Weekend in Virginia

So I decided that I needed to go to Virginia this past weekend to visit Mother. I spent 3 full days with her at the hospital. Chris got a much needed break. I also got to spend some time with Jackson, Ashley, Craig, James and Jim. Not alot of time with them, more with Mother. The beginning of the trip started out really crazy as the pilot of the plane did not want to fly the one that was at the gate. The flight ended up being cancelled and I ended up flying out Friday morning. Chris picked me up at the airport with Jackson and I was chauffeured by Chris to her house and then made my way to the hospital. I was surprised at the change in Mother from January until June. I guess that is what major surgery does to a person. Spent the next 2 days with Mother. Went to Chris's and Jim's each night for dinner. Got to eat the infamous fried stredel do not know how to spell that, someone please correct. Other than that it was time with Mother. Enjoy the new pics of Jackson.

1st week in June

The 1st week of June is now over.

Exciting to meet the trio finally. How cute are they. Hudson was busy with duplos. I remember Manny being just as busy as he was. Bennett was cranky from lack of sleep, so his mom said. And Miss Kate was just busy. What a precious family. Carey and Stephanie are blessed and I know their Gamma just loves it all. Come on Hunter you need to be a part of this too.

During that vacation in May I rearranged some of the garden elements to the front area. One of the items that was moved next to our door, was my fountain. Dago reminds me to make sure there is always water in it as he has spotted birds coming to drink and play in it. Tonight as we were eating dinner, we again noticed this small bird with a piece of something in her beak. Dago said that she was building a nest somewhere next to the fountain. After I finished up the kitchen I decided to explore the potted plants to see where this nest could be. It is being built in the middle of a pot of Mother in Law tongues (that is what I know the plant as). This is why we know that this bird is female cause she must be getting ready to lay eggs in this nest. Check it out, how cool is this? So leaving you for the week by saying "stop and enjoy what is given to us freely. "

my latest time robber

i love it!

wrapping the vacation up

I did do everything on my list to some degree so you could say that i was not all that lazy during this vacation. Saturday found me scrapping with Cimi. I thought that since everyone started out the week with a photo of bad hair and no makeup, but we did have pie, that you should have one with decent hair, some makeup and chocolate pound cake. I finished up the wedding album, 3 years and 2 months after. Just have to do some journalling. I think the next photo project will be Janet and Todd's wedding vacation trip that we took almost 10 years ago to Colorado. I did do a memory book for her, but nothing for us. Tonite we go to Bonnie and Rob's for the Survivor ending. Jacki just called and Dago is on his way to pick her up so she will be joining us. What a surprise. So tomorrow back to the world of Macy's at the mall of Millenia. Everyone have a great week.

May vacation

So what does a girl do when she doesn't have a vacation trip planned? (in no order)

1-clean house?

2-cook?

3-iron?

4-catch up the shows?

5-visit?

6-shop?

7-decorate?

8-lay by the pool?

9-do some work?

10-play with Rocko?

11-nap?

12-read?

13-scrap?

14-organize messes?

15-gardening?

16-all of the above?

So here is a pic of what I have done besides #1,2,4,7,11! I am only into day 3 of the vacation so I most likely can do some other things on the list. The bigger question is why? Do we always have to stay busy or can we focus on the important things in life? Something that I have been asking myself for a long time. I believe that everyone makes choices, but we all always forget about the most important choice and that is what makes and keeps YOU happy! So have a HAPPY week and I will let you know Sunday how the May vacation turns out, who knows?

a new day, new week and a new month

I hope this finds everyone well. I just finished working all weekend and how exciting it was. On Sunday we had a fire outside the jewelry door, a customer slipped and fell so we called the men from the Fire Dept. And yes they were all great looking and really really fit. The customer is OK. On Saturday we had a Martha representative giving a demo on how to do backyard entertaining. The best was the sandwich on whole wheat with avocado, goat cheese and bean sprouts. The lemon sorbet was pretty good to. I also had Martha's personal assistant autograph my latest Martha book. Enjoy the hydrangea picture at the end of this post. They only use real flowers and gosh darn they let us take them all home.

Today I was off getting ready for my last day off until I start vacation next week.

So I went to take Rocko out and yes, you see it, a woodpecker just pecking away at the tree stump out in the middle of the yard. Very interesting to watch him. Of course Rocko being Rocko wanted to take off and get him. I just put him back into the house and enjoyed watching the woodpecker. During the day I caught up on all, ALL, my ironing. It sure will be nice to just go into the closet and get whatever I want for the next few weeks. I also caught up on Harper's Island. I like it. Sheer mindless entertainment with a scare to it. Good late spring TV. Now I am finishing up my day off to pay the bills and just get ready for work on Tuesday. So take care to all and thanks Cimi for not making me leave the house today. Love that.

another 2 weeks and another blog update...

so, i continue to lack skills in keeping this blog current.

i will back up with what i have been up to.

we bbq'd at cimi and randy's tonite as mary had come up from bonita springs for the weekend. she is the first family member that has been truly hit by this recession. salary and hours cut for her. what a sad thing to have all of a sudden your income changed dramatically without warning. she is coping and is searching. our prayers and thoughts are with mary.

last evening we had another bbq at bonnie and rob's to do our weekly survivor night. got to meet rob's sister from boston, so we also enjoyed, boston beating the yankees in baseball prior to watching a great blindside on survivor. we are all so psyched that tyson is now OFF! watch out coach.

i then had worked the previous night cause the two before that i was traveling to and from miami for the annual star academy celebration for the top macys florida performers. we stayed at the biscayne marriot overlooking the bay and the way to the ocean. i forgot how pretty theviews in that part of town is. now the neighborhood on the other hand is not so nice, but we hung out with all of our peeps and had a wonderful time.

last weekend i spent sat and sun doing yardwork and gardening. i planted 3 gardenia bushes, a rose bush that will not die (hopefully), some lirope, some pretty flowers in the front and some impatiens in the back. i also mulched all of the gardens when finished and then i even put in a brick border the length of the front walk on both sides.

whew, i was a little sore on monday so that day was just a i do not want to do anything day.

prior to that it was all work since easter sunday.

now everyone is caught up.

i do stay in touch with everyone's blogs and love to be in the loop with all of the kids. i so enjoy seeing them all grow so fast and to also see all of my little nieces be big mommies. so to leave you for the week here is the favorite pic i took. enjoy.

Easter Sunday thoughts

Happy Easter to all. Just a short note to let everyone know what's going on. Nothing exciting happening here. Just worked all week, had a guy ring my bell and fix my gutter just now, went to Easter Services this morning with Dago and then we had brunch. Friday went to New Smyrna beach for my first beach trip this year. Loved spending the day with O and her mom, Bonnie. Watched Survivor and was bummed that we could not vote anyone off, oh there is always next week. Just a normal week in a normal life with a normal woman. Love to all.

day off and the cable company

so another day off and another visit from the local cable company. interesting what you go through when trying to save money. but the cable company is doing it the right way this time. this guy has crawled around my really tiny attic rewiring the cables. YEAH! this means that the signal will now be what it is supposed to be. my week at work is over. it just seemed that it took forever to be done. we got together with our survivor dinner group last night. pizza this week, it was my turn, and no time to cook. dago picked up the dessert, he does pick out really good ones and we watched the show. i am really glad stephanie go voted off. taj needs to get the idol back on her person, cause those guys look like they could mess with her. and who is going to watch harper's island? mmmm looks interesting.

Celebrating

Good Morning

Last night Dago and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary with Cimi and Randy.

We went to Antonio's Fiamma Ristorante. Talk about a great meal, crazy waiter, Cimi got her wine free. After having great appetizers and a good meal we topped it off with to die for desserts. The creme brulee had a hint of lemon and was the smoothest I had ever tasted. The chocolate cup was very decadent. We waddled to the car and came home where Randy gave us cable until Tuesday. Finally rained last night so today looks gloomy, a great day to stay in and maybe, no, really I will work on our 2008 taxes. Yeah lots of fun! Hope all have a great week and talk to you next Friday.

good blogger

Our retreat at work last week, we played tourist.

So i have the evening to myself as Dago is off to his 4Life thing. The natural ingredients of the products work very well and I feel better taking them.

The work week is over ending with a ODS (one day sale) and my feet hurt, time for yoga toes.

They work for those of you who have never tried. I love them.

I am reading the Shack, interesting that God is a large African-American. mmmmmm

No more facts revealed as I know there are people out there that have not read the book.

Enjoying no TV since Wed pm. The satellite on the roof got misdirected by the construction crew and DirectTV gives such poor customer service that I cancelled my plan with them and am moving back to the local cable company. Bummed that my 24, Lost and Sarah Connor Chronicles are lost, but hey I can catch up on the computer. So I rented 3 movies for the weekend. Tonite I will be watching Changeling with Angelina Jolie. Tomorrow it will be Body of Lies with Leonardo and last night we watched TransSiberian with Woody Harrelson and Ben Kingsley. Not the ending I expected, good movie though.

So the construction crew that messed the TV situation has been doing upgrades for the past few weeks. I have a new wall in the front patio, lots of new siding everywhere and a new garage door one day (can I ever get them to schedule and show up?). After it is all done the entire group of townhomes will be repainted. So that's where alot of the fees are going. I am glad I solved that mystery. After the construction crew moves on I will be able to do some spring gardening.

Hope all have a great week.

Beads, Beads and more Beads

Good Afternoon all, Ok, bad blogger, bad blogger! I had the best Mardi Gras ever this past year. Was it because it was a Mardi Gras all about me? Yes, it was. Of course, other people joined me for all of the festivities. The best thing was that it was about parades, food, more parades, family, beads, friends, beads and more beads. Oh yeah a few cups were caught too. Carey, your mom will be sending a stack to you. Do you want beads? I might be able to part with a few prized ones if you feel the need. Celebrities that I saw in the parades - Kid Rock, REO Speedwagon, Jim Belushi, Joan and Melissa Rivers, the stars from Reno 911 (check out thoswe shorts) and Lt. Guv Mitch Landreiu. Sadly I do believe I missed Harry Connick Jr. The weather was great during the day and jackets at night. Never went to bed before 1 am each day. Parking, not a problem, crowds, far from being crowded. But for those that have been to parades with me, you know I know how to make our spot move to the front of the crowd, right up on the curb. Saturday started out the day in Luling watching the Krewe of Lul. This was the parade that CJ and Elijah were able to join me, since it is one of those little ole neighborhood truck things. It was great to spend the day with them and Monica. It is amazing how much they have grown since last October. Football on the grass, deer sausage wrapped in bacon, rotel cheese dip, beads, beads, and more beads. Yes that was our diet that day. Terri and her family have been going to the same corner in Luling for 30 years and I have been joining her there for about 5. Just a great way to start out the weekend. You can visit, catch some beads, eat some homemade food, and catch even more beads. It is amazing also to see the quality of beads has finally made it to these neighborhood parades. Then it is kinda a race to New Orleans to catch Endymion (my favorite). Since we get downtown after the parade has been rolling a couple of hours it is challenging to park, but we lucked out and found a great place 1 block from the route. Talk about timing. So we set up (ladders, ice chests, lawn chairs) on the neutral ground across the street from the bus station and time to maneuver and catch some beads. We were only 2 rows from the curb, but by the time the parade came it was on the street. What a great time we had. The only downside is that we did have to use portalets. The next day we did the Bacchus thing downtown near the convention center. We have been going there for about 10 years and it is just a great spot. We have the use of one of the hotels (they have good coffee drinks) for our needs. We are about 3 blocks from the Red Eye (great parade route hamburgers) and yes if we felt the need we can dine at Emeril's since it is across the street from our "spot". The parade was a great as ever. Budweiser Clydesdale's, Marine Marching Band, St. Aug Marching 100, Bacchasurus, King, Mom and Baby Kong, just to name a few of the attractions that are always in the BIG parades. On Monday night we did the Orpheus parade. Harry Connick Jr started this one about 10 years ago. It is all about music and the riders are male and female. We normally know someone that is riding on one of the floats. This year it was Skip, Terri's hair person and an old friend of ours. Did he throw some stuff our way? You know he did. My favorite float from all of the parades is in this one, Leviathan, a smoke blowing, laser lite very colorful and BIG! So that was the highlight of my trip, fast, full of parades and of course beads, beads, and more beads.

Surprises in the bills

so today cimi and i went to joanns to get dagos gift for his bday this friday. we enjoyed ourselves. we then took a tour through the new townhouses being built near us and had to say great views, nice counters and loved the washer and dryer hookups down and upstairs. i dropped cimi off did a store run and then came home to do the sunday dinner thing. cimi called twice as she had to go to the store twice. now you all must remember cimi and i do not do the grocery store, the guys do that thing and well, we were just put out on sunday cause we had to do this. i mean really, what is the world coming too? so now it is evening and i am just finishing up with paying the bills. don't you love it when you finally decide to open up those envelopes that you know are not bills, cause it is tax time, and when you do you discover that you overpaid something for an entire year and you get a refund? mmmm don't these companies know how to use calculators? so now i am caught up with all of you and off to start another week. just for reference Macy's is in very good financial standing. the cuts in the stores were done a couple of weeks ago. the layoffs that the news reported this past week are in the corporate offices of all of the divisions. we are consolidating all of our buying to new york. all employees who were a part of the layoff thing will have the opportunity to apply for any of the new corporate positions which will be a little over 3000 positions. so that is only about 3500 that will really loose their jobs. some of the people who are loosing their positions are also eligible for retirement so that is what they are doing. so if anyone needs any retail questions answered give me a holler and i will try to help you out. have a great week and talk to you soon.

last two days in Virginia

OK, so i have now been in Virgina for a week. could it be any colder?

on Tues we had snow. it was really pretty for this Florida girl. I took lots of pictures, made a snowman and also shoveled the snow off of the front walkway. that was my thing to DO for Jim, i have tried to DO something for him everyday.

with the snow yesterday we did not leave the house. can i tell you that being cooped up without a beach to look at can drive you crazy?

i also have had a meltdown while here, there is a part of me that does want to fix things (are you laughing Cimi?) and another that always wants to have positive things around me. so for all of you that received my email, i apologize.

since being in Virginia, i have had the opportunity to get lost in dc, mother had to walk the entire time and did very well. we visited the Holocaust museum, depressing entering the box car and in awe of the room from floor to ceiling pictures of a village. we went to a see grand torino with Clint Eastwood, it was good and sad all at the same time. we have gone shopping and let me tell you that the service at this walmart sucks. i did find the item that i was looking from the moment i stepped off the plane, how exciting is that. all in all it has been an interesting week.

I have gotten to visit with Jackson and Ashley and Craig. and now i only have one more day here and then i go home and back to my life, which i do miss.

could it be any colder?

DO something warm

20 degrees

just some pictures of my first day here in Virginia, visiting Jackson Emmerton. oh, and i am also here to watch over mother while chris recuperates from having a little minor surgery on her nerves.

so this am, jim took chris to the hospital to do the surgery thing. i got up and spent the morning at church with mother and then we went and had mexican for lunch. this afternoon we watched "88 Minutes" with Al Pacino, predictable at best, i had it figured out half way through. took that daily vacation nap and then jim brought chris home, fixed dinner and now i am in my room letting all of you know what is going on. the agenda for tomorrow is to take chris and mother to alexandria for a day trip.

it should be 40 degrees.

back to normalcy

is that a word?

it is today.

and what have you done this week?

i went back to work on tuesday and wished i was still off. it is all about inventory and for those of you in retail you know how wonderful that time of the year is. i really do not have to do much, remember i am in charge of selling and service. i just keep the managers focused on what their priorities need to be. during the week at home, i continued to decorate for mardi gras. here are a few of the decorations. next week i am doing the carey thing and deciding what kind of diet i need to be on to get ready for bikini season.

enjoy the photos and talk with everyone next week.

anyone out there who can tell me how to DO a slide show would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

remember DO what you think is best for you.

2009 is now starting

I have been off for the past 3 days and have been ever so productive. Remember my DO motto. I did just that.

I took Christmas down and packed it away until next year. My goal is to not wait until after Thanksgiving, cause then it really is just sorta rushed and not enjoyed.

I then put up a few Mardi Gras decorations. I will DO the rest during the week. If you don't recall, this is my favorite holiday. Dago and I will be going to New Orleans to celebrate this year. I am really looking forward to this trip as it is just fun and eating and parades and more fun, with family and friends.

Rocko has also been busy these past few days. His cousin Jack is over for a visit and they just are having lots of fun. Rocko is stingy, but Jack gets the balls when he really wants them. Rocko is also very jealous of the attention that Dago and I give to Jack, especially when we are giving him hugs and kisses. The best thing today was when I was lying down watching American Gangster and Jack comes up from the side of the sofa and decides that he needs my glasses. Did not know where that came from, but enjoy the pics inserted here. Hope everyone has a great week and remember to DO, give your dog kisses and hugs.

DO

love

pray for peace

hope for the best

be humble

remember the small things

live in the moment

smell the flowers

what feels good

follow your passion

celebrate life

remember to look up

dance at least once a day

sing out loud

anything and everything

and always say I Love You before parting

Wishing all the best in 2009

Believe

Today is the first day that I have finally had some time to catch back up in the blogging world. Alot has happened out there and I have not been participating except in the world of retail. I finally graduated from the class that I had been traveling to Miami for during the past year. The biggest reward from the class was that I have been placed on the bench. Does that mean I can not play anymore in the store? Does it mean I don't have to work as hard? Does that mean more money? It means that Macy's Florida feels that I am qualified to be a General Manager of a store in Florida. So that happened at the end of October. We all know what happened at the beginning of November. And at the end of the month I was privliaged to meet one of my new grand nephews, Jackson. What a sweet boy. His parents aren't too bad either. Then the big month of December came upon us and work just continues. We have not had a fun season. It was nice this past Saturday to finally see that customers realized that Christmas was 5 days away. One of the best things that I have done for myself all month was to have a SPA treatment every week. The first week was a facial, the 2nd a full hour of a full body massage, the 3rd an LED facial treatment and today was the best with a full body detox wrap and massage. All I can say is that every woman needs to remember to do something for herself every now and then. With that I am off to finish baking my peanut butter cookies. Ask Cimi how the Chocolate Chip ones came out. And remember to believe this holiday season. Thanks to all for the cards. I have enjoyed them all.

Econonomy

So the 2nd debate is now behind us. Interesting, still undecided, but leaning towards Obama.... Based upon the main topic that concerns me at this time, I did some goggling and here is what I looked for. Interest rates 30 year fixed 6.49% 15 year fixed 6.14% 1 year adjust 6.04% Credit Card Interest no rewards 12.34% rewards 14.41% student 14.45% business no reward 10.39% business rewards 11.69% Top 5 Golden Parachute payout WaMu $20 million Allied Waste $52 million Pftizer $20 million Bramble $7.7 million HP $21 million and the Parachute of the day AIG $15 million That is just on the 1st page of Google for a total of $315 million! So what is the question or the point? I am all for helping those Americans who truly need the help, but as anyone who will be casting a vote in 30 days, what will you do for ME? I am an American that believes in the dream and that hard work gets you the dream, not easy fixes, which I believe that when you signed that paper 5 years ago knowing that your adjustable rate could double or even triple, why would you do that? Why do those of us that have struggled to get what we have, by not going above and beyond our means, have to FIX those that had no conscience of what they were doing and woke up that morning of signing the paper stupid? Which candidate do you believe is watching out for those of us who follow common sense and believe that our hard work will reward us? I am going to post this blog on both candidates pages and see who will answer and be concerned with this one American who is undecided. Looking forward to your comments.