Wednesday, July 25, 2007

In honor of Amandas birthday Madison went to work with me today... Funny for someone who slept through most of the day she seems awfully tired tonight. I guess being a princess all day is tiring... yes crackers, french fries and ice cubes were tasty treats found at the office... and if her mother asks yes she was given dog food too--

As for her mother... turning 21 today-- a day of flowers and interviews... too bad the lady at the store didn't realize 21 years is a long time to wait to show that id!!--- ah well maybe next time?

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Happy Birthday!


TODAY I WISH YOU A DAY OF ORDINARY MIRACLES! Happy Happy Birthday Piglet-- 21 already!!!
Wish we could be there with you to help you celebrate your BIG day!! but since we are so far away I leave you with a few quotes to rattle around in your head while your waiting for the work day to end....


Too much of a good thing can be wonderful. -Mae West

Twenty years from now your will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. -Mark Twain

Well Behaved Women rarely make history

You only live once but if you do it right once is enough... Mae West

Sex Appeal is 50% what you've got and 50% what people think you've got-- Sophia Loren


And because I know you have a big meeting today:
Remember to go the extra mile.. its never croweded----
And remember...Success is the best revenge.. Knock'em dead!

Just Read


I bought some books this week on Amazon--its gotta be one of my favorite places to buy books-- Whats better then never leaving home and getting a used book that looks new for $3.00-- So I guess I am alittle late to the party -- but I finally got Where women create-- by Jo Packham Not sure what I was expecting.. but while it was decent eye candy I didn't know all the artists (which means the book I bought is giving me homework to research who these people are)and to be honest not sure I want to know. I was able to grab a quote or two from the book which might come in handy at some later date.. and again I was drawn to the studios where there were words on the wall... If I find the right quote I think I want some wall words

I also bought two other books Pretty Little Things: Collage Jewelry, Trinkets, Keepsakes by Sally Jean Alexander and Artful Memoriesby Carol Wingert and Tena Sprenger.... they are currently on my pile to read.. right along with the Sept CK and the new MM magazine and 2 months of BHG. At some point I will sit long enough to read.... or maybe I will drag them with me on the train this weekend.

Saturday, July 21, 2007

summer weekends



Just sitting back enjoying the weekend. Nothing on the agenda except getting laundry done, and sorting through a pile of magazines.

Mike has taken a shine to my tomato plant-- what started out as an experiment has turned into a labor of love. After all these years we finally have enough sunshine to grow a vegetable! I bought this little tiny tomato plant and Mike laughed at me... now he spends each evening watering it-- inspecting it-- and deciding when the fruit is ripe--- Nothing says summer like homegrown tomatos

Except of course-- frogs!!

Monday, July 16, 2007

I was a good mom I swear

 


Seriously I was a good mom-- I never dressed my kids up funny just for laughs... and I did my best to never laugh at them when they did dress themselves funny-- but this is just too much... not only could I not stop laughing I am still laughing while looking at this picture..

Now where did my daughter get this sense of humor from??? Hmmm--- she says Madison looks beautiful in this new swim wear outfit... but I'm thinking somewhere in the deep recesses of her being she is laughing at her baby!!

So Thrash??? What your opinion of our bathing beauty?
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Sunday, July 15, 2007

Sunday recap

The weekend is winding down. And I have spent more time in front of the computer than I care to mention. But I think I can safely say I am done uploading pictures from Alaska. I know my parents are probably wondering why its taken so long for them to have a few vacation photos--- but all good things take time!

I did get alittle scrapping in as well. A few pages for David and Ruth checked off the list. My scrap room looks like a tornado has come through.. never seemed to find time to clean up after playing.



But of course with both kids home the days seemed alittle shorter-- not sure why but we always seem to loose a few hours when they are around too much talking and not enough doing.... Christopher came home to go to a concert and Amanda came home... hmm must be Corey (and Madison)-- whatever their reasons its nice to have them here.

Friday, July 13, 2007

HO HUM

Its been a week of nothing really-- or at least nothing that stands out. Lots of work at work-- and at home? hmm what have we done with our free time?
1) Our tomato plant has finally given us 2 red ripe tomatoes-- yes we did have tomato sandwichs for dinner to celebrate
2) We hooked up our verizon internet (as a comcast customer who hates that they raised my rates I thought it prudent to check out the compeition who assures me my bill will be less) it seems to be ok... so watch your email for a new email address from me.
3) I was the big looser at Bonco... but that does get me a prize so it wasn't a total loss of a night.
4) I started working on sorting the Alaska pictures.. I think I have one more night and then I will place an order.
5) I actually started my brother in laws Wedding album. I think I am on page 3 of 40.. This could be a process huh?
6) I ordered the It kit from Kelly Lautenbach --I liked the concept-- we'll see how it is in real life.

And this weekend??? I am hoping a whole lot of nothing... Can you imagine we will actually be home for once! so looking forward to sleep, playing in the garden and doing NOTHING...

Monday, July 09, 2007


Sometimes no matter how hard you plan-- things just take a different course.. and that was this past weekend. It was suppose to be a weekend at the lake with the whole family-- and it turned into a weekend with just my family. Not that it stopped us from having fun... it was probably just alittle quieter... As I arrived everyone had left just hours earlier... the story of my life. day late and a dollar short.


We did spend the weekend outside having some good old fashion 4th of July fun. Swimming, Fishing, Fireworks, Nascar and ladderball.


Tim and Karen took us to the fireworks on their new boat-- lots of fun and lots of room for lounging-- Karen and I got alittle silly with self portraits-- I'll save those for another day!! (I know Karen will appreciate that!) I didn't realize how many years it had been since Amanda had been to the fireworks by boat... alittle reminicing of the "good ol days"-- I got some great shots of her fishing... if I squeezed my eyes really hard I could see her when she was 6 fishing on a dock somewhere at gaston... same determination...

hard to beleive but I took over 100 photos in 2 days-- just to add to the madness I am already in with photos...

Oh and did I mention my sister in laws got me a cool birthday gift... I wish they were there to see me smile... so glad they "get it" nothing like getting a bag of scrapping goodies for your birthday! maybe getting old isn't so bad afterall!

Thursday, July 05, 2007

A little break


I figured I would take a break from all the Alaska photos and share something just as good!
All is well here-- the kids and Mike went down to the lake and I was left home to hold down the fort (or work... ) Tomorrow I will join them after work and hopefully enjoy some down time for the weekend. Amanda took the train down this time from Jersey so all we need to worry about is getting her Back to Union Station by 8pm.
I still have so much sorting to do with all the Alaska photos.. and then theres wedding photos... I feel like I am drowning in photos right now. I guess it could be worse...





Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Exit Glaicer is just one of those places that even when you close your eyes weeks later you can't beleive was real. It reminds you why you love the outdoors and hiking... around everyturn there was something more beautiful and breathtaking... When our shuttle dropped us off, we stopped in the park ranger station to make sure we knew which path to take. He told us to take the paved path to a fork and then take the upper loop trail. From there take the lower loop and we would be able to see it all... Boy was he right... but what he didn't tell us was that while taking the upper loop we would have to cross water... glacier streams-- where the water has melted from the glacier coming down the mountain... No problem we sloshed and jumped our way across... then it was up up up-- the beauty of the trail made the hike bearable... it was twisty and turny-- very narrow in some spots and doable... then we got to the look out point where we were face to face with the glacier! It couldn't get any better than that??? lots of photos... and then down the hill to the bottom of the glacier!!! It was hard to hike and take in the scenery-- that and take pictures along the way-- I didn't want to forget a moment of this day.
Once at the bottom again we were faced with a water hazzard! Seems Mother Nature had her own way of protecting the glacier from tourists-- A much larger glacier stream... Mike and I walked up and down trying to find a way across-- but no such luck-- so off the shoes went-- we rolled up our pants- held our breath and took our chances! Trying to explain how cold the water was would be worthless-- lets just say if the sun wasn't shining I am sure that it would be a solid mass of ice!! With water almost knee high in places we made our way across-- and it was worth it! At the bottom of the glaicier we were able to actually walk right up to it... right on it.. and of course I had to drink some of the melting water.... (no fears... what you see that looks like pollution is actually just silt... this is pure clean water!) Of course we had to cross the stream once again to get back to the trail-- But it was worth it!!


We made our way back to the ranger station-- hung out there for a few minutes.. I got myself a passport for the national park system-- a very cool book that I can get stamped and stickered for each park I visit-- and there are tons that are on my to do list. We got back to the train station with little time to spare... perfect timing!

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Exit Glacier




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Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Seward-- HOT AND SUNNY

Seward was our last stop and also where we had to say goodbye to the Summit... We woke early to find ourselves docked in alittle fishing town. We had a full day ahead of us.. as our train did not leave until 6pm for anchorage. First to get off the ship... again being concerige class afforded us the luxery of waiting in the theatre for our turn to disembark... it was a smooth disembarkation-- off the ship to a tent where we gathered our luggage... oddly no one from customs talked to us... which was fine with us... I snagged a taxi pretty quick and he took us to the train depot a few blocks down... all peices of luggage stacked high!




The train depot was a little one room deal... as friendly as they could be! They took our luggage.. we had alittle time before our first tour of the day was to pick us up so we wandered around town. At 10-- Seeveys Ididarod Tour Van picked us up to go visit the Ididarod dogs and go on a dog sled ride. In our van was the cutest puppy-- also the stinkiest! It was nice to see a dog-- I think we were missing our girls by then... What we were not prepared for was the tour... or at least I wasn't.
But I learned alot-- First off contrary to what you see in movies-- Dog sled dogs are not Blue eyed Huskies or Malamutes with thick coats of hair... Instead they are Mutts-- plain and simple. Large dogs that can pull! Who knew???? And second these are working dogs.. and they are expected to live as such-- They pretty much fend for themselves... No baths, or tv time or laps to sit in... To say it made me sad was an understatement... but for me it got worse... But I digress-- They took us to an area where we got to pet and hold some new puppies... nothing better than a puppy right? Well we learned that most of the dogs we would see that day were puppies... under a year old... and they were being tried out--- Seems that work pulling the tourists during the summer and get widdled down over time until there are about 30 dogs who will make the final cut to pull the sled in the race...


We watched a video about dogsledding.. its a sport for only the hardiest... and those with money/sponsors... then they led us through gates to where the dogs were! Oh my when they say us coming they ALL started barking and pulling at their chains... These dogs LIVE to pull-- and you could see that despite their living arrangements that they were happy...


We were loaded into sleds (8 of us) and the dogs attached... I would guess about 12-14 dogs (all puppies except for the lead dog Charlie who was a vetern) Mike got to stand with the Musher on the back... and I sat in the back seat... I was not happy-- These dogs were still learning... and think about how your dogs acts as it gets trained... sometimes things work and other times they just don't.... and it was that way with the dogs... As they were pulling us they some of them wanted to play-- nip at each other... or turn around to see what they dog behind them was up too.. The musher had to stop multiple times to move dogs around... and even once untangle a dog who was being dragged.... Needless to say this was not a favorite tour while in Alaska




I am glad I went-- I learned alot-- and don't get me wrong these dogs were HAPPY!!! they just lead a different life then my babies at home.
Happy to leave Seeveys-- they were kind enough to drop us off at the other end of town... (probably a big mistake on my part) We all went to the SEALIFE Center... Its part aquarium and part rescue center... very hands on and full of interesting information. We saw Seals, sealions, puffins (birds that swim underwater) and alot of other birds and sealife...


I think we were all starving by now... and walked the length of town to find a little resturant that had the best Halibit and chips... I think I wore my parents out with all that walking because they bailed on the next adventure... one that had I known would be life altering I would have never had them walking across town... but no one balked at the time... and we marched forward. They decided to hang out at the train depot and Mike and I went across the street to the "Train Wreck" alittle place that rented bikes, had shuttles and did tours... We talked to guy who assured us that we could shuttle to Exit Glacier hike for 2 hours and still make it back in time for our train... so thats exactly what we did....

I leave you here for now...more tomorrow.

Sunday, July 01, 2007

The pictures say it all... Indy Racing in Richmond with friends and family, tailgating with ladderball... our new favorite game! Skydiving and Danica Patrick-- who proves women can do just about anything... including driving fast!


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Hubbard Glacier



We had a day at Sea when going to Hubbard Glacier.. We got up at the crack of dawn (what else was new?) so that we could get a good look--"Hubbard Glacier is just one of hundreds of Glaciers that have survived that last mini Iceage" impressive!


The best viewings for the glacier were from the upper decks and Mike and I made our way to the front of the ship to the helicopter pad, while my parents made their way to the Night club for indoor viewing. We changed locations a few times, it was COLD but so worth being out there to see. The ship could only get so close this trip (apparently some years there is less ice in the water) because of the large amount of ice in the water. But no worries we were impressed!
Seeing the ice in the water-- and seeing how large it was under the water-- brought to mind the saying "its only the tip of the Ice berg!" So very true...
The Captain moved the boat from side to side to everyone had a great chance to see the Glacier, to see the Ice field and to see all the ice in the water. After taking a ton of pictures we headed back to the room for alittle more viewing... we even saw a seal playing in the ice-
Then it was off for alittle exploring around the ship...more food and then a much needed nap... Packing for home was another item on the list... all of our bags had to put packed and put in the hall before midnight... not an easy task when the sun didn't set until around midnight....
I think what amazed me most about seeing the glacier was seeing the contrast of Ice covered mountains sitting in harmony with some of the greenest forests.... and the lack of anything man made-- so very hard to find in our daily lives...