Vacation '09

Just before our first anniversary , my sweetie & I started planning our first vacation together. Prior to this we had taken road trips & long weekends. We wanted to go somewhere that neither of us had been to before. This was going to be a challenge since the hubby had a bad experience on a plane 7 or 8 years ago & had not flown since.

We finally decided to go to the Grand Canyon.... but the question was, "Could I get him on a plane again?" On the morning of our trip he was out of bed by 4 a.m. (the flight was at 8:30). Luckily the flight was smooth & we got to Arizona safely. August in the southwest is like sleeping on the surface of the sun! The drive from Phoenix to Sedona and later Flagstaff was the best part of our trip... spectacular scenery & the higher altitudes made for much cooler temperatures.

Nothing could have prepared me for the moment I saw the canyon up close. Breath taking, awesome , majestic... I was speechless (for a change LOL). The husband actually enjoyed himself (even though he let me know a million time s since we met that he hates flying).

Suburban Woodstock

If you were a girl growing up in the 1970"s , then you were probably a fan of David Cassidy & the Partridge Family. Last night at Burns Park on the south shore of Long Island, I got to relive my childhood. The parks dept. of my town has been sponsoring concert every Tues. & Sat. all summer long.

After dinner my friend Ellen, her husband & I ventured to the park to see our '70s idol David Cassidy. Besides his hits like "I'll Meet You Half Way" & "C'mon Get Happy" he wowed the crowd of more than 10,000 people with music from Cream, Hendrix & John Lennon. It was a magical night.... the perfect sunset, no humidity, very few mosquitos.... good friends & great music, what could be better?

The Cookin' Cowboy

The kitchen is my least favorite place in my house.... luckily I don't have to venture into that domain too often. When I found a man who enjoys cooking & does it well I tied him to the hood of my car and raced to city hall to marry him. I keep him hand cuffed to either the BBQ grill or the stove depending on the season. He still won't divulge the ingredients to his secret marinade, but that's OK. I am truly blessed!

Class of 2009

AH June! .... one of my favorite months of the year! Summer begins, school ends.

Yesterday was the kindergarten graduation at the school where I work. Some of the kids looked so cute... white button down shirts & bright ties, cute dresses with ribbons and bows. On the far end of the spectrum were the "children" who came to graduation in satin gowns wearing eye shadow and lip gloss . PARENTS WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? These kids looked like the popular "Bratz" dolls.

It causes me great concern when 5 year olds are made up to look like little floozies. Is this a growing fashion trend? Or am I just a bit conservative?

Moving Day

Freshman year for the “teenaged one” ended this week. At most colleges, the last week of the semester can be a hectic time… finishing term papers, taking final exams & preparing to move out of the dorm. It can also be a hectic time for the people who are transporting the college student from dorm to home.

The hubbie & I took a day off from work to prepare for our 6 hour road trip to the college. Since my Volkswagen is not spacious enough to accommodate all the “stuff” that a college student needs, we rented an SUV (3 actually) for the trip. Before we left the county the first SUV was returned because of tire issues, the second SUV had issues with the brakes, the third & smallest SUV finally made the journey from our home on Long Island to SUNY Oswego.

One of the lessons I learned this weekend is that even in an SUV the space is limited… we had to rent a small storage unit off campus to store the items that didn’t fit in the vehicle (fridge, TV etc.). The other lesson I learned is that my child A.K.A. “the teenaged one” has an interesting philosophy regarding happiness.

According to my offspring, “You don’t need money to enjoy life”.

Isn’t it great to be young & optimistic? Enough said, he’ll have to do the next posting.

Petland

Every year in the Spring the kindergarten classes in my school get newts. They're slimey & they smell bad. Plus they're boring (students & teachers agree). This year I told the curriculum coach (person in charge of newt distribution) that our class would not be participating , instead I went to the local pet store and picked out a new class pet.

I picked a cute yellow teddy bear hamster. She only cost .99cents, but then we needed a cage, cedar shavings for the bedding, hamster food & dish, exercise wheel, water bottle and plastic ball for hamster to roll around on the floor. When the whole shopping experience was completed I had spent close to $45!!!!

I took the hamster to school last Wednesday & the kids fell in love with her immediately. One little boy brought her a carrot stick the next day. They actually try to be quiet when she's asleep.

On the second day of being a class mascot, the hamster "Lolita" bit the teacher & she had to go get a tetanus shot.

St. Patrick's Day

Yes, I actually went to work like this. The kids thought it was hysterical.