Today I am in Philly

A city I've never been to before yet that is the city the people very dear to me grew up in... It's kind of cool like visiting an old friend and at the same time meeting someone new! What's that song "make new friends but keep the old one is silver and the other gold"
Those are the view from my hotel room
And the fireplace rooms? The elevators!!!
And a cool city garden

how has your weekend been?

30 things day 7

Well I'm sitting here in NYC traffic I figured I'd start the next question:


7. What is your dream job, and why?
I want to own a small business (in my dream it's a bed and breakfast) hubs says we need to work towards it... I kind of agree but we need to figure out our exactly what it is and where!
Or a dog trainer
Or a yoga teacher
(maybe both - look at the poodle doing yoga)
Thoughts thoughts thoughts

At any rate I have a fun weekend ahead.
I'm headed down to PA again! Tomorrow is the wedding :-)

what's your dream job?
And what are you doing this weekend?

30 things day 6

I took a bit of a hiatus unplanned there... Between driving to Pennsylvania and home I was exhausted Saturday and Sunday. And yesterday was me at the oral surgeon.

BUT check out who I volunteered with!!!!!



6. What is the hardest thing you have ever experienced?

HMMM - this is a hard one... I guess I'll have to say my mom passing away. Knowing I'd never see her smile, hear her happily humming as she did her chores, or feel her hugs was brutal

what's something hard you've dealt with

Friday fill ins

Friday fun courtesy of my insomnia and Fridayfillins.blogspot.com

And...here we go!

1. Sunshine needs to make a lot of appearances this weekend
2. giving someone a watch is bad luck (after i gave someone a watch for his birthday) is the last thing I overheard someone say.
3. I found a recipe for zucchini vanilla cake (so recently my adult nephew asked me why i put zucchini in everything i laughed and said "you must not have a garden" and it really tasted good according to my in-laws
4. I'm looking forward to my Halloween party!
5. Right now I wish my stomach would stop hurting.
6. leaves falling & crunching under my feet makes me smile!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to well I'm babysitting - cant say I'm looking forward to it though<:b>, tomorrow my plans include a 5k in the morning followed by a 6 hour drive to pennsylvania then a bachelorette party and Sunday, I want to sleep but what I WILL be doing is driving home 6 hours!

what are your weekend plans?

30 things day 5

So as I was walking to yoga (see #3) I was walking down a newly paved section of road in rollaway shoes - I thought to myself THIS is awesome it was like intuitive walking the soft warm tar beneath my feet - I was chill before I walked in the yoga door

5. What are the 5 things that make you most happy right now?

1- the poodle!!(hello look at that face)
2- hubs (sorry man that I love that the poodle came first!)
3- yoga!!
4- walking in the woods (something sorely lacking ATM)
5- my new kicks

what's making YOU happy??

30 things day 4

4. List 10 things you would tell your 16 year-old self, if you could.

People who truly love you will always love you!
You will end up with the dream boy
The only way around is through

what would you tell yourself?

30 things day 3

3. Describe your relationship with your parents.

My mom has passed away - she is still one of my favorite people! Not a day goes by that I don't think about her and wish she was here :-)

My God-father whom I loved like a father is also gone. He was the man who taught me to drive (an 18 wheeler no less).

Finally biodad is alive but dead to me.

30 things day 2

2. Describe 3 legitimate fears you have and explain how they became fears.

I am afraid of:
The dark
Heights
Scary looking men

I'm not sure how I became afraid of any of them. I do know that I'm afraid of the dark because I figure I won't see the scary looking men (logic much?)

what are you afraid of? Do you know why?

30 things day 1

List 20 random facts about yourself.

1. I'm an iPhone addict and if I can't do it on my phone I'm not interested
2. I love crafting
3. I live in a black and white world
4. I can go with the flow but it makes me seethe inside
5. I drive my husband crazy
6. In real life when referring to the poodle I call him the poodle (not by his name)
7. I love to give gifts with meaning
8. I say yes to commitments and then am annoyed by them
9. I love apple and peach picking
10. I think henna is beautiful
11. When I got my real tattoo I told the guy I wanted henna colored he thought I was nuts
12. I'm pretty sure I've done permanent damage to my stomach and intestines
13. I have three friends who I consider my sisters... Ironically one of them OFTEN drives me crazy
14. I'm dreading going to my new doc but one of my "sisters" is coming with me
15. I get SO tired so easy
16. My dog is a pain often (still love him)
17. My husband is sweeping the floor (probably for the first time)
18. I like animals more than people
19. Frogs and snakes do NOT quailfy as animals!
20. I'm going to the red sox game today

tell me a few random things about you

Friday fill in EARLY

And...here we go!

1. I am tired just flipping tired.
2. It seems I will be babysitting every day for a while and mostly I love it but see above
3. the poodle makes me laugh. ON A DAILY BASIS
4. Did you know that many service dogs are at least part pit bull (yes this is random but also true)?
5. I looked more closely and I saw that I often worry too much.
6. I'm so glad someone I love is getting the help she needs
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to hitting the gym tomorrow my plans include babysitting and going to a yard sale at a church where I rented space before I knew I'd have the boys and Sunday, I want to have a day off but I have my boys again but I guess the good part is that I will be done giving the poodle meds (did I not mention that after spending 8+ hours in the er with A I came home to a poodle choking and had to rush him to the dog er where we were for a couple hours (see #1))!

what are your weekend plans???

What a crazy busy week

Last weekend I was at the fair!
This weekend I'm in Maine - how'd I get from there to here?
A few laughs
A few tears
A heck of a lot of craziness (and for once it wasn't me)

Some highlights
- they added an alumni class at the end of the weekend and I rode a cute little pony
- a hella lot of family drama happened and I breathed deep and took my butt to yoga and managed to not hurt myself in the process (score)
- my little nephew started 1st grade on Tuesday and celebrated his 7th birthday Wednesday
- I went to ikea on Thursday and managed to "only" spend $105 (which for ikea is impressive)
- Friday I babysat two boys and pack for a weekend away
- Saturday required sitting in traffic for hours with kidneys that are killing me
And today and tomorrow will be great walks, fun movies and time on the ocean...

+++what are you doing for labor day weekend?

Life is fair

This weekend I'm at the 4-H fair.

I've been every year since I was 9.

I met hubs there at my first fair - I told my sister I met the boy I was going to marry (I was a smart kid).

We got engaged there 10 years ago yesterday - hubs asked me in front of every one with a ring in one hand and wildflowers in the other (swoon).

Yesterday as I was ring mastering (it's a term) I saw him walk down with a bouquet of wildflower I still swoon.

I'm soaking up vitamin d and good energy and seeing kids who WILL make for a bright future for us all

This weekend, for me, life is (the) fair and (the) fair is life!

what childhood memory would you like to share?

Silly little side notes

1. This weekend we cleared everything out of our PACKED shed... When I say packed I mean it - remember we went from big to leetle and from keepers to donaters. I'm pretty sure that hubs, A (nephews wife) and I all worked our butts off!

2. In said shed I found a box of stuff (well I found many boxes of stuff) but this one had all the stuff that I've been looking for the whole last year... Some examples: my birth certificate, marriage certificate, audio recording of moms voice, hundreds of dollars of gift cards, etc

3. It's fun having kids around sometimes - two boys can entertain themselves for hours with anything. Example 2 sponges... 6 year old called them tasers and they were playing cops and robbers. When 6 year old tasers 3 year old, 3 year old replies "you can't kill me I'm a zombie"

4- speaking of zombies hubs and I split up for Friday night. Thanks to the magic of gold star pricing he got to go see a zombie play (totally nothing I'd enjoy) with 3 of his friends and I went to mass hysteria with A. I'm sticking with I had a better time (A and I laughed until it literally hurt) but he came home with a goodie bag and a kazoo (3 year old said thanks)

5- I went to a yard sale this weekend but it wasn't your "typical" yard sale. The woman was clearing our her store and her store was Wiccan and full of crystals and books etc. I came home with a few cool gifts!

6- I made hubs the coolest take on tabbouleh last night. No bulgar so I used orzo, no olive oil so I used Italian dressing. But it had in it from my garden mint (orange mint technically), parsley, grape tomatoes, and cucumbers

+++what's you do this weekend? Are you a keeper or a donater?

Somebody that I used to know

This weekend my niece got married.

Let me say that again... My baby niece, who taught me I could love someone to the point that I'd forget about myself before she was even 2 hours old, got married.

Her wedding was SO her! She got married barefoot in the town park and walked back home with her (omg my niece got married) husband! Their reception was a pasta social created by the ladies at her church :-). She asked me to make zucchini bread and I did! 12 loaves!! The flowers were all in mason jars and positively charming.

But aside from seeing my beautiful niece get married (did I mention that already?) I saw people that I haven't seen in years!

I was on the slide (yes in my dress) with my nieces and nephews when across the monkey bars and swings I saw the man who played piano at my wedding. "the man who played piano at my wedding" does not describe Bill! Bill's hug has always to me been a sanctuary. Somehow I forgot in the turmoil of time that THAT sanctuary was still there, still there for me! I hugged him I hugged his beautiful wife, I chatted with his fabulous daughter and I breathed. Not the breathing you do to stay alive but the breathing you do because you are alive (body, mind and spirit).

As I stood with that wonderful family I saw him, this him being my father. A man who I haven't seen in a couple of years, a man who people I've met in those last two years assume is dead. He is, to me anyway. And as I stood there breathing in love and contentment I realized something: my father is nothing to me anymore - I wish him no ill will nor do I hope to reunite, he is just well "somebody that I used to know" I've moved on.

And well Bill's family and I? We've promised to keep better in touch and I've said I'll trek to Syracuse to visit them :-) because they are so much more than people I used to know!

do you have people in your life who just knowing their out there makes your world a better place? Tell me about them...

It's all in finding what you want

This week I've been taking my nephew's wife to look at houses. I think I've mentioned before that my nephew lived in ohio and is military. With odds of him being deployed again fairly high his wife thought moving out here where she would have "a village" to help raise their 2 young boys was a good idea.

They still own a gorgeous home in Ohio and so they've been looking at mobile homes. We've gone to two different parks (chosen a clear winner park!), and toured a number of homes.

I've fallen in love with a couple (what can I say a year in Gregory has made me fall in love with little places & cozy nooks) and A has chosen some that she liked too! We've been on opposite views on some (though I shut my mouth and say nothing) but on Tuesday we found what looks like THE ONE! 3 bedrooms, 1000 square feet, new flooring, etc etc.

Now it's the coming to terms and agreeing

*isn't that pretty much everything in life? Find what you want, come to terms with it and agree with your decision

+++do you love house hunting? I do but it's also exhausting+++

Interesting!

The other day I had the opportunity to do something nice for someone I don't know. I did it without their knowledge (which to me is at least half the fun of doing something nice). I was so excited that I called hubs to tell him, and then had to pull over to the side of the road because I was shaking so hard. I guess the adrenaline of being sneaky caught up with me. After a few minutes I went on my way.
But the glow of having done something cool has totally stayed with me, which is kind of awesome :-)

+++have you ever preformed or received a random act of kindness? Share it if you'd like!+++

Woohoo it's Friday fill in time

I woke up positively giddy this morning! I'm not sure why - maybe the bounty from my garden last night(seriously look at how many tomatoes - and yes that is corn!) my new mug(note the beautiful pearl) or that the terror dog is leaving today... Yup probably that but still a great day :-)

Courtesy of http://fridayfillins.blogspot.com/2012/08/and.html

1. Well, ok, maybe I AM SLIGHTLY NEUROTIC ABOUT A CLEAN HOUSE
2. BUT HAVING IT MESSY STRESSES ME OUT AND that's NOT a stretch!
3. When I'm making GOOD DECISIONS I FEEL BETTER BODY MIND AND SOUL
4. I WISH I WERE a bit healthier.
5. And frankly, I COULD BE IF I WORKED HARDER AT IT.
6. YOUR PAST root of all evil. But NOBODY NEEDS TO LIVE IN THE PAST
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to WATCHING THE OLYMPICS tomorrow my plans include GO TO YOGA, PLAY WITH SOME KITTIES AND GET RID OF THE DOG and Sunday, I want to WALK WITH A FRIEND OF MINE WHO TEXTED ME JUST THE RIGHT MESSAGE AT THE RIGHT TIME YESTERDAY :-)

So I know I normally just do the fill in and have no other commentary but I have a leeeetle story to share.
About half a mile from my house there's a cute little corner store (named... The corner store) they are a 7 11 esque place but they also offer subs and ice cream and pizza. So the other day the poodle and I walked down to get him an ice cream (vanilla soft serve with carrot and bacon "sprinkles") and while I was waiting in line there was 2 older men (mid 59s I'd guess) laughing and having a great time as they order 2 steak and cheese subs and a pizza. They were happy and glee filled and it was contagious. Soon they were pulling me in on their stroll down memory lane and THAT is when I looked at them. One of the guys had on a hospital bracelet and still had the EKG stickers on his chest. I couldn't help but wonder if his steak and cheese and pepperoni pizza order is what caused him to need an EKG. It was none of my business so I just smiled and listened to that one time they downed a 30 pack on a dare.... It got me to thinking though, what does it take to get us to take our health seriously?
I have family who leaves there room at the hospital to have a cigarette (wtf)
And I myself have purged leaving an appointment with my nutritionist (again wtf)
We all need to be grateful for each minute and do all that we can to extend the minutes.

+++are you guilty of not taking care of yourself? What are you doing this weekend to take of you?+++

Random but true

Here's a post of randomness none of which could be a whole post on its own.

-I'm dog sitting. I think what might be the worlds worst dog. The first thing she did in my house was to take a book from 1882 OFF THE SHELF and shred it.

-I'm dying to finish part 2 of ode to Gregory but can't because I've got all this dogs stuff everywhere and my dog is moved into the office (because the other dog is toy/treat/food aggressive so they can't be together)

-I mowed my lawn yesterday - its my most hated chore :-(

-I have 2 horse shows this month. 1 of which I am designing the trail class for. And I REALLY want to hand draw it (because I think it's cuter) but I doubt they'll let me.

-I brought cupcakes to the vet yesterday.

-I have two weddings on August 11 and one of the shows August 12

-my neighbor is in Russia and has been for 3 weeks - I miss her and can't figure out Skype for the iPhone :-(

-we are supposed to be going to the circus on Saturday and I have no desire to go.

-I want to do another race - my medal bowl looks like it needs an addition!

-we went to Halloween at my nieces campground and as always had a great time

-I have a 92 year old pen-pal whom I love and have never met

Well I better end this before I never stop

+++what about you? What's random in your life?+++