One Fantastic Fourth!

Growing up my family was never huge on the 4th of July. We didn't go to a lot of the big community celebrations and unless Disney was involved we didn't head out to see a lot of firework shows but now that I'm grown and I can make my own plans I absolutely love all holidays the 4th of July included. It's one of the things that Mike has had to get used to - that I go crazy each and every holiday and I'm always looking to do something fun to celebrate. So this year Mike went above and beyond and made reservations for the Biergarten Restaurant in the Germany Pavilion at Epcot! I was so excited to get to go to the park, to have a great place to eat dinner and to know we would be out and about taking lots of photos and just enjoying our time together - and that is just what we did!




We had so much fun in the park! We went on our favorite rides, we had a really great dinner - though we both ate more then we should we didn't eat as much as we could have so we were pleased about that. We enjoyed the show at the restaurant, we chatted with our table mates it was a lot of fun. We were pleasantly surprised that for the first bit of the day that we didn't have to deal with a lot of crowds and as the evening went on most people were lined up waiting for the fireworks so we got to continue to enjoy the rides and the park with no lines or crowds! As expected the Epcot fireworks were magnificent!!









We got home around 11ish and immediately took Hooper out for a walk and Mike lit some sparklers - he did this mostly because I wanted to get sparkler photos! We have plenty left over so I think we'll be going out for another little photo session soon!!




Today I am battling some pain in my back, this pain has been bothering me on and off for a while - I even discussed it with the doctor but she didn't seem concerned. Usually it bothers me when I'm in the car for a long time or any time I'm sitting for a while like the movies but it started while we were waiting for the fireworks and it just won't quit. There is so much I wanted to get done today but I'm having a tough time getting going. Wish me luck!

I think it's time for another contest so I will be announcing that this week so stay tuned!!!

Happy 4th of July

Today is one of those wonderful days where everyone gets together and eats burgers and hot dogs, plays outside, and watches fireworks and that's wonderful because it is indeed a day to celebrate! To celebrate living in a country that is free, to celebrate having all that we as Americans have and to be thankful of those who make sacrifices so we can continue to have this freedom. It's a great day to spend time with family and friends, to smile, to laugh, to have fun and just to celebrate all the good things in our lives! So I hope everyone has a safe and happy Independance Day! I am looking forward to celebrating today with Mike and of course there will be pictures and a full wrap up soon!

Yesterday we kicked off the long weekend by meeting up with Tanya and her boys! It was so much fun watching the boys play and spending time with all of them. It's something we don't do enough but will hopefully do much more in the future. After we parted ways Mike and I went to see Public Enemies, good movie! I really enjoyed it and really think they captured the time in making this film. Of course it had a lot going for it as far as I'm concerned, I love a good gangster movie, I love a good period piece and I LOVE Johnny Depp!





I've mentioned that I started taking an online scrapbooking class - The Challenge of Me! I'm into the second week and I'm totally loving this class. Not only do I feel I'm getting a lot out of it but I'm in love with doing 6x12 pages! I am playing, and writing about myself and my life, I'm learning techniques and how to have fun with scrapbooking again and I'm learning about myself too! It's been so much fun!! Here are a few of the pages I've done so far!






Have a very safe and happy holiday everyone! More soon...

The Loss of a Legend

When I woke up yesterday I had no idea what was in store, it appeared to be your average day, I was excited to start my online scrapbooking class, I did laundry and emptied the dishwasher and ran to the grocery store. I had no idea that Thursday June 25, 2009 would turn into a sad and shocking day in history. I had no idea that the world would lose a great talent and I would lose a significant figure from my childhood. Michael Jackson may have been a lot of things but he was indisputably a true and great talent. I am sure that just about everyone you or I know has heard Thriller and most can sing the lyrics and many know some of the moves from the uber-famous video. I know as kids my sister and I would often pop the VHS tape into the VCR and watch the Thriller Video and the Making of Thriller over and over again. We had Michael Jackson dolls and Michael Jackson Posters and for many years Michael Jackson's face was the first and last I saw each day as I stared at the poster hanging above my bed. As a little girl my sister claimed that she would one day marry Michael Jackson, of course she also planned to marry Boy George but that's another story. I remember singing along to Michael Jackson's 45 records and then later singing "You Are Not Alone" with my friend Shawnah while we made pizzas at Papa John's (my first job)



Yesterday I was appropriately on the phone with my mom when official word came that Michael Jackson was in fact dead and shortly after my sister called from an airport asking what the latest was. I hated to break it to her. I also received text messages from my cousin Kevin remembering all the times we listened to Thriller together. It was actually only a couple of years ago that I re-purchased the Thriller album on CD while with my cousin Kevin. Mike along with his mom and grandmother actually got to meet Michael Jackson back in the days when he visited Orlando and Disney World often. And wow speaking of Michael Jackson and Disney I remember sitting and watching Captain EO at Epcot many many times - what a thrill that attraction was and how ground breaking like so many of the things Michael Jackson did.

I can't mention the sadness of yesterday without also remembering Farrah Fawcett. She fought a long and brave battle with cancer, she was open and honest about this battle and sadly it was a battle she ultimately lost. She will always be remembered. What little girl didn't want to be a Charlie's Angel? Who didn't want Farrah hair? She was another incredible icon in her own right and though her passing was not shocking it is no less sad.



Today is a sad day and the world mourns the loss of a great talent the likes of which the world will probably never see again, and it's sad to think of a life that was filled with so many trials and obviously so much pain. May the King Of Pop finally find peace. Thank you for the ride Michael it was a Thriller!

Lightening Strikes!

Lightening has been striking like crazy in these parts, not only have we been getting crazy storms here in Orlando - like the storm that woke me up at 5AM! The lightening and thunder was crazy and poor Hooper was scared to death so like any good mommy I stayed up and made sure he was ok. Sure it's Summer and steamy, stormy weather is to be expected but I really really think that it's been steamier and stormier so far this Summer. If it's hitting triple digits in June I might melt by August!

On a very positive note I've been struck by creative lightening! I decided to register for my first ever online scrapbooking class. I signed up for the Challenge of Me class at Big Picture Scrapbooking. The class will be taught by Lisa Day, I've been following her blog for several months now and she is just so inspiring so I jumped at the chance to take this class. You can sign up for the class here, and you can visit Lisa Day's Blog here. So the class officially starts on Thursday but I started with my pre-class assignment today and did the title page. The great thing about this class is Lisa chose what size album we'll be working on and I was assigned a 12 x 6 album, a size I've never worked with before but I'm super excited about it. Aside from the album all of the pages we'll be doing we'll be able to use items from our scrapbooking stash which is a relief because my stash has gotten quite large, especially after the box of goodies my good friend Zanne gave me! So here is my title page - can't wait to hear what you think! I used a lot of Heidi Swapp elements here which I've had in my stash but was saving for some "special" project and I thought what can be more special then my first online class and a book about me rolled into one?!



Now I couldn't begin this class with my craft room looking the way it did so yesterday I got to work on making the space at the very least workable. So after 4+ hours I managed to find the table and get organized - at least enough that I'm no longer afraid to go in that room. I still need to organize my paper in a more manageable way but it will work for now. Here are before and after shots of the room!



Notice how the after picture is just of one side of the room haha! Here are a couple of pictures of Alyssa and Hooper helping me with my craft room.



Unfortunately with the storms we haven't been able to do much swimming and tonight's water aerobics class didn't happen but I did get Mike to workout with me we did a 2 mile walk both yesterday and today and we've been eating much healthier and instead of fattening desserts we've been having fruit which is just so summery to me! So far I think we are doing pretty good, now let's hope we can keep it up! Will definitely keep you posted!!

More Soon...

Hooper & his daddy

Hooper at the vet

Hooper being a good boy as usual

Happy Father's Day!

I have a lot to catch up on in today's blog but first and foremost I want to wish all the dad's out there a very Happy Father's Day especially my own dad! It is tough for me not to be with my dad to celebrate with him today but I know he'll have a good day and I sent presents home for him with my grandmother! My dad is absolutely one of a kind, I talk to him every day which is comforting to know that no matter how old I am or where I live my dad still wants to check in on me. I love how varied our conversations are some days we will talk about books, some days soap operas and some days intense topics like politics or the economy. I find I still have so much to learn from my dad who is always sharing "Life Lessons" and he ay not think so but I always take them to heart! Hope you have a great day Dad!



Another Dad I'd like to pay tribute today is my husband Mike. True we don't have any human children as yet but we have 4 furry babies who count on us for everything and Mike always rises to their needs. I also can see by how involved Mike is in the whole fertility process, and how he was so willing to let me leave my job to make the fertility process easier on me that he is already dedicated to our future child and I have seen how he interacts with other children in our lives that he will make one terrific dad! So happy Father's Day my love!!



Now to recap! My grandmother arrived last Saturday and what a good time we had. Her flight landed early but we made it to the airport for a smooth pick up and whisked her away to the T-Rex Cafe where we ate yummy and far too much food! That was pretty much the weekend, we hung out on the porch, we chatted, we took pictures and we ate fantastic meals (my favorite and I think Grandma's too was Fulton's Crab House) Me and grandma also did some shopping which was fun and we tried to beat the heat which was impossible but we had a great time! I love that grandma just showed up for a little surprise visit - I hope she does it gain soon!!





Craft-wise this week was a slow one. My craft room now has a light in it but it's a complete and total disaster I am afraid to step foot in there so a massive clean up is in order - wish me luck!!! Today we are taking Hooper to get his teeth cleaned and a little check up and then I have no idea what we are doing hopefully just some relaxing, maybe a workout and some swimming we shall see.

This week was a great week for my Tupperware business! I held a party on Thursday which was a big success and I got my first two online orders! I feel that things are starting to pick up so thank you everyone for your continued support! It means a lot that I can just talk about this new venture and have friends and family take an interest - the orders are a big help but the support is priceless!!

I promise to post more soon!!