Update

I've been a little slow on the blog posting, so I'll just catch up quickly with a few things. My new toy is the iPhone that was a birthday present. I hadn't really wanted one, but now that I have it I am so loving it. There just isn't any going back now.

The Tae Kwon Do group had it's annual fund raiser for Warm The Children. We do a Break-A-Thon and raise pledges.


I spend most of my time taking pictures for people. Alana likes to spend her time doing a lot of breaking. It's a fun morning with people of all skill levels breaking. I particularly like to watch the beginning when the students who have never broken before are set up with one of the black belts and break their first boards. Later on I will hand over the camera and break a few boards of my own. I don't seem to get very many good pictures of me. Alana took this one of me doing a knee strike. That's me with the green belt. ;)

Flu Fighter

Today our local school district held their H1N1 flu clinic. When the notification went out, they also asked for volunteers to help work the event. May as well pitch in. It was rather fun being a nurse again. I got to be one of the staff doing the immunizations. So glad I didn't get assigned to the screening, that's where the real work was going on. I did about 45 vaccinations and spent the morning with some great people.

Another way to lose some time

Let me introduce you to this little television series that will make you lose a big chunk of time. Seriously, the blame is completely on the man around here for getting me started. Don't be concerned if you don't have cable or Showtime. You can find this little number on Netflix or other rental outlets. I cruised through season one in a weekend...and yes, I did find a few minutes to interact with family and friends that weekend. There is no jumping in during the middle of this series. It's mandatory that you begin with season one episode one. You'll only be cheating yourself if you do it any other way.
Warning. This should not be viewed with any children or delicate elderly people around. It's a no-holds-barred deal.

Out with the old

Worn, cracked, taped, and stiff gear.













In with the new.




Pretty, soft, flexible, metallic plum gear.

Nearing the end

Alana usually starts about a month early getting ready for Halloween. Much thought goes into the costume and details. Not so much this year. Wore a cape that she borrowed from a friend and some black clothes. Didn't do the teeth that Dad got for her. Didn't want the face make-up. Settled for the spider web tattoo on her face and some white streaks in her hair.
She had a great time at the party that the local Kiwanis club puts on every year. Ran around with her girl buddies and did the hayride. Yet, I can tell that the specialness of Halloween is getting ready to pass.

I was due for it

Thursday night. Sparring night. Everyone knows that I am not the most enthusiastic of fighters. Rather reserved. I've been trying to focus on that. Forrest and I were in the ring. Blocked one kick and went in to try to get a punch on him. Caught a kick in the ribs. Ouchers. The little, frail, old lady was heard across the do jang with that lovely squeaky noise that you can make. So, now I have his heel mark on my side and am resting it up for a few days. Guess the gear bag will sit for a bit.

Just because

I was taking photos for a friend of mine today. Lucked out in that the rain stopped long enough to capture a few moments. Colors are starting to changed, but we have a little more time until it peaks. Alana was being a good sport about being my helper. So, one quick picture of Alana...just because.

October

October has always been my most favorite month. The foliage is gorgeous. Weather is cool, but not unbearable. Baseball season is wrapping up. School schedules settle in. Just so many wonderful things about the month.
October is also breast cancer awareness month. My thoughts are with a very special friend. She has gone through treatment...twice. Never a single complaint. Always strong and independent. Doing it on her own. Such a truly amazing woman. She described her ordeal as "an inconvenience". So, here is to my friend.

Corn Maze

The local corn maze has a different theme every year. This year it is Darwin. Hidden in the maze are different clues and information spots. It was a perfect day to go. We must have spent about three hours there. One of the guys we train with, Jason came with us again this year.

Cirque Du Soleil

For Alana's birthday she was given the choice of a gift or going to a special event. It took her no time at all to make her decision. It was hands down..going to Cirque Du Soleil. We were given tickets to go for the first time years ago and since then she is always listening for when the next tour is in our area. It was as spectacular as always. The performers, costumes, and stage are just amazing. Another perfect day.

8 years

It just doesn't seem like eight years have passed. That day is still so clear in my mind. I can remember the first moment I heard about a plane in NYC. As the day progressed more people came into the clinic with news. That evening I picked up Alana from Grammie's and heard more. Home to see my first news reports. Snuggling on the bed with my toddler and not wanting to let go for even a moment. It took me a few years to do a tribute page about someone I had known who was on the second plane. My thoughts are with all of the victims and the ones left behind.

End of summer

5th grade has begun. I wasn't ready, but the school district really doesn't care about how I feel. Alana is happy with her new bag and that's all that matters to her. Three days of school and then off for the long weekend.
Grandparents here to visit for a few days. Gives everyone a chance to relax and catch up. Lots of fires in the fire pit. The pool is starting to be less attractive with the weather starting to cool off. How does the summer vacation always get away from me?

and more baseball

Last night was the Boston-Toronto game that I had gotten tickets for for Mothers' Day. It had been pouring rain in Boston for two days. I had actually made the decision *gasp* to leave my camera at home so that it would not be destroyed. I only have a few very poor quality pictures from my cell phone and later will have one very expensive picture from www.redsox.com/fanfoto listed under gallery 172 TJB.
All the way into the city I just knew that we would get there and they would either rain delay or cancel. Armed with our rain gear. We arrived at Fenway early. The rain stopped after we arrived. It was cool and misty, but no real rain.
Did the usual wander around the park. Alana sat in the seat where Ted Williams hit the longest in-park home run to. We watched the players warming up. Checked out the action in the bullpens.
Alana was wearing her Red Sox championship sweatshirt along with her Toronto hat that Patti had sent to her last year. It was the basis for some good natured teasing from a young man seated behind us.
I felt kind of guilty about wanting to see Beckett pitch instead of Buchholz. The game was great. The crowd wasn't pleased when Tito took Clay out after the first out of the 9th. He did an amazing job.
For Alana, it's all about the food. It might have been cold and rainy, but she had her ice cream in a helmet...amongst other things.

and now...softball

Saturday night there was a charity fundraiser in town where the police department played softball against the "pros". The team is made up of past Red Sox and Patriot players. What a fun group of guys. At one point Oil Can Boyd (Red Sox pitcher from the '80's) was running the bases and telling the PD guys to throw out at first. LOL. Talk about a new approach to coaching. Alana was all happy because Boyd signed her Red Sox hat for her after the game. Ofcourse, my camera started to act funky, so my last few pictures weren't that great. Oh well, fun night.

Futures At Fenway

Yesterday Alana and I were off to Fenway park. This is the second year we've gone to the Futures Game. Two of the Red Sox minor league teams have a double header at Fenway. Tickets are cheap and the park is filled with families and people there to enjoy the games. They couldn't have played on a more perfect day. Warm and sunny, but not too hot.


I think we were only there a matter of minutes before we were spotted by Alana's buddy from school, Lana. They have been friends since the first day of kindergarten. Aren't they just the cutest together?
Between the games we got a quick glimpse of Dwight Evans when he was out on the field for only a few minutes speaking with the coaches. I'm not sure how many fans noticed him there, but I was glad to get a look.
It would have been a perfect day if we hadn't heard on the radio on the way home that the Sox lost to the Yankees.

We are green

Last night was promotion testing at Tae Kwon Do. I never do very well with the stress of testing, and the heat and humidity didn't help matters. Not my best performance. Alana did well. Seems we must have done well enough because we were awarded our next belts.

Lazy Day

Alana announced this morning that she is not getting out of her jammies all day. Since we spent the last few days just going nonstop it sounded like a good idea. The day began with her and all the animals in my bed watching television. Next, she moved on to playing her Nintendo and knitting. As we get into the afternoon we'll see if she continues on her lazy day quest. She did say that she would get dressed for her Tae Kwon Do class tonight.

The Ugliest Cake

We usually celebrate Alana's birthday with a family cookout on a day when we can all get together. The cake isn't so much for eating as it is for decoration (we are more pie people). Alana usually just picks out a theme cake from a local store and life is good. I wish someone took a picture of my face when we went to pick up the cake this year. We have named it "the ugliest cake". Seriously, I could have done better myself. It was lopsided, cracked, and the decoration was ...


I told them to forget the cake. They had me just take it. You would think that they would want to destroy the evidence. The ice cream cake that we picked up on the way home seemed to suit her just fine. On Monday when we celebrate her actual birthday, I think we'll skip the cake.

Lifted from Lin

Outside my window... rain...again
I am thinking... that I should get my act in gear
I am thankful for... a day off
From the kitchen... Alana is heating up leftovers
I am wearing... shirt and jeans
I am creating... a prayer shawl
I am going... to be celebrating my dd's birthday this weekend
I am reading... My Sister's Keeper
I am hoping...that damage can be repaired
I am hearing... the rain on the roof
Around the house... it looks like a bomb went off
One of my favorite things... diet coke
A few plans for the rest of the week...sleep, knit, visit with family and friends, celebrate two birthdays, get ready to test for next belt

Band Concert

It's been a busy month here. I missed posting about Alana's regional school band concert. This is the first time that the different schools from the region had their beginner's band perform together. They only had the chance to practice together a few times before the concert. What a fantastic job they did. Alana loves playing her flute. I hope she will continue with it. She was particularly happy her two favorite girls came to her concert to cheer her on. Another great night.

New Grad

Nearly 19 years ago I was working with Betty when she said that she had the flu. I told her she was probably pregnant. Last night was graduation for Betty's "flu case". Caitlin is Alana's most favorite person on earth. The big sister someone else gave her. The best buddy. Nobody is better. I managed to catch this one picture with the three of them in it. Usually Betty is running around taking care of every detail in life. Last night she got to spend just a little time enjoying the moment. I am so proud of all of these women. I feel very blessed when I get to be a part of these special moments in life with the family who has adopted me and mine.

It's a pirate's life

School play time. This year grades 3-6 did a musical version of Treasure Island. I was there to cheer on one of the dancing pirates. We may come from a small town, but the school really packs them in when it comes to these events.

I didn't get any really great pictures to share from the actual play, but here's my girl along with her flowers from Dad. We are so fortunate to have such an enthusiastic music teacher here. Everyone did a fantastic job.

Graduation Day

Today was graduation for Alana's big sister from the Big-Little Sister program. Ji has been a part of her life for the last two years. I can't imagine a better match. She will be going on to Dartmouth this fall. The girls are already talking about our going to visit Ji on campus.

Girl Time

So, what to do on a Saturday when we have some girl time? Start with a Tae Kwon Do class. Good morning. Take downs were as good as it gets. Follow that with breakfast/lunch out with the TKD crowd. Next, a stop to have the nails done. Alana decided to pick a brighter color. usually she doesn't have any nail polish on, so this was quite the stretch.




Finish off the day with dragging the driveway. An annual spring event, but the first year that Alana got to do it. She was a pro.

Ghillies

Alana is totally loving her Irish step dancing classes. She has never taken any type of dance class before, but is sold on this. We just registered to continue with classes through the summer. Tonight the instructor helped fit her for her first set of dance shoes ever. They are an Irish soft shoe. They are also called "ghillies". Don't you just love that name? Next will be the poodle socks to go with them.

Happy Mothers' Day

Lunch at home with Mom having her lobster and the rest of us having fillet. The food was perfect. Mom was feeling good, so an added bonus. Alana made me my card and surprised me with tickets to the Red Sox-Blue Jays game at Fenway in August. I teased her that I was going to give my second ticket to Patti.

Reunion 2009

The one thing that Dad never wants to miss is the reunion with his shipmates. They get together for lunch once a year, right around this time. Usually they aim for April 7th, in memory of the day their destroyer got hit by a kamikaze during one of their tours in the south Pacific. It usually begins with a toast to all that have gathered together followed by a toast to all that have gone before. Theirs is a bond that the average person can only vaguely comprehend.

Stolen from Oscar who stole it from Lesfitz

What is on your desktop wallpaper? blue clouds

What is your favorite zoo animal? elephants

What was your favorite toy as a child? Creepy Crawler Maker

What food do you eat too much of? Diet Coke and chocolate

What kind of hairstyle do you have? Longish short

What was your favorite activity in gym class? I hated gym, but liked kickball.

What is on the shirt you are wearing right now? Red Sox logo

What is the picture nearest to you of? Alana and I

What kind of salad dressing do you like? Ranch

Whats your least favorite food? Beets

What do you do on a Sunday night? Try to catch up on everything I didn't get done over the weekend.

If you could only use one condiment on your food for the rest of your life, what would it be? ketchup

What color are your sheets? cranberry

How big is your computer display? 17 inches

What pair of shoes do you wear most often? sneakers

What is your favorite game? Zelda

What is your favorite Thanksgiving food? stuffing

What is your favorite pizza topping? cheese

What time do you plan on waking up tomorrow? 0530

What is your favorite day of the year? a day off

Another career option

Another one to add to my list of career paths that I am glad I did not follow...plumbing. One of the bathroom sinks wasn't draining right, so I took it apart. Eeewww! I'd forgotten that lovely stink of stagnant, clogged water. Even more fun, the cleaning out of the slimy, black clog. I had so much fun with the first sink that I went ahead and checked the second sink. I think I will leave the downstairs bathroom for another special day.

Day One

Alana is off to spend a few days in Washington, D.C. with her dad. She was so excited as they pulled out of the driveway this morning. So, a day on my own. Not exactly the stuff that movies are made of. A few errands. Stuff to do around the house. Out in the yard with the dogs on such a beautiful day. Catch the Red Sox game. Some knitting. Now I'm starting to wind down. Having dinner alone is strange. Oh, and I changed my header photo to make Patti happy. The rest of the week I'll be working and going to Tae Kwon Do.
Sure is quiet.

Easter 2009

Coloring the eggs gets easier every year. Alana is pretty much on autopilot at this point. Occasionally she'll check in with me to ask a question, but for the most part my role is that of audience. I just love how pretty they all are.
The egg hunt at Grammie's is the highlight of her day. Sure, she enjoys her basket in the morning, but finding the eggs is the best. She wouldn't even care if the eggs were empty. As the kids get older the level of difficulty goes up.
Each kid has their own color egg, so there's no racing to collect the most. Ofcourse, that doesn't mean that an egg might "accidentally" get moved to another hiding spot. I only wish that it would be warmer. Today the wind coming across the pasture was particularly biting. Don't be fooled by the teenager without a coat on!