HAPPY NEW YEAR

Winter Update

Just a little update, not much going on lately since Thanksgiving. It has been cold and snowy this week, so Stella is ready to put her lambskin on and face the music. She is more of a sun goddess, so she is not too happy.

The day after Christmas, we took a drive down to Maryland to check on our kitchen renovations. We are in the beginning stages, so hopefully it will be done by the Spring. (weather permitting). This is just hours before the snowstorm. We were only here for about an hour, then drove home to get snowed in.

Here is the addition on our kitchen. The foundation is poured and the framework is started.

A mess right now, will keep you updated.

This is Pickle, he was a visitor we had for Christmas eve/Christmas day. Stella wasn't too happy in the beginning, but she started warming up to him when it was time for him to go home 24 hours later.

This is Pickle's owner, and Amy's friend Bob. Bob is very fond of Pickle, and vise verse!

Amy, Bob and Pickle. (Don't you just love that name)?

Christmas morning. We gave the kids Eagles tickets for Sunday night football. Don't you know it got snowed out! It got pushed up to Tuesday. It is the first time there has ever been a Tuesday night game since 1946!! So tonight they are at the game.

Christmas morning treats for the pups before I start making breakfast.

In between holidays, we went to my husbands niece's wedding. It was a nice night out and perfect because it was on a Friday night, so we still had Saturday to relax!

I hope everyone is enjoying the Holidays and I just want to wish each and everyone you

A Very Happy and Healthy New Year!!!!

XOXO

Happy Holiday Week

Hello to all of my favorite girls in the world! (And men, yes, I mean you Neil & Nigel)! I have been on a long sabbatical, which you may or may not have noticed. It has been a long 2 months around here lately. I have to say that I am not done blogging, but I will be around when I can or feel like blogging. We are in the middle of a very big kitchen renovation/addition in Maryland and things are a little crazy right now. I am very excited to see the end results. Not to mention Christmas is a week away, and my husband's birthday is also on Christmas day (I keep reminding myself of this). My kitchen has been buzzing with about 6 different cookie recipes (double batches each), wrapping, and all of the other fun stuff at this time of year. I miss you all terribly and just wanted to say hellooooo! I hope this finds you all happy and ready for the Holidays!
I'll be back very soon to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Healthy New Year!

XOXO

Weekend re-cap

Just a little update on my weekend. We got a lot of the family together and took my son John out for his 25th birthday dinner. Here he is with sister Amy.

Hubby and mother-in-law, waiting for the rest of the crew.

The gang is all here. My brother-in-law with his family. We went to a Brazilian steakhouse. They come around and carve all different meats at the table. Filet, lamb, prime rib, chicken, etc. Very large salad bar with everything you could imagine. Very nice and delicious place.

Dessert.

My son moved to Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia a few weeks ago. I just love this town, very old and historical. Everything is walking distance from his apartment. He is 2 blocks from Main Street. You name it, it is there. Starbucks, cheese shop, bakery, music store, Gap, sushi, hardware store, and the list goes on and on. Here we are at the local farmer's market.

Inside the farmer's market, waiting for lunch.

He moved into a little studio apartment on the 9th floor. This is the small kitchen galley and his front door. He also has a huge walk-in closet next to his bathroom.

Now remember, it is only a studio. Here is his new couch he bought with his bed behind it. He still has some kinks to iron out, like cords to his electronics and window treatments. All in all, he keeps it really neat and tidy!

This is his view from his windows. It looks out over Fairmount Park, very pretty.

I hope you all had a nice weekend. I must say, it was real nice getting that extra hour from daylight savings!!

XOXO

Stella here

My mom had a glass of wine, so I thought I would say hello and I hope everyone has a very nice weekend. We had to turn the heat on around here this week, yucky weather. I hope she takes me out before she goes to bed tonight!

XOXO

Hello

Just breezing by to say hello. I'm at work and would rather be anywhere else but here today. It is a complete WASHOUT today. Rain all day, through tonight.

I hope this little butterfly will bring some sunshine tomorrow.

Have a wonderful day today!

Hugs to all.
XOXO

Remember Me?

First of all, here are some pictures of Mexico that I promised. We had a really nice time and it was really great to see my sister. I have had so much going on this month that I really haven't done much on the computer. I have to say I didn't miss it much either. The big news at the moment is my son moved out last week. I have been spending a lot of time getting him set up. He is almost there, just a few more things. He got a nice apartment in a high-rise in Chestnut Hill, one of my favorite places in Philadelphia. I will miss him terribly and I'm still trying to adjust to him being gone.

Here we are out to dinner. Me, sister Susie, friends Lori & Cheryl. We have known them since childhood and they live in Kansas City too.

The resort we stayed at was beautiful! My sister and I shared this room. All you had to do was walk out the sliding door and right into the pool! Very cool.

On the beach there were little huts of stuff people were selling. You can't really see the water, but it was blue and beautiful.

A volleyball game going on in one of the pools.

Here is a picture from the main lobby looking down to the grounds. Very, Very pretty!

Me and my sis waiting for the taxi to take us to the airport. Had a great time, but not so sure I want to go back to Mexico. The resort was wonderful, but when we went into town it was a little too shady for me. I'm just a big baby sometimes.
I hope you all are well, and I miss you all.

Go Phillies!

XOXO

Hello and Happy Fall!

Hello dear friends! As you can see, I have been a no-show for a while now. So much has been going on and I just haven't been blogging or commenting. I have been reading your posts though. I started back to work after Labor Day and it has been non-stop crazy and busy. My husband broke his foot almost 4 weeks ago, and can put no weight what so ever on his foot. This has been very challenging to the both of us. You just don't realize what you CANNOT do while on crutches! So needless to say, I have been playing nurse/servant for the last month.

I do have some good news to share. I am going to MEXICO on Saturday with my sister Susie from Kansas City!! We have been planning this one for over a year now and I can't wait! We are going to an all inclusive resort in Playa del Carmen. It is near Cancun and Cozumel. I will be back next Friday to share pictures with you. In the mean time, I must get upstairs and finish packing, it is almost 10:00p.m. I just wanted to say Happy Fall, give you a quick update and say I miss you all!!

XOXO

The Calm Before Earl

One of the most beautiful sunsets of the summer. Waiting in anticipation of what Mr. Earl will bring to these calm waters.

Stella watching the weather channel.

She decided Mom-Mom's lap is far more interesting!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend with beautiful weather!

XOXO

It's that Time Again...

Not that any of you care at all, but it is that time of year again. They announced today the new Fall lineup for DWS. I am probably one of the very few who get a kick out of seeing who is on every year, don't ask me why. It doesn't take much to entertain me. First up, the girls:

R&B pop singer, Brandy

Florence Henderson

Jennifer Grey (Gee, I wonder if she ever danced before)?

Bristol Palin

Comedian/Actor Margaret Cho

From "The Hills", Audrina Patridge


Now the boys:

Singer, Michael Bolten

Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino from the show, "The Jersey Shore".

We all know David Hasselhoff.

Kurt Warner, NFL Quaterback

Kyle Massey from The Disney Channel.

Last but not least, Rick Fox, ex-NBA Champion.


I have been taking a bit of a blogging break lately, enjoying the last bit of summer that is left.
I hope everyone has a wonderful and happy Labor Day, and a great long weekend!
Be back soon.

XOXO

Stella's Beach Day

Last Saturday we decided to make a picnic and head to the beach for something a little different for a change. When Amy asked Stella if she wanted to go for a boat ride....

this is how Stella responded!

Boat ride to the beach, she loves it!

Setting up our spot.

We packed fried chicken, macaroni salad, chips, water, Corona's, St. Paulie non-alcohol.

And Stella's red water bowl.

This is about as far as she would go in the water. She isn't too adventurous!

Back on the dock. This is my niece Katy from Kansas City on the left, with Amy.

Stella and John relaxing under some shade.

Stella had a very busy day today. Time for some R&R. We had a wonderful weekend filled with family, friends, fun, corn, crabs and lots of other yummy food.
I hope everyone is having a wonderful week. Summer is quickly winding down. I can't believe how fast it is going by this year!

XOXO