Happy Birthday, Bri!!

Today, something miraculous happened...work was (painfully) slow during the day due to the holiday weekend, so they let me leave early!! I didn't have to work my night shift so I got to go to the birthday party of our friend, Brian. He and K have been best friends since the third grade. We hung out with his family and his super cute son, Deven.
K helped the kids fill up water balloons, we were all mesmerized by the bubble machine, and the birthday boy and his son posed for pics. What a fun afternoon!!
I say...LESS WORK! MORE FUN!
I can't wait for the Memorial Day Parade tomorrow and then a family cookout at mom and dad's with sisters and kiddos. :)

Feelin' HOT! HOT! HOT!

It's been between 95 and 102 here the past two days!! (Yes, it is still May, according to the calendar though, if one woke up from a coma, one would no doubt believe it to be a balmy mid-august!!) Today is a gorgeous 73 and it suits me just fine. :)
I love the heat (and hate the cold) but I'm not sure I was ready to see 100 degrees on the thermometer QUITE yet. I had a softball game last night, too and it sure was hot even then, I drank two big Gatorades and then wondered where they went. :)
On Tuesday, we took the kiddos to the playground for a picnic for play-date. It was fun but all the slides and swings and everything was so HOT!!!! The poor kids little legs and buns could hardly stand it!!! So we went to my mom and dad's house and I filled up the kiddie pool and wet down the slide and swings with the hose to cool everything off and the kids loved it.
I think my mom's gonna let me host play-date at her house soon. Maybe when school gets out so she can meet all the kids and hang out with my friends, too. That would be fun. :)
For picnic I made lunch for the grown-ups, a "Crystal Salad" my friend, Jen called it because Sarah asked me what kind of salad it was and I told her, "I dunno. I made it up."
And I made cookies that I had since I forgot I had them for Easter. The kids didn't mind the bunnies on the cookies one bit. I thought they may hope for an accompanying Easter basket but Jordan just said, "Ooooooh, a RABBIT!!"
The "Crystal Salad" ingredients are: Romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, reduced fat shredded asiago cheese, sunflower seeds, pink lady apples, craisins, and OF COURSE my homemade WW croutons :)...and for the dressing I mixed together fat-free Cranberry Balsamic (made by Maple Grove Farms) and Lite Ranch, because I love the cranberry but it can get a little too acidic so the creaminess of the Ranch takes that little edge off. My friends raved about my salad and I must say it was pretty darn good. :)
Then, there's Livi at the playground, and Liv and Jordan on the swings back at my parents house where the cold water from the hose saved the day.







Last night, K and I had our own private fireworks display in the form of beautiful purple heat lighting that we could see from our porch. K explained why there's no audible thunder and I let the information wash over me as I often do, much to his chagrin and decided, beyond science, I would call the heat lightning "polite-ning" because it's very sweet of it to be so pretty to look at and and not scare anyone or keep them awake with loud claps of thunder. K wouldn't quite admit that my term was cute, at the very least...but I saw him smirk, just a little. ;)

A Saturday OFF!?!?

For the first time in FAR TOO LONG, I had a Saturday off. I went to a beautiful brunch at the home of my best friend Carina's mom's best friend. :) We celebrated her 60th birthday (which is actually today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LINDA!!!). Everyone "ooh"ed and "ahh"ed at my gift (as planned) and I spent the afternoon in the company of extraordinary women.
My Carina, she is an amazing, brilliant, strong, unabashedly brazen woman...so of course, her mother...well, the apple didn't fall far from the tree!! The fact that she surrounds herself with such a great group of women shouldn't surprise me. It did, though, make me feel happy and proud to be in such company.
This is Carina and her mother, Linda. (GORGEOUS!!)
Followed by our wonderful party favors. Ghiradelli coffee with tags "LINDA 60 and Still Perky." TOO CUTE!!




And THEN...to make my Saturday off even more AWESOME...K and I met up with our friends Scotty and Kristen at FOXWOODS :)
K played some cards and we all hung out and gambled and watched the Celtics beat the Magic and Dice K throw a one-hitter and it was a really fun night(even though we were in YANKEE country). There was limo service to and from the hotel and casino. Any night I find myself in a limo...I'd say that's a pretty cool night. :)

fun day...long night

These are the shoes I wore to wait tables tonight.
Not your standard black, non-slip boring (possibly velcro) shoes you'd expect on a waitress...although I've got those. But those shoes...they were AT HOME ON MY PORCH!!
So, my little friend Leah saved the day and I wore these shoes (as opposed to the flesh colored flip flops that were my only other option). This little Leah, well her feet are little, too. These shoes were at least half a size too small and I thought for sure that after eight hours and CLOSING the restaurant that when I took them off, my pinky toes would be left as a thank you.
Alas, my feet are intact. Let's go back now to the fun part of my day...

I shopped for a 60th birthday present for my best friend, Carina's Mom.
I started with a bottle of "Relax" Riesling. I thought I'd get a bunch of spa stuff that went with the pretty blue bottle. Then I browsed at Marshall's and decided to go a whole different direction when I found two really cool hand-blown wine glasses that seemed very HER. :)

Then I wanted to look for a hatbox to put the wine and glasses in. Then I found this GORGEOUS "toolbox." I found some pretty candles and a plate to put the big blue candle on. I was really happy with the way it all turned out. (note: usually I'd regale you with sale prices and the amazing deals I got with all the specifics, but since it's a gift...I'll just say I stayed just within my $50.00 dollar budget-including the wine)
I used some pink tissue paper from my birthday (REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE) to ensure my gift's safe trip to the Birthday Brunch tomorrow.
Like my mother before me, I look forward to having the prettiest package on the gift table. :)







And then...I got to hang out with my nephew for a little while before work. He was right down the street at my Auntie Pam's (I LOVE being HOME). He played with his "manimals" that my cousin Amanda got him just today. He knew the names of all the animals!! Not just cute, but smart, too!! I sure do love this kiddo!!!

A Star in the Making

My friend Jen's daughter, Jordan has just started working as a child model. She had her first gig and will be seen on a Weebles (as in weebles wobble but they don't fall down) box in a city near you!!

I took some head shots for Jen (my dearest friend that I've met since our move home) with my Mom's super amazing camera (I pinky promised to wear the strap around my neck at all times). I was going to post a bunch of pics- and still may- but for now, I'll let "The One" speak for itself.

Jen, later Mom, and I all stopped on this one, in a sea of about a hundred pictures and thought, that's it!!!
So, here she is!! A little shining star (you can't tell from this picture but she is ONE HOT TICKET!!!)

Tuesdays with Livi

It was another fun play-date with a few moms from work and their kiddos. Livi played on the swingset and with all of the million of toys at my friend Sarah's house.
They played in the driveway and Liv even played "lawn mower" and I thought how proud her Grampie would be (my Dad is just a little obsessed with the manicuring of his yard).







Doesn't my new (used) Volvo look quite in place?? ;)

julie's tournie

This weekend was the Julianne Caron Memorial Golf Tournament. Julie was my cousin. She was killed in a car accident three years ago. This tournament is an awesome way to raise money for her Scholarship Fund. The scholarship goes to a student from her (and my) high school who is going into the Nursing Field, as she had hoped to do.
K and my Dad (her uncle) were on a team with a couple of my Dad's friends from work. They had a great day of golf and it was all for a great cause.
And...there was a silent auction and my Dad got me THIS...
An AUTOGRAPHED photo-plaque of Mike Lowell, my all-time very favorite Red Sox player. He's the best. :) (My Dad, not M.L.---well, BOTH!!)

Happy Mother's Day!!

Happy Mother's Day to my (fabulous blogger) Mom and all the other Mommas out there!! I hope everyone has a wonderful day!! You deserve it!!

car shopping and sox winning :)

I have been a busy girl...on Monday I rented a car to pursue a NEW CAR (well...new to me...)
I had an unfortunate accident and although initially I thought the damage was minimal I WAS WRONG.
The insurance agency declared the car a "total loss" --- TOTALED!!! (to the lay person)
I felt like I was punched in the stomach when I heard the news. WE HAD JUST PAID OFF THE CAR!!
Literally I had the accident on Monday and the title came in the mail on Tuesday!!
I was crying when I spoke on the phone with the insurance agent and he assured me "This happens WAY more often than you would think."
It helped a little to think that I was not the ONLY ONE!! :)
And then what helped even more was, on a pit-stop on my car buying journey...I went trot trot to Boston to go to the RED SOX!!!
My BFF Alanna got me tickets for my birthday!!





and then...
i found my dream car...


Well, this is what it would look like parked by the ocean!! :)
Got me a 98 Volvo V70 Wagon and it fits me like a charm. :)
I felt so awful about the accident...but now I feel really at home with this car. :)
Maybe it's true...what's meant to be will be :)

And...I'm willing to take a full-time position as Mike Lowell's GLC (good luck charm) he went 4-for-4 with 3 doubles and 4 ribbies...and he is my BASEBALL BOYFRIEND...so there's a possibility I'd work pro bono ;)