Good-bye Maine, Welcome Coco Cay!

I am SOOOOO excited about my upcoming trip!!!! A few weeks ago, my sister-in-law called me up to tell me how she helped her boss by picking up some of his friends from the airport and taking them to the Superbowl. Well, anyone that watched it, saw the rain. So, Geniza bought them ponchos and snacks (which is not a suprise to me---she's very generous like that). Paul went to give her a BIG tip and she declined saying that she was doing it for Phil (her boss). Well, it came back to bite her in the ass! Let me just first say, that Geniza is like a good luck charm. I played in a Casino in Puerto Rico a few years back with her. I lost my $20.00 AND I DON'T like gambling. So, I'm mad that $20.00 just went into a future winner's hands. She's standing beside me and WINS! "BAG"! :-)

So, Paul's secretary calls her that following week and says, "Paul only wants a 'thank you'. When you and a friend want, he is going to send you on a Cruise to the Bahamas". So, she calls me up to tell me ALL about this and stated she was going to call him back and tell him that it is not necessary. I said, "ARE YOU CRAZY??? You're going to follow Sandy's orders, call him up, thank him and then when are you and I going"! Ha, ha, ha! I got my tickets online and have had stuff laid out and ready to pack for a week! She just sent me an email and told me that they upgraded our room to a "Superior Oceanview"!!!! Can you all say, "WHA-WHOOOOO"!

Now, I'm telling all of you, this would only ever happen to Geniza! For all of you who don't know her, she is an AMAZING person! She has worked with Habitat for Humanity, she has raised money for the Arthritis Foundation. I know if I'm looking to raise money for someone, I'm a phone call or an email from receiving her donation. She loves children as much as I do (although Theme Parks and long lines--she's got me beat).

So, even though she GIVES all the time, she has a difficult time RECIEVING! That's true for most of us in this world.

Nize, I'm soooooooooooo excited about going and having fun with you. I also can't wait to meet Nancy! I'm also thinking that I will make change and have you grab my $20.00 and then play it when we're at Atlantis! That way, there will be no chance of me handling the cash and you winning for me!!!!!!!!! WHA-WHOOOOO!!!

What a BEAUTIFUL Day!!!

Today was SUCH a beautiful day! I got a lot of MUCH NEEDED house cleaning done and decided to walk around the lake! I LOVE walking around the lake during the winter---especially when it's warm like it was today! The air is so crisp, it smells clean, feels good to walk with the snow crunching under every step I take (LOVE the sound of that). I notice animal tracks that I never would during the rest of Maine's seasons. Bailey and I had a little extra work walking around the lake today. We usually cut across land that is not developed and also connects to another camp road. Well, the snow has a nice crust of ice on the top of fluffy snow. So, Bailey delicately walked and then would fall through the ice layer.

The snow was above my knees! I fell through the entire 200 foot stretch! I kept trying to pick Bailey up because when he went through, he couldn't get back up because his hind legs are lame from old age! We had fun! I laughed and giggled at the site we were. Bailey would take breaks to catch his breath.

One of the things that I love to do is make snowballs and throw them for Bailey to chase! He thinks there's some hidden treat....only because I put a treat in a snowball one time so he thinks all snowballs have treats in them. It's fun to watch him chase the snowball and bite into it to find NOTHING! He, he, he! I give him plenty of treats during the walk so he's very well taken care of! :-)

Well, it's back to work on Monday! Uh, NO, I do not have the day off like most of the world! Any of my friends reading this would laugh at that simply because I only work FOUR days a week! Well, to all of you....THEY ARE FOUR VERY LONG DAYS...K! :-)

Peace & Love!

My "Old Man" & I

Look at that face!!! I just love it! Last night I had intended on going to a house party where one of my friends was coming up from Boston and playing with his band. The travel was over an hour and the ice on the roads was so thick that I opted to stay home. Gerry got a fire started in the fireplace and Bailey decided to spend quality time with me on the floor.

Most of my friends that know me, know that I refer to Bailey as an "Old Man". :-) He is a 13 year old yellow lab and he and I were NOT "love at first site". When I met this guy over 6 years ago, he was VERY protective of Gerry. Bailey is VERY manipulative (NO, he didn't get that from me). One tactic that I remember quite clearly....when Gerry first built our house, we were hanging out on his old feather pillow couch. Gerry was sitting up and my head was resting in his lap. Bailey (for the first time) came up to me and put his head on my belly and just had such a loving look on his face. I told Gerry we should let him up on the couch and have "quality family time". Bailey jumps on the couch. He's laying beside me towards the back of the couch. He looks up at Gerry and then at me and for the first time I thought, "Oh, this dog really likes me". THAT was not the case. Bailey decided to turn around, his back to me. Then, with one swift move, he shoves his legs into the back of the couch and I went flying onto the floor!!! I couldn't even believe it!! Then, he turned around, continued to lay down and looked at me on the floor and then laid his head on Gerry's lap and gave out one of his "comforatable" groans. Bailey has also resorted to charging at me in the yard, kicking my legs up from underneath as I went crashing on my back. He played a very dirty game! :-)

Years later, he has come to love me and knows that I spoil him rotten. Now, I come home to him greeting me at the door, all excited and smiling. He knows that he can still manipulate me but now it's not with evil intent! It's mostly to see how far he can get---which I can COMPLETELY identify with. :-) He, he, he!

I just adore him and love him to pieces---even through the trials and tribulations of our love/hate relationship. It has now evolved into love and friendship.

He's an "old man" in his routine. God forbid if Gerry and I have had dinner in a restaurant, come home and not make anything to eat....BAILEY melts down. He starts moaning and groaning until I cave, get up and "pretend" to make dinner and then throw him a snack. I can only blame myself for his behavior because we typically give him a little bit of our dinner and if the routine is disrupted under an certain circumstance....we pay for it! :-)

Today, he has been playing outside. He likes to make "doggy" angels in the snow. He gets so excited when we get bad weather because he LOVES playing in the snow. I call him a "wild dog" when he's making his angels and he just makes more of them! He's crazy!

Anyway, that's all for now! Have a GREAT weekend everyone!

Give Kids a Smile!

Last Friday, I had the honor and privilege to be a part of "Give Kids a Smile". This is a program that any dental office can participate. Just a little background about how this came to be such a BEAUTIFUL day....

As all of you know, I have only good things to say about Landmark Education. Every week for the last three months, I have been in one of the seminars they offer. This particular seminar was called the "EFFECTIVENESS" seminar. In this particular seminar, we were to design a project around a possibility and generate an intention from it. The possibility I created is: "Children are the future of the world". From that, my "intention" is to continuously discover ways in which I can contribute to the lives of children. I shared this with A LOT of people. That is what generated force behind filling a schedule at our office to see so many children. Pam G., Pam C., Peter and myself had six hygyienists (including my friend Nikki), as well as two doctors at our practice participating in this program. It was absolutely the most incredible experince. There were tears among all of us, to see children leave no longer in pain, with clean teeth and a smile! THANK YOU EVERYONE who contributed to this day and thank you Peter for being commited to making a difference for all those kids!

Even more AMAZING, my friend Jaime heard me sharing about my seminar and invited me to partner with her in a benefit dance/fundraiser for her neice, Camryn. Camryn recently went to Mass. General for surgery to remove part of a tumor from her pallet. Two years ago, she was diagnosed with facial fibrous dysplasia, a progressive disease that causes bony tumors to take over normal bone. She will need several more surgeries into her adult life.

A friend of the family, Ann Hammond, created a benefit dance in her honor. When Jaime asked if I was interested in going and participating, I asked, "What is the date"? She said, "February 2nd". I started to cry and explained that it was also the same day we were participating in "Give Kids a Smile". She and I then continued to cry at the irony of the date. Camryn has lost some of her baby and permanent teeth and will need future prothetics as her jaw/mouth develop.

The last report from Jaime's mother is that almost $10,000 had been raised to help cover medical and dental expenses!!!!! Ironically, that is the amount of free work we did at our office for all the kids that we saw! Strange how the Universe works sometimes!

I want to thank EVERYONE from the bottom of my heart, for all of your donations. This couldn't have happened without you being committed to making a difference in the lives of children!

I also want to acknowledge Miss Camryn, for her strength and positive attitude! You are a beautiful spirit! Thank YOU for letting me be a part of your life!

"Duchess" Wears Prada

Last weekend when I went to Boston, I decided while my friend Laurie was doing the Landmark Forum, that I would hit the South Shore Plaza! I always have GREAT fun shopping there....even if it's just looking around.

A little background: The last time I went to Boston with my mother, I found an outfit....like that was a treat for me FINALLY having my mother do the Landmark Forum. I decided I needed to celebrate. Ohhh....did I have fun. I found this classy leaopard print skirt and a cowl neck black sweater with a patent leather belt and patent leather shoes! I was VERY excited about it and came back to Maine sporting it! So, that being said, I have decided to create it as a "tradition" that anytime I go to Boston to support ANYONE doing the Landmark Forum, that I will get myself a special treat. This time, it was my Zebra stripped jacket!

I have had a lot of people remark that I look like Meryl Streep in "Devil Wears Prada". Minus Meryl's attitude in the movie, I can completely get it. Ha, ha, ha! I just LOVE my jacket. It's so me! I will even say that it occurs like I have a better day when I wear it. I think it's because it brings out my confidence and a bold smile when I strut my stuff in it. He, he, he!

I have had some funny looks at the grocery store and I giggle at it. I just think, "Hey, I'm over here being me and loving this sassy jacket so move over judgements, THE DUCHESS is sporting Zebra". :-)

So, to all of you, be who you are, regardless of opinions, judgements and all the other crap! :-)