Alice and Mark's Wedding Photo

Congratulations!

Photo From the Most Boring Reverse Raffle Ever

MJ, Mary, Jodie, Heather and Dawn

Switching Gears

Listening to Barenaked Ladies today at work instead of George. The songs are like old friends that I haven't seen in awhile. Last year, Amy and John and us went to see BNL downtown and it was awesome. I wouldn't mind seeing them again, actually.

Too bad Steve is fighting drug charges right now, eh? Anyway, they have a children's cd that I would love to have for Timmy (hint,hint). Has anyone heard it yet?

Here's some info:

SNACKTIME is Barenaked Ladies first collection of original children's songs. The album was produced and mixed by Michael Phillip Wojewoda, who also worked with the band on their debut Gordon.

"Our collective kids now outnumber the band more than 2 to 1," explains vocalist/guitarist Ed Robertson. "We set out to make a record that would be entertaining for them…not strictly a children's record, but a record that children would really enjoy. Our kids are in to all kinds of music. They love the They Might Be Giants kids records, but they also love The Beatles, Fountains of Wayne, Randy Newman, Black Eyed Peas and Green Day. Making the focus about what our kids like was a truly liberating process and fun for the whole band."

Barenaked Ladies will return to the studio later this year to start work on their next full-length album that will celebrate 20 years together.

Bad News Day

What is happening in the world? Bad news surrounds me today.

When I arrived at work this morning, my friend Steve told us about the 12 boy who collapsed and died at soccer practice last night. Steve is a soccer coach and was there practicing when the boy collapsed. He called 911 and talked with the police and ambulance. He said he was so upset last night he could not sleep. The poor boy's parents, they must be besided themselves. Right now there is no word on the cause. How is this fair?

I opened my email to learn that a someone important in our lives has breast cancer. She's 38 with 4 children. She's got the support of a lot of friends and family, but how much stress is she expected to handle? She takes care of everyone and now she has the battle of her life to fight. How is that fair?

Then, I received an email from a co-worker here at work. He is at University Hospital undergoing chemotherapy for leukemia. His wife works here too and she's been walking around with this for 3 weeks now and we didn't know. Now we know and I feel bad every time I see her. She says he is doing well and it is a treatable disease and that surviving the treatment is the key.

It makes my "bad" day of spilled cheerios, headaches and sleepless nights seem very miniscule.

Pray for good health and strength to handle whatever comes your way, I know I will.

Somebody's Getting Married! And Having a Baby...

Yes, our friend Beth S. is getting married. I personally don't believe it, what a drama queen. Here is the article I found on her:

Feisty Real World season two cast member — and Real World Challenge star — Beth Stolarczyk is a married woman.

She wed real estate developer Matt Ciriello on August 9, in a private ceremony on the beach in Santa Monica.

Stolarczyk, 39, and Ciriello, 32, have more good news: They're also expecting a baby.

“I have never been happier in my life. We are over the moon," Stolarczyk said. "I was not expecting to be pregnant on my wedding day, but then I’ve always done things a little controversial.”

Stolarczyk bought her fitted Carolina Herrera wedding dress before she knew she was pregnant.

R-Mine Bridal Couture had to alter gown in the right places to fit her six-month baby bump.

Their baby girl is due in the beginning of December.

Shower, Raffle and Fair

Another busy weekend. My brother and his wife are having twins. The baby shower was Saturday and it was very nice. I found that I could not help myself from getting involved with the seating and the the service. Maybe I should have been a restaurant manager, I would definitely teach those servers a thing or two about efficiency and class. The 2 girls we had serve us had neither.

Saturday night we went to a benefit for my friend's company's charity, Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital. Despite the fact that it was the most boring raffle that I have ever attended, we had a great time. Our table was great fun. My cousin, her friend Dawn, Mary and the Alexanders were wonderful. We laughed and chatted the whole time about an ugly troll doll that someone donated, the other tables at the event and told funny stories. Larry and I had a great time.

Sunday we went to the County Fair with another couple and their child. We saw the animals and Timmy loved it. Mommy was not so thrilled by the pigs and cows. In the chicken area, I held on to Larry, I actually had chills that the chickens would poke out of the cage and get me. I don't like animals and apparently, I am afraid of them too.

We ended up the day Sunday going out to our cousins house and having a wonderful cookout with most of the family. It was wonderful, we wished we could have stayed longer.

Back at work today, tired and needing to do chores around the house. Yet, another week begins.

An Easier Affair

Love these lines from An Easier Affair:

And I'm dancing with the freaks now
I'm havin', I'm havin' so much fun

Not living my life with other people on my mind
No, got nothing to hide from anyone
Yes, I'm walking on new air
Just living my life
Better believe I'm gonna get what's mine

See I don't have the time for the haters

Don't let them tell you who you are is not enough
Don't let them tell you that it's wrong

Don't let them tell you that happiness can't be found

Things to Do, Things to Do

Much of time is spent thinking about the things that we have to do. It seems my calendar and my notebook are full of things that I need to check off my list.

Here's what I am thinking about today......The house. We need a shed, and we need the shed before the winter comes. The yard. The grass is growing into the bed where we have mulch. I (or someone) has to get a shovel and build a trench between the two. I like how it looks when I see it at other houses. We need to paint, but I am comfortable with waiting on that one. This week, I managed to purchase a toilet seat and install it myself and I hung pictures in the bathroom.

Timmy. He will be 2 on Labor Day. I need to get his photo taken at JC Penney and Larry wants him to pose with a football helmet. We are having a family party for him on Labor Day and I have to get a cake and prepare for that. Not to mention a birthday present. Also, he is now biting the leather furniture in our house. Not sure if he has teeth coming in, but this could be disasterous if he continues.
I need to get Timmy's fall/winter clothes out and box up and donate his older clothes and toys.

Football season. It is here. Larry is scouting tonight, scrimmage on Friday and meetings on Saturday and Sunday. So now, it starts. Hopefully, I can use this time to my advantage to get things down around the house.

Things that I would like to fit in:

- catch up on Oprah on DVR
- see "Sex and the City", the movie
- organizing the photos into albums or even marked boxes
- make those fleece blankets everyone seems to be making

There you have it, my thoughts today.

Lake Farmpark on Sunday

Sunday and it was sunny when we left the house and headed out Auburn Rd. to Route 6 toward the Farmpark. We stopped at All Souls on the way to visit Larry's Mom. I borrowed a flower from someone else's family and left it for her.

On to the Farmpark, our first visit. We bought our tickets and headed out to the tractor ride to get an overview of the grounds. Timmy loved the ride and pointed out the llamas. By this time, it was starting to rain so we headed into the cafe and had lunch. The flys there were unbelievable and I was grossed out. We ate and got out of there. Headed down to the dairy since it was now pouring. We stopped and looked at the two trains they have on display and Timmy loved that too.

In the dairy, there were maybe 6 cows for the milking exhibition. I really did go in with an open mind. I walked up to the cows and there were just flys galore on the cows. The smell, I had to get out of there. Good thing Larry was able to handle it, he carried Timmy around to see the cows.

There were bleachers set up as if someone would sit there and watch a cow milking show. Sit in there? Are they kidding? Ugggh, I don't like animals, I cannot help it.

So, we headed home in the pouring rain with Timmy talking about cows and trains.

Do I have to go back there? Maybe in the summertime, we could go back and see the farm animals from a distance. Larry's job is going to be handling the zoo and the farmpark forever.

Name this Former Child Star