Are you ready?

Are you ready to jump into 2009? I know that I am looking forward to tomorrow because we are spending it with some of my college friends that I don't get to see often. But am I ready for 2008 to be over? I don't know.

I heard someone today talking about resolutions and how he thinks he might just strive to do better than last year and not pick a specific resolution. I could use that idea and strive to do better at eating healthy and keeping track of our weight.
I started tonight by using my new dutch oven to fix thin cutlets of chicken with sauteed onions, garlic, red peppers and diced tomatoes. Then I served it over baby spinach like a salad. It was good and filling. Of course, the leftover christmas cookies from downstairs are still calling my name. . .

Holiday Traditions

We had a discussion last night about holiday traditions which reminds me of the decisions I have been trying to make in my own household. How are we supposed to make Christmas special for our children while at the same time celebrating the birth of Christ?

I have been gathering books on Advent and looking through crafts to come up with ideas of things to do with kids this season. I am having fun with changing the focus for our family.

I hope that your season is joyful and you are able to enjoy the christmas spirit with your families too!

Old School Photos

I have been enjoying finding and scanning old school photos and tagging classmates from over the years. Here are some of those photos!


St. Bridget's School - 1984


St. Bridget's School - 1983


Hanover Academy - my 3rd grade class


Hanover Academy - my 2nd grade class 1977

Back To The Blog?

Okay - I am thinking that I should get back to the blog and so I am going to give it a try! Bear with me as I convert things from Facebook!

This Week - The Bizarre Bazaar

How come they are not handsome?

Last Sunday DH wanted to go to Ritz Camera around 11:00 when they opened. We went to the one next to Short Pump Theater. DS and I sat in the car and waited. We watched several people walk in and out of the theater, although it didn't look like the outside lights were on. Then I remembered that I had heard that a church group meets there on Sunday mornings. So I explained that to DS. He said, "but how come they are not handsome?" It took me a few minutes to realize that he was asking how come no one was dressed up for church. I explained that not everyone get dressed up for church. His answer was "no fair!"

Our Happy Anniversary Trip!

We thought that we should take a trip to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary that we could all 3 enjoy! And we did! Disney World is awesome!

Finally Unpacked!

I feel like I have been traveling straight for the past month! Okay, okay - I have been back, but still hadn't gotten completely unpacked from vacation before I was off to head out of town again last weekend. We have had a lot of fun so far this fall!

Savannah -

Partying the night away!

The party Saturday night was so much fun also. I had forgotten how much I missed my classmates and the memories of that time in my life. We got a taste of them and captured them in photos! Thanks everyone for a wonderful reunion!

Can it really have been 20 years?

We had an awesome 20th Marymount Reunion this weekend! I can't believe how much fun it was to see everyone and catch up. In fact, there were several attendees that I hadn't seen since graduation. Margaret and her family came and stayed with us for the weekend. And we really didn't want the reunion to end. We have vowed to get the group together a little more often!

Sad to see it go

I just read that one of my favorite boutiques is closing its doors - Acorn. I really have enjoyed shopping there over the last few years and have always gotten lots of compliments on the outfits.

I will have to find another women's clothing shop to check out. Any suggestions?

My All Time Fav

I just watched my all-time favorite movie - "Sixteen Candles." Call me a sap, romantic or whatever you will. But I enjoy that movie every time I see it!

Highschool Reunion

I know I have blogged about this before, but I am pretty darn excited! My 20th high school reunion is coming up in September. It has been in the works for a while and thanks to the many people that have worked on it.

I had a small class, but living in my hometown means that I have bumped in to many classmates over the years. There are many others that I haven't seen in a long time.

A fellow classmate has started a website for our school. Check it out!

www.marymountrichmond.com

Inherited talents

Yesterday we went to visit my parents. While we were there, DS wanted to play a game. I got my mom to go with him to pick something out. They came back with a couple of games and and some painting supplies. My mom sketched some things on a pad and then got DS to paint them. Soon after she called out - "well, I know who didn't inherit the art talents in the family!"

Blog titles

Sorry that my titles are cliched and lame. I never claimed to be a writer. I just title them by what comes to mind. I read such awesome posts on other sites. I just keep hoping it will come to me.

Water Water Everywhere

The rains of the last few days reminded me of rainstorms we had several years ago. They hit me close to home - in my driveway, in my house, yard and garage. We had problems with the street drains and sewer pipes being too small and overflowing into our driveways or not draining properly. The county did finally fix it after a lot of neighborly nagging, hassle and work. But it was worth it! After these last 2 days of rain that equaled 3.8" on my FIL's rain gauge - we didn't have any problems!

See some photos from those past rainstorms.

Photos, Photos Everywhere!

I am on a roll. I love photo projects and have been working on several for the last couple of weeks.

I have been scanning many photos and putting together collections that other famiy members have been sharing. I get really excited when they share photos that I have never seen before.

First I put together one for my father - photos of his hometown and family. He has dementia and I thought it might be something he would enjoy - familiar sites and memories.

Now I am working on albums for my mom and her sisters. This is taking a little more work and organization. But it is so worth it I think to be able to enjoy the photos now!

I reap the benefits

I reap the benefits of others gardens. I have a brown thumb and have rarely tried to grow things. I have never tried a vegetable garden, only herbs and those don't last very long for me.

So I was pretty excited that on Sunday two people said that they had fresh grown tomatoes for me. I have been enjoying them this week.

Tonight I am going to do a cheese tomato pie that is one of our family favorites. Sounds good, doesn't it? It ain't fat free - I can tell you that. But with these beautiful tomatoes staring at me, I have to do something special with them!

How many cousins?

My mom is from a large family here and I have always enjoyed getting together with relatives. It is part of the reason that I stayed in my hometown. We had a reunion back in June and had a great time catching up with everyone. The summer reunion had the great grand children invited and there are more than 70 of them.

When I was younger I used to bump in to cousins around town a lot. I remember one friend who would get frustrated and say "oh no, not another cousin!"

Here is a photo of my grandfather and the jersey that he got that Christmas after the last grandchild (#36) was born.

Oh, What A Beautiful Morning!

Oh, What A Beautiful Morning! Oh, What a Beautiful Day! Wow, this morning I woke up and felt the best I had in many days! I slept with the windows open and a fan blowing in the room - just enough of a breeze and noise to lull me to sleep.

I stayed over at my brother's house in the country. It was an incredible morning - and a great place to wake and immediately pay attention to the day. All the windows open and the doors open to a screen porch. I could hear the birds chirping and wind rustling the bushes and the quiet of the house all at the same time.