Canvasses of Poetry and Prose

Odds and Ends

2012-02-10T07:54:00.000-05:00

I know you will find this preposterous, but I really don't have much to say even after a week of bloggy silence. Hmm...let me think. Oh, I started a new med and it made me sick. I spent three days on the couch feeling like Dorothy must have felt while her house was spinning in circles. Needless to say, I stopped taking it. Then our plumbing backed up. This happened once before and it cost $500 to have a plumber clear the pipes. So this time Rick decided to do it himself. He bought a long snake for $60 and tried that for awhile. He decided he needed the power snake for $300. It worked, but only after six~yes SIX~hours of working it! And that's not the worst part. The smell wasn't even the worst part. The mucky, BLECHY sewage was the worst part. Suffice it to say that Rick had to throw away his clothes and shoes. Suddenly $500 for a plumber sounded like a bargain. Now I bet you are wishing I just kept quiet, huh? LOL

I know my mama needs her fix, so her are a few odds-and-ends-photos for her. The first three photos are from New Year's Day. My brother and SIL, Dave and Kristin, gave Emma a 3-D version of Candyland. Emma loves it! Here she is playing it with Uncle Keaton.

Emma asked me to take a photo of her snuggling Tiffany. So this one's for Emma. Of course I think that every photo of Emma is adorable. But doggy eyes in photos totally creep me out.

I can't remember if I already posted this photo or not. I could go back and look at my older posts, but it's early and I'm lazy and I haven't yet had my two cups of coffee. So here it is anyway. The Museum of Science in Boston has a butterfly room. A butterfly tried to hitch a ride on Emma's head. Look right above her ponytail.

Emma wants me to post this one for Great Grandma Scott. Wylie got a bath and a haircut at Petco, and they sent him home with a Valentine's Day bandana. It lasted a day and then he was so over it, which made Emma sad because she thought it was sooooooo cute.

Emma and Brittany made these chocolate Rick Krispies treats for the Super Bowl. It cracks me up that Emma put peanut M&Ms on top of them. I like the way that girl thinks!

That's it for this morning. I need to finish a baby book so off I go. Wishing you a fabulous weekend!

One Hot Mama!

2012-02-02T19:00:00.000-05:00

I received this e-mail yesterday: "MARK TWAIN'S HOUSE BURNED DOWN!!!!! Can You Guess Who Sent This???????" And yes, I counted the exclamation points and question marks. So, can you guess? Yup, it was from my mama. Apparently a week between blog posts is completely unacceptable. I keep telling her that she should move next door to me. That way, she'd have daily access to Emma and wouldn't need to read my blog. Maybe someday I'll convince her.

In the meantime, here's the deal-io: health issues, enough said. I'll spare you the nitty gritty. It's nothing new, just another twist with something I've had for years. No big deal, but I do tend to get quiet when it strikes. Anyway, I hadn't spoken with my mom all week, so in her defense, she didn't know I've been under the weather when she typed all of those exclamation points. Now that I've told her, I expect to get an e-mail with about a kazillion exclamation points because I hadn't shared the scoop with her. Well, she is my mama, so I suppose I deserve them.

My sweet mama's birthday was last Friday. I had wanted to wish her a happy birthday on my blog, but in addition to being a medical mystery, I also seem to have a knack for killing computers. If you know me well, you are aware that I am a complete technology geek. If Apple builds it, I will buy it. I am attached to my techie gadgets. I have a relationship with them. My entire life is on them, including my ginormous photo libraries.So having one of them die is akin to having a heart attack. Rick nearly needed a defibrillator to resuscitate me.

At any rate, I wasn't able to gather all of the photos I had wanted to post here, so this small array will have to do. Since I talk about my mama so much on this blog, I thought I'd share her with you. By the way, her name is Victoria. She was named after her father, Victor (whom I adored). And I was named after her (whom I also adore). If only I could be as glamorous as is she!

She is soooooooo gonna kill me, but this is her in high school. I am pretty sure that the boys who saw her in this little outfit were thinking, "One hot mama" with a million exclamation points! Let me just say that when I wore a skin tight bikini in high school, she was soooooooo not happy. Kinda like the pot calling out the kettle, don't you think? Just sayin'...

These photos are from the mid-1950's. I think she was 20 or 21. Gorgeous, huh? And check out how fashionable she was!

Her she is with my dad, Bill, and his mother, Mary. It was probably in the late 1950's. This was taken at a famous restaurant in CA, I think in Beverly Hills. Hollywood stars had nothin' on my parents, did they?

Here's my mama with my brother Dave. This was taken in the late 1960's, I think. Just a thought: why was she able to walk on grass in heels? White heels no less! Every time I have tried to walk on grass while wearing heels, my heels have sunk all the way down into the dirt. I've even broken heels off of shoes while walking on grass. Apparently I did not inherit her finesse. Boo hoo.

Here are my parents on their 25th anniversary in 1982. Check out her ensemble: 45 and still wearing a skirt with a slit! You go, girl!

Here I am with my parents in 1983. Still stunning, weren't they?

Mama met Miss Emma in 2007. Here she is with her girls.

Here I am with my mama in 2009.

This was taken on my mama's 75th birthday. Those are my handsome brothers, Mark and Dave.

Her she is with her boyfriend, Hal (whom we all love) in 2010.

This is seriously one of my favorite photos of her! She totally rocked out on my brother's guitar. I have video, but I am pretty sure she really would kill me if I posted it!

Now, I want to know how she looks better at 77 than I do at 49! Seriously, I want her secret. I need her secret. Maybe if I threaten to withhold photos of Emma, she'll spill the beans! LOL

And since I'll be getting a boatload of exclamation points from her if I don't include at least one photo of Emma in this post, here's my little sidekick and partner in all things silly.

Emma couldn't resist wearing her mommy's hat on top of hers. I love the fact that she is as goofy as I am!

Happy belated birthday, mama! I love you!

The Mark Twain House

2012-01-25T06:33:00.000-05:00

I know you already know this, but I am a total nerd. I love museums of any kind. I am the really annoying person who must stop and not only read every single display, sign, plaque, etc., but actually stand before it and let it soak into my tiny little brain. If I peruse such places on a tour, I simply must buy a book about it at the gift shop so that I am sure that the tour guide didn't omit anything or, in some cases, didn't give me any incorrect data (which has happened on more than one occasion). So when my boys asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I told them I would love to see the Mark Twain house. Not only had I never been there, but I was excited to have a date with my handsome sons.

So off we went to Hartford, CT. Indoor photographs were forbidden, but I got some very cool shots of the exterior. Oh, and this one was taken in the Visitor Center. It is Mark Twain made out of Legos! How completely awesome is this?!!

Isn't this house pretty? I think I could live there. :)

Right next door is the Harriet Beecher Stowe house. We didn't have enough time to go there, which means I need to go back and tour both homes.

If you want the scoop on the Mark Twain house, click here.

My sweet boys also took me out for a very nice lunch. What a wonderful gift!

The Little Old Lady and Her Hit Man

2012-01-20T07:45:00.000-05:00

This is a direct quote from an e-mail sent to me by my mama: "THE SNOWFLAKES HAVE MELTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Yes, there were actually thirteen exclamation points. I counted them. And when I spoke to her on the phone, she said the same thing with the thirteen exclamation points.I took this as code for a death threat, because I know she'll be hiring a hit man if I don't post something about Emma. Anything about Emma. I've watched enough episodes of Law & Order to know that hiring a hit man really isn't that difficult to do. So I figure that I'd better smooth things over with my mama before she goes to 7-Eleven and buys a disposable cell phone and dials another disposable cell phone's number and meets some sketchy guy in the Carl's Jr. parking lot and hands him a photo of me. And I've watched enough episodes of Murder, She Wrote to know that sweet, little old ladies always seem to be near dead bodies and that nobody ever suspects them as being the masterminds behind them all. I mean, come on, Jessica Fletcher ended up near 264 bodies over 12 years. That's a lot of murders. In fact, that's an average of 1.8 murders per month. And she got away with ALL of them while 264 innocent people went down for murder. So I think my sweet little mama could get away with one murder, don't ya think? No one would ever suspect her. So here you go, mama!

Over Christmas break, Emma went on some special dates. Date #1: Papa took Emma to see the new Alvin and the Chipmunks movie. I think it's called Chipwrecked. Of course, he treated Emma to the little kids' snack box (popcorn, fruit snacks, and water). He also bought a box of bonbons to share with her because she had never had them. Let me just say that Rick and I have been together 32 years. We've been to a lot of movies. I remember him buying bonbons twice in all of those years, the last time being at least 10 years ago. Emma, of course, loved the bonbons. So now they have a special "thing" to do when they go to the movies. And as long as they keep making Chipmunk movies, Rick and Emma will keep going on dates to the movies because nobody else wants to suffer through the singing, dancing rodents except for Rick, LOL!

Date #2: Uncle Keaton and Tina took Emma to the Aquarium in Boston which she loves. Emma's favorite part was the sting ray petting tank. Emma adores Tina. In fact, Emma told me that I should order Uncle Keaton to marry Tina. I explained to her that Uncle Keaton is a grown man and that I can't tell him what to do. She was not dissuaded. She insists that because I am his mommy, he MUST listen to me. When she is a teenager and doesn't want to listen to her own mommy, I am going to remind her that she said this. Anyway, I didn't go on this date, so I didn't have any photos of them. But Brittany took this photo as she and Emma hiked around a local lake with Keaton.

Date #3: Uncle Brennan took Emma to Build-A-Bear and let her make whatever she wanted. Emma has only been there once or twice, and that was several years ago when she was still clueless about the whole thing. Not so this time! She chose to make a kitty whom she named Sparkle. Uncle Brennan even let her get not one, not two, but three fancy, sparkly dresses (hence the name).

Date #4: My sweet friend, Arlene, sent Emma a book all about tea parties. So Emma donned the flamenco dress Tina brought from Spain and one of her Disney Princess tiaras (Snow White's, I think), and enjoyed a tea party with her mama.

And last, but certainly not least, here is funny story about Emma. There is a little boy (and by little, I mean about a foot shorter and a year younger than Emma) in Emma's press-chool class named Keegan. Emma is Keegan's first love. He draws pictures for her. He follows her around at school. His mom said that he talks about Emma non-stop. Of course, Rick and I think it's cute. Brittany? Not so much. Here's why:

Emma: Mommy, Keegan is my boyfriend.

Brittany: Oh no, no, no! No boyfriends!

Emma, scowling: That's not fair!

Brittany: the rule is that you can't have a boyfriend until you're 30.

Emma, after pausing to ponder this: Mommy, is that why you don't have a boyfriend?

Brittany: Um, yes.

Emma: Well, I think I want a boyfriend when I'm 20.

Brittany: Ok, fine~you can have a boyfriend when you're 20.

I am so glad I'm already done raising mine, LOL!

Okay, mama, the snowflakes have fallen again. Stay away from 7-Eleven and Carl's Jr., ok?

(Oh, by the way mama, Angela Lansbury is 87 years old and is still acting. We just saw her in a movie and she's still going strong!)

Wishing you a happy weekend! We are finally getting some snow!

Here Comes Suzy Snowflake

2012-01-13T11:40:00.000-05:00

I know this is the post my mama has been anxiously awaiting, so here goes!

This is Emma and her BFF, Olivia, prior to their performance. How freakin' cute are they?

Miss Emma sure does know how to pose for the camera. Hmm. Wonder who taught her how to do that. Must've been Papa.

Emma loved wearing makeup!

She will never be too old to have some fun! Definitely a prima ballerina in the making, dont'ya think?

And then the show began. The girls danced to "Suzy Snowflake," a popular Rosemary Clooney tune (yup, George's auntie) from 1951. If you feel like waxing nostalgic (ha ha, I love that phrase and finally found an opportunity to use it), you can hear Rosemary Clooney's version here.

You can easily spot Emma. She is the tall snowflake in the middle.

"Here comes Suzy Snowflake

Dressed in a snow-white gown

Tap, tap, tappin' at your windowpane

To tell you she's in town.

Here comes Suzy Snowflake

Soon you will hear her say

'Come out everyone and play with me,

I haven't long to stay.'"

Here you go, mama!

Afterwards, Emma posed for a birthday photo with Papa.

And then they made silly faces! Apparently Rick will never be too old to have some fun, either.

Our sweet friends, Paloma and Pedro, brought their kids to Emma's performance. Pedrito gave Emma a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Ahh...young love! I think Brittany needs to be nervous. I predict many such moments for Miss Emma. :)

Here comes Suzy Snowflake...

Happy Birthday, Papa!

2012-01-11T07:12:00.002-05:00

I am waaaayyyyyyyy behind with my blogging. I'm surprised I haven't seen a Saint Bernard lurking nearby, as I expected my mama to call the Search & Rescue team by now. Everything's mostly fine, except that Emma is sick again. This time, it went into an ear infection for her and icky head colds for the rest of us. She loves school, but those little friends of hers sure do love sharing their germs with one another. Would it be wrong and pathetically germaphobic of me to send her to school with a little painter's mask? Yea, yea, yea, that's what I thought. Can't blame me for trying!

Kleenex consumption aside, Rick did enjoy his birthday. A few hours before these photos were taken, we attended Emma's first dance recital, which is why she's wearing make-up. (The ear infection didn't hit until Monday.)

Love her little profile! And didja notice the snowflake earrings? At the recital, she danced to "Suzy Snowflake." So stinkin' cute! But I digress.

Every year since the kids were little (I'm talking 20+ years), the kids have made Rick a calendar for his birthday. They illustrated them by hand until they were too old to think that was cool. Then Brittany started making them on a computer using photos from the correlating months of the previous year. Next year, Emma wants to illustrate it herself. Can't wait to see that! Anyway, Ricks always has the current one hanging in his office at work.

Here's the best part: Rick still has every single calendar! Is that sweet or what?! Yes, Rick may share his birthday with The King of Rock (Elvis Presley), but MY guy is DA BOMB! (Mom, that means that Rick is THE MAN!)

Next up: Emma's dance recital.

Happy Wednesday!

Christmas Day

2012-01-06T06:48:00.000-05:00

I know the suspense is killing you. You NEED to know if Santa managed to get that Barbie house down the chimney. Well, Miss Emma was correct: Santa did know how to squeeze it down the chimney. TA DA!

In our house, Santa even remembers the doglets. Here are Indy...

...and Wylie...

and Tiffany.

Santa left Emma a special Christmas bell. If you've seen or read The Polar Express, you'll know exactly what this is.

Uncle Keaton loved playing Calico Critters with Emma.

Though I think the ginormous lego set that Santa left for Rick was more to his liking.

It's the Black Pearl from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

Seriously, Emma is the most adorable grandchild in the history of grandchildren! Just sayin'.

We've enjoyed multiple Wii Dr. Mario tournaments. I'm talking old Dr. Mario as in 1980s. The kids loved that game when they were little. In fact, they still do. Even Miss Emma wanted in on the fun!

Keaton's girlfriend, Tina, stopped by for awhile

and gave Miss Emma a Mulan "squishy doll." Check out the look of adoration on Emma's face!

Remember the illustrations Emma made for her uncles? Well, she made one for Tina, too. It depicts Emma and Tina decorating the Christmas tree.

That's it for today. Miss Emma will be here any minute. She'll be sad that Uncle Brennan just left. I'm pretty sad about it, too. Guess we'll need to stay in our jammiees, snuggle up on the couch, and play some Dr. Mario!

Christmas Eve, Part 2

2012-01-02T09:51:00.000-05:00

I had to make this a separate post because Blogger kept crashing when I added the videos to my Christmas Eve Part 1 post. And since I know my mama LOVES videos of Emma, I made this post especially for her. :)

Oh, here's the Calico Critters car and trailer we gave to Emma. She loves camping so we knew this would be a big hit. Last year, we gave her a Calico Critters house. So now her cute little critters have a home and a home away from home.

Every year, Brittany gives Emma Christmas pajamas. These have super cute kitties on them.

Emma was so excited to leave some of the cookies she made for Santa. She also made some reindeer food (oatmeal and sugar sprinkles).

Not sure you believe that Santa can come down a chimney with toys? Emma can explain it to you!

Emma is really good about not getting "the gimmies." She seriously only asked Santa for two things: a Barbie house and an Aurora "squishy doll." And she has a really good and mature attitude about gift getting.

Emma was pretty confident about what Santa would be bringing for Papa!

Emma has an "Elf on the Shelf" whom she named Ernie. (You can read about such elves here.) Here's Emma bidding adieu to her little pal.

Blogger keeps crashing on me so I guess that's it for today. Hope your 2012 is off to a happy start!

Christmas Eve, Part One

2011-12-31T16:47:00.004-05:00

Okay, Mama~here are some Christmas Eve photos and videos as promised.

After the I-cannot-believe-my-car-died-on-the-way-to-church-on Christmas-Eve debacle, we ate dinner and then moved on to opening gifts. Rick and I both grew up opening our family gifts on Christmas Eve, followed by unwrapped presents from Santa on Christmas morning. We continued that tradition with our kids. Keep in mind that Emma is the first great-grandchild and great-niece on both sides of our family. That makes for one ginormous pile of gifts for Miss Emma. It is so much fun watching her open her gifts with such excitement. It's even more fun to see how much she enjoys thinking of and giving gifts to others. She is such a sweetie!

We always let Emma choose something special to give to her mommy. This year, she chose a silver heart locket into which we put a picture of Emma as a newborn as well as a current photo. I really think she had anticipated her mommy's reaction even more than she had anticipated Santa's arrival. In fact, she told Mommy that now she can always wear Emma right next to her heart. Mommy, of course, loves it! Go on, say it. You know you want to: aaaaawwwwwww!!!

Emma loves the Disney princesses, so she also gave Mommy a Belle ornament.

Emma has been begging--and I do mean begging--her mommy for a puppy. Her mommy is not keen on the idea while they live in an apartment. So what's the next best thing? A stuffed puppy for her Bitty Baby doll! Sugar (the puppy) even has a little snow sled and reindeer hat! (Thank you Aunt Lori and Uncle Bill!)

Tiffany really wanted the ribbon on this box.

A dear friend, John Dawson, always gives Emma a Christmas and birthday gift. John is seriously one of the kindest people I have ever met. For Christmas, John and his family gave Emma this beautiful dress. Emma wanted to model it without changing. Love her arms!

Emma and Brittany gave me a two-part gift. Emma was sooooo excited to give them to me. First up was the Pandora angel charm which I love.

The 989th kiss I stole that day.

The second part was my very own ice-skating Barbie in a purple skating dress! Okay, I received my last Barbie 40 years ago. Can I just say that I am sooooooooooooooooo beyond thrilled? And yes, I opened it and played with her. And yes, I have played with her every day since. I never, ever, EVER intend to grow up!

Speaking of Barbie, my mom sent this dance teacher and student set to Emma. Emma is taking a dance class and loves it! She pretends that these are her and Miss Suzanne.

For her uncles, Emma drew pictures depicting her with each of them. For Keaton, she drew the two of them playing in the snow. She even drew a top hat on Keaton! For Brennan, she drew the two of them in the house posing for me to take their photo. It even says, "Smile!" Do you think that means I take too many photos? NOT!

Have I mentioned that Emma loves the Disney princesses? Emma loves to play with her princess dolls with Papa, especially with Rapunzel. She insists that Papa have a favorite character, so he chooses Maximus (the horse from Tangled). So Papa had to get his very own, very special gift for his little princess: a stuffed Maximus.

Uncle Brennan gave Emma a Jungle Veterinarian Barbie set. I asked her what she thought and she gave me a thumbs-up. I guess she loves it, as if there was ever any doubt.

Ok, Christy, about that "squishy" doll: that's what Miss Emma calls these plush Disney princess dolls. In her opinion, they're squishy, hence the name. She asked Santa for an Aurora squishy doll, which Keaton got for her. It was so cute when she opened it. She announced to all of us that she might have twin Aurora squishy dolls because she had asked Santa for one. Uncle Keaton assured her that Santa knows what kids get from their families so she needn't be worried. :)

Keaton also gave her a fan that he brought from Spain. She was concentrating so hard on holding it just right that she couldn't smile, too.

This is the "not squishy" Rapunzel doll that we gave her. She was so excited!

Yes, my boys are grown men yet they still love to act like they're ten and I wouldn't change it even if I could. Brennan was teasing Rick about the fire billower that he had bought. So Keaton decided to billow Brennan.

And billow him and billow him and billow him some more.

Then Keaton had some fun playing with my camera. LOL

The boys gave me a great gift: a date with them! (More about that another day.) Rick kept trying to get a photo of the three of us, but we could not get a photo with all of our eyes open. Three monkeys in a circus are we!

Emma made Papa a festive hat. Papa is such a good sport!

She's so purty!

Emma found a Buzz Lightyear Operation game for Papa. We are having sooooo much fun with this! We had Operation when we were kids. This being a grandparent thing totally rocks~you get to have toys again! So worth getting old for this!

Okay, off I go to cook a prime rib, so that's it for today.

Happy New Year's Eve! Or, as Emma decided to call it, "Happy Last Old Year Day!"

Christmas Can't Be Very Far Away...

2011-12-29T08:57:00.001-05:00

Well, I guess Christmas is very far away if you are looking forward to the next one. But since I am late in posting my Christmas photos, we'll just pretend that Christmas is just around the corner, k? That way my mama can be giddy with anticipation, just like Miss Emma was!

Speaking of Miss Emma (and really, what else do I ever speak of?), here she is giving her mommy the gift she made in pre-school. Emma was giddy! Brittany was doubly giddy and sentimental, as it is hard to believe that Emma is already old enough to be making school gifts.

Last Thursday, we took Emma to see Santa. Okay, this Santa and photo backdrop was totally lame. I mean, he wasn't creepy or anything. But jolly? Not so much. He actually looked like he was thinking, "How many more of these little people do I have to let sit on my knee? And if one more of them wets my Santa suit, I am so freakin' out of here!"

As if she could here those thoughts running through Santa's head, Emma sat next to him not on him. She quickly whispered her wish list (a Barbie house and an Aurora "squishy doll"), chose a candy cane, and she was done!

Then I treated my girls to pre-Christmas pedicures. Does Emma look blissful or what?

On Friday morning, Emma and her mommy decorated Christmas cookies. Brittany totally rocks at making these cookies~the best ever!

On Christmas Eve morning, I was making pies, stuffing, and cinnamon rolls. The power decided to go out right in the middle of it all. Un. Believe. Able. I hadn't started baking anything yet, but I was wondering how in the world I was going to get ready for church. Bed head with flour it in just wasn't the look I was going for, know what I mean? Thankfully, it was only out for thirty minutes or so. Whew!

Then we got all gussied up and took our family photos.

Emma wanted to model her Christmas outfit for us. She even posed...

...and, at Mommy's request, gave some attitude! LOL

After taking these photos, we loaded up into two cars and headed off to church. As soon as we got on the freeway (technically, in MA, they're called highways, but I grew up calling them freeways. Poe-tay-toe, poe-tah-toe!). Um...ok...where was I going with this? Oh, yeah! As soon as we got on the poe-tay-toe, er freeway, my car decided to die. Die as in the front end was shaking quite badly and it limped off the freeway and back to our driveway where it slumbered until the tow truck came on Tuesday. By this time, we had missed the Christmas Eve service, so we ordered Chinese food, changed into comfy clothes, and opened gifts.

Here's Miss Emma waiting for let's-open-some-gifts time with her favorite sidekick, Tiffany. Too cute!

Okay, off I go to work on the rest of the Christmas Eve photos. Happy Thursday!

More Prayer Requests and Some Christmas Cheer

2011-12-22T18:22:00.000-05:00

Holly is undergoing further tests. Following a cerebral angiogram, she experienced some difficulty coming out of sedation. They have determined that she had a "dissection stroke," meaning that the artery leading to her brain in one side of her neck had "split" or "branched" allowing a blot clot to form in the dissected area which ultimately broke free and caused the stroke. The same artery on the other side of her neck is also dissected. It has calcified, which means that she has previously had some sort of resulting incident but apparently was unaware of it. The big questions now are what caused the dissections and what to do about them. In addition, the doctors discovered that her hemoglobin level is too low. She still does not have all of her other test results. She still has double vision and will saw a specialist for that today.

My 21-year-old nephew, Trenton, has been having heart issues (vasospasms) for the last six months or so. The current belief is that he had a virus which settled into his heart, causing immflamation. Consequently, he expereinces pain and some heart attack symptoms. He has been wearing a heart monitor 24/7 for the last two weeks and will see a new cardiologist today.

The father of my precious friend, Robyn, is undergoing chemotherapy for melanoma. He is tolerating it fairly well, though it has caused some sores to appear. In addition, Robyn's mother is experiencing some heart issues. And did I mention that Robyn is recovering from pneumonia? Yes, talk about being slammed!

My dear friend, MaryKay Huck, lost her mother on the 8th. MaryKay's parents had celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary just two days earlier.

Yesterday I was chatting with a woman who owns a local store that we frequent. Last week, her 27-year-old nephew died unexpectedly while playing basketball. Her sister is having a difficult time as expected. The whole family simply cannot comprehend the death of a child and they have no idea what to say or do. I briefly shared Kyle's death with her and was able to talk about things that helped us and things that didn't. My heart is just breaking for this family...

One last reqest. Our friend, Carol Ferreira, lost her battle with ALS last Friday.

Please pray for all of these families, as this will be a difficult Christmas for them. I wish I could personally hug each one of them. But I am sure that they will feel your prayers from afar.

Now that I have totally bummed you out and made you think that visiting my blog is not for the faint of heart, here is some Christmas cheer to make you smile again.

I'll leave you with that for today. Off to do some more Christmas preps!

An Update and A Simple Sketch

2011-12-19T08:43:00.001-05:00

Okay, Mom, I have tried and tried and tried to upload two videos of Emma, but Blogger keeps crashing, so I'm surrendering for now. And I still haven't been through the rest of my San Antonio photos, so those will have to wait until another day.

Lesly, Steve, and Holly have returned to CA. Holly is doing well except for her double vision. They still have not received the results of all of the tests, but expect them sometime this week. I'll keep you posted.

Someone asked me why I call my blog Canvasses of Poetry and Prose. I wrote these lyrics in 2005. They explain the title.

A Simple Sketch

You could dress me to the nines

and then take my photograph.

Airbrush out the flaws and lines,

add the features that I lack.

I could primp, I could preen

but all that would be seen

is just a simple sketch of everything that He

wants me to be.

And if you could commission

a Van Gogh or a Monet,

a masterful rendition

of my face he might portray.

I could pose, I could sit

but still in the end it

would be a simple sketch of everything that He

wants me to be.

"A picture paints a thousand words," or so the saying goes.

So I paint my soul on canvasses of poetry and prose...

When this portrait session ends

He'll walk through my gallery.

Portraits hung in my defense

of my faith's reality.

So I hope and I pray

that these words will display

more than a simple sketch of everything that He

wants me to be.

So I hope and I pray

that my life will display

the One that gave His life for me

so that someday I might be

more than just this simple sketch.

And that's all she wrote on Monday morning...

Hope your week is off to a fabulous start!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

2011-12-16T08:41:00.001-05:00

First, an update on Holly: she was released from the hospital yesterday. She still has double vision (which they expect to be temporary) and will need some physical therapy. They are still trying to pinpoint the exact cause of the stroke, but for now it looks like she may have Lupus which can cause the blood to thicken and form clots which, as you know, can cause a stroke. She has been cleared to fly back to CA tomorrow with Steve and Lesly. Thank you for your prayers.

As for Miss Emma, she's still sick, but right now it looks like just a normal head cold with lots of sniffles.

I am quite sure that my mama is REALLY needing her Emma fix by now! Here's a card that Emma made for us. Yup, I have quite the growing collection. She's turning into quite the little card maker.

I know~aaaawwwww! Is it any wonder that I am completely smitten with her?
Here she is squeezing the breath out of Uncle Brennan...

and decorating the tree with him.

Remember the "Countdown 'Til Christmas" boxes from last year? Yup, I did them again this year. She said she loves the "Emma-Giffy traditions" of the boxes...

and the gingerbread houses. Guess I'll be sticking with them! As if I wouldn't have anyway. It's my JOB, my familial DUTY to spoil her! Really, it is. Just look up "Giffy" in the dictionary and you'll see!

Every year, I do a lot of cookie and candy making and send the goodies to work with Rick. Here's my loyal baking sidekick.

Keaton's girlfriend, Tina, just returned from Spain and brought Emma a flamenco dancer dress. Emma immediately put it on and insisted on sleeping it and is still wearing it! And did you notice that it looks like a ladybug? Cute!!!

I love learning to do new things. Right now, I am learning to knit. (Yup, I'm a grandma so I'm required to knit, lol). Tina's mom, Mari, is teaching me. I've made some simple and not very good scarves, but I want to learn to do harder things. So I started out by making this hat for Emma. She loves it. Me? Not so much. I see every mistake I made and they really, really, REALLY bug me. I finally decided it's good enough for my first project and I learned a lot of things making it (how to change colors, how to use circular needles, how to decrease stitches, how to purl stitch, etc.). And let's face it: it's a hat for a 4-year-old which means that this cat won't have anywhere close to nine lives. Since I've already robbed this kitty of three or four lives as I repeatedly ripped and reattached new sets of ears, I figure she'll possibly last through the winter and that'll be all this cat meowed.

I am going to keep on practicing with hats because they're easy and quick and maybe, just maybe, I'll improve. Then I want to make a spring sweater for Emma. We'll see if I ever get there.

Anyway, I'm off to bake with Emma. Keaton comes home tonight. Christmas is almost here and I'll be one happy mama with all of my kids here letting me hug them until they're afraid I'll never let go!

Happy Friday!

A Few Prayer Requests...

2011-12-14T07:33:00.002-05:00

I humbly ask for your prayers.

My dear friend, Lesly, is in Hawaii with Steve (her husband) and Holly (her 27-year-old daughter). Holly suffered a stroke on Monday. She is in an ICU. The doctors still do not know what caused the stroke. Holly is very healthy and fit. Please pray that she recovers quickly, that doctors can pinpoint and address the cause, and that all three of them can remain calm and steady and feel peace in the midst of this. Please pray for Lesly's other daughter, Stephanie, as well. She is @ 5 months pregnant and is very close to Holly. Lesly is concerned about the toll that this may take on Stephanie.

Also, please pray for Emma. She is sick again. At this point, it seems to be another cold. She has a fever, a headache, a sore throat, and a stuffy nose. She has only had three sick appointments in her entire life, once of which was just a few weeks ago. She is supposed to have a Christmas party at home on Saturday with about seven other little girls. Please pray that she gets well quickly.

I will keep you posted.

Thank you!

2011-12-14T07:33:00.000-05:00

I humbly ask for your prayers.

I will keep you posted.

Thank you!

Stuff, The Alamo, and More Stuff

2011-12-10T11:55:00.000-05:00

It has been awhile since I've blogged. The little virus I caught turned into the gift that just kept on giving. I even re-gifted it to Rick, though he was able to return it. This very much unwanted house guest has finally departed, leaving a very long list of undone tasks in its wake. I am one of the neurotic types that everyone else likes to mock: I usually have all of my shopping done before Thanksgiving, have it all wrapped and mailed by December 1st, mail the Christmas cards by December 1st, and then start baking. None of that happened this year, so now I am frantically trying to make up for lost time. I could definitely use a few of Santa's elves!

Back to San Antonio. Lesly and I were both really excited to visit the Alamo. I must admit that we were both surprised to discover how small it is. Maybe all of the lore we've heard throughout the years made it seem gargantuan to us, at least in our minds. Despite its smaller-than-we-expected size, we really enjoyed visiting it.

The Alamo was a refuge to Catholic missionaries and Native American converts from 1724 to 1793, at which time Spanish officials secularized the Alamo (as well as four other missions in Texas) and gave its land back to Native American residents. Sometime during the early 1800s, the Spanish military took over the former mission and converted it to a calvary station. The commander of this station transformed the mission's Long Barrack into the first hospital in Texas. During Mexico's decade-long battle for independence, the Mexican military occupied the Alamo. In fact, they continued to do so until 1835 when an independent militia group comprised of Texan volunteers engaged in a five-day battle against the Mexican soldiers and their general. In the end, the Mexican military surrendered and the band of volunteers took control of the Alamo. Among the volunteers were Davy Crockett (yes that Davy Crockett) and Jim Bowie (a renowned knife fighter whose name is still attached to Bowie knives). But the ultimate victory was not to be theirs. On the thirteenth day of battle, the Mexican army blasted open the Alamo's church and Long Barrack. General Santa Anna (the commander-in-chief of the Mexican Army as well as Mexico's President) regained control of the Alamo.

Capturing the Alamo was not General Santa Anna's main goal. In addition to controlling the Alamo, as well as other strategic locations, he also wanted to hunt down the Texan political leaders. In 1836, upon hearing that these political leaders had retreated to Harrisburg, Santa Anna and a small regiment of his soldiers advanced to Harrisburg to complete his mission. One night, Santa Anna's camp was attacked by a group of Texans led by Sam Houston. General Santa Anna and his men were captured. Because of Santa Anna's dual roles as President and Commander-in-Chief, the Texans were able to negotiate the Treaty of Velasco which granted independence to the newly formed Republic of Texas. The Alamo is now referred to as "The Shrine of Texas Liberty." (This information was paraphrased from http://www.thealamo.org/hero/history.php and some of the information remains widely disputed. I certainly am not an historian, so consider this a mini and possibly inaccurate history lesson!)

This is the front of the Alamo.

This is the Long Barrack which became the first hospital in Texas.

This is the church which now serves as museum gift shop.

These are views of the courtyard between the church and the Long Barrack.

This is a prickly pear cactus. Prickly pear margaritas are a big thing in Texas. Lesly tried one and really enjoyed it.

So that's about one-tenth of the photos I actually took at the Alamo, but you get the general idea. Besides, you don't really want to see all of my branch photos, do you? LOL

Now for more stuff. First of all, I spoke to my publisher a few days ago, and Zamboni's Goal is going to be released in March! Yippee! I should see the galley proofs within the next few weeks. I am so excited! Secondly, I saw the e-book edition of Zamboni's Bath and downloaded it onto my iPad. Emma got such a kick out of seeing it! Thirdly, my dear friend Robyn has been quite ill since before Thanksgiving. She now has pneumonia, is on her third round of antibiotics, and has been sent home with a breathing machine. In addition, her father is battling cancer. If you feel so inclined, I would deeply appreciate your prayers for Robyn and her father. Finally, the father-in-law of my dear friend, Kristy, is in the hospital undergoing tests. I would appreciate prayers for him as well.

That's it for today. Perhaps I'll be back tomorrow with more photos of Texas. I wish you a wonderful weekend!

Germs, Turkey Waddles, and San Antonio's River Walk

2011-11-30T08:43:00.002-05:00

I am quite behind in my blogging. I went to San Antonio over Veteran's Day weekend with my dear friend, Lesly. On my flight home, a man sitting two rows behind me coughed and sneezed like a contagiuosly-diseased champion. I tried not to breathe the germified air, but I could only breathe the air inside the collar of my sweatshirt for so long, you know? I think the flight attendants should make sick people wear those little white painters' masks. Yes, I know~it would be politically incorrect to brand sick people with the proverbial scarlet (or in this case white) letter. So maybe I'll start carrying my own mask to protect myself. That loud HRUMPH you just heard was the collective sighing and head shaking from my kids. They think I am a germaphobe. Well, maybe I am. A little. But that's just because anytime I am near anyone with a cold, I catch it. Then it turns into bronchitis and then sometimes pneumonia. Case in point: I ended up sick a few days after that flight. Thankfully, it didn't last long.

But then poor Miss Emma became sick on Thanksgiving Eve. Really sick. So sick that she and Brittany missed Thanksgiving dinner. On Friday, Brittany took her for a strep test, which was negative. They said it's just a virus. But Monday was day 5 of her fever, sore throat, and headache. She also developed a wretched sounding cough. Her pediatrician was concerned about pneumonia, so he X-rayed her lungs. Thankfully, her lungs are clear and the doctor couldn't find any infection. But Emma is still quite sick. And now her mommy, her Giffy, and her Papa are sick, too~though none of us are as sick as is Miss Emma.

So we had a quiet Thanksgiving. Back in September when I placed my turkey order at our local turkey farm (see, I do live out in the country!), I ordered a 23-lb bird assuming that I would have a full table. Some plans changed and some people were ill, so on Thanksgiving night we were down to four. We've been eating turkey for days. They say that "you are what you eat." I know it's true because my old-lady-neck-flap-just-below-my-chin eerily resembles a turkey waddle, just a little less red. So not the fashion statement I want to make, but eh, what can I do? Plastic surgery is out because we all know I would end up being the poster granny for totally-botched-and-hideous-plastic-surgery-nightmares. Besides, I don't think Joan Rivers is ready to abdicate her throne. Guess I'll just suck it up (or maybe pin it back with turkey skewers and laces) and get back to blogging. So on to my San Antonio trip.

I had to laugh because Lesly sleeps with ear plugs. I know she says that they're the only way she can sleep, but I suspect that after we shared a room in Chicago five years ago, she immediately ran home and bought them because even the mere memory of my snoring was enough to keep her awake! She's way too polite to say this, of course. (Hmm. Makes me wonder what my turkey waddle looks like as it trembles. I think I am better off not knowing, and I will soooooooo hurt anyone who tries to videotape it! LOL) At any rate, Lesly did, in fact, survive the trip and her ears seemed no worse for the wear. Though she did occasionally insist she heard a fog horn, so I just played along with her and said I heard it, too. Not that there was any fog in San Antonio, but that's just a minor detail. (JK, Lesly!)

We had a room with a large terrace overlooking San Antonio's famous River Walk. Here are a few shots from our balcony.

I thought these were cool shots of the trees. Don't worry, Mom~Lesly held onto my ankles really, really tightly while I leaned WAY over the terrace edge to take these photos. Bwahaha! (Eeewww...I wonder what my waddle looked like hanging upside down over the terrace!)

I had fun taking shadowy photos. It's hard to see things clearly, but it sure is fun to play with the light.

I love the water's reflection on the underside of this arch.

We stopped along the River Walk for a snack. This little birdie was hoping we'd share our chips and salsa.

These bad boys kept stealing the sugar and artificial sweetener packets right off the tables. They literally ripped the packets open and devoured their contents. As one not-so-little birdie took off in flight, it left a little "present" right on top of a lady's refried beans. She just moved that present aside with her knife and kept on eating. Yup and YUCK!

To my delight, there were ample opportunities to take photos through tree branches. No, this building is not the Leaning Tower of San Antonio. Apparently, I forgot to straighten it before I uploaded it. I guess you'll just have to tilt your computer screen to the left to get the right perspective.

Check out this tree. Is it cool or what?

Just random shots taken as we strolled...

Oh, and in case you're wondering, this is Lesly. We've been friends for 20 years. She lives in CA, which is where we met. She is actually from Texas but had never been to San Antonio, so it was really fun to expereince it with her. Yes, she still has her sweet Texas drawl. And see, she looked rested and happy and beautiful despite my buzz saw snore!

This was one of our favorite restaurants: Bella on the River Walk. I like this artsy shot of the restaurant's stone walls.

Check out these cool glass bottles in the restaurant! I didn't use a flash so that I could capture the translucent glass and the shadows without any bright spots.

And this dessert was a first for both of us: pistachio cake. It was yummalish!

Next up: The Alamo. Right after I paint myself a sign that says, "Save a turkey. Eat a Tofurkey." I don't want to end up on someone's platter next Thanksgiving, lol!

Light

2011-11-21T13:26:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, we attended a concert at the Baptist Temple in Boston. Although the chorale group is not associated with the temple, it performed quite a few gospel songs, many of which referred to Jesus as "light." These songs reminded me of some lyrics I wrote several years ago. Just thought I'd share them.

Nothing in Between

The streets were his religion

Violence was his only mission

His life was hanging in the balance day to day

With a gun pressed to a head

He remembered words his brother said

About the One who died to bear his sin and shame

And he found Jesus in that alley

Hate no longer his reality

He saw the truth his hate had not let him see:

It's light or darkness, there is nothing in between

Drugs became her secret passion

Once taboo but now the fashion

A masquerade for what was hidden deep within

With a tube forced down her throat

She remembered words her daddy spoke

About the One who paid the price for all her sin

And she met Jesus on that gurney

Fear no longer was her journey

She saw the truth her fear had not let her see:

It's light or darkness, there is nothing in between

We start out in the darkness

From the moment we begin

We've got to choose to let Light pierce us

We've got to choose to let Light in

We've got to choose to let Him in

My son's last breath upon my face

A nightmare time cannot erase

A broken heart and an empty soul took hold of me

Crying at that tiny grave

I remembered words the preacher prayed

About the One who holds my son and grieves with me

And I met Jesus in that graveyard

Pain no longer lord of my heart

I saw the truth my pain had not let me see:

It's light or darkness, there is nothing in between

We walk in Light or darkness

There is nothing in between

Light or darkness

Nothing in between

May I always remember to let the Light shine through me...

Sorry, Mama!

2011-11-17T19:32:00.000-05:00

Hey, Mamasita! I am having trouble uploading the newest video of Emma. I will work on it some more tomorrow, ok? I love you!

Magic Pumpkin Seeds

2011-11-16T06:41:00.000-05:00

I need to do a lot of catching up on my blog. Between the Nor'Easter a few weeks ago and recent traveling, I am a bit behind. But I am sure my mama won't mind since this post is all about Emma. :)

On the Thursday before Halloween, Emma (along with her pre-school peeps) planted a magic pumpkin seed at school. In front of the class, Miss Judy scooped out the seeds from a white pumpkin. The children took the seeds outside and planted them next to their markers. Just two short hours later the kids came out to see if anything had sprouted. Thankfully, I had my iPhone in my pocket and was able to catch a few moments of magic.

Too cute, huh?

Then Emma took me into her classroom and showed me the pumpkin the children had carved while they waited to see what happened to their magic pumpkin seeds. No, the kids didn't actually do the carving, but they did have to brainstorm and vote on the shapes for the face.

A few days earlier, each child made a self-portrait and had to think of one reason why he/she is special. I cracked up at Emma's reason. I really cracked up at her pink eye shadow!

Ok, mamasita, there's you overdue Emma post. Guess what? I'll have another one tomorrow!

In The Meadow We Can Build A Snowpumpkin

2011-11-10T06:33:00.001-05:00

Due to the Nor'Easter, the schools were closed for three days beginning on Halloween. So what are two incredibly adorable girls supposed to do when there's snow on Halloween? Do what they do best, of course: play and giggle and see the world through the wonderful lens of a child's eye.

I'm pretty sure they weren't at all worried about the lack of heat or toilets. Hmm. Maybe next time I should build a snowpumpkin, too!

The Halloween That Almost Wasn't

2011-11-09T06:59:00.002-05:00

Our epic Nor'easter hit two days before Halloween. On Sunday, the temperature indoors wasn't too bad yet, so we carved pumpkins. Actually, they carved pumpkins while I took photos and played with the dogs. I love to eat anything pumpkin but cannot stand the smell of slimy pumpkin guts. Emma, however, seems to love the smell. She also enjoys pulling out the slimy pumpkin guts and saying, "Giffy, smell this. It smells soooooo good!" Good thing she's cute! HA HA!

Emma was very specific regarding the shapes she wanted on her pumpkin. She told Mommy what to draw and where.

Ta da! Emma's masterpiece!

This is Papa's masterpiece.

On Halloween, the streets were still covered with downed trees and power lines. So our town, as did many towns, postponed trick-or-treating. Some towns even cancelled it altogether. By Monday evening, Brittany's building was nice and toasty, so Emma went trick-or-treating with her friends (and twins) Brooke and Abbey.

Emma wanted me to photograph her gold eyeshadow. I love her pose!

On Saturday, Emma came to my house to go trick-or-treating. She decided to be a different princess that night. Here she is getting some lipstick. She already has the lipstick pucker down!

It was pretty cold that night so instead of wearing her sparkly Princess shoes, this Snow White wore her cozy boots. By the way, those are some moves, Snow White!

Who needs seven height-challenged men to mine jewels for you when you have a Giffy and her stash of full-size candy bars?

It was actually kind of sad. Only half of the houses here (there are only 24) passed out candy. Needless to say I had a ton of leftover candy which I made Rick take to work. I did keep a Butterfinger or two. Or three. Or four. Yum.

Heigh ho, heigh ho, it's off to Weight Watchers I go!

To Be Or Not To Be?

2011-11-07T19:13:00.000-05:00

That, apparently, was the question that Autumn was unable to answer this year. It was uncharacteristically late due to an unusually hot September. As of October 22nd, not all of the leaves had changed, and most of the trees were fully leaved. Even my hydrangeas were still blooming!

We basically live in the woods. Trees surround everything. Fully leaved trees are pretty to look at, but are not so great for holding wet snow. I am sure you've heard about the epic Nor'Easter that hit us on October 29th. This was my yard one week after I took the above photos.

Accumulation-wise, the storm wasn't too bad for us: only 10" of snow. The problem was that the snow was really wet and heavy. Snow literally brought down branches and whole trees all over town. I'm talking BIG trees. Trees destroyed cars, crashed into houses, tore out power lines, and blocked roads. For some people, the property loss was substantial. Electricity was not restored for many people for nearly a week. Some people living in remote areas still do not have power. These are the only two photos I was able to get after the snow melted, and they show only minor damage.

Comparatively, we fared quite well. We lost a few trees but they did not damage anything. We only went without power for 72 hours. Although 46 degrees never seems very cold to us when that's the outdoor temperature, it felt bone-chilling when it became the indoor temperature. We have a well and a septic tank, which meant no water, no toilets, nada. (There's no danger of me ever wanting to go camping again in anything other than a motor home. I definitely prefer heat and a flushing toilet. LOL)

Thankfully, Brittany's power was restored within 18 hours. She invited us to stay with her. So we packed up the three dogs and off we went. The mother and sister of Keaton's girlfriend joined us. Unfortunately, I had a pretty bad allergic reaction to Brittany's cat. So Rick and I packed up the dogs and returned to our cozy 46 degree house.

Our power was restored late Tuesday night. By Thursday, our cell reception was fully functional again (the local cell tower had been hit by the storm). On Friday, our cable was finally restored. My hubby and kids call me iGiffy because I am such a technology nerd. It's a nickname well deserved. Nearly a week without internet made me feel like Wilma Flintstone. So not my yabba-dabba cup of tea. (Though I do relate to her fiery red hair!)

By Saturday, life was feeling normal again. Then I was hit with one of my worst ever "chest attacks." The short version of a long story is that intermittently for the past 27 years, the sphincter at the bottom of my bile duct spasms and causes my bile duct to triple in diameter. The result is intense pain and a crushing pressure. For the first 10 years I would go to the ER and they would pump me full of pain meds to tide me over until the attacks would end. Then one time I had an anaphylactic reaction to the meds, so I can no longer take narcotics of any kind. Anyway, I was a mess on Saturday. I was sobbing and rocking as I tried to deal with it. Rick wanted to take me to the ER, but I knew that there wasn't anything that could be done for me. Rick desperately wanted to do anything to help me. I asked him to just hold my hand and pray for me.

Sometimes life can be difficult. Sometimes life can be overwhelming. Sometimes life can be painful. The point of this post is not to prompt you to feel sorry for me. I honestly do not feel sorry for myself. I know that God's presence and blessings are abundant even in the midst of painful circumstances. Through the storm, I learned to appreciate even the smallest of things such as a flushing toilet. I learned that I really can make do with a whole lot less than I have. I was reminded that God has provided me with everything I need and so much more, all of which I should appreciate more and cling to less. I also got to witness Brittany's heart in action. Of course I already knew that she is a wonderful daughter, sister, mother and friend. But I saw her extend His hand to others with abundant grace and hospitality. I feel so blessed to be her mother and friend.

When I had my "chest attack," I was once again reminded of Rick's Christ-like love for me. I know that he loves me. Every day, I see that he loves me in how he treats me, speaks to me, and cares for me. But I saw the pain on his face as he watched me suffer. I truly believe that his pain was deeper than my own. He would have laid down his life for me right then and there. I simply could not be more blessed.

So the point of this post is to encourage you to step back and consider your own circumstances and to realize that God's presence, provision, love and blessing can be found in any situation. All we need to do is open our eyes and focus on Him.

This song was being sung as we walked into church yesterday morning. It's still playing in my heart and head.

"10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord)"

(Copyright Matt Redman)

Bless the Lord, O my soul O my soul

Worship His holy name

Sing like never before O my soul

I'll worship Your holy name

The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning

It's time to sing Your song again

Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me

Let me be singing when the evening comes

Bless the Lord, O my soul O my soul

Worship His holy name

Sing like never before O my soul

I'll worship Your holy name

You're rich in love, and You're slow to anger

Your name is great, and Your heart is kind

For all Your goodness I will keep on singing

Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find

Bless the Lord, O my soul O my soul

Worship His holy name

Sing like never before O my soul

I'll worship Your holy name

And on that day when my strength is failing

The end draws near and my time has come

Still my soul will sing Your praise unending

Ten thousand years and then forevermore

Bless the Lord, O my soul O my soul

Worship His holy name

Sing like never before O my soul

I'll worship Your holy name

Jesus, I'll worship Your holy name

Lord, I'll worship Your holy name

Sing like never before O my soul

I'll worship Your holy name

Jesus, I'll worship Your holy name

I'll worship Your holy name

I guarantee that the storms of life will come and go for all of us. But I also guarantee that His presence, provision, love and blessing will last forever. And so I sing like never before...

Alex's Baby Book, Part 3

2011-10-28T19:14:00.000-04:00

Yes, my mom read yesterday's post. Yes, I heard from her. Yes, she shook her head with both disbelief (because I am almost half-of-a-century old and am still more stubborn than a mule and dumber than a stick) and resignation (because she has known for 49+ years that I am more stubborn than a mule and dumber than a stick). But she did say that she loves me anyway, so I am a happy camper. Though my back is sore because I was stubborn and dumb and bathed one of my dogs. But I am confident that my mama will keep on loving me anyway, even if I am stubborn and dumb and go ahead and bathe the other two dogs tomorrow. Right, Mom? Mom? Hellllooooo Mamasita! (I'll let you know if she answers. She may not want to admit it, lol.)

At any rate, here are the last of the photos of Alex's scrapbook. I really love this November layout. That turkey is too cute, and I love the autumn leaves on this Stampin' Up paper.

This is one of my faves, too. LOVE this stamp!

I had so much fun making these owls with my punch from Stampin' Up.

So that's it for this baby book. I can't finish the other one until Stephanie finds out what she's having, which should be next week.

Gotta run, but I'll be back tomorrow with some pics of Emma and a few funny stories.

Happy weekend!

Alex's Baby Book, Part 2

2011-10-27T16:55:00.000-04:00

Quick post today, mostly just photos. (If you missed Part 1 of Alex's scrapbook and are really dying to see it, scroll down to yesterday's post.) My back is finally feeling better, so I am about to be really dumb and start catching up on the things I've neglected all week. My mom will be e-mailing me about 2 second after she reads that. We all know she'll be right. We also all know that I am an old, stubborn fool. :)

I love these nursery rhyme stamps by SU. They are just too cute! But now that I am looking at this photo, I see that the left page is too crowded. I think I'll take off the middle mat in the column of three and replace it with the title.

Told you it would be quick! Off I go to do some chores before my mama finds me!

Alex's Baby Book, Part 1

2011-10-26T08:01:00.001-04:00

Okay, so this is day four of "I-don't-know-how-I-hurt-it-but-my-back-is-OUT-out." It feels an itty, bitty, teensy, weensy bit less tight this morning. It did this yesterday, too, only to tighten up and spasm a few hours later. I really wish I had a good story of how I hurt it. Let me think. Ooh! How about "I did a triple axel on the ice and landed off center just a bit because I was distracted by the thunderous applause." Or maybe "After just a few weeks, my debut novel hit #1 on the NYT Bestsellers List, and my book/talk show tour was crazy and I had to sit and autograph a kazillion books!" Or better yet, "Rick and I retired to the Caribbean and I slept far too long curled up with my sweetheart beneath the glistening stars on our private beach." Suh-weet! But to be honest, it's more likely that I got hurt simply lacing my skates, opening my laptop to begin that great American novel, or tripping on absolutely nothing but sand. Who knows...

At any rate, I finished Alex's baby book last week. I was going to wait to get some better photos, but at this point I've decided that these photos are good enough. Otherwise, you might never see them. The colors are a bit brighter in the photos than they actually are, and they're not well focused, but eh, you'll get the idea.

Alex is having a girl and is decorating her nursery in purple with pink and green accents. So get ready to see lots of purple! Purple happens to be my favorite color, so I had tons of purpleiscious fun with this scrapbook. And I need to make a disclaimer: I borrowed most, if not all, of these layouts from Christy Stanford. If you want to check out her latest amazing baby book, click here. (Once again, thank you, Miss C!)

These are the front and back covers. This SU paper (Cottage Wall, Rich Razzleberry, and Orchid Opulence) is one of my favorite paper combos ever. See, my paper-hoarding problem paid off! LOL (This is pretty much an exact copy of a layout Christy made for a previous baby book.)

These, obviously, are the baby shower pages. This paper combo, another one of my favorites, is CTMH's Bella. I made extra pages assuming Alex will have tons of photos.

I'm sending her a few white pens for people to write on these pages.

And, of course, I had to make my shower card match the shower pages.

The title on this page didn't show up well. It has clear glitter on it, and no matter how hard I tried, I could not get a good photo of it. You'll just have to take my word that it says "Princess Sophia." The borders, which you really can't see, have princesses, crowns, and dragons on them. After I had adhered the borders, I realized that the title wouldn't show up well on them no matter what color I used, so the title had to go across the middle, which means that most of the border can't be seen. I didn't have any extra paper, so it is what it is. These are for the photos of Sophia's grand arrival. Once Alex adds photos, no one will care about the borders anyway.

I really like these pages. My favorite part is the little Lovey Bugg stamp. Christy Croll, aka Tiddily inks, drew this image after seeing Emma in her ladybug costume when she was 18 months old. No wonder I love it!

And here's the photo of Emma that inspired the stamp. I'm reposting it just because I LOVE LOVE LOVE it and because my mom loves any post with a photo of Emma in it. So this one's for you, mamasita!

(Hmm...if only my fat, jiggly thighs were as cute as a bug.)

I'm having trouble uploading photos on Blogger, so that's it for today. I'll be back tomorrow with more baby book photos (assuming Blogger cooperates).

Our local meteorologist claims that we are going to get our first snow of the season tomorrow (just a few inches), followed by a possible Nor'Easter on Saturday which will have high winds and dump 6+ inches on us. Emma is pretty excited about the possibility of snow! And who knows, maybe if I go outside and slip on the snow, my back may be wrenched into its normal state. (Just kidding, mom!)

Oh, and Tiffany is slowly improving. The poor puppy has spent the last three days in my lap. She really does think I'm her mama. That's fine with me. :)

Hope your week is going well!

How Much Is That Doggie in a Onesie (and Other Stuff)

2011-10-23T13:16:00.000-04:00

Tiffany loves to chase her tail. So when she was chasing it yesterday, we didn't think it was anything unusual. Then last night she started to nip aggressively at her left hind quarter. She's a Shih Tzu and has lots of hair, so the problem wasn't easy to see: she had an abcess which was deep red, warm to the touch, and looked ready to burst. She only weighs 10 pounds, so it wouldn't take long for her to be in serious trouble. We rushed her to an emergency vet, and by the time we got there, which was only 20 minutes later, it was oozing and oh so pleasant. (You can thank me later for that not-at-all-grotesque mental picture.) For a mere two hours and $316, the vet lanced and cleaned it. (Bet that mental picture just became worse!) But it was worth it, because in my house my dogs aren't just dogs, they're my babies. Anyway, Tiffany now has an open wound so she's on pain meds and antibiotics. She normally sleeps on the bed with us (along with Wylie), but I thought she might be more comfortable in her kennel so that no one would bump her. Silly me. She cried and cried and cried some more, so we covered our bed with an old blanket and put her on it. She slept all night curled up against me.

The vet put a collar on Tiffany so she wouldn't lick her wound. Not only is her snout so short that she cannot eat or drink while wearing the collar, but the collar was totally making her freak. She kept shaking her head trying to escape from it. As soon as I removed the collar, she tried to lick the wound. So Rick ran to Target early this morning and bought some baby onesies for her.

Goofy, huh? But it keeps her wound covered so she can't lick it, and she's not nearly as freaked out by the onesie as she was by the collar. My poor baby! She's sleeping on my lap. I'm still in my jammies, sitting on the couch with a heating pad because my back is not just out, it's OUT out big time. I have no idea how I hurt it. I just know that I can barely move.

In other news (which is so unimportant but eh, there's nothing else to do but play on my blog in a feeble attempt to distract myself from drinking anything, because even the teensiest bit of water will necessitate a pathetic shuffle to the bathroom and will illicit some pathetic groans as I try to stand up again and shuffle back to my spot on the couch), our trusty bread maker of 20 years finally kicked the loaf pan so to speak. I did some research and bought a new one. I am amazed at how much better and easier this one is. I've been playing with it, trying to modify recipes to be Weight Watchers friendly because I don't want to regain the 50 pounds I lost just because I bought a new bread maker. I also decided to try making cinnamon rolls. The first batch I made last weekend were just okay. We decided they weren't worth the Weight Watchers points that they cost. So I tried a different recipe on Friday. Let me just say, "Cinnabon who???" They are truly better than Cinnanbon's! Check these out. Yummalish!

They should be good because they cost a kazillion Weight Watchers points. Poor Rick and the girls had to be my lab rats and suffered through these yesterday morning, LOL. We all agreed that they will make the perfect breakfast on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter mornings. I will hide the recipe from myself for the other 49 weekends a year. Well, maybe I'll make them for Mother's Day and Father's Day as well. So make that 47 weekends in hiding. Unless I happen to wake up tomorrow looking like Barbie. Then maybe I'll make them every weekend. If only I had known to wish for that on my birthday, ha ha! Hey, wait just a minute. Maybe I DID wake up this morning looking like Barbie. Maybe her hugely disproportionate and, well, HUGE chest is how I threw my back out and I just don't realize it because I can't stand up to look in a mirror! Mystery solved. Break out the cinnamon rolls! Hee hee!

My mom thinks that every post should contain at least one photo of Emma, so here you go mamasita! Yesterday Brittany took Emma to The Disney Store for a pre-Halloween party. Brittany's friend, Kristin, brought her son dressed as Sheriff Woody from Toy Story. Emma wore her new Belle ensemble that Papa brought for her from Disneyland a month or so ago. Here are Emma and Dylan holding hands as they stroll through the mall. Too cute!

Uh-oh. That teensy sip of water is causing trouble. Let the shuffle begin.

Emma's Happy Mail

2011-10-21T07:09:00.001-04:00

I have a bit of a cold and am more fuzzy-headed than usual, so please bear with my rambling. LOL

My SIL, Kristin, sends Emma the cutest gift bags for every holiday. Emma has figured this out, and every time she receives a package from Aunt Kristin she squeals with delight before she even opens it!

These sticky gel decorations are now proudly displayed on Emma's bedroom wall as well as on Brittany's patio door.

Halloween sprinkles! Emma and mommy went straight home and made yummy cupcakes which they shared with me and Papa.

Emma assembled and decorated this spooky 3D foam tree. Emma loves to make crafts. (Wonder where she got that gene...)

This is a super cute book most of which Emma can read all by herself!

Emma saves all of her adorable hand-made cards from Aunt Kristin.

I love this photo! Emma was so excited by her Halloween headband, she couldn't wait to wear it even thought the tag was still attached. (Why don't I look this cute when I forget to cut the tag off of a new shirt and leave it dangling from my armpit?)

Yay for sparkly Halloween stickers! Emma adores sparkles and glitter. You should see my basement carpet beneath her craft table. (Yes, Emma has her own craft table and it's covered with glue and glitter!)

After she devours all of the cupcakes, Emma and her mommy are going to make cookies with these adorable Halloween cookie cutters.

Check out this adorable card that Kristin made for me.

She also made this candy holder with two small Hershey bars hidden inside! (BTW, thanks Kristin~my growing SU Wish List now has several more things on it, ha ha!)

Thank you for all of the wonderful treats, Kristin!

Miss Emma has been sick with a cold this week. She loves her mommy and me sooooooo much that she just had to share it with us. Guess that's what I get for stealing a kazillion kisses from her every day. Oh well, it's worth it! Anyway, Brittany stayed home from work yesterday, so I had a whole day to myself. I spent the entire day in my craft room! After about three hours I made a Starbucks run and swung by Brittany's to deliver drinks to my girls. Apparently a pumpkin spice latte gets my mojo going because I cranked in my craft room for the next five hours. (Thank you, Kristin~that latte was a scrumptious treat!) I finished one of the baby books and got started on a few Fall cards. I'll try to take some photos today.

Here are a few little things I made last week. Guess I really like this paper and I love the ribbon!

This is the Cherished Teddy that Miss Emma chose for October.

So that's all the rambling I have for today. Off to find a box of tissues. Wishing you a fun and sneezeless Friday!

P.S. For a good chuckle, click on the Cake Wrecks link in the column to your right. Scroll down to the "Open Belly, Insert Foot" post to see why I'm laughing.

Wet Paint

2011-10-18T06:33:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, Brittany and Miss Emma attended a local Harvest Festival. Brittany helped run a booth for her school. One of the activities she coordinated was face painting. Her students were tickled to paint Emma's face.

Is she not the cutest kid EVER??? Just sayin'.

She also had her hair painted!

And then it was Emma's turn to paint Mommy!

Yup, Brittany walked around like that all day long. She's such an awesome mommy!

That's it for today, I need to photograph some scrapbook pages again, as the ones I took are too blurry. And yes, I looked while wearing my glasses. :)

Happy Tuesday!

I Do Believe That Fall Has Arrived

2011-10-14T06:34:00.001-04:00

We took Miss Emma to a pumpkin patch on Sunday. It's starting to look like Autumn, but it sure hasn't felt like Autumn. It was in the 80s last weekend! That's 20 degrees above average for this time of year. Even so, the apple orchards are beautiful and the leaves are changing and life in New England is picturesque.

Our town's pumpkin patch is part of an apple orchard where you can pick your own apples. There are at least ten varieties at this orchard. Here are two photos of a Macoun tree, which happens to be my favorite apple. I can almost smell a pie baking in my oven. (Miss Christy, I make a scrumptious apple pie. I know you love pie, so I think you should hop across the pond and dive into one with me. Just sayin'...)

I never saw gourds on vines until I moved here. I think they're pretty cool.

See? I told you it was hot! Emma is usually all bundled up at the pumpkin patch. I love this photo because of her shadow.

Here are a couple of faces that only a mother pumpkin could love. Not sure what's up with these, but eeewww...

And if that didn't make you glad you're not a pumpkin, then this one surely will.

I love this photo because Emma looks so happy. Ahh, the simple joys of childhood, which are now the simple joys of Giffyhood. :)

This one makes me laugh. I wanted the sun behind me but that made Emma squint. Check out her one-legged shadow.

My three muskateers and their pumpkins.

The first sign of Autumn.

My most favorite girls!

The best part of going to the pumpkin patch is indulging in a freshly made (as in still piping hot) apple cider doughnut rolled in cinnamon sugar. That alone is worth the airfare, so who wants to come have doughnuts? Anyone?

Love these mums!

I just think this is a pretty photo.

Brittany let Emma buy a teeny tiny pumpkin to keep in her room. Since it's so small, Emma decided that it looks like a "baby pumpkin that just came out of its mommy pumpkin's tummy." I think I'll let Brittany explain that one, ha ha!

Now I have my mind on apple pie and cider doughnuts. I think I should get on the treadmill instead.

Looking forward to a beautiful weekend. Cant wait to go leaf hunting!

Happy Friday!

I've Been Found ALIVE!

2011-10-11T06:45:00.005-04:00

Yup, my mama commissioned this team to find me.

I hadn't appeared in Blogland for 10 days or so and she really missed me (aka seeing photos of Emma). Perhaps she thought that I had finally run away to Karen's house, which I threatened to do when I was four. (My mom told me that I could, indeed, run away but to remember that I was not allowed to cross the street which is where Karen lived. Apparently I sat on our curb for quite some time before surrendering.) Perhaps she thought that I was in the hospital (which isn't an improbability given my Hospital Frequent Flier Status). Perhaps she thought that my camera had finally worn out given the thousands of photos it has taken of Emma. (We literally have thousands of photos on our computers. They're not ALL of Emma. Really, they aren't.) Perhaps she thought that I had FINALLY run out of things to say (uh, nevermind, we all know that could NEVER happen, ha ha). Perhaps she thought that I had finally lost all of my marbles (considering that I was born with only one, you can imagine her concern). But alas, this fine furried team rescued me from beneath an avalanche of busyness and cardstock. Do not fear, dear mamasita! I am alive and well as is my camera, and I have my 30,000 words for the day ready to go (I think that's how many words women supposedly say in a day, which means I actually say 60,000, hee hee). However, the jury is still out on the marble thing.

Here's a morsel of what I've been doing. Brittany went to visit her BFF in CO for six days, so our little sidekick stayed with us. While Brittany was in CO, our dear friends from CO, Vic and Mo, came to visit. They will become grandparents in a few short months, so they really enjoyed hanging out with Miss Emma and playing Pappou (Greek for grandpa) and Mimo (I forget it's origin, but it means grandma).

Oh, how we miss them! We used to hang out with them every single weekend. They are just the sweetest people! We really want to move back to CO and live next door to them. Seriously. I mean who wouldn't want to be part of a neighborhood with people named Pappou, Mimo, Giffy, and Papa? Yeah, yeah, I know~before long we'd be called the Motorized Scooter Quartet, but it would still be fun! LOL Anyway, our hearts will always feel at home in Colorado. We would love to retire there. We even scoped out houses next to them, though the pesky little business about Rick needing a job until he retires gets in our way. If only I could write a million dollar best seller...

Okay, Mom, now back to Emma. For Emma's first Christmas, we gave her the American Girl Bitty Baby doll, whom Emma named Lucy. Well, Lucy had a few bangs and bruises on her head, so we took her to the American Girl store. There is an American Girl doll hospital in the midwest. A very nice woman at the store gave us a "traveling" hospital gown to put on Lucy, then sent her on her way by ambulance (aka USPS) to the hospital. The ambulance returned Lucy two weeks later. Not only was her head completely healed, but Lucy was wearing a beautiful hospital gown (which even ties in the back like a real one, though I daresay that Lucy's naked behind peeking out through the gown-that-never-ever-ever-stays-tied looked much cuter than mine ever has) with an official certificate of good health. Emma was so excited!

As if all of this excitement weren't enough, I have also been paper crafting like crazy! I am making two baby books, and was just plodding along at my leisure. But now I need to jam to finish one of them, as the baby shower is much sooner than I had anticipated. I am hoping to finish it this week. I'll post some photos as soon as I take them. In the meantime, here's a sweet little birthday card I made for my great-niece, Lexi.

And that's what I've been doing. Oh, except for watching our Star Wars marathon. All six episodes were just released on BluRay. My sweetheart and I are working our way through them. I told Rick he's lucky that his totally awesome wife loves to watch Star Wars and James Bond movies (really, any action movie), baseball, football, and hockey. In return all that he has to do is watch animated movies (we just got The Lion King and Beauty and The Beast on 3D) and every figure skating competition on TV, which he lovingly (albeit not longingly) does. Is that not a fair deal? LOL

Anyway, off I go to Baby Book Land. Have an awesome day!

Prima Ballerina

2011-09-30T08:04:00.000-04:00

Emma joined a dance class a few weeks ago. The class spends 30 minutes on ballet, then 30 minutes on tap. She loves it! She now dances all around my house like a prima ballerina. She especially loves to twirl. It's totally adorable~until she wants ME to dance like a ballerina. Not so adorable. I am a total clutz. Put me in ice skates and I can practically fly across the ice. Put me on land and I'm in trouble. My shins bear the proof in the form of extremely attractive bruises. Emma even suggested that I get a ballerina outfit to match hers. Yeah. Sooooooo not going to happen. A) I would look so beyond ridonkulous. B) I need to visit the bathroom waaayyy too often to have pull down a leotard and a skirt and tights. That could easily result in a soggy mess. C) I need to visit the bathroom waaayyy too often to have pull up a leotard and a skirt and tights. D) I haven't worn pantyhose or tights for about 12 years (since I blew my hand). Why oh why would I ever choose to wear them now? (Though I did just buy a pair of black tights to wear with a black skirt and boots. We'll see if I ever take them out of the package.) E) I think that the definition of "prima ballerina" pretty much excludes grannies with gray roots and, well, the lowly effects of nearly a half-century of gravity. There's just not enough underwire or a big enough pair of Spanx in the world to make it even remotely acceptable for me to wear a leotard. Now, just try to get that image out of your head! LOL Alas, I will treat you to some real eye candy. I especially love her hair in a bun! (A few of these are fuzzy because I shot them through a dirty window.)

Told you the pictures were sweet! In fact, they do kind of make me want to dance around the house in a pretty ballerina outfit. Hmm. Maybe I should look into the underwire and Spanx. LOL

Hope you can dance yourself into a fabulous weekend!

Princess Emma

2011-09-26T15:23:00.002-04:00

Well, I learned an important lesson over the weekend: I shouldn't edit my blog on my iPad. The touch pad on my iPad is very sensitive: one slip of the finger and chaos ensues! I have several "drafts" of posts waiting for me to fine tune them. I tried to combine two posts and ended up accidentally deleting my post on National Punctuation Day. Oh well, at least there weren't any photos of Emma in that post, which is shocking in and of itself, isn't it?

Now for today's post which, of course, is all about Emma! Well, not just about Emma but about Prince Charming, too. You may remember that not too long ago, Emma and I had a conversation about her marrying a prince. Here it is in case you missed it the first time.

Emma: Giffy, when I grow up I want to be a princess.

Me: How are you going to become a princess?

Emma: I will marry a prince, of course!

Me: How are you going to find a prince?

Emma: I'll start keeping me eye out for one. But if I see a prince with another girl, I won't marry him.

Me: That's probably a good idea.

Emma: Giffy, why can't I marry Papa?

Me: Because he's already married to me.

Emma: But Giffy! Papa's the best prince ever!

Last week, my prince was at a conference at The Disneyland Hotel. One evening, he strolled through Downtown Disney (a large shopping and dining area outside of Disneyland) and decided to do a little shopping for his little princess.

Yes, Rick did, indeed, bring home Belle's entire ensemble for his little princess. Emma was right: her Papa is the best prince ever! As for me, I was just thankful to have my prince at home. :)

Thanksgiving Layouts

2011-09-23T08:50:00.001-04:00

I have two Thanksgiving layouts to show you. The first one is for Emma, the second one is mine.

I love this paper! It's SU's Autumn Spice from last year. I am glad I stocked up on it! I saved two Thanksgiving card fronts and used them to spruce up the pages. For Emma's, I used the Build a Turkey stamp set from Unity. I used SU's Day of Gratitude set for mine.

I know it's shocking that I don't have much to say. Actually I do, but I don't have enough time to say it. (And I wonder where Emma got her chit-chat gene. Ha ha!)

Have a fabulous Friday!

A B C, Easy as 1 2 3

2011-09-21T07:27:00.000-04:00

I know, I know~I just quoted a Jackson 5 song from forever ago. I guess I'm now at that age when the things I reference really show my age (as if my halo of grey roots doesn't already do that, ha ha).

Anyway, yesterday was Emma's first day of pre-school. She was excited but nervous. She wore her new Rapunzel shirt along with her Disney princess fleece and her Disney princess backpack and her Disney princess lunchbox. Do you think she likes the Disney princesses? Just a tad! I, of course, had my camera ready because I NEED more pictures of Princess Emma!

This is Emma's little friend from story time at our public library. Emma is a year or so older than Allison, and a head or two taller. Emma was thrilled to discover that Allison is in her class.

Emma asked me to take a picture of her with a sad face to trick her mommy,

immediately followed by a happy one.

After I dropped Emma off, I headed straight to my therapist's office (aka Starbucks). Then my

therapist (aka my pumpkin spice latte) and I spent two hours scrapbooking. It's amazing how much I accomplished! But it was eerily quiet. Two hours of eery quiet. I'm used to the quiet at night when Rick is traveling, but the daytime quiet not so much. I haven't been without a kid in the house since July 1984. I had forgotten what solitude sounded like.

When I picked Emma up, she literally ran into me, gave me a huge hug, and exclaimed, "Giffy, I LOVED it!" I'm so happy for her. Now she can be a social butterfly and flutter around to her heart's content. And I guess her Giffy is going to drink a lot of lattes and catch up on her scrapbooks after all.

Speaking of school, this is the bear Emma chose for September. She said it reminds her of mommy.

So that's it for today. Guess I'd better get my iPod ready for tomorrow. Looks like quiet is here to stay, at least on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

A Beautiful Reminder...

2011-09-19T07:06:00.000-04:00

I was totally disappointed that I didn't get any sunset photos in Bermuda. Guess that's what happens when it POURS. But I did get a few shots at my house on Saturday. The first two were taken from my back deck, the third was taken from my front yard.

On a sad note, a friend of mine just died after a long battle with breast cancer. Julie was only 51. She was my first friend in MA. We both moved here at the same time. I met her at church and she's the one who got me hooked on quilting. Julie left behind her husband of 25+ years and two children in their early 20s. If you would, please say a prayer for Julie's family. I am thankful that Julie has been released from her suffering and has been welcomed home. No doubt she has heard, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

Thank you, Lord, for the beautiful sunset. It reminded me that You're still in control...

Storyland Layouts & A Smiling Granny

2011-09-16T07:21:00.000-04:00

Remember when Emma, Brittany, and I took a girls' trip to Storyland in June? Well, I finally scrapbooked those photos. I used a layout which is probably becoming quite familiar to you, as I seem to use it for almost every occasion now. If I took less photos of Emma I wouldn't need to use this layout. But we all know that's never going to happen!

(CTMH Daydream, Creme Brulee, Blush)

On another note: Brittany received a call on Tuesday informing her that a space had opened up for Emma to attend pre-school at our neighborhood elementary school. We both took Emma there yesterday so she could check it out before I drop her off on Tuesday. She'll be going Tuesday and Thursday mornings. She was very apprehensive at first, but she warmed up in no time and loved it! She didn't want to leave, she skipped all the way to the car, and she can't wait until Tuesday to go back. I am really excited for her~she'll get to socialize with lots of other kids and she's going to LOVE school. I'm happy for her. Really, I am. Happy for me? Not so much. I know, I know, I should be thrilled to get two mornings a week back to myself. I may even use that time to write the next Great American Novel (I wish) or at the very least some more Zamboni books. But instead, I'm feeling sad. I am really going to miss my little BFF. I'm still going to see her every day. I'll be dropping her off and picking her up from school every day. I'll still be having breakfast, lunch, and nap time with her every day. I'll still be playing Barbies and Polly Pockets and Calico Critters with her every day. I'll still be stealing a kazillion hugs and kisses from her every day. But now I have to share her for 5 hours a week. Harumph (said with my very best impression of a four-year-old having a tantrum, complete with crossed arms, a stomping foot, and a HUGE pout, LOL).

Yesterday, I saw this quote as I was perusing an online stamping store: "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."

So if you're looking for me on Tuesday morning, I'll be at Starbucks consoling myself with a Pumpkin Spice latte. Just look for the red-haired granny with a HUGE smile on her face.

A Sign of the Times

2011-09-13T12:22:00.000-04:00

Emma and I were playing "Princess Dress Up," a game Emma invented. We dress up in princessy attire and dance with our invisible-yet-totally-real princes. She wanted me to wear one of her dresses, but when I explained that they are too little for me she replied, "Well, now, that's just a real shame!" These photos didn't turn out well because of the basement lighting, but really any photo of Emma is a perfect photo. :)

When I told her that she looked beyond beautiful, she said, "I need to text my fairy godmother and tell her what a fabulous job she did on my dress!" A sign of the times: a four-year-old knows how to text. I think she's going to cure cancer tomorrow.

Happy Tuesday!

I'm a Little Bit Crafty, He's a Little Bit Rock and Roll

2011-09-12T07:01:00.001-04:00

I know, I know. It's kind of embarrassing that I made a word play on a Donny &Marie song. Blame my mother. It's not my fault that I grew up with that show. She's the one who gave birth to me when she did and then forced, yes FORCED me to watch that show! (Ha ha, Mom~I'm almost 50 and I still blame everything on my mother! Just kidding!)

I haven't posted anything crafty in a long while, so here you go. These are two layouts of Father's Day. Since most of the photos have Emma in them (shocking, I know), I made one layout for her and one for us. You may remember that I used SU's Nautical Expedition DP and

The Open Sea stamp set to make Father's Day cards. I used the same supplies for these layouts.

Emma told me she likes them except for the fact that they're "too boyish and I like pink better." So I made her a pinkalicious layouts instead using SU's Cheerful Treat DP.

Emma really likes the doilies I made with a die from MFT. She also really likes the word doily. She thinks it sounds silly and keeps asking me if that's really what the doily is called or if I just made up that word. I told her that it's a real word but she wants to know how I know that. I explained to her that my real name is Merriam Webster. That earned a puzzled look like a dog makes, you know when a dog tilts its head to one side and twitches its ears. Then she said, "Giff, you are sooooo joking me. Nobody is named Merriam!" Ha ha!

Hope your week is off to a great start! And if you have that Donny & Marie song playing in your head all day, you can just blame my mother.

Love you, Mom!

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggedy Jig

2011-09-09T07:11:00.000-04:00

The last day of our cruise was a sea day. And wouldn't you know it~it was SUNNY and DRY the whole day! Well, at least we had dried out by then, but only to get wet again. We spent the whole day at the pool. Emma literally played in it for five hours! But we were so thankful for the sunshine that we didn't mind. We just kept taking turns with her until our skin resembled prunes, and even then it was hard to get her to leave. Here she is chillaxin' with her favorite male peeps.

Emma is so stylin' with her mama's sunglasses.

This one makes me laugh soooo hard! She totally mastered the I'm-going-to-float-in-the-pool-all-day-like-a-princess float.

Can you tell that she was sooooo unhappy to get out of the pool?

But after a nap she was ready to rumble.

Here are a few shots of King's Wharf as we pulled out of port. Bye bye, Bermuda. :(

I love the colors of the ocean.

We gave Emma $20 to spend on the trip. She bought a pink and purple dolphin. Her stuffed dog is her beloved buddy, Jack. One of Brittany's friends gave Jack to Emma for her 2nd birthday. From the moment she opened that gift, Jack has literally been at her side 24/7. In fact, she is so attached to Jack that I bought a spare one and keep it hidden in my closet just in case the unthinkable happens and she loses him. Of course, she's too smart to be tricked into thinking that it's the same exact Jack, but maybe it would be enough to avert a major meltdown. Yeah, probably not.

I bought this hand-painted teacup before we left Bermuda. Yes, I know I can no longer drink tea, but it looks pretty on my china hutch. Besides, I am allowed to have a wee bit of coffee in the morning (believe it or not it's less acidic than tea, even herbal tea) and who says I can't have coffee in a tea cup?

I forgot to tell you that on Wednesday night, Rick and the kids went back into Hamilton to attend a street fair. I stayed behind with Emma as it was going to be much too late for her. We snuggled and cuddled and played games and read books then crashed long before everyone else returned. But my sweetheart brought me this cedar box. He actually watched the man lathing similar ones. Isn't it puuurrrty?

Here are a few portraits we had taken. The photographer kept quacking like a duck in a failed attempt to make Emma smile. I think the quacking annoyed her. She kind of smirked instead of smiled in these photos. Oh well...we'll never forget the quacking, LOL.

She smiled in this photo, maybe because the photographer wasn't quacking at her. LOL

Emma begged to have her photo taken with the dolphin.

The weather wasn't ideal, but it certainly didn't ruin the trip. The only bummer was that we never saw a beautiful tropical sunset. Guess that means we'll have to return. Oh Bermuda, how I love thee!

Horseshoe Bay

2011-09-08T07:12:00.000-04:00

Ready for some more R&R on a beach? That's what's up for today. That and a BIG storm.

Friday was our last day in Bermuda. We left the ship bright and early to head to Horseshoe Bay, another of Bermuda's famous beaches. This is the first glimpse you get as you pass through the trees. The sky looked a little gray and we knew rain was supposed to hit in the afternoon, but that didn't deter us.

As you can see, Horsheshoe Bay has a lot of beautiful limestone walls which compose several coves. I had so much fun taking photos! (That's code for "I took about 100 photos." But don't worry, I won't post them all.)

Couldn't resist walking through this passage to snap a few photos.

I love capturing water in motion.

Emma wore her water wings and literally played in the ocean for three hours. Not that any of us cared~the water was soooooo warm and soooooo pretty! After Brittany got out and sat on the beach for awhile, she said that she felt like she was in a Jimmy Buffet music video. Jimmy Buffet music then played in my head for the rest of the day. I'm telling you, that man just wouldn't leave me alone! Ha ha!

Emma wanted me to take photos of our sandy feet. At first, it was just the two of us.

Then she wanted the whole clan.

Then she made herself some sand knee socks.

Emma declared that "this was the best beach day EVER because we're all together!"I'm telling you, she is wise beyond her years! It was the best beach day ever, even though this invaded the beach.

Yup, that was one angry storm. It literally moved in from nowhere. We left at about 1:00, and as we were walking towards the taxi line this storm opened up right on top of us. To say that we were drenched is a gross understatement. We were wetter than wet. In fact, wet was drier than we were. So what did we do? We laughed about it all the way back to the dockyard. Then we went out for lunch, totally soaked through the skin and beyond. There we were, looking like six wet and starving puppy dogs eating lunch as if everything was perfectly fine. Because it was. After all, we were all wet together. Thanks for the perspective, Miss Emma.

This has nothing whatsoever to do with Bermuda. It's just a funny conversation I had with Emma yesterday as we watched Tangled.
Emma: Giffy, when I grow up I want to be a princess.
Me: How are you going to become a princess?
Emma: I will marry a prince, of course!
Me: How are you going to find a prince?
Emma: I'll start keeping me eye out for one. But if I see a prince with another girl, I won't marry him.
Me: That's probably a good idea.
Emma: Giffy, why can't I marry Papa?
Me: Because he's already married to me.
Emma: But Giffy! Papa's the best prince ever!
Me: He is indeed, Emma!

Another fun thing happened yesterday (please note the dripping sarcasm). I dropped my car off to have new tires installed. Brittany picked me and we were heading back home. She was in the left turn lane with her blinker on when the light turned green. As she moved forward, a woman from the right lane decided to punch it into the left turn lane and never even looked. Thankfully Brittany saw her in time and hit the brakes, otherwise the woman would have hit my passenger door. The woman's car only had a scratch on the fender, and Brittany's fender is banged up, but that's it. I guess that if you have to have an accident, this is the kind to have. After Brittany exchanged info with this woman, the woman pulled out of the parking lot and did the same exact thing! Go figure.

A Girlie Day

2011-09-06T07:41:00.002-04:00

On Thursday morning, Rick and the kids went snorkeling at the site of two shipwrecked pirate ships. They said that the sea life wasn't all that exciting, but that the shipwrecks were totally awesome. Emma wasn't allowed to go, so I took her shopping in King's Wharf (aka the Royal Navy Dockyard), which is where our ship was docked.

The British Royal Navy once occupied ports all along the eastern coastline of America, but they lost control of those ports with their defeat in the American Revolution. In 1809, the British Royal Navy used British convicts and local slave laborers to build King's Wharf as a military outpost. It remained fully operational through both World Wars. After 1951, only a small number of naval operations remained in function, and all operations halted in 1995. Since that time, it has become the major passenger cruise dockyard. The dockyard's main fort now serves as the Bermuda Maritime Museum.

Emma was enamored with this huge anchor.

King's Wharf is also home to The Dockyard Glassworks studio and gallery, which is where we bought this bowl and vase in 2010.

This year, we wanted to get two pieces to finish off our redecorated living room, which is decorated with muted jewel tones and black wood furniture. There isn't any blue in that room, but these pieces stand out really well on the black wood and the gold flecks bring out the gold stripes in the draperies. The colors and swirls remind me of the Bermudan waves.

I forgot to take a photo of them, but I bought Emma a small glass tree frog and a tiny glass ladybug. The tree frogs are quite prolific in Bermuda, though they are not indigenous. Rumor has it that they arrived in Bermuda sometime in the early to mid-1800s, most likely as stowaways on imported orchids. They are tiny little creatures, easily able to fit on your thumbnail. The males actually whistle (almost a bell-like sound) to attract females, though only in warmer temperatures.

In the early afternoon, we took the ferry to Hamilton, which was the original dockyard for cruise ships. Cruise ships keep getting larger, and Hamilton cannot accommodate them as the waters are more shallow there than at the Royal Navy Dockyard. Smaller cruise ships can still dock in Hamilton. Rick would love this to be his "other" garage.

Hamilton is a very busy town, housing the major shopping and business district. The guys strolled around town and went to a pub while the girls enjoyed an afternoon tea at the Fairmont Princess Hotel. Emma got to sit with Mark Twain, a frequent visitor to this hotel. In fact, his last visit ended just nine days before his death.

Ahh, this is the life for a little princess!

Emma said that her favorite part was stirring a sugar cube into her tea, LOL! She even told us, "You girls can have some of my tea if you'd like. It's the BEST tea ever!"

We each had our own tray of scrumptious goodies. Unfortunately for me, most of the sandwiches were composed of seafood (I'm allergic) and half of the desserts contained kiwi (I'm allergic) or lime (not allowed to eat b/c of my stomach issues) and, of course, there was tea (not allowed to drink b/c of my stomach issues). So why, you ask, would I go to this tea? Because it was fun and Emma loved it and I really didn't need to eat all of that stuff anyway. Just look at how much Emma enjoyed this! It was so worth it (even though I had a stomach ache for the rest of the day because I drank some of the tea).

THIS is the moment that made it all worthwhile.

Yes, Mom, I know I should have avoided the tea. But you totally would have done the same for Brittany when she was little! There's no sacrifice too big for a grandma and her little princess!

Now where did I put my Tums...

St. George's, Part 2

2011-09-04T07:27:00.000-04:00

Okay, I'm back to the vacay photos. I left you at the fort. Did you have a good time? We sure did! This is Fort Saint Catharine. Richard Moore (Bermuda's first governor) and a small group of settlers arrived at this site (on the northern edge of St. George's) in 1612. Moore, a trained carpenter, built the first wooden fort at this site to protect Bermuda from the Spaniards. The current structure dates from the late 1800s (the fort was rebuilt several times) and now serves as a museum.

Each canon weighs 18 tons...

and each shell weighs 400 pounds. It was really hot and humid in the fort. I can't imagine how hot it must have been for the soldiers loading and firing these weapons.

Some views from the fort.

This cute kitty lives at the fort, along with two others. They belong to the groundskeeper, a really sweet man with whom I chatted for about an hour. He told me all sorts of interesting facts about the fort while the rest of my family toured the underground tunnels and rooms. (I was just too hot down there and needed some fresh air.) One of the things he shared is that there aren't any cat predators lurking about, so the cats are free to roam the island. Consequently, Bermuda has a rather large cat population.

Speaking of cats, here's another Emma-ism:

Emma: C is for cat. C is for kitty.

Brittany: Actually, Emma, kitty starts with k.

Emma: But they both start with the same sound.

Brittany: Yes, but cat starts with c and kitty starts with k.

Emma (throwing her arms up in the air): this just doesn't make any sense!

LOL

I took this photo from the fort. After lunch, we spent several hours as the sole visitors on this beach! Guess the weather intimidated beachgoers. As you may recall, we hiked a mile in the pouring rain to get there. But after lunch, the skies became sunny and the water was warm. Bermuda really is a paradise, especially when you have an entire beach to yourself!

We took a different path back to the ferry. Along the way, we passed this military cemetery. It's interesting to note that not a single soldier was ever killed in battle at Fort St. Catharine. The majority of the deaths were caused by Yellow Fever. It wasn't unusual for entire families to succumb to this disease. In such cases, the soldier and his family were buried together here. (More knowledge gleaned from the groundskeeper at the fort. I was glad he told me as there wasn't any kind of sign at the cemetery. We would have just strolled by it without knowing its history.)

In addition to the cats, Bermuda also abounds with chickens and roosters freely roaming open front yards. In fact, Emma decided that Bermuda would be a pretty cool place to live because of all the animals. Emma loves animals. She said she'd like to have a rooster as a pet. I don't see that ever happening. I know I spoil her, but I do have boundaries. Live poultry is one of them. I cannot stand chickens live or otherwise (I've had salmonella twice from chicken). So I think Emma will have to be content with my three dogs, her cat, and her beta fish. Though she is trying to talk her mommy into a second kitty. She already has a name picked out!

Emma hitched a ride from Uncle Keaton!

This was the view as we approached St. George's town square. The houses in the foreground are definitely where some of the wealthier people live. Bermuda has some interesting residency laws. You cannot be a citizen unless your parents are citizens and you were born there. Only Bermudan citizens can own mid-priced real estate. If you aren't a citizen, you can only purchase real estate in the top 5% of prices, which means two million dollars and above. And that doesn't buy you a large home. Larger homes go for much more. So if Rick really wants to own a house there, we'd better start saving our pennies. Lots and lots of pennies.

I have absolutely no idea what this plant is called, but it really intrigues me. At first glance, I actually thought those were snakes! They reminded me of the the animated portrait of Medusa in Disneyland's Haunted House attraction. Talk about having a bad hair day! LOL

That's it for St. George's. Man, do I miss that beach!

On another note: we went to Fenway Park Friday night. Not as warm and tropical as Bermuda, but a paradise nonetheless! Here's Emma sporting Wally, the team mascot.

To say that I love the Red Sox is a huge understatement. I am a fan loyal to the end and beyond! But even I was frustrated that night. We took a beating from the Texas Rangers in a 10-0 loss. Still, we had a great time!

The view from our wicked seats (which is Boston speak for totally awesome).

Even though we suffered an embarrassing loss, there was an upside. Friday night was the 700th consecutively sold-out game at Fenway Park since 2003. Every single person at the game received a commemorative baseball imprinted with this significant milestone. That was pretty cool! So now it's in my office alongside my autographed baseballs from David Ortiz (Big Papi) and Luis Tiant. Waaayyyyyy cool!

I'm Not TOO Old!

2011-08-31T21:00:00.000-04:00

I'm taking a break from my vacay photos to post a few from my birthday (which was yesterday). Yesterday was also Brittany's first day of the new school year, which means we are back to having Emma & Giffy days, my favorite kind of days! Emma arrived at 6:45 AM, dressed and ready to take me to Starbucks for breakfast. We rarely eat doughnuts, but Starbucks has two that Emma and I love (and which are gads better than any other donuts): apple fritters and old-fashioned buttermilk. We only go there on special occasions because they are waaayyyyy too bad to eat just because. Anyway, Emma had her heart set on going there for my special birthday breakfast, ordering one of each and sharing them. Sounded perfect to me! So we drove 15 minutes to the first Starbucks. Guess what? No donuts. So we drove another 10 minutes to the second one. Guess what? No donuts. Apparently their suppliers hadn't be able to make deliveries because of Hurricane Irene. What a lame excuse! LOL Emma suggested we make a different plan: go to Dunkin' Donuts! (Exciting for her, not so much for me. Soooo not a DD fan, and I wasn't smart enough to get my coffee at Starbucks.) Well, guess what? Dunkin' Donuts was out of apple fritters and buttermilk donuts! So we changed our plan again and nibbled on a few donut holes and called it good. Of course, I am still craving the yummies from Starbucks. Gotta get my mind off of those!!!

Anyway, here's my Emma quote of the day, spoken lovingly in Dunkin' Donuts in front of some very amused customers.

Emma: Giffy, how old are you now?

Me: I'm 49.

Emma, patting my hand quite sympathetically: Don't worry, Giffy. You're not TOO old!

From the mouths of babes...LOL

After the Big Birthday Donut Disappointment, we snuggled and watched Beauty and the Beast (my favorite princess movie). After Emma's nap (during which I relaxed and read The Help which, so far, is wonderful), we went shopping and met Brittany for pedicures. Then we met Rick and went for dinner at my favorite restaurant. It was really a wonderful day!

Simply for your enjoyment, here's another funny conversation (via voicemail), this one with my older brother Dave. Just FYI, we love to spar back and forth, all in good fun.

Dave: Happy birthday, Sis! Now that you're soooooo old, you must be taking a nap!

Me: No, in fact I was not taking a nap. I was much too busy getting my diaper changed.

Dave: I laughed so hard at your message that I dropped my phone!
Me: No wonder you dropped it, what with your arthritic fingers and all.
Then we called a truce and had a normal conversation just like normal siblings have: we blamed everything on our parents! JUST KIDDING, MOM!

Emma has been dying to give me her gift. It literally drove her crazy to wait all day. She painted this picture for me. It's of me, Brittany, and Emma wearing princess dresses in our favorite colors. Emma is in the pink dress, with the long flowing Rapunzel hair that swirls all over the page. Brittany is the green dress. I, of course, am wearing a purple dress and a huge purple bow in my hair. So huge, in fact, that I thought it was a fascinator. Maybe it's one of Princess Beatrice's, LOL.

Now look at this close-up of the painting. Take a good, long look.

Anything catch your eye? Well, it's a really good thing that Brittany informed me that the circles on our dresses are princessy puffy sleeves. I thought they were something else. Actually, two something elses. Not only that, but I thought that Emma had drawn mine to accurately portray the effects of nearly a half-century of gravity and I was more than a bit envious of Brittany's perkier placement. That made me feel old! Now that I know that they're just princessy puffy sleeves, I feel so much better about myself.

Back to my gift from Emma and Brittany. This is our new living room, aka our wine and cheese room, aka my reading room.

I've been looking for some kind of tray to set on the ottoman. Well, Miss Emma decided that she wanted to make something special for me to use on the ottoman. She came up with the idea of making a plate for each chair. Then she decided to decorate the four plates like the four seasons so that each chair would have a unique plate. I can't believe she had such a well-thought-out plan! Check out what she did:

I LOVE LOVE LOVE them! Emma chose all of the colors and did all of the sponge painting by herself. Then she used her fingerprints to make the centers of the snowflakes, the tulips and butterflies, the ladybugs and roses, and the acorns and pumpkins. Brittany added the details. Are these not the prettiest things EVER?

(Sorry about the flash spots.)

As if Rick hadn't already spoiled me with the pedicure and dinner, he also gave me a few glass beads for my Pandora bracelet, as well as some Pandora earrings. My Prince Charming sure does treat me like his princess even after 31 years.

Me and my two beautiful sweethearts!

You'll never guess what Emma ordered for dinner: salmon! I told you that she loves it!

Here we are blowing out the candle on a piece of cranberry bread pudding. YUM!

The only really horrible, terrible, so-not-what-I-wished-for part of my day was that my beloved Red Sox lost to the Yankees. Guess I'll serve myself a slice of humble pie on one of my beautiful new plates. :)

St. George's, Part 1

2011-08-29T08:40:00.000-04:00

We made it to Bermuda early Wednesday morning. We had planned to spend the day at a beach on St. George's but woke up to yet more rain. We decided to go for it anyway. There was no way we were sailing all the way to Bermuda just to stay on the ship to hide from the rain! We figured that it's way better to be on vacation in the rain than at home in the rain. At least we weren't working, going to school, or doing chores. Besides, it was warm and we intended to get wet in the ocean anyway. So we packed our stuff and off we went.

St. George's is one of the islands which compose Bermuda. It is also the name of the main town on St. George's Island. Clear as mud? LOL Here are a few shots in the town of St. George's.

Here's Miss Emma, sitting at a desk in the most beautiful Town Hall I've ever seen.

Check out the Town Hall's ceilings.

We walked over to Somers Garden.

We then began our one-mile hike through the pouring rain to Tobacco Bay. Emma was a trooper and walked the whole way without complaining. She is such an awesome kid!

This is The Unfinished Church. Back in the 1870s, St. Peter's Church was severely damaged by a storm, so construction began on this church. However, the parishioners of St. Peter's Church were divided: some wanted to try to repair it instead of building a new structure, while others believed that St. Peter's church was irreparably damaged. Consequently, the new structure was severely underfunded and construction was halted. This unfinished church later became an historic monument. For many years, the public was permitted to use this church for gatherings and weddings. Exposure to wet and windy weather has caused some of the masonry to deteriorate. The Unfinished Church is now closed to the public as it is being repaired.

The rain came and went as we continued our hike towards Tobacco Bay. Along the way, Emma created a silly game which she continued for the duration of the cruise. It went like this.

Emma: Papa, I need to tell you something.

Rick: Okay. I'm listening.

Emma: Papa, you don't have any hair.

Rick (putting his hands on the sides of his head): What do you mean I don't have any hair? I can feel it.

Emma: No, Papa, on the top of your head!

Rick (putting his hands on the top of his head): Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! I have no hair up there! Emma, what did you do with my hair?

Emma: I didn't take your hair, Papa!

Rick: Then what happened to it? (This is when the boys piped in with "you had Brittany.")

Emma: I think you throwed it away!

Papa: I think you stole it from me! (Rick grabbed her ponytail). Give it back!

Emma: No Papa! That's my hair! (Emma hysterically giggled, which made us all laugh!)

Apparently the game is still fun because she keeps on playing it. Rick is such a good sport!

Anyway, back to the photos. We aren't golfers, but I would take up golf in an instant to live in Bermuda and play on this course!

Bermuda's beaches are adorned with limestone rocks which separate the bays from the open ocean. Here are some views of Tobacco Bay, one of Bermuda's best known beaches. We decided to keep walking in search of a beach with a little more actual beach. There was only about ten feet of sand or so beyond the water's edge. It was also a bit rocky in the water.

I really like this photo!

I couldn't pass up the water drops on the hibiscus petals.

I have no idea what species of spider this is. I looked it up on Google and refuse to tell you the search results Google posted. Trust me when I tell you that they had nothing to do with spiders. At any rate, we all thought this spider was really cool. I couldn't get a great photo of it, as they were all pretty high above my head and it was raining. Still, you'll get the idea.

Not far from this spider, we stumbled across a small, completely empty beach. We were just about to settle in...

...when the sky looked like this.

This beach was right at the foot of St. Catherine's Fort. We decided to explore the fort for awhile as we waited out the storm. I'll be back tomorrow with more!

Update on Hurricane Irene: We fared quite well. The storm weakened as it passed New England. Vermont suffered the most damage. We had heavy rains and high winds. Several branches came off of trees, but nothing big. We lost power three times, but by 9:30 pm it was restored. The worst part was that our cable went down, which meant no internet or TV! That lasted for about 18 hours. Me - internet = one unhappy camper. I seriously don't know how Wilma Flintstone did it. :)

Well, off to bathe at least one of my three stinky dogs. They all have that lovely "wet dog smell" from going out in the storm yesterday.

Wishing you a happy Monday!

Bermuda, Here We Come (aka Emma on the Cruise Ship)

2011-08-27T11:07:00.000-04:00

Monday and Tuesday were all about Emma and the pool. She loves the pool. We took shifts with her and she still outlasted all five of us. After four or five hours in the pool each day (including cool and cloudy weather which was not conducive to getting an "I went on vacation to a tropical island and brought home a tan" tan), we were thankful for the heavy downpours. It was the only was we could get Emma out of the water! Of course, it also made the ship rock a bit, so maybe we shouldn't have hoped for an escape after all. Gotta be careful what you wish for, huh? Anyway, here's Miss Emma having a blast at the pool.

Playing with Uncle Brennan's sunglasses...

...and my hat.

When we finally escaped from the pool, we entertained ourselves with a whole bunch of nothing, which is perfect when you're on an R&R vacation. Emma drew a portrait of the three girls.

She loved sitting in the windows!

There was a "cupcake decorating" party for the kids. The cupcakes were kind of lame~just leftover muffins from breakfast~but not a single kid cared. For them, it was all about the heaps of frosting and candy and fruit punch that they were given.

Yup, that's a bran muffin with frosting and jelly beans. Umm, yuck. But Emma loved every bite.

Each night, our assistant server brought Emma a super fancy glass of chocolate milk and he turned the straw paper into a heart for her. It was so sweet!

About Hurricane Irene: yes, we are going to get hit by her, but we should only get very high winds and very heavy rain. We've moved all of the outdoor stuff indoors. We're stocked up on water and food and supplies. We'll just hunker down tomorrow and enjoy the last day of summer. What a way to celebrate, huh? Our prayers go out to Rick's sister who lives with her kids in Locust Valley, NY. The eye of the hurricane is expected to pass directly over her. She's well prepared and a Red Cross evacuation center is set-up at the kids' school right down the street from her. I'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, enjoy your weekend. Hope your weather is better than mine!

All Aboard!

2011-08-25T07:52:00.000-04:00

I don't know what was up with Blogger yesterday, but it kept replacing my photos with black boxes. Thankfully it's cooperating this morning. I can't go too long without posting or else my mama gets upset. I thought of making fake posts~you know, pretending I was someone else who had hijacked my blog~just to see if she actually reads what I write or if she just shows up for the bazillion photos of Emma. But then I decided that it would hurt my feelings if A) she really does show up just for photos of Emma (but really, who could blame her because Emma is so freaking adorable and no I am not the least bit biased) or B) she liked the fake blogger better. So I guess I'll just leave things as they are. (Yes, Mom, this is a test to see if you are reading the words or just gazing at Emma's photos, ha ha ha ha ha!)

A week ago Sunday we began our journey to Bermuda. It started out with a 4-hour drive to NYC (the ship left from Bayonne, NJ which is just across the river from NYC). Towards the end of the drive, it poured. Little did we know that pouring rain would be our forecast for the next week.

Anyway, on our way to the ship we stopped to view the Statue of Liberty. The photos aren't great because of the rain, but at least I got my dry lazy self out of the car to take them.

It POURED as we unloaded our luggage and embarked on the ship. But we were deliriously happy because we were going to Bermuda and really, what's a little rain? (Said quite sarcastically because, in retrospect, this rain was NOTHING compared to what we got in Bermuda!) Rick and I had a cabin with a balcony, and the kids had two cabins directly across the hall. Here we are huddled on our balcony as we pulled out of port. It's a good thing Keaton is so tall and has arms long enough to take a decent self portrait. :)

One of the perks of having a balcony cabin was that our cabin steward brought us fresh fruit each morning and a plate of hor'dourves each afternoon. We gave the hor'dourves to the kids (a lot of them were fish which I can't eat). Here's Emma trying caviar for the first time (eeewwwwwww~even the name is disgusting). She loved it! I thinks she's probably the only 4-year-old in history to like caviar.

This was our view of NYC as we pulled out of port.

And here's Miss Emma waving goodbye to it!

Here are my beautiful girls with NYC in the background.

I've always heard of the Staten Island Ferry (mostly on Law & Order of course, to which I am hopelessly addicted) but I had never seen it. Guess I can check this off of my bucket list. No, wait, I think I wrote a gondola in Venice on my list, not the Staten Island Ferry. My mistake. Maybe I should add the ferry to my list and then check it off. At least I would feel like I accomplished something, ha ha!

That evening, Emma was so excited that we both wore "flowery" shoes.

The food on the cruise ship was actually quite good. They had a "permanent" menu which was available every day, as well as a daily "special" menu. Emma rarely orders anything from a kid's menu. Usually, she and Brittany share an entree. The kid's menu on the cruise was typical: chicken nuggets, PB&J, mac & cheese, etc. Emma was not the least bit interested. She wanted "grown up" food. To her delight, salmon was on the "permanent" menu. She literally ordered it every night. Check out her face when she saw how big her piece of salmon was.

Emma loves to play Hide and Seek. After dinner, she had the bright idea of playing it in our cabin. There were only so many places to hide so we had to be creative. Brennan hid in the trash can...

...Keaton hid behind the chair...

and Miss Emma claimed the closet (she's the only one who could fit).

Exciting stuff, huh? Well, we were on vacation and that made even a silly game of Hide and Seek all the better. Besides, we hadn't all been together since Christmas, so we were happy to just be a family.

This is totally off of the subject, but it is sooooo funny that I have to post it! This was Brittany's Facebook status this morning: "Emma taking a shower: 'Mommy, how old are you when your chest balloons get blowed up because I really don't want those.' Saving that one for her wedding toast." I am still doubled over with laughter! And now I'll know if anyone actually reads my blah blah blahing.

Have a happy day! I'll go upload some more photos for tomorrow.

I'm Baaaack...

2011-08-22T16:02:00.003-04:00

...and I'm in one piece! Ha ha! I know my mama always worries that I will do something goofy or adventurous and get hurt. Okay, so she's not too wrong, but I enjoyed vacation despite being myself. LOL I am working on my 200+ photos, and I'll try to get some posted tomorrow. In the meantime, here are two moments from today.

First, the kids, Emma, and I went to Honeypot Hill, a local produce farm. This farm has a few animals as well. Emma loves the pigs and the goats because she gets to feed them. Anyway, the piglets have new homes. Emma noticed that the homes "aren't right because first it was the straw house, then the stick house, then the brick house!" Too funny!

My birthday isn't until next week, but my boys won't be here. (Keaton goes back to CA tomorrow, and Brennan goes on Saturday.) I don't get to see them very often; thus, the best gift they can give me is their time. So they took me out for lunch today. We went to Armsby Abbey, a "farm-to-table" restaurant meaning that everything they serve is locally grown and they only use fresh ingredients. The boys each tried a locally brewed beer and had sandwiches. I had a scrumptious dish: hummus, feta cheese, almonds, crostini (toasted artisan bread slices), pitas, and Greek olives. I will definitely be going back!

Of course, the best part was spending time with my baby boys. Thank you, Keaton and Brennan. Your mama loves you!

A New Blessing from Heaven!

2011-08-13T09:18:00.001-04:00

No, Mom, I am NOT pregnant! Ha ha! Actually, the daughter of some very special friends of ours is pregnant. She doesn't yet know what she's having (I'm not even sure if she wants to know), but I couldn't resist sending her a little something. I even made a card to match.

(SU Bundle of Joy and Bundled in Love stamp sets; SU Soft Subtles Patterns Stack, So Saffron, and Certainly Celery; SU So Saffron ink and grosgrain ribbon)

Both of my boys are coming home tonight. I can't wait! It's been too long since I've seen them. Hope they're ready for an onslaught of mama love in the airport!

Wishing you a fabulous weekend!

Halloween Layouts

2011-08-12T07:33:00.001-04:00

I was reorganizing my craft room (ok, to be honest, I was just cleaning up my BIG mess, but I don't want my mama to think that I am lazy and messy, so I'm going with reorganizing, ha ha) and found this simple fall die cut set from Creative Memories. I've seriously had this for at least ten years. I figured I may as well as use it to make a super quick, super easy, yet

not-too-exciting layout of Emma and her pumpkin from last fall. But Emma likes it and that's all that really matters.

(Creative Memories Halloween Die Cuts; SU Pumpkin Pie, More Mustard, and Garden Green; SU Garden Green Ink)

I had no idea how to scrapbook our Wizard of Oz photos. I finally decided to make my own yellow brick road and found some cute die cuts. But now that I'm looking at this photo, I think I need to redo the title in red like Dorothy's ruby slippers. Yeah, that means I get to play with glitter! LOL (It takes so little to make me happy!) Hmm...what to do. The photo mats are red, and I was afraid that it would look to Christmasy with a red title. Okay, Miss Christy (aka my scrapbooking guru), what do you think?

(SU Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight, and Garden Green; Paperhouse Productions Cardstock Stickers; Cricut Plantin School Book)

That's it for today. It's my high-maintenance day, also known as get-my-hair-colored-to-hide-the-grays-day, followed by a pedicure. Then I'll be freshly colored from head to toe!

Happy Friday!

Snowy Fun

2011-08-10T08:37:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure that I really like this layout, but at this point it's done and I don't want to redo it. At least there are 6 less photos waiting to be scrapbooked! Ha ha!

I have a ton of other pages to post after I photograph them. Other than that, not much is going on here. Can't wait for Saturday~Brennan and Keaton are coming home! This old mama is dying to hug her baby boys!

Hope you're having a great day!