Here's the old stuff from MySpace

I really can't do 2 of these, so I'm bringing the old stuff over before it gets to be too much.

Saturday, February 23, 2008 Rain. Current mood: restless Lots of it. Buckets, torrents. With thunder. And lightening. Ugh. Yankees Spring Training got cancelled.Thank God for late check-out (2:30), and a lobby with big screen TV and 2 computers for guest internet access. Haven't seen the kids for an hour and dh is snoring on the couch. :-) Our flight leaves at 6:30 PM and there's nothing to get us out of here earlier. I do have 2 more books to read, that's a good thing. And number one son and I can watch Thursday's Lost on the laptop leter. That's good. Some of the Yankees old-timers, management and such are staying here. Number one son talked to Mickey Rivera ( I don't know who he is, but dh and he do) in the lobby. Last night we drove over to Clearwater Beach and were pleasantly surprised by an arts show on the Pier. :-D The kids got to go bungee jumping on a trampoline - great fun! I passed. When we got back to the hotel, 9 of us were on an elevator. It lurched and clunked and shut down. :-( It was about 18 inches off the first floor and the doors wouldn't open. We weren't stuck for more than 15 minutes, so it was a minor adventure. But we were joking about having dinner leftovers, chocolate, etc. One of the women was claustrophobic - she didn't say much. She had doggie bags from the Cheesecake Factory, but it was salad, not cheesecake. Not much consolation if we were stuck longer. I had to pee, that was my biggest inconvenience. DH wasn't on the elevator with us since he parked the car. So when I called him to tell him we were stuck - he was in the lobby on the computer and said, "well, why are you calling me?". ???? Well, I wanted someone on the outside who spoke English to know of our predicament in case we were stuck longer. @@ Men. Geesh. Currently reading : Blaze: A Novel By Richard Bachman Release date: 22 January, 2008 12:39 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Thursday, February 21, 2008 Driving across Florida Current mood: happy Well, we checked out of Ocean Pointe this morning (West Palm Beach) and now we're in a great Residence Inn in Tampa. I have to say that the middle part of Florida is a scary place. We got off the highway at a town called Yeehaw. Yes, you read that correctly - Yeehaw. It went downhill from there. At one intersection there were 4, count'em 4 landfills. Once you're away from the coast there's really not much else. Well, maybe horse farms, but we didn't drive through that part this time. If you know different, please let me know - but why would anyone live in the middle of this state? We're off to Tarpon Springs for a great Greek B-day dinner and then to see some of Yankees Spring training tomorrow. Ahhhh, life is good. Currently listening : Birthday By Paul McCartney 4:19 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Sunday, February 17, 2008 Vacation! :-) Current mood: relaxed okay, so I missed a few days. Thursday - travel all afternoon and evening, check into resort at 10 PM. Dinner inb car at 9:45 - headache already begun Friday - headache worsened. Went back to bed. Turned into a full-blown, sucky migraine. Complete with sensitivity to light and nauseousness. Kids and DH went to pool and fended for themselves. Since I was too sick to drive to buy the groceries as planned, this meant lunch of cereal and cookies. @@ Woke up around 4 PM and joined the land of the living. Limped through dinner at our favorite casual beach restaurant - Johnny Longboats. Came back to room and was asleep again by 8:15. What a great vacation so far! Saturday - no headache! yay! Went to obligatory vacation spiel for timeshare. Why? Becasue they give you 15000 points. We have a great bank of points and just to give you an idea, you can take a world trip for two in 5 star hotels with airfare for 200000 points. Oh, yeah. They add up quickly. We get points for charge purchases as well. :-) Went grocery shipping finally. Took DH and number one son to golf course. Took younger daughter to get manicures and pedicures and indulge in frivolous shopping. Got eyebrows waxed, too. Ouch. Had a great dinner by the intracoastal waterway with our feet in the sand, Jimmy Buffet music playing and wicked rum drinks. Life is good. Sunday - went to a local church. Yup. ON my vacation. Left everyone behind and went on my own. It was wonderful. Rest of day - Relaxing by pool and racing my darling daughter across the pool. I'm whipped. More fun to come. How's the weather in Rochester? :-) 8:12 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Tuesday, February 12, 2008 Another reflection Current mood: disgusted Another thing happened on Sunday. Number one son started Confirmation class. Reluctantly. Parents had to be there for the first class and he was a combination of the class clown and the class idiot. I think he'll be fine when I'm not there, but boy, is he aggravating. He doesn't like going to church anymore, and I really can't blame him. There's not many kids his age there, and it's not in our neighborhood, so it's not like there are kids there from school. We team up with some other churches to do youth group stuff to make it more fun, and we're teamed up with another church for this confirmation class. There's one other boy there that he likes, but they have the potential to be T-R-O-U-B-L-E together, if you know what I mean. I told someone the other day that other people's kids often think I'm fun and I used to be a camp director, camp counselor and other fun stuff. I don't yell with anyone else but my own kids. Why is that? Anyone else feel like the dragon lady with their kids? What can you do when your kids are pushing ALL your buttons, intentionally, and not listening to reason? I certainly don't want to beat them. No, really, I don't. And I don't like the yelling, but what do you do when they don't listen - to consequences, punishments, withdrawal of privileges, and just won't shut up? I just get so frustrated. And it doesn't help that DH gets frustrated and is louder than me. 9:01 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

wow, it’s been 5 days Current mood: indescribable So, I have a ways to go to get into this blog thing. I think they say it takes 30 days to develop or break a habit, so I'll keep plugging along. Saturday was fun, I had a great one hour massage at the Y - total indulgence while E and her friend were swimming. Saturday night, we went to a private reception and then to see Cabaret - great show, but quite racy. :-) MOnday, the kids had NO school - apparently it was too cold for them to stand outside for 4 minutes in their Columbia jackets, LL Bean boots, and whatever designer hats are in this year (not my kids, they wear what's on sale or hand me downs from older cousins), mind you - it was COLD! But wth? it was still cold at home and they end up wanting to play outside anyway. Normally it's the city school that close becasue so many of the kids walk, but NOBODY walks in the suburbs. I just don't get it, especially since the city schools were open. And on top of it, yesterday, as DH was getting ready to go out of town overnight, he discovered the power light was not on on the hot tub. Yikes! Panic mode! I was at work, the kids were with me, and he was leaving. With. a. crisis. at. hand. Anyway, after having some mechanical-type friends look at it, and calling the company, I had to disconnect the hoses and clamps and bring in the motor unit to the spa store. Ugh. Then I had to drain it. Then we could leave the unit outside, so I had to bring it in to my LAUNDRY ROOM. ARghh. ANd I'm packing for Florida and doing laundry. ANd it's snowing now. Oh, boy. And I can't seem ot manage these caps and the keyboard. Dh is back now and helped me roll the hot tub (it's a portable soft tub unit) into the laundry room. What fun. I'm not really listening to the American Idol CD listed here, but I am listening to the TV show in the background. :-) Currently listening : American Idol - The Best & Worst of American Idol ( Limited Edition ) Release date: 22 November, 2005 8:33 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Thursday, February 07, 2008 Hockey. And wrestling. Current mood: rushed And wrestling and hockey. Since 3:30 this afternoon, I've had to pick up number one son from Sports Club at school, bring him back to school at 5:15 for wrestling, pick him up at 6:30 to make it in time for his 7:15 hockey, and now I'm catching my breath before I have to pick him up at 8:15. Every day, it's wrestling. Thursdays and Saturdays, it's wrestling *and hockey. DH is put of town again. I get to do the ferrying again on Saturday. Lucky me. Saturday AM, it's hockey rink by 7:30, game from 8-9, wrestling from 9-11, etc.... It's no wonder that dinner tonight was a kid-pleasing mac and cheese (yeah, from a box, what of it?) and I'm having a salad. Who can cook when they're only home for 45 minutes at a time? I know, I know, I'm no Betty Crocker. :::hanging head::: Currently listening : O Brother, Where Art Thou? By Various Artists - Soundtrack Release date: 05 December, 2000 7:47 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

not much Current mood: thoughtful Some days there's a lot to say, some days. not so much. This is one of those days. That's okay though, this writing is for me, not for you. :-) On Tuesday, just as I was going out to vote, E stepped on a piece of glass and let out a blood-curdling, hair-straightening scream. On closer inspection, it wasn't just a sliver, but a huge shard. We soaked her foot in a bowl of water to clean it out and get a better look at it - lots of blood. I couldn't get a good grip on it with tweezers, so we called the pediatrician. Luckily, we could go there instead of the emergency clinic. They were quite impressed with it's size and after 5 numbing shots, they pried it out of her foot and sent us on our way with a prescription for antibiotics. A stop at Tim Hortons for a sprinkled-covered Boston cream donut and all was well. Did you vote? (I did, but went out after dinner) Yesterday, I went to number one son's wrestling match after school; only to find out he didn't have a partner in his weight class. :-( So, I arranged with DH to pick him up and left to get ready for church. It was Ash Wednesday. When I was younger, and when I wasn't a regular church attender; I didn't pay much attention to the non-Sunday church services. I know, hard to believe as a PK (preacher's kid). Now, I recognize them as important markers of the church calendar, and as brackets to the season. They help me to more fully realize the significance of the church calendar. How can I enter the Lenten journey unless I mark it with the observance of Ash Wednesday? How can I celebrate Easter without experiencing the 3 days before the Resurrection? Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil are an important part of the story and the journey for me. The joy of Christmas means more after going through Advent. I'm certainly not perfect, but it's meaningful to me to be more intentional and not just a bystander in the pew on Sunday morning. Whatever your faith journey, I hope you embrace it wholeheartedly and question and learn as much as you can and surround yourself with others in a community of faith. "Is it faith to understand nothing, and merely submit your convictions implicitly to the Church?" John Calvin "And he says that a man is justified by faith and not by works, because faith itself is first given, from which may be obtained other things which are specially characterized as works, in which a man may live righteously. For he himself also says, 'By grace ye are saved through faith; and this not of yourselves; but it is the gift of God,' -- that is to say, 'And in saying 'through faith,' even faith itself is not of yourselves, but is God's gift.'" --St. Augustine, A Treatise on the Predestination of the Saints, Ch. 12 Enough of that. I'm leaving for Florida in a week - Halleluia! It's an especially sweet thought as I bundle up to venture out to scrape last night's ice off my car. Ugh. Currently reading : Capital Crimes By Jonathan Kellerman Release date: 25 September, 2007 7:41 AM - 2 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Monday, February 04, 2008 The Game Current mood: jubilant YAY GIANTS!!!!!! Okay, I am so not a fan, but it's really fun to watch true fans in action - my husband, father-in-law and son were hootin' and hollerin' and all kinds of excited. They're basking in the glow and their Giants regalia today. Good for them. :-) Poppy (Greek nickname, short for Pappou - grandfather) left this morning with his Giants hat, Giants sweater vest, Giants satin jacket - bright red, no less! DH left for work this morning with a grin on his face - he needs this kind of boost to get him out of the winter blues. In February, boating season seems like a looong time away. DH asked my this morning, "Why didn't you get your Mom's sports fan genes?" She was a huge Eagles fan, and Phillies, and Flyers, too. I remember when the Flyers won the Stanley Cup - sometime back in the 70's I think, she was out in the streets banging pots and pans. She was always a great cheerleader. When my little brother's Dragon Boat team (I tried to link the photo, but it didn't work - so you can see it in my profile pics if you want) was in the World Championship's in Philly, she had us all there in t-shirts and with bicycle horns and assorted noise makers; when my uncle was in the Philadelphia marathon, she was there on the corner as he ran by, she was at my swim meets. Me? I was the one at Phillies games reading my Seventeen magazine. And I have come a long way from the time I was in an interview to be a candidate for Homecoming Queen and I when asked about my attendance and support of the college teams, I made a lame excuse of not being at any football games since the fall - duh, it was spring and there were no more games. I have progressed since then - I like to sit in the stands with a beer and a bag of peanuts. :-) Ah, yes, I do miss her. But I digress. Just to be clear, I do support my local teams, and enjoy going to games in person; but I just don't define myself by my fandom and I really don't appreciate games on TV. Have a great day - GO GIANTS! Currently listening : Crazy Frog Presents Crazy Hits By Crazy Frog Release date: 23 August, 2005 5:27 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Sunday, February 03, 2008 Hmmm Current mood: curious Okay, so I obviously didn't go see the movie. It had to do with lethargy and an unwillingness to venture out in the cold (I tend to hibernate in the winter and save my late-night galavanting for the summer) and remain fully dressed after 9 PM. No, I'm not talking about getting nekkid, but I like to put on my comfy jammies and watch my TV from the comfort of my bed or couch - where I can recline comfortably and not have someone else's knees behind my shoulder. But I have an idle question, I took this map MapLoco! from my niece's blog and now I'm wondering - I see 6 or 7 visitors a day on the map. Are you people I know? Random strangers who saw the link in a sig somewhere else (there's only one spot and the initials are WV)? Or did you stumble here by accident? See below: Pittsford is practically my backyard, do I know you? :-) Fairport - I know you neighbor! Oakland, I can take a guess at, but how about you others? NJ, TN, KS, and yesterday included New Brunswick! Location Time Pittsford, NY, United States Sun, 03 Feb 2008 17:42:33 -0600 Nashville, TN, United States Sun, 03 Feb 2008 14:45:22 -0600 Fairport, NY, United States Sun, 03 Feb 2008 11:32:26 -0600 Livingston, NJ, United States Sun, 03 Feb 2008 11:00:02 -0600 Haledon, NJ, United States Sat, 02 Feb 2008 21:43:11 -0600 Valley Center, KS, United States Sat, 02 Feb 2008 21:23:52 -0600 Oakland, CA, United States Sat, 02 Feb 2008 19:27:09 -0600 Just curious, since I'm waiting until tomorrow to catch the commercials, and I'm feeling bloated from the chicken, and it's a little too early for the jammies; even by my clock. Have a good night, enjoy the game if you're so inclined. Peace. Currently listening : Silk Degrees By Boz Scaggs Release date: 27 February, 2007 5:04 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

About The Game Current mood: inspired Who cares? Not me. I just don't get it. I mean I get being a fan in a general sort of way(rah, rah - go team!), and I certainly like the parties - well the food and drink anyway. What's not to like about chicken wings and blue cheese? And beer. Good beer. Definitely not Michelob or LaBatt's or anything of that ilk. Sorry if you like it, it's just not for me. But I don't get the wear-your-lucky-shirt, don't-disturb-me, the pre-game let's-get-ready-for-some FOOTBALL hoopla that started at about 8:30 AM in this house. Really, heaven help me. Luckily, I had some afternoon chauffeur duties requested of me by number one son. I gleefully accepted the role even though it included waiting in the cold at the top of the hill while the boys went sledding for a few hours and making polite chit-chat with other team parents that I haven't met through 8 years of school involvement and non-involvement. I brought my folding chair and a good book. I was warm enough. Father-in-law (God Bless him) offered to buy some take-out chicken for dinner tonight. Apparently it's some sort of father-son bonding game ritual that-shall-not-be-broken. And KFC, not Popeyes. Hey, who am I to question lucky rituals? I'm thinking that if I get the chicken early enough I can catch a movie, maybe a chick flick. :-) How about this one? 27 Dresses I have to grab these opportunities when they arise. Life is good. Currently listening : New Soul By Yael Naim Release date: 08 January, 2008