It's Official ...

German tradition says that if a hibernating animal casts their shadow on February 2nd, winter will last an additional 6 weeks. This morning on Gobbler's Knob in Pennsylvania, Punxsatawney Phil (the official groundhog) peeked out of his den and saw his shadow. Apparently Phil has seen his shadow more times than not (almost 100) since this tradition started in Pa. in 1887. I never quite expect him to predict that Spring will come early though ... living here in Connecticut we learn to deal with and accept those long, cold winter days ... really in the grand scheme of things big and small, what's 6 more weeks anyway.

*The picture used here was copied and pasted from the official MSN groundhog article listed today on the homepage.

February 1st ... Already!

Valentine's Day is almost here, are you ready? I wish I could tell you where this adorable image comes from, but I had it stored in a "free images" folder on my desktop. I just think he's the sweetest. I spent some time this past weekend making some homemade Valentine's for my sweeties ... oh yes I have more than one. Can't wait to mail them out.

I can't believe we've already gone through one whole month of 2010, can you? It's crazy how quickly time has been flying lately. I know I'm not alone in feeling this way though, I read other peoples blogs, and Facebook messages and it seems everyone is just a little shocked that January is gone. I guess the good thing about that is that it means were one month closer to Spring and Summer ... wooo whooo, I love that.

Lots going on around here lately. Morgan went back to school of course, I wish she could have stayed longer, it really felt like this winter break for her was much shorter than the past few. She worked during her break so that kept her busy, as well as a wisdom tooth extraction which she wasn't overly fond of, but she survived the ordeal and probably has forgotten all about it by now.

We are finally ready to put my father in laws home on the market, after almost a full year of emptying it out, cleaning it up and having a few things done there, it's time. We've found a real estate agent and hope to have it listed soon. It'll be a huge relief to have that house gone, no more worries on the upkeep while it's empty. It'll be a bit sad to see it go as well, many memories there for my husband, but the good times spent there will always be a part of him. Speaking of houses, our house has been giving us fits again. This time it's our heating system which we believe is as old as the house most likely which was built in the 1930's. The system is not running anywhere near efficient, so we are checking into having a new heater installed, not something we want to do but as long as we live here we need to make it as comfortable as possible.

I took a Copic coloring class this past weekend with my friend Carrie. It was interesting, I think though I'll need way more practice before I can incorporate any of my Copic coloring in to my stamped images. Oh and the biggest news, Brian and I purchased a Wii system with Wii Fit and as soon as we figure it all out and get it installed properly we will begin using it and incorporating it in to our weight loss plan. We are both trying to lose weight by changing out eating habits and exercising. So ... wish us luck, we'll need it. And on that note, I'll end this long rambling by saying: Stay warm folks, enjoy February, do something special with your honey and come back and read my blog again soon.

One World One Heart ... a spectacular event ... you won't want to miss it!

One World One Heart ... a worldwide blogging giveaway event happening now thorugh February 15th. All you have to do in check in at the original blog Lisa, the creator and host of this fantastic event has listed all the information needed to participate on her blog which is linked above by clicking on the title of this post. I had never heard of this until I ran across a blog with a giveaway ... it linked me back to Lisa's blog and from there I found about 700 blogs participating. Each blog has a giveaway ... perhaps a book, or something artful that they have created and in most cases all you have to do is leave a comment for a chance to win their offering. How amazing would that be ... as someone who considers myself a paper artist I think it's the bomb. Had I known about this before it's start on the 25th of January I would have created something myself to participate with, but you can bet I won't miss it next year. The thought of so many artful souls from all over the world browsing my blog ... and perhaps becoming a follower is very exciting. So ... if your interested check it out ... and give those artists some blog loving.

Minutes, Moments and Memories ... 2009

As another year comes to a close, I have decided to do a wrap up here on my blog. My mother used to tell us when we were little, not to wish away time, because as you get older time flies much faster than you'd ever imagine, and boy, was she ever right. Why is it that we need to grow up and lose our parents before we realize just how smart they truly were? I know for myself I could say that a million times over to my own daughter, but I'm sure it won't truly sink in until she's much older and has a family of her own.

This past year has been a busy one for us, some wonderful events and some not so happy as well. I hope to touch on a few of those moments here.

In March we lost my father-in-law William Joseph Smith. He was 83 years old and lived a long, eventful life (RIP - 3/9/09). He was married to my mother in law Norma Ann Schultz (RIP - 3/26/07) for well over 50 years, he served his country as a proud Marine and fought on Iwo Jima, raised two wonderful sons, worked hard and provided for his family. I got very close to him over the last year of his life and felt his loss very hard. He is greatly missed. With his passing it left Brian and I with no living parents, what an odd feeling that is to know that we're the "older" generation now.

The Easter holiday was a bit different than the usual. Rather than scoot back and forth between Keene and Norwich, we spent two evenings in Springfield, Vermont, relaxing and enjoying the Olympic size pool by night. During the daylight hours, we visited the Quechee Gorge, did some browsing and buying at the Vermont Country Store, and just took in the sights in a leisurely drive through the central part of the state.

Morgan is still attending college in New Hampshire and is in her junior year. The time is whipping by for her as well as for us. We still can't believe how much closer she is now to graduation, when it seems she only just started her college education. We purchased a gorgeous new sterling silver flute for her this past summer which made her tremendously happy, it's a performance model and the sound quality is so different from her old marching band flute.

Brian still teaches in New London, CT and is in his 29th year of teaching. He is the head teacher and teaches in the after school program as well which means he is constantly busy and away from home, but it's fulfilling for him, though all the changes recently which require loads and loads of paper work and time spent away from his classroom are taxing on him as well. Retirement looms just a few years off ... that is scary and exciting at the same time.

I'm still a stay at home mom and wife and I enjoy every minute of it. Not having to report to work everyday allows me time to visit with Morgan in NH whenever I feel the need as well as allowing me opportunities to visit family and friends close by. I had cataract surgery this past summer and thanks to my wonderful husband I had the chance to recoup for a few days in Kennebunkport, Maine. I had never been there before and didn't want to go alone so I brought my sister Debi along with me. We had a nice time and I fell immediately in love with the quaint, small town life the people enjoy there, so much so I brought both my sisters back there as birthday gifts for them in September. We stayed at a gorgeous inn called the Captain Fairfield Inn, where the owners are terrific, the lodging beyond comfortable and cozy and the breakfasts to die for. If you get the chance to visit, tell them I sent you and have a great time. Brian surprised me with a visit back to there again the first weekend of November .... it was delightful. We shopped at LL Bean, had a wonderful dinner out at Bandaloop and got lots of Christmas shopping out of the way.

We're still working on our home ... hoping to eventually be able to sell it, so we had 28 windows and new siding put up this past summer. We had a bit of landscaping done as well ... more cosmetic than decorative ... but gosh it feels good to come home to our home now. The in laws home will be going on the market very soon ... it's been a long road getting it ready, cleaning, painting, yard work, and clean up and repairs after a massive tree fell on the house, hopefully it'll sell quickly and we can have that out of the way for the new year.

I hope that if you've read this far I haven't bored you to much, and I thank you for reading on. My blog though not updated daily is a place where I pop in occasionally to post updates, fun things, sad things and some of my scrapbook pages. I hope that you'll continue to stop by and check in, and I'd love it even more if you signed up for a blogger ID so you could comment as well. That's it for now ... wishing you all a lovely, peaceful, safe and Happy New Year 2010!

It's really November already ...

God's Miracles

I can't believe how quickly October passed ... where did the time go?
November is here already, we're close to the holidays and before we know it we'll be ringing in a new year.

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My husband and I spent some time away this month which has been nice. We drove up to NH and spent a night so we could go to my daughters concert at KSC, then the next day we drove across to Maine and spent a wonderful "just the two of us" evening in Maine. My sweet hubby surprised me with a visit back to my favorite B&B in Kennebunkport, The Captain Fairfield. We stayed in the Lois Walker room, complete with a canopy bed, designer bedding and a gas fireplace. We ate out that evening at a yummy restaurant called Bandaloop, and went back to the inn quite pleased with our meals. Breakfast at the inn was terrific as usual, I had almond encrusted french toast with a cranberry sauce over the top and a local sausage, while Brian had a ham and boursin cheese omelet and toast. We couldn't have asked for better ... or found better anywhere else. We'll certainly go back again ... hopefully sooner than later.
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Thanksgiving will be here before we know it and this year I'll be hosting. My brother in law will be bringing his turkey fryer so he can fry up our bird, and my sister and I will create the rest of the meal using favorite family recipes that our mom always made. I can't wait to have some mashed turnips and carrots and homemade cranberry sauce. Do you have family favorites that are always a part of your holiday meal. I'd love to hear about everyone's traditions, so feel free to share them here.

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I've also spent some time scrapping which has been fun and relaxing at the same time. A few weeks ago my friend Carrie came over and we got a start working on our handmade Christmas cards ... we have quite a few more to make though, so we'll be getting together again soon. I also have had some time to scrap a few pages and thought I'd share them with you here. I'd love to share the cards I made, but because they will be mailed out to friends and family that may read this blog, I'll keep them a surprise.

A Tree Falls in Uncasville

Thanks for stopping by ... I hope you're all enjoying a wonderful Fall.

The Crops Are Over ...

Paper and Cloth Flower

Ah, what a weekend ... it rained all day on Saturday, then cleared up for Sunday but Brian and I stayed in and relaxed for the most part.

As many of you know October is Breast Cancer awareness month, time to remember all those who have fought a brave battle and lost, a time to remember and pray for all those who are currently fighting that battle and most of all ... a time to remember to donate to help find a cure. Researchers have come so far with treatment options ... but until we can cure 100% of the new cases we haven't come far enough. I give whenever I can to friends who are walking in the relays, or when I receive donation requests in the mail I send out whatever I have available ... every penny counts so I give what I can.

This weekend many of the scrap booking sites I follow held "Scrap for the Cure" or "Scrap Pink" virtual crops. Basically they are scrap booking challenges and games set up by site design teams, deadlines are set and occasionally there are prizes to be had. People from all over the world participate and show off their pages in the site galleries. It's really just a chance to sit down and scrapbook knowing many others are doing the same for the cause. I was able to get 3 pages done this weekend which for me could be a record, especially since I had nothing pre-planned in advance. I wish I could have gotten to more sites and challenges ... but time ran out and other things that needed to be done around the house came up. So ... though the crops are over ... the pages remain, the challenges are always there, and the cause never changes.

Here are my pages, sorry for the poor quality of some of the scans, but I had some embellishments on my pages that actually had dimension to them so my scanner was way off.

Quote: "It's never to late ... never to late to start over, never to late to be happy."

Morgan and Molly at Disney "Hangin' Out" 2008

Attitude Yo ... Morgan dressed for Senior Prom 2007

Burlap and Cloth flower embellishments I made for a swap.

Snow in the Fall ...

I thought I'd jump on today quickly and update my blog ... I've been such a bad blogger lately.

Fall is here, the leaves are turning and air is chilly, it's getting darker in the evening way too early for me, and the worst part of it all is snow. Yup, you heard me, I said snow. OK, we haven't really had a measurable amount of snow here in Connecticut to complain about but we did have some sleet and slushy stuff last Thursday as we drove to New Hampshire to pick Morgan up for some emergency dental work she needed done on Friday. It made for some tricky driving conditions especially in Massachusetts where the snow was quite a bit worse than it was here in CT. I thought surely it was just a freak little storm that would go away and we wouldn't see snow again until perhaps December, but no, we saw it again on Sunday the 18th, again while driving Morgan back to school. This time the snow was heavy enough to leave a coating on the ground during our ride .... and being a scrapper I had my camera at the ready. Here is a page I created using a picture taken while Brian and I drove home ... unbelievable I know, but the proof is in the pudding folks.

Cold, wet, windy, slippery, icky stuff ... I'm not ready for it and if I can ever find a phone number for Mother Nature you can bet I'll be calling in my complaints.

Snow in the Fall

10/18/2009

I've joined the club ...

"The Life Preservers Scrapbook Club". I've been wanting to join a kit club for quite some time now, so I went on the hunt for a well priced, well stocked kit. My internet search brought me to the sites of many gorgeous kit clubs ... but they were all priced so high I just couldn't justify the price with my scrappy budget, until I clicked in here: http://www.lifepreserversclub.com/index.html The price for their mega kit is phenomenal, the kit is packed with goodies and they offer their club choice for the month ... or alternate kits as well. There is no "minimum" monthly commitment and you are able to skip months that you may not care for which is a perk. My first kit wont' arrive until November ... but that's OK because when it does I'll be more than ready to dive into it and get scrapping. Oh and one other thing ... they have a rockin' message board as well ... so scrappers, hurry over and check it out, you won't be disappointed.

Scappy Days Ahead ...

Quechee Gorge

Scrappy Days = Happy Days around here. This past week my friend Carrie came over and we sat down for a full afternoon of scrapbooking. It was nice to finally take the time to relax and bounce ideas off of someone else. We both seemed to enjoy the time scrapping and we both got 3 pages done, I even added a 4th page into my total number yesterday. I hadn't taken the time to scrap during the summer simply because there was so much to do around the house, but now that Fall has arrived and my family has all gone off in their own separate directions again, my time is my own ... so I will frequently indulge my creative passions and hopefully get many more pages done.

Here are the pages I created this week ... enjoy!

And to all my scrappy friends out there ... I hope you'll get a chance to scrap this week, it's so relaxing and certainly seems like a good thing to do now that the days will be shorter and in my corner of the world anyway, much cooler.

Happy Fall Y'all!

Memory Walk '09 ...

L to R

Ellie, Tim, Jennifer, Ariel, Morgan

Yesterday my daughter Morgan along with members from her dorm suite at college participated in the Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk '09 in Keene, NH. Much like the Relay for Life the Memory Walkers raise funds to help the Alzheimer's Association press for and fund research to help eventually find a cure for this dreaded disease which takes our loved ones from us while they are still alive.

Here are a few facts and figures regarding this disease:

• As many as 5.3 million people in the United States are living with Alzheimer’s.
• Alzheimer's and dementia triple health care costs for Americans age 65 and older.
• Every 70 seconds, someone develops Alzheimer’s.
• Alzheimer's is the seventh-leading cause of death.
• The direct and indirect costs of Alzheimer's and other dementia's to Medicare, Medicaid and businesses amount to more than $148 billion each year.
• More women than men have Alzheimer's and other dementia's, primarily because women live longer, on average, than men, and their longer life expectancy increases the time during which they could develop Alzheimer's.
• One in eight persons aged 65 and older (13 percent) have Alzheimer's disease.

The statistics are staggering, and there is currently no cure for this terrible disease. Our only hope is that with donations, funding and research advances will be made that will eventually help us to stop this disease in it's tracks.

My daughter walked in memory of my mother, Pauline Faulkner who passed away on 5/8/07 after a long, terrible battle with Alzheimer's. Her suite mates also walked with loved ones in mind who are also struggling with this disease. It's amazing to me to think that of the 8 people in my daughters suite, four of them know about this disease first hand because it has affected someone in their family. Chances are that everyone in their lifetime will have a family member affected or know someone who has the disease, by learning more about this disease we can all help to make a difference.

Alzheimer's Awareness day is September 21st ... check out how you can help here: http://www.alz.org/index.asp

Thanks!

Family Time ...

Adirondacks, A view from the Dockside Inn, York Harbor, Maine

It seems the older I get the more I want to spend time with family. So often we allow things to get in the way of our spending time together, always saying we'll do it another time, tomorrow, next week and then before you know it days, weeks and months have passed and we sit back and wonder what kept us from getting together. We all make excuses ... no time, it's too far, I have nothing to wear, no money ... but truly those are the small things, we should allow nothing to get in the way of making family memories, because someday we'll wish we had. With that said, I was able this summer to spend time with family frequently and I'm so glad that I did.

Now if any of you know my husband Brian, you know he is quite a lucky fella when it comes to winning things on the radio, pizzas, concert tickets and this summer he won tickets to a Pawsox Game in Pawtucket, RI. They are a farm team for the Red Sox (my favorite team) so you never know when you might see one of our guys recouping and playing there. We went on a beautiful summer evening in August, the temperature was gorgeous and Morgan brought a friend Courtney. We enjoyed some yummy baseball game food, hot dogs, peanuts and sausage sandwiches. We lost the game and none of the big league guys were there, but we had a fun time none the less.

Morgan and Courtney at the Pawsox Game

We spent much of August getting Morgan ready to go back to college for her Junior year ... yikes, I can't believe I have a daughter just one year shy of graduating from college. We also spent quite a bit of time working around our house, trying to get it ready for a big tag sale which I might add we had and it was very successful. We had to sneak the tag sale in as we are having major renovations done on the outside of our house, new windows, 32 of them and siding so we had to pick a day when no one was working outside. The home renovations have been a long time coming, but they will be well worth the wait especially when we finally decide to sell this big old house.

Finally with the end of summer approaching we welcomed my sister Sandy into our home for 2 weeks. She lives in California and tries to get back to Connecticut at least once a year for a visit, though we hope that when times get better she'll be able to move back here permanently. During her visit we were able to get together with many of our relatives, some of which surprised her with a 50th birthday party, even though her true 50th was a few years back, she had never had a real birthday party so this was a great gift. Thanks to Dana, Lynda, Marsha, David, John, Mary, Linda and Kylie for all the fun that evening.

The Dockside Inn, York Harbor, Maine

Sandy and I visited Mystic Village, Abbots in the Rough Lobster House, Aspen restaurant in Old Saybrook and took many drives through the surrounding areas. I also had the chance to take both my sisters for a quick over nighter up to Kennebunkport Maine. We stayed at a charming place called "The Captain Fairfield Inn" where Finn and Loryn, the Inn Keepers kept us very comfortable. They served yummy, hot from the oven Chocolate Chip cookies in the afternoon, made us reservations for our dinner out that evening at Bandaloop, which I highly recommend for their Organic/locally grown meals. We all enjoyed our meals and ate way too much that night. While in Maine we drove out to York Harbor and snapped some photos at the Dockside Inn and the Nubble Lighthouse we also drove by Walker Point the summer home of President Bush (Sr.). It was a delightful trip, one I'd love to do again, over and over.

As Fall approaches my home is quiet again, Morgan back at school, Brian back to work, Sandy back in California, Debbie home with her family in Bristol and me with some free time on my hands so I think I'll try and scrapbook some of these wonderful events.

As Summer Comes to an End ...

Left to Right

Morgan, Joshua, Austin, Michelle

I look back and wonder where all my time has gone, because it seems to have flown by so quickly. Where to begin is always the question ...

First off in June my family and I drove 10 hours north to Ft. Kent, Maine to bring my daughter to visit her dad and his family. It was nice to see everyone. The kids have grown like crazy with Josh (14) entering highschool, Michelle (11) and Austin (10) already. We got to see the animals they are raising and from what I understand they all enjoyed having big sister Morgan there for a visit. Brian and I were also able to get together with my cousins daughter Jennifer and her husband Don for dinner at the Lakeview in St. Agatha, it was really nice.



Left to Right

Lori, Morgan, Philippe (my ex)

Michelle, Joshua and Austin

On our ride home from Maine we stopped in at Aunt Donna and Uncle Roy's camp in Weston, Maine for an evening. It was a really nice visit and we loved sitting out on the porch enjoying the call of the loons and chatting away the evening hours.

In July I had Cataract surgery on my right eye. I had a wonderful doctor who placed a toric lens in my eye and I am happy to say I'm seeing much better now. A few days after surgery I took my sister Debbie up to Kennebunkport, Maine with me for a few nights while a construction crew came to my house to tear our 28 old windows from the 1930's and replace them with new energy efficient windows, finally. We still have construction guys here, working on window trim, doors and a few other things, I'll be thankful when it's all done and over with.

Last weekend we had a tag sale, oh my that was an adventure and a half. After emptying out my Father in Laws home and going through our own closets, attic, basement and drawers we found that we had enough to get rid of so we settled on the sale. Brian did the bulk of the work sorting and setting up. We literally had people here to buy at 6:30 in the morning even though we had posted a 9:00 a.m. start, but gosh who looks at signs anyway. It was a terribly hot day in the 90's, but the crowd was good and we sold tons of stuff all totaling about $200. We had decided though that anything that didn't sell would either be donated to Goodwill or put out for a bulk pick up ... so 10 bags later most of it will be gone tomorrow and we made one trip to donate. It's nice to know that our load of "kitch" and items we don't use have lightened up.

Next week my sister Sandy will be arriving from California for a visit so we are deep in cleaning mode right now. Morgan is getting ready to go back to school on the 29th and my hubby will be back to teaching in about a week as well. It'll be a lonely old house when they're all gone ... but I guess that will give me a chance to get back to some scrapping and maybe then I can keep up with my blogging as well.

Facebook Connections

(R to L)

Morgan, Holly, Ethan, Annabelle

Yesterday Morgan and I got together with my niece (from my 1st marriage) ... Holly. We hadn't seen her in about 10 years. It was fun to find her and reconnect on "Facebook". So much has happened in the time since we had last seen one another. I got remarried and moved an hour away from where Holly lived, Morgan grew up and graduated highschool and started college and Holly, whom I might add is stunningly gorgeous, got married and had two very sweet, beautiful children, Ethan and Annabelle. Why, you ask haven't we seen each other in so long, well to make a long story short, after my divorce from her uncle, things got a bit messy with family and so we were unable to keep in touch. Time tends to heal most wounds though, and so after years of no communication we began to chat online. It was so fun catching up over lunch at T.G.I.F's ... laughing about old times and making new memories. We can't wait to get together again ... and hopefully next time we'll be able to have Holly's sisters, Amanda, Ashley and their mom Irene there as well. The lesson for the day here is to "reach out and touch someone you love" no matter how long it's been, or what the parting circumstances were, because life is too short to be separated from friends and family.

Here are some pics from the day. Enjoy!!!

(L to R)

Holly, Morgan and Tania

Home again ...

I'm home from Maine, yes it's my 2nd trip there this year and won't be my last. My eye surgeon thought it best for me to get out of the house while we had 28 windows replaced, so my wonderful hubby sent me 3-1/2 hours north to relax and avoid the dust and dirt of construction work. I brought my sister Debbie with me for the trip so I wouldn't be alone.

We stayed in Kennebunkport at a hotel called the Rhumb Line Inn. It was fine for the price which actually was really a great deal at $198 for a two night stay. I wish it would have been right on the water though ... how great it would have been to wake to the sound of crashing waves and a view, instead we overlooked a parking lot and some pine trees. We ate at some nice restaurants, Alyssons where I enjoyed a sandwich called the Annie Artichokely, Federal Jacks where we actually dinnered twice because it was so good, I highly recommend the Key Lime Pie for dessert, and we had breakfasts at two different places, Breakfast all Day (yum - go with the Monte Cristo) and The Maine Diner (I recommend the almond French Toast). The drive went well and in fact on our way home we didn't even hit one bit of traffic.

The time went fast, but the reward was coming home and finding all of my new windows installed. Ahhh ... life is good sometimes. If you've never been to Kennebunkport you definitely must visit there, it's worth the drive.

Getting Old ..

I have to say this getting old stuff sure is not all it's cracked up to be ... of course the alternative stinks so I guess I'll stick with the old stuff. This coming Monday I'm scheduled to have Cataract Surgery done on my right eye. I noticed about a year ago that my vision in the evening was getting really bad, then almost as soon as I realized that, I noticed my left eye seemed to be getting better and my right eye worse, so what did I do? Well I ignored it of course, I figured it was just time for a prescripton change and new glasses would help. So, I waited a few months then off to the eye doctor who told me the bad news ... "Cataract" ... but he said, no need for surgery unless it really started to bother me. I got new glasses, and had no change so the eye doctor gave me a referral to a surgeon. I understand it's a pretty painless surgery, and quick as well, I should actually walk out of the surgical center seeing almost 100% better, wow, that sure will be nice. The week following surgery I'll have to be really careful about dust, dirt, straining, bending over etc. but after that life should be back to normal. It'll be nice to have this behind me. It sure will be good to see things well again and to be able to do some scrapbooking without putting everything crooked.