My Baby Boy No More

Ian turned twenty-one today. I can hardly believe it has been that long since that beautiful spring day when we first met. I could not be more proud of the man he has become.

I love you little boy!

For REAL This Time!

My young deer friends stayed away long enough for me see the Spring Bloom through.

Hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

Marvelous Milwaukee

What a weekend!

Spent a wonderful few days with my pal Edwina in Milwuakee. After a wee bit of trouble with the airplane (a real big thank you to the FAA for getting my flight cancelled!) and a stimulating full pat down and bag search by security (never "buy" a ticket last minute - you are sooo targeted) I finally arrived late Friday evening.

First let me say that any time spent with Edwina is well worth the trip! But we are not good influences on each other! Don't worry - no police were involved...

The Stampin' Up! Training was at the Midwest Airlines Center. A great facility. We got to learn some great techniques and get some swell ideas for advancing our businesses. My swaps were well received and that is always a good thing! Now I have a ton of samples to give me some creative ideas. One thing I've noticed is that if I'm with Edwina, we will never be too far from a Starbucks! I find this very comforting - even though I virtually never go into one unless I'm with her. As no coffee was available inside the Convention Center (what was up with THAT?!) we quickly identified the nearest Buckies and made a run for caffeine! We rounded out the weekend with shopping. Lot's of shopping. Um... no pictures of this - too incriminating! Let's just say the suitcase was a bit heavier coming home than going over!

I do love flying Midwest Airlines - great service, fair prices, excellent safety record. But if the last flight out of Milwaukee to Cleveland on a Sunday evening is ever on time I will stand in wonder in awe. I am now very familiar with this lapse however, and plan for it. No worries!

Gave me a chance to do some serious reading of a new author I found in the Airport bookshop. "Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss. If you like SciFi/Fantasy - a must read! Can't wait to get my hands on Book II of the series!

Hey Edwina! When's the next trip? Ready when you are!

The Odd Couple

Drove to Sylvania tonight to check out my talented niece Breanna as one of the leads in the Northview Highschool play. They are doing "The Odd Couple" including both male and female lead versions. Bre plays "Florence" who you may be more familiar with as Felix - the neurotic neatnik with a sinus condition. I may be biased, but I think she did an excellent job!

Here is a group shot of her cast: The lovely Breanna in a range of scenes displaying the breadth and depth of her talent: She takes her final bow And a wee bit of organized well supervised hijynx to round out the evening... GREAT JOB BREANNA AND FRIENDS!

Lost In Space

Kind of a space themed day over hear at FTFH! (No alien influence I'm sure!)

Finally finished up my card fronts for the Stampin' Up! Regional Training Seminar I'll be going to later this month. Odd how they got finished so much earlier than I normally would have managed. (Again - not like it was an android doing it or anything!)

Since it's a Stampin' Up! demonstrator event, all materials used are available from the current catalogue. I rather do like the way they turned out! Spent the evening at The Tangiers in Akron listening to UFO with the husband. Here are a few images from the evening: Hit's included "Too Hot To Handle", "Lights Out", "Rock Bottom", "Only You Can Rock Me", "Shoot Shoot" ...you remember them right? Not that long ago!

Lot's of fun had by all!

Fiesta with Friends

Was blessed today to get together with some online friends for a Mexican Feast-esta! Anita invited us over to hang out and partake of some delicious Mexican style cuisine. (Can I tell you that "Newman's Own" Mango Salsa is my new favorite thing?!) Even though she is vegan, she graciously served us ground meat - I love this girl.

Here we have from left to right: Trina, Me, Anita, Cindy, and Tammy.

left to right again: Darlene, Me, Trina, Tammy, and Anita.

Being stampers we did eventually have to pop down to the 'studio' to check out a technique or two and play with some of the new Kitchen Sink Stamps Anita had acquired. Thanks to Tammy for demonstrating the "Hydrangea" set - very cool! She's our talented friend on the design team.

um... would you admit to knowing this blogger?

First Flowers of Spring

What? You expected to see flowers? I expected flowers too when I came home from work today. When I left in the morning, I noticed that my husband's tulips had finally popped.

One of my favorite things about Spring is watching everything come alive, green up, and bloom. All day I planned to grab the camera the minute I walked in the door and rush back outside to take some snaps.

Imagine my surprise when all the flowers were gone when I pulled in the drive. Careful examination uncovered the telltale signs of nibbling and incriminating hoof prints in the soil.

I understand - they've got to eat too and they looked darn tasty to me.

A bit later on I heard a shout from the kitchen, "They're back!"

I'm pretty sure they came to apologize.

Don't worry guys - it's all good. Happy Spring to you too.

For My Mom

On honor of her birthday today, I'd like to offer some lessons I've learned from my Mom for your review:

"Dancing is good exercise"

"If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right"

"Always finish what you start"

"If you borrow something, return it promptly"

"Call the library if you need to know something"

"Don't commit to someone until you've known them through all four seasons"

"Things really ought to match"

"I never thought I'd sound like my mother one day too"

...and by observation: You should marry the boy you look at just like this

Founder's Day

Got together with some of my Chi Omega sisters at the Cleveland Chop House today for our annual Founder's Day Luncheon. It is one of the times throughout the year where "Actives" and "Alumnae" gather together. Had a great meal and wonderful conversation. Our collegiate scholarship winners were announced for the Cleveland area. One of our sisters spoke with us about the Make A Wish Organization, which is our philanthropy. We are getting ready for the "Walk For Wishes" at the end of June - More details on that to come!

Here are the folks from my table....

I won the door prize too! A beautiful mum for the garden (If it will stay alive inside until it's safe to plant!)

April Fools!

BLOGLANDIA FREE PRESS

DATELINE 06.05.08

APRIL FOOLS' JOKE: FACT OR FICTION?

We have just become aware of an interesting story here in our community. A local blogger who has not posted in two months, now claims that this was all part of an April Fool's Joke gone awry.

"I'm a big fan of the joke concept. I just love the stuff NPR does every year! Taco Bell having corporate sponsorship of the Liberty Bell or the Starbucks Pipeline from Seattle across the US for product consistency... all brought to you by the Soilent Company "Producing nutritious products for all, remember Soilent Green is People" - What a hoot!" said Connie Carpenter Macko.

"I had planned to skip a day and then tell folks that I was abducted by aliens - it should have been hilarious. But then it actually happened! The mothership must have read my thoughts - I wasn't wearing my foil helmet you know - they just sent down that tractor beam and it sucked me right up!" She told this reporter.

Generally recognized as a stable hard working member of the community, a clever yet thoughtful girl, no one would have expected such a crazy story from Mrs. Carpenter Macko.

"I know it sounds wacky - but I've been 'gone' you know? Apparently the android clone they prepared to replace me was unaware of my recent dedication to posting. Their intelligence was from last fall when I wasn't so committed."

The community at large isn't buying the story.

"I think she was probably just busy or distracted and the blog got lost in the shuffle," surmised Suzie Sweetness.

"If I were one to talk about folks, I'd say it was more likely that she was just lazy! But luckily, I don't like to spread rumors about folks so I'd never admit that out loud," offered Molly Malcontent.

According to her cousin Larry Looney, "It happened to me once - I believe her completely. She should stop down to our Support Group Meetings, we wouldn't dare call her Wacko Macko like I've heard some folks saying"

This reporter is just not sure what to think!

"I plan to make amends," stated Connie. "The android did do many fun, memorable things while I was 'away' and was it thoughtful enough to take some photo snaps and mind melt the memories for me."

Look for more April and May posts from our errant blogger coming soon. As well as your regularly scheduled June fare as well.