Cruise 2012

So our vacation was wonderful...nothing like it, that's for sure. I love me a big cruise ship with warm breezes and pretty umbrella drinks at my beck and call.
We left Miami on Sunday afternoon and headed for Nassau, Bahamas. The weather was a bit overcast but warm, and the seas were a bit choppy. We settled into our cabin, unpacked and got ready for dinner. I really wish I had taken pictures of all of our meals because every meal was delicious. The first night on board was for exploring and we roamed all around the ship all evening getting to know where everything was. We stopped at several watering holes and sampled drinks, listened to the band or woman playing piano in the piano bar. We ended our night at the comedy club, watched a show then headed back to our cabins for some much needed sleep.

Monday morning we woke up in Nassau and had breakfast on the deck watching the city come to life. We got off the ship a few hours later and walked around Nassau, did a little shopping and had lunch at Senior Frogs, a local bar and grille.
We met up with Ray and Diane later in the afternoon and went down to the pool area to 'chillax' as our cruise director was always saying.

Tuesday we spent the whole day at sea. There is so much on board to keep us amused. From the pool area, to the different games and activities on board, we had plenty to keep us occupied. We spent some time up in the pool area but it gets really crowded there on days at sea so we went back to our room and ended up sunning ourselves on the balcony. I got some reading done while working on my tan. Naps were also good most afternoons so we could stay up later in the evenings.

Wednesday we went to St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. This turned out to be one of the most fun days we had. We booked a tour on a party barge for the afternoon and oh my did we ever have fun. It was a small group on board but we were all up for a good time. Our tour guide, George, was a lot of fun and had a lot of information to share about the Islands. I loved listening to the Calypso Band and even won a prize playing Name That Tune. I had a choice of something from the gift shop or a free drink. I chose a tee shirt, then bought myself a drink. LOL
We stopped at a beach and were able to go swimming or just lounge for an hour. The ride back was a blast. The crew started a Conga Line and were dancing and singing all the way back. There was also a Limbo contest which I did not participate in but it sure was fun to watch. I really didn't want to leave, it was so much fun. I was also quite inebriated after drinking several "Painkillers" on board.

We went shopping before going back on board the cruise ship, and I got some cool shot glasses and some little gifts for George's grandkids. We got back on board, I grabbed a shower and we headed for another fantastic dinner. It was our 3rd weddinganniversary that night and the waitstaff sang to us after dinner and brought us a small cake for dessert. Lots of fun! I'm not sure if that was the night we went to the comedy club to see a different comedian but I think it was.

Thursday we were in San Juan. We really didn't have a lot of time on shore that day but we did take a tour of old San Juan and walked around for a couple of hours. I wish now that we had taken a cab ride through the city but that will be for another time I guess.

Friday we were in Grand Turk. What a beautiful place to visit. We walked around for awhile, stopped at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville for some local fare, then hung out at the beach for awhile. We then took a walk around the Island and saw where John Glenn splashed down on one of his missions some 50 years ago. George is a big history buff so he found this rather interesting. The botanical gardens were also very pretty. I would love to spend a little more time there sometime in the future.

Saturday was another day at sea and then we were back in Miami on Sunday, The week went by wayyy too fast, that's for sure. Can't wait to do it all again.


I know we've been home for two weeks but I haven't had much time to sort through over 300 pictures and get them posted. But today I set aside the entire morning to do so...I hope you all enjoy! I hope the ones I chose give you some sort of idea of how much fun we had!



She's a bad influence


Ray and Diane


No comment


We had only been on board a couple hours...waiting to leave Port.


We were on this ship 2 years ago, Carnival Valor leaving Port


Miami from our balcony


Leaving Miami


The Bahamas from our balcony Good Morning!


Sunrise in the Bahamas


Ivan the best Bar Steward on the ship


Our Maitre D


Our Waiter who looks like PeeWee Herman


Ray, Diane, George and Me at Dinner


Calypso Band on the Kon Tiki


Calypso Band relaxing on the Kon Tiki


Pirate Ship


Aboard the Kon Tiki Party Barge


Rainbow over St. Thomas


St. Thomas from the Kon Tiki


Conga Line


Limbo Contest



Sunset in the Virgin Islands


Our servers wishing us a Happy Anniversary


Old San Juan



Shopping in Old San Juan


Leaving San Juan


Sunrise on the ocean


Margaritaville


Weather Station at Margaritaville


On the beach at Grand Turk


Botanical Garden on Grand Turk


Heading back to the ship (ours is on the right) the boat on the left was the Princess Ruby, one of the two Princess ships where a lot of people were sick.


Leaving Grand Turk


Grand Turk Island

Snow, Sleet and Sunshine

One week from today I will be on board the cruise ship and sailing away to St. Thomas, San Juan and the Grand Turks. I am so looking forward to a week of sunshine, warm breezes, calypso music and fruity umbrella drinks. Not to mention the wonderful company of my brother in law Ray and his lovely wife Diane, who by the way, has become the sister I never had. We are flying to Florida on Saturday and staying in Miami overnight, then boarding Sunday morning. And no...the recent Cruise ship disaster in Italy does not scare me nor will it stop me from going. If I worried about things beyond my control, I'd never leave the house. While my heart goes out to those who lost their lives and their families, I am confident that a repeat incident will not occur.

A couple of weeks ago we had a very nice post Christmas brunch with the Ferland Family. We had about 14 people here and served scrambled eggs, bacon, home fries, muffins, pancakes, Swedish meatballs, ham and tuna salad rolls and fruit. It was nice to have the entire family together and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. Next year it will take place at Ray and Diane's house and I am looking forward to that.

Last week was probably the stormiest week we've had weatherwise, all winter. With temps in the 50's most of December and very little snow up until recently, I guess we were a bit spoiled. None of the storms last week were big in snowfall totals but more like nuisance storms. It seemed like every morning I had to deal with some kind of precipitation on my way to work. On Tuesday, we had 4 inches of snow to drive through that changed to rain by afternoon. Of course, the temperatures dropped during the night, making the roads completely slick. I had a very difficult time getting out of my driveway. I actually slid sideways down the driveway on my first attempt to get up the driveway...which was a little scary. Once my car came to a stop, I pulled out my cell phone and called George, who was inside asleep, and asked him to come out and help. He put down some salt and after a few more attempts I got up to the main road and was on my way. 90 minutes later, I pulled into the parking area at work, only to find out that there was no power and everything was completely in the dark. I sat in the car debating on going inside but the thought of making that return trip home on ice covered roads was not appealling to me so I ventured inside. Everyone that had managed to make it into work was sitting in the cafeteria waiting for someone to make a decision. Do we stay or do we go? No one wanted to leave unless we knew we were going to get paid and that decision had to be made by someone from the front office and of course, no one of that level was at work at 5:30 am. 2 hours later, the lights came back on and we all headed upstairs to get to work. I was a little out of sorts all day but managed to get through it. The drive home was much more pleasant with clear roads and no rain or snow for a change.
We've been in a strange weather pattern and had annoying snow showers Friday morning and all day yesterday but today the sun is shining and it looks beautiful outside. It is very cold though, it was -9 when I got up this morning at 7. I hear we will be having more snow/sleet/rain crap to deal with in the morning. Wonderful!

Eric invited Sara to be his guest at his company's after Christmas Holiday party which took place last night. They were having a ball, it was a dress up affair and Sara sent me this pic of them.


I am so glad they are close and look out for each other. These types of pictures put a huge smile on my face. Eric looks good...he's lost a little weight in recent months and I love seeing the smile back on his face.
And we all know how much Iggy loves Sara's bright smile!

Well I guess I should get moving and get some chores done. George has taken Hunter down to Petco for a pedicure and I have a couple loads of laundry to deal with. Later we will be watching the Patriots/Ravens football game (Go Pats!) and then I imagine we'll watch the Giants/49ers after that. I can't believe football is coming to a close...the season is so short. But that just means baseball spring training is not too far behind I guess!

Have a wonderful Sunday.

Random Thoughts

A week into the new year and all is going well so far. I've had this week off and pretty much got the house back in order, except for the Christmas tree which we have left up until Sunday. We are having George's family over for an after Christmas brunch on Sunday and once that is over, Christmas will be in the books for another year.

Eric is all moved into his new place and he seems to be handling the pending divorce ok. I think at this point he will be happy to have it over with so he can move on with his life. I thought at first, that he would have a hard time getting through this but Jessie has made it very easy by being the witch that she is. She has truly shown her true colors by running up a whole lot of bills and taking all but $100 from their joint savings account. She asked her parents for some financial help and when they turned her down, she just helped herself. Thankfully, Eric had stopped the direct deposit at work several weeks prior and was able to keep his paycheck from her grasp. No doubt in my mind she would have drained that account too.
Jessie's parents have been very gracious to Eric and they still wanted Eric to live in their house but it was just too awkward. Jessie's father still calls Eric 'son' and he invited Eric to attend a hockey game with him this weekend so I assume they know that this whole thing has been all Jessie's idea.

The other good thing that has come out of all this is Eric took George aside on Christmas Day and apologized for all of the BS that went on before the wedding. He explained that it was all Jessie and he went along with it all to keep the peace but he knows that doing so was hurtful to George and his kids. His family is here to help him and we've stood by him, even if he didn't stand up for his family when she would bash us. I'm not a vindictive person but I really do hope that she gets what's coming to her. I firmly believe in karma...and she has no good karma surrounding her.


I am really not looking forward to going back to work on Monday. Don't get me wrong, I am very grateful to have a job but these two weeks off have been wonderful! I like staying up at night and getting up when I want to in the morning, I like cooking nice meals for dinner and not rushing or cooking something fast to get a meal on the table. Definitely not looking forward to a more regimented work day and going to bed at 8:00 because I have to get up at 3:30 in the morning.
Good thing is I only have to work 3 weeks and then I am on vacation again. George and I are going on a cruise to St. Thomas, San Juan and Grand Turks with my brother in law and sister in law. I am so looking forward to spending time in the tropics and with them. We always have a fun time together and this should be no exception.

It's about time for me to head to the kitchen and start dinner. I hope everyone is having a great New Year so far. Stay warm and safe...catch you all soon!

Welcoming 2012

So happy to see my kids out together having fun and looking out for each other. It would make me very sad if Eric was bummed out and depressed all the time. Happy to see a smile on his face and that he is out and about. (Although he does look a bit like the Pope in this picture with the beads and the pointy hat.) hahaha

2012...HERE WE COME!!

To all of my friends...wishing you all Happy and Prosperous 2012!

It's Over PHEEEW

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We had a lot of family time and tons of good food, all the kids seemed to have enjoyed their gifts and the best part, my son was there for all the festivities and was able to enjoy himself without being asked 25 times if they could leave. Christmas without Jessie was quite pleasant and I was happy to see Eric enjoying himself. I was a little worried that he would be bummed out and quiet but he was actually more like himself than I've seen in some time. We had a heart to heart away from the crowd and he seems to be doing well...he said he now just wants the whole thing over and done with. I did learn a few more things about Jessie's behavior of late and what he told me would normally make me very angry. But after thinking about it all, I am with him...he just wants to get on with his life and move forward. I am happy to know that Jessie's parents are also behind Eric and they have been very supportive of him. Catching their daughter in several lies has made them very wary of her and they know what she is capable of. They would actually like for Eric to continue living in their home but he will be moving in with a couple of his friends in the new year. I think that is for the best...the sooner he gets away from that house, the better. The only sad part is he cannot take the dog with him where he is going. And I know Jessie's father doesn't want the responsibility of taking care of the dog. So, not sure where he is going. I would take him in but I don't want Jessie coming around here to visit him.


My neice was at my parents house with her two little ones. They are such good kids, very well behaved and so cute. They are 15 months and 3 years old and it was really fun watching them open their gifts. Sara spent the whole day playing with them and really she is a natural. Kinda makes me want her to settle down and have a couple of kids. :-) That's not going to happen for quite sometime. It's ok, I'll just spoil George's grandkids and my great neice and nephew.

Here are a few pics from Christmas Eve and Day!


Sara and Hunter


Alex and Callissa


Stepdaughter Nicole


Sara and Waylon


Group Shot of my side of the family


Kendal wearing Sara's boots

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to All!!

I'm back!

Whoa...it's been 17 months since my last post. LOL Sounds like going to confession. Well I have decided to pop in and see what is happening in the blog world. I've been very very busy the last month or so but with Christmas around the corner, everyone is, aren't they?
OK so a lot has happened in the last year and a half. I will try to catch you up on the key points.
My son Eric got married in August of 2010. It was a beautiful wedding, perfect day and we had a nice time, considering all the pre wedding crap that went on.

Hindsight being what it is...I have come to the conclusion that my daughter in law has a very mean side to her, which will become apparent later on in this post. I thought she was trying to push my buttons back then but refused to buy into it and now I KNOW she is mean spirited and phoney. A couple of examples...first she asked me if anyone would be insulted if they did not invite my husbands children (Eric's step siblings now) the wedding. I told her that I had a problem with that and I think they all would like to attend the wedding, and it is a downright insult to George if they are shunned. Well...they were not invited. Money wasn't an issue and I even offered to pay for their meals if it was. OK it's their wedding and their choice. Then, she purposely sat George and myself with my ex husband and his girlfriend, at the wedding reception. This was not an issue for me but she already knew that my ex was uncomfortable around George since he made that very clear at the rehearsal dinner. It really was not a huge problem, just uncomfortable and a little awkward but we are all adults and no fights broke out. I don't know, maybe she was hoping something would happen, who knows. This is Sara and me at the wedding.


After the wedding, it became more and more difficult to see them. Every time there was a family gathering, they always had an excuse as to why they couldn't make it. They missed both of my parents 80th birthday parties along with a few other events and last Christmas we had to totally rearrange our Christmas because they were not going to be at our usual Christmas gathering. This summer, they did come to our 4th of July BBQ but sat by themselves and didn't speak one word to anyone other than me, my parents and my daughter. They left as soon as dinner was over.
This Thanksgiving my son arrived here by himself and said Jessie was 'doing her own thing'. I have since learned that she has become very mean to him and they are now separated. Apparently a divorce is in the works although no one has told me directly. I've just been told not to expect Jessie at Christmas and not to purchase any gifts for her. Eric has also told his sister that it was Jessie who didn't want to invite George's kids to the wedding, it was always her idea to lie about why they couldn't attend anything regarding our family and she has a reason why she doesn't like anyone in our family. I guess we foiled her attempt to avoid Christmas with the family when we all rearranged our schedules to accommodate her and she had no choice but to attend last year. Frankly, it would have been more fun if she hadn't come, since she sat there with a pout on her face all day and couldn't even crack a smile in the family photo. See attached


Well all I can do is be there to support my son through this tough time. I know he must be heartbroken but he also has to feel terrible that he allowed her to make decisions for him regarding his family. We've always been very close no matter what differences and challenges we've had and it always made me sad when he didn't attend things.

On to happier things. Sara, has been doing very well. She has gone back to school and is now in hot pursuit of her Masters degree. So far, she has aced her classes and really enjoys school. She moved into a new apartment last August and has a new roommate. She leads a very active life and seems to be very happy even though she has no Mr. Right in her life at the moment. She keeps busy with work and school and comes up to visit about once a month. She will be here on Thursday after work and plans on staying through New Years. She has the week off from work and so do I so we will have a nice week together.

George is well. He got a very nice promotion last summer and is now the Engineering Manager where he works. He has had another unsuccessful Fall, meaning he did not manage to get a deer this past hunting season. His brother and many of his friends were successful but that's ok. He likes the solitude of hunting and he seems to enjoy just hiking in the woods and sitting in his tree stand and napping. LOL I think that's what he actually does in the tree stand but he claims he is always awake. Kind of hard for me to believe since everytime he sits still here for 5 minutes he is soon napping.

Work is very slow and I suppose it will get slower since I work for a Government contractor that supplies mountable flashlights and night vision goggles to the military. I suppose there is a downside to everything, but I am glad that we have withdrawn our troops from Iraq and I certainly hope we don't get involved in another conflict, even if it means downsizing and layoffs at work.

My Christmas shopping is finished and now I just have to complete wrapping. We are having Christmas with Georges kids on Christmas Eve and Christmas with my family on Christmas Day at my parents house. On January 8th we are hosting an after Christmas Brunch so George's kids and his brother's family can all get together and see each other. Everyone is just too busy during Christmas to see everyone that we need to see so this will solve that problem and prolong Christmas a little longer.

My neice Crystal had twin boys last month. She was a surrogate for a couple who could not have children. The boys were born 6 weeks early but are now out of the hospital and doing great. Crystal is doing very well and the couple are over the moon now that their family is complete. I am so proud of her. Not sure I could do what she did but she is a very special person.

The end of January, George and I are going on a cruise with his brother Ray and Ray's wife Diane. I am so looking forward to it, we always have fun with them and they haven't been on a vacation in many years. We are going to Puerto Rico and a few other ports that I just cannot remember at this moment. All I need to know is it will be warm there and I am happy to go. We have had a very nice Fall so I really can't complain about the cold and right now we have no snow on the ground and it looks like we will not have a white Christmas. We did have a white Halloween though, so I am all set. :-)

I guess I should get back to wrapping gifts. George is watching some football game, getting ready for the game of the week @4, Tom Brady vs. Tim Tebow. I hear it should be a heck of a game...we'll see!

Be back soon I hope!!

Checkin In

It's been a very hot and humid week off but George and I have made the best of the steamy weather. Last weekend was very busy for us and I was very glad to have a couple of days with no plans at all.
We had a BBQ at my brother's home last Saturday and that was a lot of fun. Sunday we had all the kids here for dinner and fireworks. Jon and Nikki bought some very nice fireworks and once it got dark, off they went from our side yard. It was a really nice display that lasted around 15 minutes. We plan on all pitching in next year so we can have a much larger and longer display.
Monday my friend Rose and her husband Steve came over for a BBQ and a lot of catching up. They stayed until 8PM or so and Sara went home shortly after they did. We got the dishes done and took a deep breath and decided that Tuesday was a day of rest and we weren't going to do anything but relax.
Wednesday we slept late then got a lot of things done around the house. Late in the afternoon we went for a ride around Lake Winni and then had a nice dinner at Cactus Jacks.
Yesterday, it was almost 100 degrees outside and very humid but we took a ride to the beach anyway. It was hot but there was a great seabreeze at the shore so that was a nice relief. We walked around and although I am not a beach person, I did enjoy the day.
I woke up today feeling a little groggy so it took me awhile to get moving. There has been a very nice breeze outside so we were able to keep the air conditioning off and let some of the fresh air in for awhile. I think we will be seeing some rain in the near future, which will be welcomed since our front yard has a lot of patches of burnt grass all over it.
It is hard to believe that my 11 day vacation is almost over. I could really use another week or 2. Looks like there won't be any of that any time soon. Maybe Christmas?? That seems like a long time away but the way this year is flying by...it'll be here before we know it.

Hope you are all having a wonderful summer.

Have A Happy 4th Of July

Hunter says Happy 4th of July everyone!!

WOW...Half A Year Done Already

The 1st of July already! Can you believe 2010 is half over??

I am beginning my 11 day vacation today. I woke up around 6:30, which is a nice sleep in for me since I normally get up at 3:30. I took an early shower so I could get the laundry started afterwards. I have a lot of laundry to get through. 1 load of clothes, another load of towels and then 2 loads of linen. 1 load is the new sheet set I bought for Sara's bed and the other is the set of sheets that I took off her bed last night.

Sara is arriving tonight around 8pm for the weekend, and possibly more. I am going to do my best to convince her that she should seriously consider moving in with us for the time being. Sara has suffered a very difficult break up with Brad after three years together and she has been struggling to just get through the week. It's been very hard on her to be almost 100 miles away from her family. Luckily she has 1 good friend in Massachusetts that has been looking after her the last couple of days but she needs to be here with her family. Hopefully the long weekend with us will take her mind off her troubles for a little while. She knows she has a home here with George and me but her job is in Wellsley, Massachusetts and it will be about a 2 hour commute to work if she does move back here. She really has a hard time being in their apartment so I don't think she wants to go back there. So her options are either find a new job closer to us or find an apartment she can afford near her job down there. Either way, there is no immediate solution to the situation.
So last night George and I went shopping and bought a new comforter/sheet set for the spare room. Then we cleaned out the room and rearranged it, and today I am washing all the sheets and blankets. Hunter sometimes naps on the pillows in there so I have to wash everything to get the dog hair off of them. I have the bed half made, just waiting for the blanket to come out of the dryer now and will finish it up as soon as it's dry. I also bought a candle to make the room smell nice with her favorite scent, vanilla. We put my spare bookcase in there with a couple of books and some family pictures on it. It was a little difficult to find pictures that didn't have Brad in them but I found a few. Luckily I had some photos of her with George's nephews, who seem to be some of her new favorite people and I printed a couple of them out and stuck them in some frames. Not perfect but I hope the room looks inviting and comfortable for her. The room actually used to belong to Patrick so it is painted blue and red, not exactly girly colors but we did the best we could on short notice. Anyway, she is definitely spending the long weekend here and we've arranged to keep her busy for most of it.

On Saturday, we have a BBQ/pool party at my brother Dave's. That should be a lot of fun and the weather promises to be sunny and hot. On Sunday, the 4th, Jon, Nikki, Nicole, Matt and the kids are coming over for a BBQ. Jon is doing double duty since he is our resident mechanic and Nicole's car needs a little work done and we have a garage so he can work on it here. Sara's car also needs to be looked at so he has offered to do that too. We bought over $100 worth of fireworks to shoot off once it gets dark so it should be a good, fun time.

I am going to bake some chocolate chip cookies later this afternoon. Those aren't just for her...I've been craving them for awhile now and it's sunny but cool outside today so it's a perfect day for that. I kind of like being home and acting like a housewife.

George lucked out and also has next week off. We didn't make any plans but I know I want to get the other spare bedroom, which contains a lot of my stuff that I moved up here from my house, cleaned out and organized. That should take an entire day. I have also set aside one afternoon for my friend Rose and her hubby to come up and spend some time with us. We haven't seen them since just after Christmas and I miss my best friend. The rest of the week...who knows. Hopefully we will get to do something fun.

OK so I better get cracking and finish up my projects. Have a great rest of the week and a wonderful 4th. Be safe, no matter what you end up doing and enjoy!!!

Happy Weekend!

I had the day off today and it has been absolutely gorgeous outside. Mid 80's, sunny and just beautiful. It was very hot and humid yesterday but last night we had some pretty loud and heavy thunderstorms and that just pushed all the humid air right out of here.

This morning I went to the closing of my house. It is nice to finally have that albatros, so to speak, out of the way. The property was purchased by a developer who has plans to build a new home there. He got himself a good deal, and although I didn't get what I wanted, I did pretty well considering the economy is as it is and my house was on the market for 9 months. So after the closing, I headed to the bank and deposited the check. The good thing is most of it is free and clear since my house was paid off and didn't carry a mortgage.
It's nice to have a little nest egg now. I am planning to pay off a few bills and help Eric a little with the wedding. I'll be sure to put some away for when Sara gets married someday.

Eric's wedding is just 2 months away and things have calmed down some. Eric did speak with his father about the whole rehearsal dinner thing and apparently the whole spouses not invited to the dinner was because my Ex was making all kinds of demands. After thinking about it, Eric decided that he needed to get a handle on things and suggested to his father that he had better start getting used to George being in the picture since we are all family now in one way or another. Dave initially said that he wouldn't pay his half of the rehearsal dinner if George was there but has since changed his mind. He does realize that making demands on Eric and Jessie means he may sabatage his relationship with them. So for now, everything is well and he has promised to behave himself. Time will tell. I just hope everything remains stress free.

I have been searching online bridal shops for a dress and have narrowed it down to a few. I plan to go and try them on next weekend and hopefully I will get lucky and be able to purchase one. Will post a picture of it when the decision has been made.

This weekend we have a birthday party on Sunday. This is a quiet weekend compared to last weekend. We had to make an emergency trip to Ottawa to attend a funeral and left last Friday right after work. It was a long 7 hour drive but we made it and stayed overnight Friday just outside of Montreal. We continued our trip Saturday morning to get the the convent (George's aunt, who passed was a nun), and then started home shortly after the service. We ended up driving the entire way home Saturday night and got home just before midnight. It made for a long day but it was so much better sleeping in our own bed Saturday night and being able to spend Sunday at home.

Just a few days of work next week and I will have 12 days off. Can't wait! Hopefully George can get a few days off too but I doubt it. Maybe he will only get the actual holidays off but we will make the best of it.

Gotta go. I should be in the kitchen making supper.

Have a great weekend!!!

I Need Advice!!

I need to pose a question to you and please don't answer in my favor just because I am your friend. I truly don't know if I am being unreasonable here.

As you know, my son is getting married in August. Last night I was presented with the rehearsal dinner plans made by my son and his fiancee and am less than thrilled about the outcome.

I've been divorced from my first husband for 10 years and our separation and divorce was my idea, not his. My ex has had a very difficult time accepting our divorce, suffers from depression and alcoholism, and we've had a very rocky road over the years. When he was told of my marriage to George he was very negative and did his best to sway my kids against him. Dave is very insecure and I believe he still had thoughts that we would someday reconcile. Anyway...the kids usually tiptoe around things so they don't upset him or avoid him altogether.

So...the plans for the rehearsal dinner include the rehearsal and a small gathering afterwards in a small function hall. I was told that only the bridal party and parents of the bride and groom are invited to attend. This excludes spouses and significant others of the members of the bridal party. Initially I was told that it is a space issue that no other people can be included. However, I am convinced that all may be because my ex will be uncomfortable in George's presence and Eric and Jessie are trying to be sensitive to Dave's feelings. I can understand that to a point...however...I am footing the bill for half of this dinner and I think my new husband, should be included. I don't mind telling you that my feelings are extremely hurt that George is not included, and I think my ex needs to suck it up and be an adult about this. Then again, it has been pointed out to me that no one's spouses are invited and there are several other people who aren't happy about this arrangement so I am not alone. When I asked Eric why can't we have the dinner elsewhere, if it is a space issue, he said that the reservation has been made and this is the way it is. Plus...if we invite more people, this will result in a larger bill and that is something my ex (who supposedly will pay the other half) cannot afford.

I am doubtful that Dave will even go to the rehearsal dinner for a couple of reasons. 1...he doesn't drive or have a car and it is at least a 30 minute drive to the rehearsal hall. 2...he doesn't have any money. 3...he's been known to bail out at the last minute.


So....am I being unreasonable to want my husband with me at this event? It is supposed to be a very happy time in all of our lives and am I ruining the excitement and happiness by having hurt feelings? Are my feelings less important than my ex husbands because I am stronger and can deal with the outcome better than he can? Basicly, my son told me that this is his and Jessie's day and they just want everything to go perfectly, which I can completely understand, and he told me that if it meant having his Dad there or George there, he would rather have his Dad. Ouch...that kind of hurt since his father has not exactly been the ideal father, but I can understand the importance. I also know that he is a little nervous of Dave drinking too much and making a fool out of himself but is that my fault??


I don't want to be known as the mother / mother in law from hell. I did have a long talk with Eric last night and told him exactly how I feel. He listened and said nothing is completely set in stone, meaning he does know there is a possibility that his father will not go anyway, but the plans are as they are and that seems to be that for now. He also pointed out that when there is a divorce involved...these kinds of things happen. True. Let me just say that last year when George's son got married, I was included in a lot of things but several things occurred on the day of the wedding which really hurt George's feelings and my kids were both there and saw how insensitivly certain things were handled. I asked Eric that very day to be mindful of those issues when his time came so we can avoid those hurt feelings.
He assured me that on the day of the wedding...those things will not happen. But this is 'only the rehearsal dinner.' Apparently to him, it is not that important. OK...so I guess I shouldn't be so upset?? I don't know.

What do you all think???
Thoughts on this no matter what you feel or think are welcome. Any ideas also, to make this an easier transition are greatly welcomed.

My Front Yard

We had a very busy day today. We went to Cabela's in Scarborough Maine with George's son Jon and Jon's wife Nikki. George has been wanting to go for awhile now and Jon was looking for some ideas for George's birthday and Father's Day gift so we thought it would be fun to all go together and let George pick out whatever he wanted. We spent over 2 hours walking around the store and George got himself some hunting gear that he was in dire need of. I also bought him a lined fall jacket since he needed one of those too. What a great store and when Nikki sends me the pics she took today, I will post them.

We went to Famous Dave's restaurant for lunch after working up quite an appetite. The food there is quite good and I enjoyed my lunch very much. I got a combo plate with chicken and beef brisket (all BBQ) and it came with corn bread and I picked Dave's Mac and cheese to go with it. Very yummy with a little kick of jalapenos mixed in.

We just got home a bit ago so it has been a rather long day. I have a load of laundry going but that's all I am doing. The rest of the evening will be spent relaxing. But first, some pics of my front yard.

George has been working very hard this spring to get the yard in shape. He got his tractor all fixed up and now he can use it to mow the front and back yard and he has this nifty little utility trailer to pull all of his yard tools and buckets, etc. around. Sure does make life easier for him since we have a lot of space to mow, weed and take care of. So I have enclosed some pics of what our front yard now looks like, after several hours of weeding, mowing and planting.

This is to the left of the front door. I have no idea what the light colored bushes are called but there is a peony bush behind those and last year we only had about 6 flowers blossom from it. This year we counted 47 flowers just about ready to blossom.






This area is to the right of the front stairs. This little bear cub was used as a door stopper awhile back and then was just sitting in the corner of the kitchen collecting dust so I thought he would enjoy being outdoors and decorating (guarding) the flower bed. I loved the galvanized buckets George had on the side of the house. Before they just had weeds in them. Now they are filled with pretty flowers.



I found this bird bath at a tractor supply store, of all places. It was the last one they had and I got it at a real bargain. Off to the side you can see a large oepn space. That is where George does most of his bow target practicing.



A view of the front of the house



More shots






Before the peonies started to bloom



Yesterday one opened up



We had rain overnight and 2 of the peonies that are open were full of water and were hanging pretty low to the ground. I think tomorrow, I am going to see if I can tie them up somehow so they stay all bunched up and not laying all over the ground.

Enjoy!

May Has Been A Crazy Month

I apologize for being a lousy blogger. Life, somehow, has managed to get in the way. Life and Facebook...ok I cannot lie. But I have today off and hopefully can fill you in on what has been happening in my world.

So last time I posted...I was excited about selling my house. Well, that deal has fallen through and we are back at square one. I dropped the price of the house significantly to accomodate these people mainly because I wanted to get the sale behind me and move forward with other things, not having that monkey on my back so to speak. Apparently people think that they can get everything for practically nothing and negotiations came to a complete halt. They saw I was willing to work with them so I guess they thought I would just give the house to them. Wrong! I am not desperate, I don't 'need' the money and I am in no hurry. So...that's that. I am hopeful something will happen soon but if not...I can hang on.

Last week was an extremely busy week, starting with Mother's Day. We met George's brother Ray and his family at a restaurant for brunch. It was also Ray's son Kris' 21st birthday so it was a nice surprise for Kris when we all showed up with cards, gifts and balloons.

We celebrated several birthdays during the week. Every 3 days there was a birthday in the family. Thursday we had dinner with George's son Pat and his girlfriend Renee, who were back here in New Hampshire from Colorado. Pat graduated from college on Saturday and he wanted to be here to walk with his classmates. He went to Colorado to do his internship for his Culinary Arts degree and has accepted a full time position there at the Broadmoor Resort. All is well with them and it was great to see them.
So Saturday we had Pat's graduation to go to and then a birthday party for my son-in-law Matt. The graduation was nice...it was outside and Saturday it was a little cold and raw but once the sun poked through, it got nice. The birthday party was also nice, we had a BBQ and I enjoyed the good company. Matt's mother, Marsha and I have become fast friends and it is always nice to talk to her. Here is a pic of us at the birthday party.

Sara also came home Saturday night to spend some time with her new cousins Kris and Keith before the graduation party. Ever since George and I got married, she has gotten really close to them and they have been finding a way to hang out quite a bit on the weekends. My sister-in-law Diane loves having her around their home and always calls her a breath of fresh air. That is so nice to hear and of course I agree. So having Sara here last weekend was a great help. Here is a pic of Keith, Kris and Sara taken during their night out.



Last Sunday, George and I hosted Patrick's graduation party at our house. We had about 35 people here altogether and it was a really nice day. We cooked burgers and dogs on the grill and had all kinds of other yummy foods to share like a veggie platter, cheese crackers, pasta salad, potato salad etc., etc. Nicole made 4 dozen cupcakes and George's ex-wife Donna was very helpful and contributed a lot to make the party a success. During the party we also celebrated 2 other graduates in the family. Kevin, who is George's nephew, graduated last week from Northeastern University and Keith who is also George's nephew, graduated from Southern New Hampshire University. A bunch of smart kids in this family! Here's Pat, a dual degree graduate, one in Culinary Arts and one in Restaurant Business and Management.



Tuesday was my birthday and Thanks to all who sent cards and messages via email, Facebook and blogger. I appreciate it more than you know. We just had a quiet dinner Tuesday night with Pat and Renee, who came over to see us before heading back to Colorado. The rest of the week was fairly quiet and I think this weekend will be a nice relaxing weekend for a change. I need to catch up on a number of things, mostly house related because the only cleaning I did was the essentials you have to clean before having company. And of course, you clean the kitchen and bathroom only to have to do it again after everyone goes home.

George is fine and he has been working a lot of overtime. Hopefully he will be able to relax a bit this weekend since his big project at work has been completed. But I know him and he wants to take advantage of the nice weather and get the flower beds all planted and tended to. He spent an hour or so last night mowing and I am sure he will be right back out there tonight raking and getting ready to mulch. Hopefully when he is finished, I will have some nice pictures to post of his handy work. Until then...here is a pic of George and his daughter Nicole at one of the parties last weekend.


Off I go now to get the laundry put away and I've got some errands to run. Have a wonderful day!

Sweet And Sour Saturday

Just when you think all your ducks are in a row...something has to come along and knocked their little webbed feet right our from under them. Last Wednesday I got a call from my surgeon...he spotted something in my lab results that made him want to double check my white blood count. He asked me to come in later in the day and have some blood work repeated and made an appointment for me to go in Thursday to talk over the results. After reviewing the results, he has concluded it would not be in my best interest to tackle my surgery at this time. My white blood count levels are just a bit too high which makes him think my body is fighting something, either an infection or some inflammation. Well inflammation wouldn't surprise me since my hip joint and possibly my knee is all screwed up. He likened it to when you have an infected tooth and you need to have it extracted. The oral surgeon won't touch it until all infection is cleared up. If he did indeed operate and the new hip joint became infected...it is a horrible miserable ordeal to remove the prosthesis, then I am laid up in a hospital without a hip until all infection is clear before he can put it back in. Needless to say, neither of us wants that. So here I sit with a batch of new meds while I wait for whatever is going on...to pack up and leave my body. It sucks to be me, believe me. I am so disappointed but I have to accept and believe he is doing this for my own good. The positive thing is he has given me a stronger pain killer to help manage my pain. Unfortunately I can't take them during the day if I am at work because they make me drowsy. But at least I am able to sleep more than 30 minutes at a time at night. So...hang onto those prayers because I will be calling in my marker real soon! :-)

So...the sweet to my sour is that I finally have a very ambitious and potential buyer for my house. It's been on the market for 7 months now and this is the first legitimate and considerable offer I've had. Lots of people have looked at it. Lots of people have expressed great interest. But with the market the way it is...and the fact that it is an older mobile home, people have had a hard time getting financing. The house needs some TLC...a new carpet, some paint and a refurbished bathroom would really make it a very nice home. It is in a great neighborhood and on it's own land and this couple have three little kids who will make use of the nice back yard I have out there. They will also benefit from the $8000 rebate since we signed a purchase and sales agrrement before the deadline and they can use that money to make some cosemetic repairs. They're young and energetic and are very excited. So pending the house inspection, which will take place sometime next week...here's hoping. I am pretty confident that everything is in good shape there. The roof is good, the furnace is only 7 yrs old, I have a new water pump and hot water heater. The stove and fridge are in good shape and I am throwing in the washer and dryer too. The septic tank was in good shape the last time it was cleaned and I know the water isn't contaminated. So the week wasn't a total bust, I guess.

George and Eric are at the house now removing the dog house that once belonged to my Siberian Husky and cleaning up the yard. Eric and Jessie have a lot of bon fires at their house so he is going to take all the wood from the busted and fallen trees from the last wind storm we had, and he wants the picnic table too. The only things left in the house were cleaning supplies and a couple of vaccuum cleaners and a gun cabinet that belonged to my ex husband. He doesn't want it so George is going to bring it back here and we'll put it on EBay or something. I have 20 years of mostly good memories there...I hope this family enjoys living there as much as I did.

I guess I will get to making my grocery list and then it is off to a trip to Wally World when George gets back. I will keep you all posted as to when this stupid hip of mine can be repaired. All I can say, if it doesn't happen soon, I will be utilizing the chain saw that I spotted in the garage. If I can get down the stairs to get it, that is.

Enjoy the day. It is gorgeous here today. Hugs and all that great stuff!

Update

Hope everyone is doing well. It has been a very busy month so far and looks like we'll be pretty busy right through May too.

Sara has been back in her dry and almost new apartment for a couple of weeks now. She had a bit of a hiccup the other day when the apartment manager told her she owed them for 21 days of back rent but after appealling to the landlord, she was told that they were going to credit her for the entire month. She still gets a bit nervous when it rains so they are going to start looking for a new apartment that won't be on the ground floor.

Last weekend we had a combo birthday party for my Mom and for Sara. We went to a restaurant called the Back Room and their specialty is their coconut chicken tenders. That's what I got and they were delicious. It was a fairly quiet but nice evening.

At work, we got some interesting news that the company was being sold to a company called 3L Communications based in New York. Our CEO felt the time was right to sell but he plans on being a big part of the new company in one way or another. As a gift to his employees...we were given a rather nice bonus for all of our hard work. He is a very gracious boss...very big on profit sharing. It was the biggest bonus I have ever received and I have put it away for a rainy day. Maybe next year we can use it for a vacation.
I believe they closed the deal on April 16th so it will be interesting to see if anything changes in the near future.

George has been very busy at work, plenty of overtime for him these days. He likes being busy, that's for sure. He has also been spending whatever free time he has getting the tractor up and running down in the garage. Since I have moved in here, that tractor has been in numerous pieces all over one side of the garage so I am happy to see that finally he is doing something with it. I actually heard it start up this afternoon and maybe he will be able to drive it out of the garage this evening. He is down there now tinkering with it.

I am just about ready for surgery on my hip. My date has been set for May 3rd and I just have one more appointment this week to go so hopefully all will be fine and I can finally be rid of all this pain. I am expecting to be in the hospital for 3 days and then physical therapy and recuperation for about 4-6 weeks. Say a few prayers for a quick recovery...I am a bit nervous but thrilled to know that relief is near.

We have several college graduations and parties coming up not to mention Mothers Day and several birthdays. May is going to be a busy and expensive month for sure.

I know it has been awhile since I have blogged anything but I've just been really busy. Hope the weather has been nice in your area...it surely has been beautiful around here. Enjoy spring! More sooner than later...I hope. ;-)

This and That

Happy day after Easter. I hope everyone had a wonderful and springlike day. It was a beautiful weekend weatherwise here and we had a very nice day yesterday with family. Great company and wonderful food...who could ask for anything more?

Well my poor daughter could I guess. After spending 2 weeks in a hotel while the maintainance crew at her apartment building replaced water logged walls and carpeting in her apartment, she and Brad were finally able to go back home last Monday. They had to rearrange furniture but got their place pretty much back to normal in the few hours they had after work and before bed. Sara woke up at her usual time to get ready for work the next morning only to find the entire kitchen flooded again and the water was running into their living room all over their brand new carpet. Several feet of carpeting were soaked through. It was raining very hard outside and we were in for several days of heavy rain so she knew this was not going to end quickly. She got on the phone with the apartment manager and they came right over. Unable to do much at that moment, they made arrangements for Sara and Brad to go back to the hotel until they could clean up the mess and dry out the carpeting and walls. It has been almost a full week and they are still at La Quinta. Last she heard they might be able to move back home on Thursday. On the up side, she hadn't unpacked their suitcases and their computers were still boxed up and in the car. That was one less thing to do before heading to work, but all of the clothes in the suitcases were in need of some laundering.
To make matters worse, last Friday the toilet in the hotel room broke and she had to move all of their things four doors down to another room. She was pretty much at the end of her rope last Friday but she is now seeing the humor in everything now. After all is said and done, she will eventually see it all as an adventure I suppose. It's just kind of hard to keep perspective at this point.
The good thing is they don't have to pay rent this month and their room is being covered by management for their inconvenience.

Otherwise, things are moving along. We have birthday parties galore this month and next month we have 3 college graduations to attend (shell out money for). Hopefully things will stay quiet for a few months until Eric and Jessie's wedding in August. Somehow, I doubt that.

We've had some really warm and beautiful days lately and that means spring is here. No more snow! Now, let's hope all the rain is behind us too.

Gotta run. Have a great evening!

Yes I Am Still Alive

Hey all

Just a quick post to let you know I am still amongst the living. Hasn't been much to post these days. Just the usual work, home, sleep and eat. It's been fairly quiet around here which is a good thing.

Our weather has improved and all the snow is gone from our yard. The trees out front have buds on them so I think we have seen the last of winter. Ice Out was declared on Lake Winni yesterday (that's a big deal around these parts), so if anyone still had a bobhouse on the lake, I suspect it is now at the bottom of the lake.

Sara has had some bad luck the last couple of weeks. With all the rain we had, her apartment got flooded and her carpeting and a couple of walls were ruined. She and Brad had to move into a hotel room for the time being while the maintainence crew knocked down some walls and replaced them. They are painting today and should have the new carpeting down on Monday so they might be able to move back in by mid week. I think she feels like she is on vacation. :-)

Other than that, it's business as usual. I hope to catch up on all of your blogs, although I think it's going to take awhile.

Enjoy the weekend!

Pics From Dad's Birthday

It's taken awhile but I finally got the pics from my Dad's 80th birthday party at the Outback Steakhouse. My Dad is not one who is usually surprised because he tends to be a little controlling and usually is on top of everything. But even he had to admit we got him and we got him good. He thought he was going out for dinner with my Mom and my brother Henry for his birthday but little did he know that all of the immediate family was going to be there too. It's been a month and he is still talking about it. I wish we could have captured the look on his face when he realized what the heck was going on. Enjoy!

My grand niece Kendal sitting on my brother Henry. That's Eric sticking his tongue out at the camera.


Kendal is pointing at her favorite Auntie. That's my nephew Jason in the center.


My brother Dave on one side of me and George on the other.

Sara with the guest of honor.


Kendal...love those blue eyes



Show us your french fries...


The caption under this pic should be "Typical"...my brother Dave enjoying his favorite beverage.

My Mom with her great granddaughter


Pepere and his sweetheart


Group shot...my niece Crystal beside my Mom.


So there you have it. Plans are in the works for my Mom's 80th birthday in April but we have already been warned to skip the surprise party. We won't get away with that anyway...she's not having that. It may not be a surprise but one way or the other, we are going to celebrate. You only turn 80 once.