Happy New Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! 

It seems I'm late to the party the past few weeks.  And, again, I feel the need to apologize.  Life has been a bit of a rollercoaster lately (don't worry...it's mostly good stuff), so blogging has taken a bit of a back seat.

However, I'm determined that because you are all so important to me (and you ARE!) that blogging will remain a priority in 2010.

If I was a good girl - I'd make resolutions.  But, I think I'll pass.  There are lots of things I'll be working towards, but nothing that I really want to define as a resolution.  This year I'll be working towards: walking more (I just got a pedometer), drinking more water, trying to become less of a workaholic, getting to travel a bit, catching up with people I've lost touch with, and lastly - either getting a promotion at work, or leaving.

Utter randomness, I know.  :-)

Speaking of random - how in the world do I have 201 followers?!  I think I'm boring!!  But THANK YOU, for finding either my pictures of the pups cute enough, my weekly recipe meme appetizing enough or me just plain worthy of reading.  You are all fabulous and I love you for it.

I hope that 2010 will be kind to you.  I know some of  you will be getting married; some of you will be adding to your families; some of you will be looking to make some life changes.

For 2010, I wish you love.  The love of your friends, your family, and your fellow bloggers.

Oh, and if I've missed anything important in your lives in the last few days, TELL ME!!  I'll get around to reading all the backlogged blog posts eventually... but I want to hear about the important stuff now.  :-)

Musical Monday - This Christmas

It feels a bit odd holding my usual Music Monday.  I've been putting up a Christmas song a day since November 30th.  :-)  Thanks to those of you that have offered feedback or stopped to give a listen!

Today is "This Christmas".



Now, can I tell you all that I feel soooo far behind?  I have a huge to-do list, that keeps growing every day...and NOTHING seems to be getting crossed off.  I'll get there eventually.  I just hope that it's not New Years' before I get my Christmas "to-do" list done!

Musical Monday - 12 Days of Christmas & A NaBloPoMo Recap

Ah, the last day of NaBloPoMo.  There were days that I really didn't know what in the world I was going to say, but I was determined that I was going to survive NaBloPoMo.  Many thanks to those of you that stuck in there and read every single day.  A round of applause for you.  :-)

What? You missed one of my trivial posts?  No problem!  Here's a recap:

November 1 - The last of my breast cancer giveaways
November 2 - Musical Monday - I <3 Muse
November 3 - TATT - Chicken Tortilla Bake
November 4 - Bath time for Meadow
November 5 - Kindle? I'm still thinking about it, in case you were wondering.
November 6 - Getting ready for New Moon
November 7 - Christmas cards.  My plan didn't pan out, but I'm banking it for next year.  Email me if you want to be on my card list this year.
November 8 - The joys of grocery shopping/people watching
November 9 - Musical Monday - Veteran's Day Tribute
November 10 - TATT - French Chicken Stew
November 11 - I had a lot of energy, I guess.  Three posts - Veteran's Day, introducing Kirstren's dog Yoda & revealing my new bloggy design.
November 12 - A foray into randomness
November 13 - To tell the relatives about this blog; or not?
November 14 - Regretsy
November 15 - Only weeks until JC comes home!
November 16 - Musical Monday - Home
November 17 - TATT - Rich n' Creamy Potato Casserole
November 18 - Jane sent me a surprise!
November 19 - Romance novels
November 20 - Nope, my family doesn't need to know about my blog.
November 21 - Johnny Depp, sexiest man alive?!
November 22 - Some unique New Moon products
November 23 - Musical Monday - Hallelujah
November 24 - TATT - Corn n' Bean Bake
November 25 - My New Moon review
November 26 - What I'm thankful for
November 27 - Google analytics
November 28 - Beckett's trip to the ER
November 29 - Lazy Sunday
November 30....There's no recap, you're already reading it!

I've decided that every day until Christmas I'm going to post a Christmas song.  First up - The Muppets with the 12 Days of Christmas.  :-)

Musical Monday - Hallelujah

Happy Monday!  It's a short work week; YAY!

This weekend was pretty busy.  Saturday morning and early afternoon I went and test drove cars for JC.  I ended up putting a deposit on one and now just need to help him get all the loan paperwork together.  I'm most impressed with the fact that I was able to talk the manager down in his price a little.  Go me!

Saturday night was a field trip to see New Moon and eat at PF Changs with the girls.  We had a blast!  A full review will be coming on Wednesday.  :-)

Most of Sunday was cleaning.  It's been a stressful few weeks and I've neglected some of the cleaning; it was time to catch up.  With the exception of a little laundry (which never seems to end, btw) I'm all set.  The rest of Sunday was some Christmas shopping.  I'm still on a mission to finish my Christmas shopping by Thanksgiving.

This week's song is Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah.  Great song.  They used it last week on DWTS and my favorite use of the song was on West Wing. 

Musical Monday - Home

Another weekend has gone too fast!

We had what I'm going to call a monsoon, for lack of better terminology, from Friday night through Saturday night.  Ick!  I love rain, but this was ridiculous!

Saturday, Mom and I went up to Maine for an Air Force going away party.  That's right - another member of my extended family is joining the military. It's a little messy trying to explain exactly how Steve is related to me, so I'm just going to say he's my cousin.

Here he is with Kirstren.

My song this week is Marc Broussard's "Home".  I've liked this song for years.  As an added bonus, Marc Broussard's voice sounds a lot like that of someone I know and miss.  :-)




Have a wonderful week!

Musical Monday - Veteran's Day Tribute

Happy Monday, gang! I hope you all had fun weekends - and that at least some of you get a long holiday weekend.

It's Veteran's Day. Many of you are spouses, moms, sisters, or daughters of military men. Please thank them for me. Fighting for our country is a calling; and they are true heroes for answering that call.

Holy moly there are a lot of tribute videos. I had to chose this one though - it didn't make me cry & was set to a song I really like. (Full disclosure: It could be the I was out of tears from all the ones set to "Amazing Grace" by the time I found this one.)

I leave you with a picture that JC send me. The children of Afghanistan are CRAZY for pens! No reason, but they L-O-V-E pens. :-)

Have a fantastic day & hug a veteran. I can't wait for the boys to get home, so I can hug them.

Musical Monday - Uprising & Supermassive Black Hole

I can't believe another weekend flew past that quickly!!

I hope you all had a fun Halloween! Beckett was a good little boy and helped me hand out candy. The girls? Well, they aren't quite as fond of people coming to the door and were spent most of the time hanging in the back yard. (Don't worry...it was nice and warm out!)

Sorry, but I have to vent for a second. You do have rearview mirrors on your cars, right?!?! Yeah...I thought so. I went grocery shopping on Sunday and almost got hit 3 times & run over (while crossing in a crosswalk) TWICE! I totally understand that people are busy - but, GOOD LORD, watch where you are going!! That's it; end of rant. :-)

This week I'm sharing two songs by the same group - Muse. First is Supermassive Black Hole which if you're a Twilight fan, you're already familiar with. The second song is Uprising. You might have heard this on the background of the new V commercials.

Have a fabulous week!!

Musical Monday - Great Day To Be Alive

Happy Monday! I hope you all had fabulous weekends!

My weekend was pretty good. :-) Made a batch of cake pops, spent Saturday night at Kirstren's Halloween party (I went as a nurse, in case you were wondering.) and Sunday was relaxing and indulging in my newest Facebook obsession - Sorority Life.

I'm going country on you and sharing Travis Tritt's "Great Day To Be Alive". The song is almost a decade old, but makes me smile every time I hear it.

Something else that makes me laugh?! That would be last weeks' group Hustle on DWTS! Check it out... especially the wigs on the guys. :-)

Have you entered my last giveaway of the month? No?!?! Enter here, and enjoy your day!

Musical Monday - Let It Snow

Happy Monday, fabulous ladies!

I can't believe that it's snowed twice this weekend!! This is nuts. There were a few flakes on Friday night, then about an inch or so (or more in come places) on Sunday. Un-freaking-believable!!

To quote my friend Stina from work: "It's official. Winter beat up fall, stole her lunch money and her place in line." I love her!!

I have a love/hate relationship with snow. It's pretty. It's fun to play in. But dang it, it's a pain in the keister to shovel most of the time and driving in it is never a joy. What are your thoughts on snow?

I've decided to go with my impromptu little theme - and share Dean Martin's version of Let it Snow.

Other than the anomalous weather, this weekend has been pretty good. I ran some errands, did a little cleaning and made a trip to Michael's. I am ADDICTED to buying yarn! Yes, I know I'm weird. Does anyone else lose control of their budget when in a craft store?!?!

Musical Monday - Orange Sky

Hi gang. It's been a challenging weekend.

I've been to Ft. Drum and back...
I've laughed and cried...
Breathed a sigh of relief over seeing one of my soldiers return. Battered; bruised; in need of healing - but HERE....
Had my heart break just a little over seeing how hard the road ahead for him is going to be.

You're probably going to laugh at me; but something about an Army base just feels like home to me. It's likely because I grew up in a military family; but I feel like I belong.

This week's song is a favorite of JC's and mine (and a few of my honorary brothers too). It's an amazing song and I cry almost every time I hear it.

A huge thank you to all of you. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! So many of you have emailed your thoughts and experiences with PTSD, offered encouragement and most importantly - prayer! I can't say enough about the power of prayer. All of our soldiers need our prayers and I encourage you to keep them on your prayer list.

Much love. (And back to my usual lighthearted posts tomorrow! If you want in on my giveaway - this is your last chance. :-)

Musical Monday - Gold Digger & You've Got A Friend

Happy Monday! It's been a busy, but fun and relaxing weekend.

On Saturday I brought my Grandmother to the airport so she can visit with one of my aunts in Kentucky. Then I spent some time cleaning out my DVR and reading. See... I have to multi-task even when I'm relaxing! :-)

Sunday was spent mostly with Kirstren and her little boy. We went to see Toy Story & Toy Story 2 in 3D, then lunch at Uno's and a little grocery shopping. Then it was home to make Apple Blueberry crisp (yep, that's going to be this week's TATT recipe).

I'm sharing two videos this week. First is Gold Digger. Definitely not a new song... but I love Glee. It's one of my new favorite shows and they did an awesome job with it.

Second is You've Got A Friend In Me from Toy Story. You gotta love music from kid's movies, the movie's dachshund looks like Meadow & who doesn't like having Barbie dolls as back-up dancers?! Hahaha!

How was your weekend?

Spending The Day At The Hairdresser & Musical Monday - The Story

Hola chickies! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend.

Mine kicked off with fetching my parents from the airport. They spent the past month in Hawaii (Kauai)...if they didn't bring me back numerous macadamia nut products, I would have hated them and their ridiculously awesome looking tans. OK, not really... I could never hate my parents. But I was a little jealous.

Saturday I was scheduled for an itsy-bitsy trim with my hairdresser, Ed. But, I've been restless lately and if I want to change something - hair is where I do it. I literally walk in and say "I'm ready for something new" and I sit back and let him play. And, play, he did! I spent 5 hours in the salon. I didn't have anything planned and he does his best work when he isn't rushed. :-) I got to chat with lots of people, catch up on all my tabloids and read an ENTIRE book.

I've been blonde for about 5 years, and Ed did an all-over color that turned out butterscotch colored. Neither he or I was happy. So next came a chestnut color. Turned out AWESOME, but looked a little too one dimensional. So he balyaged my hair and now I have a few golden streaks. I LOVE IT!! Pictures coming soon. :-)

Today was nice and relaxed. Hung with the fur-babies, harvested more peppers from the garden and read two more books (WHAT?!?! I read fast.).

This week I'm sharing "The Story" by Brandi Carlile. Her voice is beautiful and this song is one of my favorites. I'm a hopeless romantic, and the ideal that you're made to be with someone resounds with me. (There's the added bonus that this song is set to scenes from Grey's Anatomy!)

What did you do this weekend?

Musical Monday - The Times They Are A-Changing

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a good weekend. Mine was blissfully quiet. That virus I caught last weekend really kicked my butt, so I've been sleeping like crazy. I know, an insomniac saying that she slept a lot... the irony!

I've mentioned before that I was a road trip kid. Some of my best memories were in the car listening to the radio and tapes/CDs with my parents/brother/cousins/grandparents. Peter Paul and Mary played a lot during the earlier road trips with my parents and really developed my love for folk music.

In memory of Mary's passing this past week, here they are singing one of my favorite songs.

We also lost Patrick Swayze. He fought cancer hard and contributed a film that has helped shape my generation. I can't think of Patrick Swayze without seeing this scene from Dirty Dancing in my head. (Sorry, I couldn't find a good quality video that embedding hadn't been turned off; so I had to give you a link instead.)

Musical Monday - I'm On A Boat

Hey ladies! Sorry I've been M.I.A the past week. It's a long story that I'll share more of later... but what it comes down to is that I'm kind of slave labor at work.

I woke up Saturday morning not feeling well - but thought it might be allergies. Kirstren's birthday was at Foxwoods Saturday night and we had a lot of fun. Almost everyone stayed over - but because of my fabulous little fur-babies, I had to head home. It really worked best; half way through my ride home, I got a fever and chills.

So now I'm sick for the first time really all year. I'm kinda proud I made it this long!

I leave you with the edited version of SNL's "I'm on a boat". Lack of swearing; but just as funny!




What did you do this weekend?

Musical Monday - Daylight

Happy Labor Day, ladies! I hope you're enjoying the long weekend by relaxing, hanging out with friends & family and enjoying the end of summer.

I heard this song on a Bacardi commercial (yep, go ahead and make fun of me!) and kinda liked it. It's so peppy... Have you heard it too?

OK, resume your goofing off! :-)

Musical Monday - Life Is Beautiful

Happy Monday, my lovelies! After a long week (I worked 63 hours...ICK!), I happily stayed in the house and enjoyed the windy, rainy remnants of Tropical Storm Bill.

I watched some of the coverage of Ted Kennedy's burial, etc... He's such a political icon, especially if you're from the fabulous state (if I do say so myself) of Massachusetts. However, 14 and a half straight hours of Teddy's life was just a little over the top for my taste.

I'm curious...how much coverage was he given in other parts of the country?

I heard the following song during the trailer for "My Sister's Keeper", and just loved it. I've never heard of this group before, but am going to keep an ear out for them now. :-)

Have a fabulous day!

Musical Monday - Weather With You

Ah, it's been another wonderful summer weekend. Bright and sunny; hot and humid; fun-filled! Fine, I admit I don't like humidity...but otherwise; a gorgeous weekend!

I hope you all had fabulous weekends too!! :-)

This weekend I did all my usual errands, plus a field trip to the airport and Billy's 6th birthday party. The trip to the airport was to get my grandmother who was coming back from Cincinnati. The airport always has such energy, that I can't help but be happy when I'm there. I really had the urge to just jump on a plane and go. Anybody else have wanderlust or the urge to just get up and go? Somewhere...anywhere?!

Billy's birthday was great! I can't say enough how lucky Kirstren is to have this little boy as her son. He's AWESOME! Below is a picture of the cake she made. Didn't she do a great job?

Crowded House must be making another comeback. I heard this song twice in UK based concerts in the past few days (Isle of Wight and Glastonbury Festival...both in Scotland).

How was your weekend?

P.S. Did you remember to enter my giveaway?

Musical Monday - That's Not My Name

Happy Monday gang! It was a busy, but great weekend. :-) I hope you all relaxed and had some fun.


Saturday morning I picked up my car after it "visited" two mechanics in the past 4 days. You see, Tuesday I left work and noticed that my car was lop-sided. Flat tire...GRR!


I called AAA and they came (promptly too; score!). It was all good until I was half-way home and my "check engine" light came on.


Wednesday morning I called and brought my car to my regular mechanic (and when I say regular - I mean he's seen the two cars I have had in my life). He was nice enough to call before he started work and the conversation went a little like this...


Sarkis (yes, his name really is Sarkis): We have a good news/bad news situation.
Me: Good news first, please.
Sarkis: Well, you didn't have a tire blow out on the highway.
Me: Urg...huh?!?!
Sarkis: Well, you ran over a nail which gave you a flat tire. Then one of your other tires has stress cracks in it. You need to replace two tires.
Me: Um, OK. So, that wasn't too bad. No more bad news, right?
Sarkis: Sorry, but that was all the good news.
Me: (OH, SHIT!) Okay.
Sarkis: You need a new catalytic converter.
Me: Okay.
Sarkis: I could do the job... but it will cost you.
Me: So, what are my options?
Sarkis: Not to tell you what to do, but I've already made an appointment for you tomorrow morning with the Chevy dealership. It should be under warranty.


And IT WAS!!! Not a cent for parts, or labor, or anything! And better yet - the Tahoe came back nice and clean. :-) The rest of Saturday consisted of all the errants I should have been running Tuesday through Friday.


Sunday was fun and family-centric. Kirstren's little boy got Christened (or is it Baptised?... I confuse the two.) and then there was a BBQ. I love that kid!





I made white Sangria and quickly realized that at the next family BBQ (in a few weeks), I need to triple or quadruple the recipe. That stuff went like wildfire. It could be that everyone needed a drink... but I'm still taking it as a compliment. My milk chocolate chip and hazelnut brownies disappeared pretty quick too.






So, I've heard this song a few times and something about it is REALLY familiar to me. It just has a really similar rhythm to another song, but I can't put my finger on what song it is. What do you think? Regardless, it's a nice peppy song. :-)

What did you do over the weekend?

Musical Monday - Fidelity

It's Monday again, ladies. I hope you all had fun-filled weekends! Mine was quiet again...but that's just fine with me. I watched a few movies (Death Race- which I DON'T recommend & Becoming Jane- which I really liked), played some video games (I'm a geek and really like my Nintendo DS), and finished two books and knitting a scarf. Yep, nice and low key... :-)

I love this song! Regina Spektor has a great voice, the video in black & white is aesthetically pleasing and then there's a third reason. See, every time I hear this song I laugh; not because it's a funny song, but because I can still hear JC & G singing it to me. We went out to a bar one night last November and they sang to me in the car. Good times!

How did you spend your weekend?

Musical Monday - 1234

Ah, another relaxing weekend! Really...no plans, no running around and it was GREAT! I finished Dead To The World, the 3rd Sookie Stackhouse book and hung out with the puppers. :-)

I have the feeling it's going to be a doozy of a week, so the down time is sooo needed. Tomorrow I have to go to the dentist; one of my LEAST favorite tasks. Think good thoughts for me, OK?

This week's song is 1234 by the Plain White T's. I first heard this song during the promo for "My Sister's Keeper", and really like it. So, I'm sharing with you!

I leave you with my mandatory picture of cuteness....Beckett! (P.S. He's itching to do a post of his own; expect it later this week.)