My First Flowers!

It's always such a treat to see color after a LONG winter! My tulips and daffodils have come up and they are so beautiful! I thought I would take some pictures and share! These are from my "Friendship Garden". The flowers in this garden are those that have been given to me as gifts from friends! The only one that is a little unmanageable is the Lupin and if I don't keep after it, it's all over the place! I love Lupin because it reminds me of my Nana and how she loved it! My friend Leslie gave it to me from her garden!

Well, I'm off to go enjoy this beautiful day! I've been outside practicing my golf swing after seeing myself play last night!!!!!!!!!! YIKES! The only problem I seem to be having is Bailey (our dog) likes to wait until I drop the ball in front of me and get ready to swing before he goes in for the ball and runs away with it! He's CRAZY! It usually works out pretty good for me because I'll smack the golf ball and Bailey will fetch it up! Today, he's just been playful and takes it before I swing and runs around with the golf ball in his mouth! He's certainly entertaining!

"Crack Lady" Has FINALLY Moved!

Jamie (a.k.a. "Bo") and I are flexing our big muscles as we await for the first delivery of my grandmother's belongings! My grandmother was dubbed "Crack Lady" several years ago when my experience of her was tarnished by an outburst she had with my mother on our way back from dinner! It was like a MONSTER had invaded her body! She flipped out and tried to slap my mother's hand and it completely took me by surprise. Of course, I'm always being teased that I'm the "Golden Child" because my grandmother LITERALLY favors me...to the point of embarrassment!

In years past, I always had a high regard for her because I had never witnessed any OUTRAGE or INSANE behavior. I thought everyone was being overly dramatic. NOT the case! I have witnessed it several times since then and that is how she ended up with such a nickname! She's always mentally "cracking" up over something.

This time, it started as a complaint about the new house that my parents built on THEIR property! My father and my husband as well as my Uncle Steve & cousin Shawn, put their BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS into building this new space for her. She decided Sunday to start complaining about how she moved "too fast" (mind you, we've cleared our schedules on two separate occasions to move her) and would have preferred to do it a little bit at a time. Then, she continued on, complaining about the windows that she never got to pick out but were installed in her house...the exact kind she wanted. She then started disparaging my mother and how "awful it was going to be living right next to her"! Welllllllllllllllllllll, that was when I lost it and perhaps my life long title of "Golden Child". I don't think I've seen my Italian temper flare up in YEARS like it did in that moment! I threw respect out the window and told my grandmother just how I felt! It was not pleasant or very lady like. My sister and Jamie ("Bo") were absolutely beside themselves with astonishment in their eyes! Even I shocked myself!

I ended up leaving and going to help my mother at my grandmother's old place. I told her what happend and my mother said, "See, I told you that she's like that and you always stick up for her". :-) My mother said, "The good thing about all of this is that she will never remember that you yelled at her because she's loosing it".

My grandmother ended up coming back to her house and I couldn't find anything to hide behind! I was SCARED!!!!
She looked at me and said, "Are you done being angry with me"?
I said, "Yes".
She said, "So, do you think I should have kept my mouth shut or do you owe me an apology"?
I said, "Yes, I will apologize for the tone I used but I will not apologize for what I said because I meant it".
It actually felt good to stay grounded in how I really felt. We hugged and I'm pretty sure I still hold the title of "Golden Child". We shall see......

THE MORAL OF THE STORY:
She really does have a heart! It's just lost in years of abuse and lonliness!

"You Say it's Your BIRTHDAY"....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FORREST!

Justine & Forrest gathered together an impromptu celebration for Forrest's birthday! We had a GREAT time at dinner and catching up with friends that we don't get to see very often! We started off at the Sea Dog for dinner and ended up at a local bar for a cocktail. Forrest entertained us with his past work stories that are so funny your cheeks usually hurt for days from laughing so hard! :-)

Gerry thought at the last minute, he'd sneak Justine a kiss!

CAUGHT IT BABE! :-)

It's good to be surrounded by handsome looking men!

"OPERATION COOKIE REMOVAL"

These are the precious thank you notes that I received from
Miss Kayla & Miss Hannah today!! I also received a phone message from Miss Abby with a sweet little thank you!!! A while back, I had posted about the "Cookie Debacle" (February Posting) that went DOWN at the gym where I see/deliver cookies to some of my friends. Well, these were notes from my friend's children and I couldn't help but share. I have shared these with all of my friends today!!! These will replace their last thank you note to me on the on my refrigerator.

ANOTHER GOOD COOKIE STORY...
Of course, I couldn't HELP but call "Auntie Jaime", giggling that her niece threw her under the bus! Jaime had a manipulative tactic planned for Easter weekend when she would meet up with her nieces. We'll call it "OPERATION COOKIE REMOVAL". So, Jaime helped me make the most recent holiday batch of cookies (THANK YOU SWEETIE) because she wanted to get "tips/training" on what she thinks are "the most incredible cookies" she has ever eaten (I still giggle whenever she raves about them). Anyway, she enjoyed a couple of cookies while we were in the process of baking off the second batch. I also gave her a bag to take home. She left my house with an ADDITIONAL bag of cookies to give to her friend, Michelle. She actually called Michelle on her way home to tell her that she had THREE cookies for her and needed to let her know so that she didn't have to tell her later that she ate TWO of them (having to be accountable for ALL three). Jaime called me the next day and was already plotting out how she could snag a couple more cookies on Sunday. She thought the might be able to pry some away from Scott but we both giggled and agreed he does NOT fall for manipulative tactics. She then decided it would be best used on her two nieces....both still in their early tender childhood years!!!! Judging from the note that Miss Kayla gave me, Scott has taught them well! :-)

So THANK YOU Miss Kayla, Miss Hannah & Miss Abby for your sweet little thank you notes/phone call. It meant a lot to me & I have a TON of fun doing it! :-)

The QUEEN of CUTE!!!!

Matching purse to compliment her Easter dress...she is a duchess in the making! This was the first year that my niece got to enjoy the fun in Easter Egg Hunting at my parents house. Usually Gerry and I have Easter dinner at our house. I traditionally use my great grandmother's china and Gerry's great grandmother's silver. This year, it was my mother's request to have it at her house. She even enticed the adults to hunt for eggs by lacing some of them with (what else) MONEY! My sister and Bo took it all except for the $1.00 I had in my stash! :-) Kudos to you both!!!!
Little Miss "G" thought she could perform a covert operation with my mother. She tried a "sneak attack" for one of my hard earned eggs as my mother got us to "pose" for a "picture". Little did I know I was being set up! He, he, he! "Operation Egg" failed as soon as the flash went off. I caught her so delicately reaching for one of my eggs. I told little Miss "G" she had to let me look in the egg first--to make sure it DIDN'T have any money in it!!! :-) I was willing to give up the candy but NOT the cash! All in all, it was a fun day spent with family and friends.

I've been home sick ever since Easter!! I managed to make it to the gym on Monday until I got a little green and had to leave. I'm hoping to make it back to the office tomorrow! I cannot stand laying around letting illness invade my body! I miss my friends and seeing people in general.

Catching Up!

So, I had THE BEST weekend ever! It started on Friday where I was hired to do practice management coaching!!!! I never knew that work could be so much fun and that I could ever get paid to do something that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE!!!!!!! I'd also like to thank one of my friends for believing in me and acknowledging me for following my dreams! THANKS MAN! I wrapped up the day with a visit to my friend Melissa's house where we enjoyed catching up! Her husband was kind enough to give her some "girl" time and we headed out for a light dinner and a couple of drinks at my FAVORITE wine bar! Thanks guys! I had a WONDERFUL time!!!!!!!!!!!

My friend Leslie & I made our regular treck to see our hairstylist this weekend! Anne-Marie had just been to a new "color" class and wanted to try it out on me! The picture doesn't clearly represent how intense the red highlights are but I ABSOLUTELY love them! Thanks Anne-Marie....that's why I've been a dedicated client for 12 years!!!!!!!!!! It was also a treat to catch up with Leslie and spend some quality time away from our busy lives! I love you and love that you love me so much! :-)

I was also able to catch up with my long lost friend, Nikki! She thinks I'm hot and has been inspired by my weight loss. (THANKS WOMAN!) She is wild and crazy and has a heart the size of Texas! I forgot how much fun she adds to my life!

To ALL of my friends that I was able to spend time with this weekend....I LOVE YOU ALL, no matter how busy my life gets, no matter how often I see you, know that I love you and love having you in my life!