Saturday, February 28, 2009

announcing....


some very exciting news.... the announcement that was suppose to come this past monday. now that everyone's feeling better matty wants to tell everyone that he is going to a BIG brother .... and the uteran tenant his mom is housing will arrive in late september. all summer long they will be thinking about pink and blue. unless they change their mind and decide to have the sex-telling ultrasound.

Friday, February 27, 2009

friday again....


i really can't believe it is friday again. the time is flying by. what a week. my friend patti is right these birthday celebrations go on forever. so when you are out every night celebrating something there is hardly time to blog. but the weekend is here and there is lots to do. tonight was a fun couple of hours with friends. tomorrow there is a wedding to attend. i will make sure to take lots of pictures i love weddings. congrats to kim and joe.
all our friends will be there so it is
sure to be lots of fun. i have been making and selling lots of t shirts for the store and hopefully this weekend will get some new designs up on the website. i printed up some cards for my bff christine and she really liked them. she is hanging in there like a trooper. she is amazing. my other bff is off to paris. looking forward to hearing lots of stories from that adventure. i had a busy but good week at work. had my review today. raise + bonus + high marks review = one happy me.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

patience

so i know i owe everyone an announcement only you see the announcement was not mine and it was suppose to be out yesterday but due to some technical difficulties it is going to take a little longer.. not to much longer but a little longer - patience.

i have decided to join a writing club on line. imagine a writing club with homework. well not exactly homework that would never work for me - my life is to unpredictable (my own fault) like if i get a better offer i am off and the homework would go to the wayside - so the not mandatory part works perfect for me. the writing club is for self fulfillment - sort of like a book club only you write. each week i get a short list of prompts to help me along. the prompts this week are 1. describe your daily routine (use only nouns) 2. list your obessions (i have lots of these) 3. pick a year from your life, past or future, describe who you were what you wore etc. it is possible some of this writing might end up on this blog. some of this blog has become entertainment for some of my family... i do like to entertain but usually in a hostess sort of way. so i made my notebook and i am ready to roll

wish me luck. this could all end as quickly as it has begun.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

enjoy the moment...

oscar worthy supper. ended the weekend with a cozy, comfy, simple, supper - my moms meatball soup. the best in the world.









savor the memories and dream of the ones to come ...
goodnite

and the winner is .... slumdog millionaire which was only at first going to be a video release... never let go of your dreams...

Saturday, February 21, 2009

relaxing saturday...

i am looking out my window at the snow covered ground -a lone christmas tree lays in front of the house across the street, apparently it's been resurrected due to the heavy winds the past few days. it is still so cold - just a day or so ago i could see some grass peeking out through the snow but that was just a tease, the snow squalls that came through the past few days took care of any grass. but it is new england, and it is february so no surprise here. i do love february despite the lack of sun. it has valentine's day, my birthday, the oscars, the grammys, lots of things happen in february. the weekend is off to a good start yesterday i got a much needed hair cut and last night there was more birthday celebrating. my brother's (older brother's - i had to say that) birthday is 2 days after mine so we have shared many a birthday pizza over the years. I have another brother whose birthday happens to be this month also but he is MUCH younger than me!! Happy Birthday Joe! xo
we toasted our wine glasses in hopes of sharing another year filled with many exciting events that will undoubtedly take place. one exciting event that i can't tell you about yet... see me monday...







this day has already included a couple of hours of reading a book i mentioned in an earlier post "remember the sweet things" it's a journey of a relationship - makes you want to go grab a basket of wine and cheese and jump on a sailboat and sail off into the basking sunshine. oh yes, never mind we don't have a sailboat and it is new england and it is february so i guess i will have to settle on going to the nail salon and having my nails done in the new color that opi promises will take me from this cold february day into a warm spring evening. so off i go in search of this magic color called "sand in my suit" sounds a little uncomfortable to me. looks warm and inviting though.




sweet.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

birthday love...

thanks everyone for so many birthday wishes. you are awesome. really you made my day.. lots of mail. special gifts. surprize breakfast. brownie with a candle. flowers. lobster dinner. lots of snow. lots of calls. love, love, you all. xox

you sound like you are having fun already...

oh we are… and we did. what a fun idea and great night. a couple of weeks ago i received an evite invitation from my neighbor kay. it said join us for movie night -eat, drink, sing, dance and have fun .. are you kidding?? what else is there ? i immediately answered
YES … kay is from england so as they say in the UK what a “brilliant” idea. we had
such a great night. we watched mamma mia – if you haven’t see it – it is a MUST see. this was my third viewing and i enjoyed it as much as the first maybe even more. it literally makes you want to jump up and dance. everyone’s legs were swinging to the music. we shared laughs, scrumptious drinks - drinks even called mamma mia’s - find the recipe here the evening was so successful that we planned another one in a month … sounds like a fantastic new idea to get together and have fun. i think you should all schedule a movie night for your friends, they will love you for it. they will say what a "brilliant" idea.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

happy valentine's day

getting ready to go out with my honey for a nice valentine's day dinner. sweet. hope you do something special with your valentine.

spread the love.



a note to my love.



Friday, February 13, 2009

tgif....


wow. what a busy week. so glad it's friday and it's a looooong weekend. looking forward to a nice dinner tomorrow to celebrate valentines's day. happy valentine's day eve, send your special someone a free valentine ecard. find it here


they are so sweet. i love this one.
















you can leave them a message at breakfast like this






or share the love with a special tea bag you make yourself with this template. xox
here

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

battle

great strides have been made in cancer research but when you are the one battling cancer great strides doesn’t really cut it. CURE is what you want to hear. when our bff got results in december that there was trouble in paradise we all totally felt it’s going to be okay, you have surgery, they remove the villain, you are inconvenienced for a week or two, and on you go with your merry little life (which as the my space page says is perfect)
the weeks following the surgery and the test results have been disturbing (insert brick wall here) WTF? can you check that again? is this the process ? total denial? yes - we were all in it and frankly we sort of still are.
lots of wishes, cards, flowers, prayers, etc. have been sent and are certainly very much appreciated. c is probably one of the most grateful people around.
the “pinky” club (ironically the name pinky had nothing to do with cancer) was together last night and we chatted about this hurdle that has confronted us. i say US because we want c to know that we are totally with her in this - BUT as we all know unless you are the person fighting for your life you truly can not possibly have any idea what it really feels like. we talked, we shared some soup (isn’t soup the cure all?) and we - believe it or not, mostly laughed and joked to forget the current situation - but this is not funny. there is nothing funny here. the bff looks totally awesome so it makes the reality again hard to believe. the lesson is as you go about your day just remember you never know what war could be raging inside of someone you meet. our bff‘s smile lights up a universe you would NEVER think there was a care in the world. c - we are ready for battle and we are a team, we will fight to the end. negative thinking weakens us so there will be none. the road ahead will be bumpy. as the winter turns to spring there will be treatments, tears and wig shopping (somehow there is always shopping to be done) and love. think in the direction of strength, the mind decides what to make of a situation. i believe that when the spring turns to summer there will be rebirth and we will be walking on the beach in the sunshine, your new hair blowing in your face, we will be laughing and our bonds will have become stronger yet again. xox

p.s. keep brushing your teeth it’s therapeutic … even if people think you are weird because you do it every time you go to the bathroom.

Monday, February 9, 2009

i'm back...

weekend baking/faking
so about the treats that aren't really homemade but they look homemade and taste
delicious. You need one package of these
and you need a small heart shaped cookie cutter that's it !
you cut out the already prepared oreocakester into a heart shape. eat all the excess cake. place them on a platter and you have a adorable valentine dessert. bring a plate to a friend, or a neighbor, share the love, or eat them all yourself.










I also made these, they are simple and they were a big hit.

snickerdoodles.

2 sticks butter softened
1 1/4 C sugar
2 eggs
2 C flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 c sugar mixed with 4 tsp cinnamon for dredging

mix butter and sugar until creamy, add eggs, then remaining ingredients mix until all incorporated.
roll into small balls roll into cinnamon sugar mixture and bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
these will be gone in a flash.

happy valentine week.

laugh....


when you are celebrating your 7th birthday you toast with a champagne glass of milk in your new leotard wrapped up in your boa
this little one always makes us smile..she sure has some funny lines. sophisticated beyond her years, just look. Happy Birthday !!!!















so as always the weekend flew by. i did get some of what i wanted done but there is always more to do. i wish i was laying in this field of heart shaped trees looking up at this heart shaped cloud....





will be back later. i have a fun simple valentine treat idea that will make you look like you baked. you can be a hero in 10 minutes....shhhhh.....

Saturday, February 7, 2009

give.write.love.

today i plan to get a lot of things done on the to do list. i always start off with great intentions and sometimes i fizzle out mid stream. but today is suppose to be warm (50) a heat wave in fact, and sunny, so i want to get out and about. visit a few people, deliver a little love, and hopefully enjoy it all. i will check back later and let you know. in the meantime i am leaving you some inspiration to motivate you to make your valentine's day (next saturday) special for those you love.

make a card ...
make some soap


























a small wish in a little brown bag, a piece of their favorite candy, a handwritten love note.




a little picnic lunch with a bottle of wine.






i sent my first valentine earlier this week and was rewarded with the biggest thank you ever. tell me this little one is not overjoyed with her new little valentine shirt? love you xoxo

Friday, February 6, 2009

hello and happy friday


this weekend i hope to craft up a valentine or two. after all we are coming up on valentine week. make your loved ones feel special , make something, bake something, create something, when you put your heart into it - it shows. i might even have to bake up a treat or two. this week just flew by i hope the weekend lingers. i am also hearing we are in for a 50 degree day or two - just a tease to show us that spring really isn't far behind.


















picture from bakedandwired.com

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

freedom...........

today was a BIG day. i woke you up this morning for school and asked you if you were ready - ready for another big milestone in your unfolding life? afterall it would be later today that we would find out if you would become a licensed driver. how could it be ? wasn't it just yesterday that i was wheeling you around in a carriage? well it sure seems that way to me. you've been preparing for this over the past few months. you have such confidence, i know your ready. you're doing a great job. it's me ... i'm not ready. i'll never be ready. as lunch ended i felt my nerves unravel and spill out my sides. i called home not knowing it was already over they took you early. you did it !!!!!! congratulations!






i felt so helpless when i watched you drive away. be safe.



seriously.....

mother nature has once again blanketed us with an obscene amount of snow. (seriously!) make the best of it by turning the cleanest patch you can find into a frosty alcoholic treat.






but today is WEDNESDAY so...


adult beverage sno-cones

what you’ll need:
- freshly fallen snow of the powder variety
- ice cream scooper
- disposable cups, preferably cone-shaped paper ones
- 2-3 oz. liqueur of choice (st-germain is bright and tropical, or try heering’s cherry or rothman & winter’s orchard apricot)

1. find clean patch of snow.

2. place 2-3 scoops of fluffy snow into cup.

3. drizzle snow with liqueur of choice to taste.

4. enjoy midstorm, immediately thereafter, or until the godforsaken stuff melts.

ENJOY

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

today...

wake up – hit the snooze button - 3 times
1. make coffee – screw it up - way to WEAK - i bought beans instead of already ground and i don't have the grind consistency figured out. note to self - leave well enough alone.
2. try again – another screw up – cup fills with coffee grinds what the @#$%
3. give up – go to dunkins
why do some days start like this?
instead … i will bring myself back to the weekend where things were awesome. we had a wonderful time. every place you go in this inn there is the aroma of something amazing cooking. i guess that is what happens at a culinary institute.
do NOT go there if you plan to be on a diet. the weekend was filled with fun. fun . fun. and a lot of laughs for a lot of reasons. we had a little issue with no heat in one of our rooms - ok – maybe a big issue with no heat. but honestly, every now and again if you can have a hot flash it's all good. things just have a way of working themselves out…..and my friends who happened to be in that room are such good sports - and seeing as one of them is single it was ok to have some manly plumber show up every hour. not that anyone noticed the manly man. what happens in vermont stays in vermont. somehow what happens in vegas stays in vegas sounds so much more edgy than vermont. sue c is actually working on being more edgy…sue n is working on a fitness video.

goodie bags for the trip














sue showing us her fitness moves






downtown burlington






downtown burlington 2 hours later in a blizzard








girls just want to have fun....



well i better run i have a new boss and i don’t want to be late ..