Halloween photo post

Joey was the cutest little chicken head

Alicia and Bekah had so much fun

Joey and Momma Ashley getting ready to go out

Katy in my favorite costume of the night

Mom giving out candy

Alicia is a ham I don't care what she is dressed as

Danielle as a broken Tinkerbell...

Stefanie was a purple witch

And Tyler in his last minute costume when his original costume didn't fit him! (His Daddy wasn't so happy that his son was called a cute little girl all night long)

Abby was cookin'

Halloween Party

I know I am a few days late here but I wanted to show you all some of my favorite pictures from the Halloween party 07... I had a great time and hope everyone else did too - BUT I will tell you there is far too much alcohol left over at my house FAR!!!!!!!!!

Hugh Hefner and one of his girls (Marianne can tell you who)

Joy and Anginettie

Mom holding a baby

Lance Armstrong, I wish I had taken a better picture since this was funny!!!

Bruce and his wife whose world revolves around her (that's her costume NOT a commentary!)

Cowgirl Mom

Laura and the fortune teller

My favorite Sumo Wrestler

Roy, Sharon, and witchy Marianne

Sharon, Marianne and Joy

Kat and Adam

Cheryl

The WORLD'S cutest dog!!

Hope to see you all next year!

2 things

Here ya go...

JUST TWO THINGS... If you opened it, you have to do it.

Then, send it back to the person who sent it to you and the rest of your friends!

Two Names You Go By:
1. Joy
2. JL


Two Things You Would Want (or have) in Relationship:
1 Honesty
2 Communication


Two accessories you can't live without:
1 Earrings
2 Rings

Two of Your Favorite Things to do:
1. Spend time with my family
2. Take bubble baths


Two Thing you Desperately Wish For Right Now
1. To have all the house stuff done.
2. To be closer to Christy I miss her living next door.

Pets you have:
1. Tiki
2. Needles

Two people who will fill this out:
1 Who
2. Knows


Two things you did last night:
1. Hung out with Jim
2. Got home for Sharon's engagement party


Two things you ate today:
1. Baked french toast
2. 1/2 a veggie burger

Last Talked To: (On the phone)
1. Marissa
2. My voicemail


Two Things You're doing tomorrow:
1. Maybe going to the Topsfield fair
2. Clean my house

Two longest car rides:
1. Florida for my honeymoon
2. A different trip to Florida with my parents a LONG time ago


Two Favorite Holidays:
1. Valentine's day
2. Easter


Two favorite beverages:
1. Lemonade
2. Orange Juice
Now, here's what you're supposed to do... and please do not spoil the fun.
Do 'copy' and "paste" onto new email...delete my answers and type in your answers.

Then send this to a whole bunch of people you know INCLUDING the person who
sent it to you.
The theory is that you will learn a lot of little known facts about those whom you know.

But I was too lazy to do that so I blogged it!

A box of Joy

I love my friends... They all try so hard to get around my no present rule - While giving me presents! So Sharon sent me this a wonderful box filled with things to make me happy! I love it!!! Here are some pictures though they aren't great because I was fighting the cat (Punkin) away!


A magazine I have been coveting but didn't want to spend the outrageous price on! Thanks Sharon, I really do want to make that candle surround on the front...

This is what the box looked like on the outside, isn't it pretty?

And here it is filled with most of it's goodies a few taken out and already in use :-)

A book with my name written all over it! AND it is extra perfect because this is give a book to a friend week (no really it is)

And another great magazine, I can't wait to make what is on this cover either... I think I am going to need classes since that is the peyote stitch and I certainly don't know it :-0

Thanks again Sharon I love every bit of it! And now I am off to the gym!

PS YAY Sox, keep it up!!!!

What would you change and what would you keep the same?

I was talking to Sharon today about the things in life that I would not change and things that I would...

I would not change (in no particular order):
Jim
My family
My friends
My horses
Tiki
My past (it made me who I am)
My car


I would change (again in no order):
My self esteem
My job
My inability to say no (hence year 6 begins)
Dropping out of college

What would you change, what would you keep the same? Why?

I would love it if you would leave a message or email me and let me know

What a great 100th post...

So most everybody knows that I did the “Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk” this weekend. It was an amazing experience and I can’t wait to do it again…
26.2 miles of thinking… Just what I needed!

I spent the vast majority of that time (okay maybe all of it) thinking how much I hate cancer. I don’t hate it like I hate cars that breakdown, friends that disappoint, or family who isn’t trustworthy I hate it like people hate Hitler – NO! I think I hate it more than that. I hate like what it is a stalker who sneaks into your safe place in the dark of night and points a gun at you and plays a little “Russian roulette”. When people I know have gotten that diagnosis I am certain (though with my stoic mom I will never know) that they think (even if just for the briefest of moments) “is this how I am going to go down?”
And then they make a choice – to live (or not) and they do everything in their and medicines power to make that happen. MANY MANY do not make. Many do! I guess there really is no point to this…

Last night I went to storytelling and heard an incredible teller (I won’t mention who because it is her story to tell - not mine) talk about her own mortality. And the choices that she has made because of it. She has chosen to stretch time by not doing the things that are no longer fun for her (or maybe they never were but the were the “right thing to do”) and to surround herself with being (human and otherwise) who make her happy to be alive, to take time in the morning for breakfast and play with the dog at night. She is choosing to say “go to hell terminality” and I think that is what all of us need to do…

Any way back to my walk.. There was never a more perfect day for the walk.. It was just the right amount cold in the morning and warm in the afternoon… I would love to say that I just strolled along and it was wonderful but I would just be lying. I had a hip ache that wouldn’t go away starting at mile 1.5 and blisters that still hurt (and they go to the TOP of my feet – gross). I was fairly certain by mile 9 that I couldn’t do it… I really was just hurting but I told myself I had to do it and if anything I would reevaluate at mile 13.1 (the halfway mark) well literally at the step of halfway (where I was going to make up my mind) Roll on by Alabama came on:

Roll on highway, roll on along
Roll on daddy till you get back home
Roll on family, roll on crew
Roll on momma like I asked you to do
And roll on eighteen-wheeler roll on (roll on)

Well it's Monday morning, he's kissin' momma goodbye
He's up and gone with the sun
Daddy drives an eighteen-wheeler
And he's off on a midwest run

And three sad faces gather round momma
They ask her when daddy's comin' home
Daddy drives an eighteen-wheeler
And they sure miss him when he's gone (yeah they do)

Ah, but he calls them everynight and he tells them
That he loves them
He taught them this song to sing

Roll on highway, roll on along
Roll on daddy till you get back home
Roll on family, roll on crew
Roll on momma like I asked you to do
And roll on eighteen-wheeler roll on (roll on)

Well it's Wednesday evening, momma's waitin by the phone
It rings but it's not his voice
Seems the highway patrol has found a jacknifed rig
In a snow bank in Illinois

But the driver was missin' and the search had been abandoned
For the weather had everything strong
And they had checked all the houses and the local motels
When they had some more news they'd call

And she told them when they found him to tell him
That she loved him
And she hung up the phone singin'

Roll on highway, roll on along
Roll on daddy till you get back home
Roll on family, roll on crew
Roll on momma like I asked you to do
And roll on eighteen-wheeler roll on (roll on)

Momma and the children will be waiting up all night long
Thinkin' nothing but the words just comin'
With the ringin' of the telephone

Oh, but the man upstairs was listening
When momma asked him to bring daddy home
And when the call came in it was daddy on the other end
Askin' her if she had been singin' the song, singin'

Roll on highway, roll on along
Roll on daddy till you get back home
Roll on family, roll on crew
Roll on momma like I asked you to do
And roll on eighteen-wheeler roll on (roll on)

eighteen-wheeler
eighteen-wheeler
eighteen-wheeler
eighteen-wheeler

Roll on

To most people those words don’t mean a damn thing, to mean that meant suck it up bitch and walk the next 13.1. You see my god-father died of brain cancer and he was a truck driver… We used to sing this song to him when he was leaving and occasionally when he came back home. He weakly sung it to us when he was dying… I felt like (feel like?) Dad (I don’t mean my father I mean Joe – I call my father Daddy-o) was telling me that a few little blisters (okay not little) and a few aches and pains were nothing compared to the suffering that all the people in the world who have survived or succumbed to cancer have had.

I was rewarded! As I walked on another mile I realized that for the first time in the whole walk I knew where I was and I was right around the corner from Ginette. After a quick phone call she and Freddy came out with some pain-killers for me. J

The rest of the walk got a lot better the only thing that hurt was my stupid feet (and stupid stupid Payless shoes)

And at mile 25 I was joined by some wonderful people, MY FAMILY!!! Jim and mom had come to cross the line with me. Slowly we walked through the city and happily we crossed the line. And just like any fairytale it had a happy ending…

Not all fairytales have happy endings I learned just the other day… My mom’s cancer fairytale will not have a happy ending there will be no “LIVED happily ever after” for her. But she is happy for now and that is the only goal…

My feet on Monday were not happy

The last mile - walking with friends...

Sitting on the ground after the walk - I love this picture for some reason

Me and my favorite people...

And seriously these were every mile along the oroute - how could you not want to walk another mile for that face!

A great date

Well seeing as it is early AM on the 11th of September I thought I would tell you about a great date rahter than remembering a sad one...
Friday night Jim took me out on a date :-)
He planned the whole night all about me.
We went to Fanueil Hall
Had dinner at Wagamama's A place I can't wait to go back to and that I highly recommend. Yummy and cheap AND clean what more could you want? Ohh good service yup they have that too!
Dessert at the North End Bakery Jim got the Lemon Merangue Pie and I got Cannoli
and a nice handsome cab ride around the city... Tommy was a 17 hand 9 year old percheron cross He was a great grey (you would look at him and think white but it would be wrong, if you ever want to know more ask me this is one of my favorite topics to discuss) and seemed happy and calm. Mike the driver was from Ohio and was talking to us the whole time about 4-H
It was amazing, like one of those movie star dates.
I was/am so relaxed and starry eyed
Sigh life is good.
Have a great day!


The picture quality kind of sucks but that is because we didn't have a camera so we used Jim's phone in the dark :-0

The best of intentions

So The other day somebody mentioned pesto… OMG I love pesto. So I thought to myself “Self make yourself some low-fat pesto”. A quick web search found me looking at this recipe: http://www.donogh.com/cooking/pasta/pesto.shtml
But for me good enough is never good enough… SO I went to http://www.cookinglight.com and typed in pesto and found this:
http://www.donogh.com/cooking/pasta/pesto.shtml

And I thought YUM pesto and bread together does it get any better? So I decided on my way home from work I would stop at the grocery store and get the ingredients… BUT I also thought, “I won’t buy commercial pesto I will use the first recipe to make my own” Yes peeps I did actually think I would be that ambitious. So off I went with my grocery list and bought what I needed, but then I ran into a friend and chatted and then I decided I wanted to stop at CVS and get some stuff there, Ohhhh yeah and Walgreen’s did have my photos ready and and and… And by the time I got home well I was over the need to make pesto. But I still wanted the pesto bread rounds for dinner. So I thought to myself (I was quite thoughtful this day) I know I will just use my Tastefully Simple “Tomato Garlic Pesto” sprinkle stuff http://www.tastefullysimple.com and mix it with some light mayo ans sprinkle a little “skim mozzarella” on it and have myself a yummy meal. And I did and it worked AND I really wanted Marianne to know…

So I cooked! YAY!

1 thing down

My house has been driving me nuts lately...
There is just TOO MUCH STUFF in here. And lots and lots of "started projects" but not nearly as many finished projects (as I type this there are 3 fimo buttons sitting next to the keyboard all done and ready to go just need to bake them)
But tonight I finished one that has literally been on the floor in the hobby room waiting for 15 minutes of my time for the last oh... Month maybe 6 weeks.

Here is the rag rug (my own design and not anything I will ever make again it killed my hands and arms)


Also I wasted to show you all - - - - - - My first tomato!!!
I grew these from seed and I am so excited! There are lots more coming :-)

Here is the whole bush

And Mom's sandwich


And lastly here is a picture of the bread and potato bin that Jim made me. I love him and the thought but not so much loving the actual item... The style is TNMS and did you just hear me mention that I want to clear my house not add more into it!


Have a great night!

If you thought last week was bad...

It is 11:56 on Friday night this time so I better type fast (good thing we don't have dial-up anymore)

Sorry it's a short one but I was lost watching the Patriots... Who also lost!
GRRRRRR!

Anyway I figured I would give you a picture of the bouquet I made last weekend. (11:57) Sometimes I forget how much I like being a florist...
Anyway here it is (held by the lovely Jim):


And while we are talking of flowers look at this:
Found them at a farm stand they are as tall as I am!!!! And why you ask do I have an over 4 foot tall vase? Because it was the color palette for the living room (11:59)

Say it with me

AWWWWWWW! I got home from work last night and there was two packages for me.
1- a triptych of paintings I ordered for Jim for his birthday (I am done with him for both his birthday and Christmas!!!)
and
2- Something that says my full name, which is how I order off of eBay and although I didn't remember buying it was quite possible...

Well I was wrong it was an I love you present from Tricia! The most beautiful socks, that fit me like she kept my foot there and knitted them around it. AHHHHHH I love them! You can't see it from this picture but the have the most beautiful detail on the heal and the ankle. They are wonderful! THANK YOU TRICIA!



Have a great day, more tomorrow

In the nick of time...

I have promised myself I will update once a week... Well it might be 9:03 but I made it :-)

We have had the cutest visitor this last week.
I have named him George (I frequently name things George, Ralph or Henry - don't ask)

He comes for the apples.


Isn't he cute?

I admit to begging Jim to put a bucket of water out there for him - What I can't have a deer as a pet?

Look how easily he "disappears"

Cupcakes to celebrate mom's cancerversary - they held a double duty - I needed to take this picture for a swap I am in

Mom and one of her oldest and "DEEREST" (HAHAHAHAHA) friends!

Happy Halloween

So last Saturday was Halloween at the camp... It's always a great time, this year I was having so much fun I forgot ot drink :-0

Can you believe the one time a year I go out drinking I forget. Good thing I had Michelle's wedding!!!!

Anyway pictures are worth a thousand words and these definitely are wordy...

Please notice there are more adults dressed up than kids (they only get candy adults get shots-explains a lot huh?)

PS Jim did NOT forget to drink


Jim sets up the site (Jim wants you to know there was much much more than I am showing here)

Looks like there might have been an accident - although look there is colt Dracula on the top - Maybe this is his work

ARRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHH Who goes there?

I love this wizard, I finally figured out (this year) how an adult looks so short in it!

Tyler doesn't care too much for Halloween but loves the ice cream Aunty That brought!