to get a group of your girlfriends together and talk shopping!!!

I hope all of you have a most fabulous weekend planned, too!!!

A New England Blizzard...the day after!!!

2011-01-13T20:01:00.001-05:00

Plow the roads, snowblow the driveways, chip the ice off the car...

and life goes on!!!

Here are some scenes outside our home early this morning before heading to work...

A snowy white winter wonderland!!!

A good old-fashioned New England blizzard!!!

2011-01-12T13:55:00.001-05:00

That's what we are in the middle of right now!!! Our world is blanketed in white!!!

Please excuse the quality of these photos. I took them with my phone...just stuck my arm outside the door and snapped!!! Too cold to go out there!!!

And this time around the snow is that heavy, wet snow. I will stick to my warm house!

So very thankful for a cool boss who told me from yesterday that I could have the day off today!!! And the hubs is home, too! Actually I think my entire neighborhood is home. All the cars are buried! And everything is quiet and still and so peaceful. Soon, though, I will hear the snowblowers start up one by one, shattering the winter calm...

I saw on the news today that 49 of the 50 states have snow on the ground! And it is Florida that is the lone snow holdout! You probably thought Hawaii, huh? I did, too, at first, but there is snow on Mauna Kea on the Big Island! Actually I am not surprised. When Kev and I went on our honeymoon in Hawaii we went to the top of Mt. Haleakala on Maui to watch the sunrise. Haleakala is approx 11,000 feet...it was about 30* at the top! On Hawaii!!!

So, according to the weather reporters most of you have snow, too!!!

Stay safe and warm!!!

Tick tock tick tock....

2011-01-08T19:37:00.003-05:00

Just got off the phone with my Mom and I know she is planning on reading my blog tonight....just waiting for the phone to ring now.........

;-)

UPDATE 7:48PM....let the lecture commence!

New ink.....

2011-01-08T17:06:00.000-05:00

That is going to be my birthday gift, from me, to me! Its not the kind of ink you are thinking. It is not the ink I play with in my craft room all the time. I am talking ink...as in tattoo!

Yes, Mom, you read that correctly.....

(God help me!)

She has never been a fan of tattoos. But, this won't be my first...it will actually be my fourth. I have had my other three for several years. They are small and very cute and girly. It is not like they are big in-your-face tattoos. But I love them. And I love art. Tattoo work, done well, is an amazing art form. I have thought about getting a new one over the years, something more grown up, something with meaning. Two of the tattoos I have now, small dolphins on different parts of my body, do have a lot of meaning, to me. I got them after the first and second time I swam with dolphins. It has always been a dream of mine to get in to the water with these amazing creatures. It is such a moving experience to witness their sheer beauty, grace, strength, and size while in the water right next to them. But I had to stop at two. If I got a tattoo each time I swim with them I would be covered with dolphins! No thanks.

So back to my gift to me. As I mentioned above I have thought about getting new ink over the years but never followed through. Now that I am approaching 40 I think about it constantly. This will be the first time I am getting a completely original, designed just for me from my own ideas and rough sketches, tattoo! My brother directed me to a great local place...now I just have to make the appointment with the artist to have it designed then the next appointment to have it done!

I can't share what it will look like yet...because I don't totally know! Here is a hint, though...

αγάπη ζωής

It will incorporate, somehow the words above. Those are the Greek words agape, which means love, and zoi, which means life. Somehow I would like those incorporated in my tattoo, in Greek letters.

This new one will also be small. I am just not in to really big tats. It is going to be small, and feminine, and a little bit abstract and artsy. I would love to have it done in time for my actual birthday but since it is two weeks from today I don't know if I will. It is OK though. I know I am going to do it. My gift to me!

New year....New me

2011-01-02T15:24:00.000-05:00

It is finally 2011! I was so ready to close the door on 2010. Not that it was a bad year. It wasn't. It was just...umm, a year. Not bad, not great...it just...was. And I am sooo excited for 2011. So excited!

As I mentioned in this post, my word for 2011 is CHANGE. And what a year it is going to be! BIG changes in store for ME. Good changes. Necessary changes. All with the goal of making me a better version of myself.

And I am eagerly well on my way to making these changes! I have much to work on, and not all of it is obvious to someone just looking at me. It is not all physical. No, that is just one part of it. There is much on the inside that I am going to be working on, getting back bit and pieces of me that I feel like I have lost over the years.

I am wholeheartedly embracing these changes that I feel I need to make! I am loving the fact that I am so excited and focused! And I am as psyched up for the journey as much as I am about the end results of these transformations!

There is much I am doing to reach these goals, to manifest these changes, in me. I am adopting a whole new active lifestyle, something I haven't done since I was younger and I am so LOVING how I feel already! I am praying and meditating more. I can't even begin to express how much this has affected my mood and spirit! I am reading anything I can get my hands on that is motivational, or uplifting, or relevant to this journey I have set out for myself. I am immersing myself in my art, for me. I have started painting again and that feels amazing! I can't promise I will share all I make...some of it is very personal...but I will periodically share some of my creations. I am learning to enjoy just being with myself again! That is huge to me, because one thing I have felt over these last ten years or so is that I lost some of the independence that I used to value so much.

It will be a long road but I have already started traveling it! There are no u-turns on this road. No turning back. MY time is now and I plan to make the MOST of it! I turn 40 in less than 3 weeks and this first year of a new decade of life for me is going to be all about LIVING my life to its fullest, LOVING and NURTURING me, and embracing the CHANGES to come!

{self-portraits taken December 30, 2010}

Bailey's 2010 Christmas Photo Shoot

2010-12-21T07:00:00.018-05:00

It is not easy photographing an energetic little Beagle. Yet each December I am determined to make Bailey the subject of our family Christmas card. This year I am sooooo late. I literally just took the picture on Sunday and had the cards printed the same day. I am still in the process of addressing them, but we won't go there right now....this is about Bailey!

I am not going to post the actual card here because many of you that read this blog will be receiving one...soon! lolol But here are a few outtakes. Taking photos of Bailey can be a challenge. These photos are never going to be the best quality. And Sunday I was in such a rush to finally get these done I didn't even use my dSLR. I just grabbed the point & shoot and went with it. What we do is have Kevin stand close to me dangling a treat as close to my lens as possible. This usually ensures that Bailey will look at me.

Still, crappy quality or not, my dog is just plain old freakin CUTE!!!

What a great Sunday is made of...

2010-12-20T07:00:00.024-05:00

Yesterday was the kind of Sunday I love! Slept in (7:30AM is sleeping in for me...), long hot shower, leisurely getting ready, hot coffee.....and a Beagle Christmas photo shoot!

(more on this tomorrow...)

So after running down to CVS to print my very last minute Christmas cards, it was back home to get ready for our friends to arrive!

I made some homemade calzone. Lit my Christmas-y candles all over the house. Kevin gathered wood for the fireplace. Once our friends arrived we would be all set to settle in for the afternoon!

So what is a great Sunday made of...?

...a warm roaring fire

(and a hottie to keep it going!)

...cold Sam Adams Winter Lager

(and best girlfriends to drink it with!)

...hanging out with some good munchies and football on TV

(yes we are all addicted to our Droids!)

...twinkling Christmas lights

...getting through all the games in anticipation of OUR team's game

(and watching THE best QB in the league!)

Yep. That all makes for a great Sunday!

Is it possible to be addicted to a cell phone?

2010-12-19T07:00:00.000-05:00

Yes I know asking a question like that makes me sound...more crazy than usual, but is it? Because I think I am addicted to mine. I have had a cell phone since somewhere around 1996 or so, when the battery alone was bigger than the entire phone now. You actually had to pull up the antenna to get reception. Totally weighed down your purse when you dropped it in. You know, back in the day when a cell phone was just that...a phone. Nothing more. So why almost 15 years later am I now addicted to my phone?!

We recently got rid of our Blackberries and got the Droid Incredible.

Holy smartphone, Batman! Love. This. Thing. I seriously can't put it down. I play with it constantly. It does the coolest things. I can take pics with it that rival the quality of my very expensive model point & shoot. I can get on the internet within seconds. There are over 10,000 or so apps available for it...many free. Totally 100% touch-screen. It does everything an iPhone does without having to switch over to crappy AT&T. And Lord knows I love me some Apple products but I have never had an iPhone because I loathe AT&T. Dilemma solved with the Droid. I get everything the iPhone has PLUS good service!

But I guess in the end the reason I am most addicted to my phone is it keeps me in touch with the people I care about the most and that is huge to me, now moreso than ever!

They call me...Kristen the Greek!

2010-12-18T11:51:00.000-05:00

You know, like Jimmy the Greek? Except I am much younger. And femaie. And I am not a bookie.

I do, however, take part in a friendly football pool with the guys at work. I am the only girl in it. I work with almost all guys so there really aren't many girls to be involved. And you gotta know, and love, football. I do, and I do!

Which is quite obvious because I win!

Silly boys! Football is for girls! :-)

(By the way...that is my Patriots pen that I use to make my choices!)

Ch-ch-ch-changes....time to pick your Word

2010-12-17T07:00:00.003-05:00

‎"Reflect on what you have done in the past and choose how you will act in the future. It's never too soon to begin or too late to start"
~ unknown

It is that time of year again...that time when I start to seriously think what I want my Word for the following year to be. Not familiar with the concept of One Little Word? Here is an excerpt of a post I did about it last year:

Are you all familiar with the concept of One Little Word? This is a concept I have followed for several years now. Some of my past words have been shine (2009), simplify (2008), and create (2007). I have usually done pretty well with living my word each year. Of course there is always room for improvement. This year I had a hard time choosing my word. There were actually two words that I kept going back to, and as I spent a few weeks going over and over these two words and trying to choose one, a third word made it's way in to the mix. Ultimately I decided....who says there is a rule that I have to pick just one word? There isn't! So I chose all three, one of which, ironically, is choices. My other two words for 2010 are energy and live. I love that all three of these words complement each other so well. I am not going to go in to too much detail about why I chose these words, but I will share a bit throughout the year how I feel I am doing with them. What about you? Have you chosen a word, or words or even a phrase, for the year?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I am really excited for the Word I have chosen for 2011! If the title of this post didn't give it away....my Word for 2011 is change. There are many, many, many reasons why I chose this word for 2011, not all of which I will go in to on this blog, but there is one I will share.

On January 22, 2011 I turn 40!!! Yes, I do think that is exciting, hence, the multiple exclamation points. I am not in the least bit freaked out about turning 40. It is just a number and I never really got why women would fret about it. I firmly believe you are only as old as you feel and act. I don't feel 40 and I sure as hell don't act it! The age, though, is still a milestone. And as I near the end of my 30's and get ready to head in to this new decade of life I am reflecting quite a bit on where I have been and what I have done and how my life played out....and I am not entirely thrilled with all of it. True, I have been immensely blessed in many ways, but I have also changed in ways I am not happy with. I feel like here and there I lost little pieces of myself that I would like to get back.

So, for 2011, change it is. Lots of changes. Some very big changes. All good and all necessary.

I have a second Word...patience. I will need it.

What is your Word?

Re-post from last December...love this!

2010-12-16T08:00:00.000-05:00

I had planned to do a post like this today until I looked through my archives and found this one from last December. I figure, why re-invent the wheel?! So, enjoy!

To see the original post with pictures click the highlighted link above. The following is just the text...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I am so excited that the Christmas season is upon us (though admittedly slightly frazzled that I am not where I would like to be as far as prep goes). December crept up awfully fast, but it is what it is, and what it is is the most wonderful time of the year!!! Get out there and enjoy December! Soak it all in! Yes, the days go by fast, but there is much to see and do during this magical season!!!

Being the Christmas Diva that I am ;-) I thought I would share some ideas to help you enjoy these 31 days!!!

~* DO try to decorate early *~

Hopefully you have decked those halls and trimmed those trees, or you are at least almost done. I try each year to get my stuff up early. It is a lot of work to only be able to enjoy it for a few weeks. I started a little later than I would have liked to this year and still need to add a few finishing touches. Remember, if your decorating is done early, you have that much more time to do magical Christmas-y things!

~* DO bake yummy Christmas cookies. *~

There is something so homey and heartfelt about baking Christmas cookies. I love to give them even more than I love to eat them! Packaged in a pretty holiday tin, cookies make a festive gift for a teacher, neighbor, co-worker, anyone! Who doesn't love freshly baked cookies?! If you have kids you can get them involved. Kids love to decorate sugar cookies. Set out sprinkles and sugar crystals in little bowls and let them get creative! No kids? No problem! You and your spouse can have a blast in the kitchen together! Who says you have to wear anything under that apron?!? ;-) And the added bonus is the creative ways you can burn off those calories after the baking session....

~* DO go on a Christmas lights tour. *~

Twinkly lights against the night sky are so magical! Put on your coziest clothing ... you can even wear your pajamas! ... fill a thermos with rich, steamy hot chocolate, crank up the Christmas tunes on the car stereo, and set out on an adventure! If you want to photograph the lights, it is best to use a tripod, no flash, and set your camera to a slow shutter speed.

~* DO remember those less fortunate than you. *~

Really, this one should go without saying. And it is something we should do year-round, not just during the holiday season. But it is made a little easier for us during this time of year. You know at some point you will see a Salvation Army Bell Ringer. Please do not pass them by. I know everyone of us can spare at least a dollar. We can donate canned goods and other non-perishables to a local soup kitchen. Visit with residents of a local nursing home. My two grandmothers, in the last years of their lives, had to live in a nursing home. It is heartbreaking the number of people that never get a single visitor. Do you have lots of old sheets, blankets, and towels? Don't get rid them! Your local animal shelter (which is hopefully no-kill) can use them! Perhaps a local school or church is sponsoring an Angel Tree for children in need. There are opportunities to help everywhere!

~* DO watch favorite Christmas movies and specials. *~

I don't know about you but I can't get through December without watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, oh, a gazillion times! Ditto A Charlie Brown Christmas! Turn on the Christmas lights, pop a big bowl of buttery popcorn and make a big mug of hot cocoa and snuggle under a cozy throw for a holiday movie marathon! Want to know when your favorites are on? There are several links on my right sidebar ---> under "Favorite Christmas Links" that list Christmas movies, specials, and Christmas episodes of favorite sitcoms past and present.

~* DO record your memories. *~

Whether you journal, take photos, make a video, it doesn't matter. Just save these treasured memories in some way. Years from now you will be happy you did. Since I am an avid papercrafter I save these memories in a crafty way, using a combination of words and photos that I turn in to Christmas journals and scrapbooks. I have already started on my daily album for December 2009! I will share it after the month has passed (or maybe as I go along...we'll see!). If you check out my left sidebar <--- there are links for an online class I follow along with each year called Journal Your Christmas. I always end up doing my own thing but the prompts are a great jumping off point. And I am never without one of my cameras!

~* DO remember the impact of a handwritten card. *~

In this electronic age we live in, where we rely heavily on email, instant messages, texts, and social networking, it is easy to forget how treasured a hand-written Christmas card or note is. Please take some time to send out real cards. Yes, it takes a little while. Yes, you actually have to buy some stamps (but have you seen the supercute Christmas stamps the USPS has put out this year?!). I know it sounds kinda sappy and Hallmark-y but taking the time to send a card really does show you care and that the recipient is worth it!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I realize I posted this a lot earlier in the month last year but it is never too late to enjoy this magical season!

I have THE BEST neighbors!!!

2010-12-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

I have said it a million times, I know, but I have the best freakin neighbors!!! Love love love the my neighborhood! Love that we have neighbors that are also great friends. Love that we can all party together and not have to drive, and as was the case for me this past Saturday night, love that we don't have to walk that far either. It was actually a very good thing!

Lori and Ben had a Christmas party Saturday night. What is the Christmas season without fun parties to attend, right?! And bonus...Lori and Ben live right across the street! Bonus #2...Patti and Glenn from right around the block would be there, too! Bonus #3...Renee and Ed would be there and I miss them because they no longer live next door. :( Bonus #4...with this crew there would be booze...lots of it! Bonus #5...Renee would be making the drinks! Um, er, in hindsight, maybe that wasn't quite so much a bonus but damn I had fun anyway!!! :-)

I may as well just say it now....I was trashed. I mean, could barely walk back across the street trashed. And oh man did I pay for it with the hangover from hell the next day! I don't regret it though...I had a blast nonetheless, and I wasn't the only one! I rarely drink anymore and I certainly don't party much anymore. I am sure it also didn't help that I didn't eat anything while I was over there even though there was quite the spread. Oh well, as I said the hangover was worth it. I had a blast and I love my neighbors!

Here a few pics from the night...

Yes this pic is fuzzy but I didn't even take it! haha Glenn (Patti's fiance) did! That is Patti next to me, then Lori, and Renee!

Me and Ed. I was attempting to, and failing to, keep the camera steady for this self-portrait....um, yeah, nice try...

Lori and Ben with their youngest, Braden. Party or no party a baby's gotta eat!

The best bartender around....Renee!!! Damn I miss having her and Ed living right next door :(

Annnndddd....that was about all the pictures I managed before it was clear that I wouldn't be able to hold on to the camera much longer!

What a night!!!