Julie & Julia

Just watched "Julie & Julia".

What a great motivational movie. I love Julia for her determination and drive. I love Julie for her determination and drive.

christmas cards

why?

i send cards this time of year to touch base with friends and family far and near. those that live far away, i like to let them know that they are still important in my life and that i miss them. and for those that live close, i use it as an opportunity to write a one-liner to let them know something special that i might not have told them otherwise.

why do people send cards with nothing other than the greeting and their names printed? i don't understand this. it tells me that sending the card was perhaps a burden, that the sender didn't have time to spend the 30 seconds to write something, anything at all......

why do people send cards with photos of themselves? to brag about how they look? i understand sending photos of your children. they grow and change each year and it's great to document that growth and share it with friends and family.

why do people send year end re-cap letters letting people know what they have done all year? no matter how you put it - they always come off a gloating letter of how wonderful their family/children are. this child did that, that child did this, my husband did this, we traveled here and there, purchased this and that. I mean come on....the first thing is - who cares? and second why do people feel the need to share all that with so many others. is it really important when one buys a new car? how a child placed in sports? academics? isn't it just important that your childrean are happy and healthy? putting labels to their successes just comes across in a form letter as bragging!

i'm sure many will disagree. this is just my take!

Christmas Donation

Today I donated 2 gifts to a family in town for a 14 month old child. Going to the store, spending the money, wrapping the gifts and delivering was so little for me to do.....and I hope means a lot to the family this Christmas.

It felt so great!

Simplify in 2010 - #3 write

3. Write

• write in my journal/blog
• write letters - the old fashion way.
• pick a friend a week, sit down and write that letter!

Simplify in 2010 - #2 reflect

2. Reflect:

• keep a journal/blog - WRITE more!
• life goes too fast and i want to take a moment to reflect each day.
• take a slow moment to sit back and enjoy.
• remember - happiness is a journey, not a destination!

Simplify in 2010 - #1 declutter

1. Declutter:

• get rid of one bag of stuff from my house every day.
• that will be 365 bags and they can be of any size.
• it can be garbage, things to pass on or things to donate to goodwill.
• and this should translate into one room a month!

December 2nd is a day to remember.

Today is my Uncle's birthday (born in 1950).
Today is the day my Grandfather died in 1968 at 58.
Today is the day my Grandmother died in 1990 at 79.
Today is the day my Aunt died in 1997 at 58.

How can so much happen in one family on one day?

Does my dog get car sick?

Today the dog got car sick while driving over the pass.

Will my weekends this winter be spent cleaning up dog barf?

Chapters

1. Growing up in the city
2. Weekends in Greenfield
3. Moving to Suburbia
4. College years
5. Life in CH sans enfants
6. Life in CH avec enfants
7. Moving back
8. Being an Entrepreneur
9. Volunteer Travel

fall folliage

puppy love

we've been ghosted!

fall

H1N1

yes. he had it.

it wasn't a big deal.

Anna's mac

@ the beach

october

“Ode to October”, 1941

“October is a happy month,
A month of love and song,
Of being wed and giving birth
And dancing all day long!”

Mary H. W. (1911-1990)
(My grandmother)

swiss flowers

hiking in valbella

The BEST Cappucino EVER!

seerose

winos

labor day

Are You a Princess?

Just turned on my laptop and saw that Anna had done a google search for:

"how to find out if you are a princess"

umm.....

and what came up? a personality quiz from Disney and ways to find your prince or princess!

43 today

Had to make sure I could still do my flips:



then waterskied (first time in 13 years!):


then I backflipped off the bow of the boat:

and then I drove the boat while Mark waterskied:

and then great friends for dinner:

Family

Ahh the power of mothers!

Just got this:

HAVING MOM OVER FOR DINNER

You don't even have to be a mother to enjoy this one...

Brian invited his mother over for dinner. During the course of the meal, Brian's mother couldn't help but notice how beautiful Brian's roommate, Jennifer, was. Brian's Mom had long been suspicious of the platonic relationship between Brian and Jennifer, and this had only made her more curious. Over the course of the evening, while watching the two interact, she started to wonder if there was more between Brian and Jennifer than met the eye. Reading his mom's thoughts, Brian volunteered, 'I know what you must be thinking, but I assure you Jennifer and I are just roommates.'

About a week later, Jennifer came to Brian saying, 'Ever since your mother came to dinner, I've been unable to find the beautiful silver gravy ladle. You don't suppose she took it, do you?'

Brian said, 'Well, I doubt it, but I'll send her an e-mail just to be sure. So he sat down and wrote:

Dear Mom, I'm not saying that you 'did' take the gravy ladle from the house, I'm not saying that you 'did not' take the gravy ladle. But the fact remains that one has been missing ever since you were here for dinner. Love, Brian

Several days later, Brian received an email back from his mother that read:

Dear Son, I'm not saying that you 'do' sleep with Jennifer, I'm not saying that you 'do not' sleep with Jennifer. But the fact remains that if Jennifer is sleeping in her own bed, she would have found the gravy ladle by now. Love, Mom

LESSON OF THE DAY - NEVER LIE TO YOUR MOTHER

Summer 2009 Wish List

• read at least 5 books
• plant tomatoes
• get a trampoline
• finish garden bed in driveway
• clean out my office...really clean out my office
• re-design my closet. get rid of even more clothes.

Another one of those.....but ahh so true!

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written."

My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:
1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17.. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's,we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

" Remember that I will always share my spoon with you!
Friends are the family that we choose for ourselves."

The start of Swine Flu?

I got this as an email attachment today! Hysterical!

To Holland

Anna's Commercial

April Fool's

GOTCHA!

• We told Mark that Anna had thrown up all night. He wouldn't go near her because Mr. Germ didn't want to get her 'disease'.
• We took a photo of Anna with glasses and emailed it to Grandpa, Grandy and Uncle Francis. Grandpa said, "Too bad! Please give her my apologies for this unsatisfactory inheritance." And Uncle Francis said, "Well - at least it will be a whole new world - a crisp world - not surewhat the prescription is - but when I got them first - when I was 20 orso - it was AMAZING.Everything was SO clear."
• I filled Scott's lunch/snack bag with packing peanuts instead of lunch.

Favorite Photo

Have you ever heard of an Edgewalker?

Edgewalker Group International
Are you an Edgewalker?
Statements by Judi Neal

1. I have a strong spiritual life.
2. I frequently feel different from most people.
3. I seem to have an ability to sense coming trends before they emerge.
4. I have an unusual combination of interests and passions
5. I have had mystical or spiritual experiences that have provided guidance in my everyday life and/or work.
6. I speak more than one language or have deep familiarity with more than one culture.
7. I have made, or am contemplating, a major career shift that no one would have predicted.
8. I often find myself being a bridge or .translator. for people from very different backgrounds.
9. I have this feeling that I was called to do something very special and important in the world.
10. I find myself attracted to and wanting to learn from people who are very different from me.
11. I am strongly aware of the problems of the whole planet (global warming, destruction of rain forests,
overpopulation, exploitation of people in poorer countries) and want to see some more action on them.
12. People often see me as a leader, even though I am different from most of the people who have been leaders in
that organization.
13. I have the ability to listen beyond the words that are spoken.
14. I consciously tune into something higher than myself for guidance and inspiration.
15. It is extremely important to me that my work be aligned with my deepest values.
16. I have artistic abilities or unusual gifts that I combine with down-to-earth practical skills.
17. I tend to break the rules if I think it is for a higher purpose.
18. People often see me as a risk-taker, but the things I do don.t seem risky to me. Somehow I just know they will
work out.
19. I have a strong sense of adventure.
20. I find myself exploring new ideas and wondering about what the next new thing is in my field or area of interest.

Anna & The Clique Girlz

Look @ This!

DUAL COURSE RACE 2/22/2009
J3 Shoot Out Boys
2nd Race
Place Name Blue Red Combined
1 Jack 28.76 (1) 28.89 (1) 57.65 (1)
2 Luke 28.94 (3) 29.11 (2) 58.05 (2)
3 Cory 28.78 (2) 29.32 (4) 58.10 (3)
4 Christian 29.53 (7) 29.29 (3) 58.82 (4)
5 Henry 29.36 (6) 29.58 (7) 58.94 (5)
6 Tyler 29.54 (8) 29.46 (5) 59.00 (6)
7 Peter 29.20 (4) 30.02 (13) 59.22 (7)
8 John 29.71 (14) 29.60 (8) 59.31 (8)
9 Kai 29.93 (22) 29.47 (6) 59.40 (9)
10 Paul 29.70 (12) 29.78 (10) 59.48 (10)
11 Griffin 29.54 (8) 30.16 (15) 59.70 (11)
12 Ellis 29.89 (19) 29.84 (11) 59.73 (12)
13 Jonah 29.60 (10) 30.17 (16) 59.77 (13)
14 Nicholas 30.19 (25) 29.66 (9) 59.85 (14)
15 Evan 29.22 (5) 30.64 (22) 59.86 (15)
16 Daniel 29.75 (15) 30.23 (17) 59.98 (16)
17 James 29.65 (11) 30.40 (18) 1:00.05 (17)
18 Gabriel 29.76 (17) 30.40 (18) 1:00.16 (18)
19 George 30.60 (35) 29.96 (12) 1:00.56 (19)
20 Roberto 29.70 (12) 30.90 (31) 1:00.60 (20)

Look what I made?

made in illustrator, saved as pdf, cropped to tif and then saved as gif- lost some the crispness - but not as bad as when saved as jpeg!

My favorite painting

Feeling like Spring - but it's still February!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Skiing

Henry's Get Well Box

Top 17 Things Henry Can Do

1. Eat a Life Saver
2. Watch a movie
3. Decide which flavor Skittle is the best
4. Do an Invisible Ink Activity
5. Teach Charlie how to play Go Fish
6. Do a Crossword Puzzle
7. Decide which gum makes the biggest bubble: Bubble Yum or Bazooka
8. Read Tom Sawyer
9. Make a skier out of Silly Putty
10. Do a Word Search
11. Read a Magazine
12. Keep a journal
13. Play a game
14. Read a Comic Book
15. Design the best Paper Airplane
16. Go Fishing
17. Learn about Sharks

and the following was enclosed:

Henry’s Box Contains:

1. 2 types of Life Savers
2. Bee Movie
3. 2 bags of Skittles
4. 2 Invisible Ink Activity books
5. Go Fish cards
6. Henry’s personalized Crossword Puzzle
7. Bubble Yum and Bazooka bubble gum
8. Tom Sawyer – the book and CD
9. An egg of Silly Putty
10. Henry’s personalized Word Search
11. Nickolodeon Magazine
12. A journal and pencil
13. Rattleback
14. 2 Scooby Doo Comics
15. Colored Paper for Paper Airplanes
16. Travel Fishing Game
17. Shark Fact Book

Whip Cream Fight

This us how our birthday celebration for Scott started:

and this is how it ended:

Scott's Birthday Comment

"Mom, you know what I am most excited for today?"

"No, Scott, what?"

"A kiss from Anna!"

Today - the usual mundane stuff....

Here's what I did today:

• set birthday breakfast table (presents and a cake for Scott)
• made lunches
• drop off
• collected garbage - put out
• emails
• bottle return
• costco (mostly for fruit for Scott to bring into school tomorrow)
• kmart - for box for Henry
• made Henry's Get Well Box (see other entry)
• mailed it too!
• returned messages/phone calls
• set birthday table (tulips. photos etc)
• made dinner
• cleaned up - all dishes etc
• unloaded and reloaded dishwasher twice
• made 2 batches of brownies
• packed up boxes of clothes etc to pass on down the line..

Fortune

love this one:

"A closed mind is like a closed book; just like a block of wood."

Feelings

Scott came down this morning and told me he was going to break up with his girlfriend. He said, "I just don't have the same feelings that I used to have."

He's lived before.

Luck

Pyschologist Richard Wiseman (can that really be his name?) writes in his book, The Luck Factor, that people create their own luck. He says there are four principles:

1. They pay attention to their intuition.
2. They have a resilient attitude when ill fortune strikes, immediately imagining how much worse the situation coulkd have been - and how they can turn that into bad luck.
3. Lucky people aren't afraid to disrupt their daily routines to create more random encounters.
4. They expect positive outcomes, and this attitude makes good things happen.

THIS DESCRIBES ME!

Creative Card

why

Moonlight

Don't you love it when you look outside at night and the moon is so bright that it almost looks like the sun is shining?

Made even better in the winter when the ground is covered in snow,

Tonight is one of those nights.

Creamed Spinach

ok here's what I am going to try:
1 tsp olive oil
onion
garlic
salt & pepper
4 oz low fat cream cheese
3/4 cup milk
bag fresh spinach - cooked
nutmeg - fresh grated

cook onion and garlic, add in dairy, drain all water out of spinach - add to mix. grate nutmeg (oh so swiss!)

New Year's Resolutions? Some Good Ideas!

• only have one cup of coffee, the rest can be decaf
• take a multivitamin, daily (that's the key word!)
• exercise more
• snack wisely
• grill or bake i.o. fry
• red wine - a glass
• cut the salt (no more than 2,300 mg a day)
• no sweets (now that's not a problem)
• de-stress
• bed early

New's Resolutions

• be on top of laundry
• pay some bills online (those that charge for phone pay)
• see what can cut out (netflix? etc)
• lose weight..I know I say that every year!
• read more
• spend more time in my garden
• do more things with ust Anna!
• design a new kitchen - get quotes
• hot tub!!
• send invoices on time!
• learn how to make a good creamed spinach