Belated Friday Fill in

Friday Fill In #78
Questions courtesy of Jennifer this week; thanks, Jennifer!

1. Birthdays are stressful.
2. Fall in New England is my favorite season because the cool air smells crisp and fresh.
3. I feel my best when I have gone running.
4. (At this moment) Chips and fresh salsa are my favorite foods!
5. First impressions speak volumes.
6. The best piece of advice I ever received was from my dad, "the sun will shine again tomorrow ..".
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to peace, tomorrow my plans include floating for the day and Sunday, I want to watch the Euro 2008 soccer finals!

Water, water

Saturday's photo hunt was WATER .. well, we spent all day Saturday floating down stream on rented tubes .. or TOOBS as it was written everywhere. Alet was invited to a birthday party, and the parents had asked for more adult volunteers (.. hmmmmm 4 teenage girls and 2 teenage boys.. a scary thought!) So, we made a day out of it .. our neighbor A and her husband R went as well... It was quite interesting. We were told that you rented a tube and float downstream for 2 hours, and if interested .. you could rent a tube that held a cooler and you could bring "beverages" ..WELL, let me think this over ... SUN (one of my favorites), FLOATING IN WATER (like Kayaking ... HUGE favorite), "beverages" ...(hmmm, reminds me of many kayak expeditions with friend J and "beverages") .. this was starting to sound really, really good! So we all departed at 8:45 AM and after a long ride we arrived at NewBraunfels and the Comal River. Like told, we rented our TOOBS .. slathered on the sunscreen (most of us, some of us had tanning oil) and off we went carrying the TOOBS down to the starting point of the two hour floating experience of a life-time! This river is spring fed, so technically clean and fresh .. .. .. it was an interesting experience. The first time floating down was quite nice .. the water was refreshing, it wasn't so crowded .. we were able to stay together .. at least somewhat. We decided that the first float was a good one, "let's do it again .." ... so we loaded the TOOBS onto the back of the shuttle bus, and off we went again. At this point, it was past lunch time on a Saturday .. so obviously the crowd had gotten bigger ..and more like the Daytona's beach scene.

We set in once again, this time everywhere you looked there were TOOBS with coolers... and floating college kids with beers in their hands. As we were floating .. I started thinking (and this is when you don't want to think too much ... and probably the problem was that my "beverage" was plain old WATER..) .. so my thought was .. "okay, we are all floating down the river, for two hours .. certainly we don't stop for the potty breaks .. there are MANY beer drinkers here ...hmm, catch my drift (no pun intended!)

Needless to say when it came time for us to exit the river.. I was ready to be done. Next month we will do it again, because Alet wants her birthday party there too!! Maybe I too will have to have a "beverage" to enjoy the floating experience!

When the photo hunt was for water .. I thought of this one .. my cat loves to sit in the kitchen sink and sip her water from the faucet. I know it is not the best thing to have a cat up in your kitchen sink ...

Tackle-it-Tuesdays

Okay .. so here is my first "tackle it Tuesday" .. the goal is to every Tuesday, tackle and accomplish SOMETHING ... so since I only just discovered this meme at 9:15pm, ... I had to reflect into my day and think about what I did today that may constitute as a "tackled-Tuesday" ...... hmmm.... ... well, last week I discovered the art of eBay! I was in need for some supplies for my scrap booking habit (a habit that has been on a three year hiatus) and next thing I know .. I was bidding on a Lladro polar bear ... (and won it yesterday!!) Well .. the sweet taste of winning something ...then today .. oh no, another "win" .... this time it was for my original reason ...oh yes, that scrapbook habit! ....So, I found myself hoping to win that last item, and then closing the eBay tab .. remove the button off my yahoo Google bar, basically being DONE with eBay! OKAY .. I did one out of three ..I closed the tab .. and moved the eBay button behind Runner's World (now so it is not the first button on the bar) .. AND I am done .. no more bidding on eBay!

I will promise to have a better tackled Tuesday next week ..

Manic Monday ..

If your personality had to be summed up as a sandwich, what kind of sandwich would you be?
Pastrami on whole wheat with a touch of honey mustard...
The bread would be a grainy, nutty bread ..the healthier the better!
The dressing would be honey mustard, since it has sweet and spice!
Pastrami is the cold cut ... Pastrami is the "rebel" in the world of cold cuts ...(it's not good for you!)
Provolone cheese .. the milder of all cheeses to allow for the pastrami flavor to rule, yet have the texture of cheese in the mix.


If you knew that someone was dying, but they didn’t know, would you tell them the truth or deceive them about it?
I am not a doctor, and have never claimed to be one ... who would be dying ... young person? old person? I am not into deceiving .. there isn't a good answer to this question.

Do you dress the same when you are depressed as you do when you are very happy?
Hey, is this a trick question?? Normally if you are depressed the tendency is to wear comfy clothes ... however, they may not make you look "happy" .. so the compliments will not be abundant .. so really, you should dress "va-va-voom-like" because then people will say that you look GREAT .. and then the depression will be replaced with the happy endorphins .. and gone is your depressed attitude!
Personally, I will put on running clothes when I am depressed .. it encourages me to go for a run or a walk .. which inevitably makes me feel better... and so at which time I will put on my "happy clothes" ... !

Thursday 13 - Letter X

1. eXcellence in customer service ... one of my passions!

2. X-Ray - We have certainly seen enough of those with our "I-think-I-can-skateboard" son .. .. can we be done now?

3. Xanadu - okay ... who remembers?? Olivia Newton John? "Suddenly" (who will admit??)

4. eXtreme disappointment - as I watch Game 4 with a 20 point deficit for the Celtics .. but eXtreme relief for the 6 point win!! 97 - 91!!

5. eXercise - I need to get a better pattern ... pushing that snooze button isn't working for me!

6. Generation teXt - ... my kids are Generation teXt ...4560 text messages in one month for my daughter ... thank goodness for unlimited teXt packages!

7. inboX - I love my Outlook eXpress .. especially the inboX

8. Xbox - it's a love-hate relationship

9. Every morning I wake up and think I should do the p90X and become lean like my bf J .. oh those abs!!

10. Xterra - this was my dream SUV for a long time! .. but then I found my Avalanche!

11. Xylophone - okay ... so I am grasping now!

12. Xena warrior princess - thought I would want to look like her ... strong and seXy!

13. Xmas - i was told in third grade at Dalat School .. never to cut Christ out of Christmas or else ... so to this day I do not write Christmas abbreviated!

The weekend is nearing ... woohooo!!

Happy Monday!!

Who remembers this song? This is instead of Manic Monday!!

Recap of the Weekend

Another weekend come and gone! Friday the kids had an all day field trip to Six Flags .. I did hear about their adventures .. teenage drama! Some one should ask the question "what was your most tramatic moments as a teenager?"
Saturday we made Breakfast tacos ... delicious and not the most healthy... but you know ... sometimes you need a little bit of the not-so-healthy stuff!
For the most part, Sunday was the day of rest ... it was nice to just stay home and "chill" .. and of course we watched Game 2 of the NBA Finals ... Go Celtics!
Happy new week!

Friday Fill In ..

Questions courtesy of One Knutty Knitter.

1. Idle hands are relaxed hands.

2. I love, after a long run, to just stand in the shower.

3. My favorite time of the day is when everyone is busy doing their thing, happily!

4. The last tea I drank was unsweetened tea with Splenda at Pignetti's while having dinner with my husband tonight.

5. I like to KAYAK, and go camping at Abol Bridge, and sit at a camp fire, and sit on the beach, lay on the beach, (oh, only one choice?) in the Summer.

6. My mother always said never sit on the bed with a boy, or else you will get pregnant!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to hearing the adventures my kids had at Six Flags, tomorrow my plans include going to Lowe's, the PX and eating breakfast tacos and Sunday, I want to improve my tan lines!

Happy weekend!!

Thursday 13

In keeping with the ABC ...with the first Thursday 13.. the letter W


1. the first one that came to mind: Wine .. My favorites are Rodney Strong and J Lohr .. I'm hoping with summer here we can have wine nights outside again

2. I love to Walk .. the longer, the better
3. After not having seen my mother in a couple of years, she pointed out very nicely that I have Wrinkles ... she didn't just say it once .. but quite a few times! Thanks Ma!

4. Wicked! Not in the way Merriam Webster describes it; the New England way "Wicked Good!"

5. Why? Aren't you tempted at times to just keep asking WHY?

6. Wandering Stranger by Lionel Ritchie (yes..... I admit it!)One of my most favorite songs for as long as I can remember.

7. A new addition to the family .. Demi the Weimaraner .. this is one of those times I ask "WHY?"
8. We have two Windchimes that wake me up during the night .. It's my early warning system when the weather is bad and I am wondering if we have a tornado warning.

9. Winding Mountain Roads remind me of driving in a convertible with my bf C in Vermont!


10. I love the long ceiling to floor windows we have in this house .. so does Bruce.
11. I curse at Windy days ... I learned that from my other bf J ... she hates them .. it messes up her hair ... it makes my runs harder!
12. Runner's World .. love their magazine, one of my "ahhh" moments, and their website is great too.
13. lastly ... Winters in Maine .. can't believe I am going to say it .... I miss them!

Happy Thursday! We are one day closer to Friday .. the weekend!! (Hey .. another W)

Manic Monday ..

Manic Monday #119 brought to you by fleur-de-lisa


So this is my first Manic Monday .. these questions are tough!!

You have accomplished a difficult task and hear someone else taking the credit. How do you deal with the situation?
I can say that I have dealt with this situation at work ..I think now, I am more laid back and I would look at the situation, and "pick my battle.." . I am a firm believer that it will all come around eventually.

If you had to marry someone that you presently know unromantically, and spend the rest of your life as their spouse, who would you choose?
So will this person be someone you never become romantic with? What is the reason I would "have to" marry someone that I am unromantic with? Don't you think once you marry you eventually become romantic? I went to school with two girls whose parents were from arranged marriages .. and when it was their time, they too would have their husbands picked for them. I asked them how they felt about it, and one of the girls said that you learn to fall in love while you are married .. .. not sure how it pertains to this question .. but then again .. which came first ..the trust that transformed into love and "falling in love" or did you fall in love first and then learned to trust? I would hope that when you spend the rest of your life with someone, that person is your best friend ...... .....
I don't know anyone who would fit that description .. (not that I am involved romantically with every male that I know!) .. why marry if you are unromantic?
So long story short ... I don't think I can answer this one! :)


If you knew that in one year you would die suddenly, would you change anything about the way you are living now?
oh WOW .. this one is tough! ... I would be more assertive .. take time out to enjoy life .. and stop sweating the small stuff .. try to put things into perspective... GET RID OF GUILT! (I guess that comes with assertiveness!!) ........ of course I would eat that last piece of chocolate .. and have that extra dessert ... okay, okay .. one more glass of wine as well!

Happy Monday! ... I miss the doorbell ringing and Ms. Livi and Mr. Wil telling me it's Muffin Monday!!

Weekend Recap ..

The weekend flew by .. this weekend must have been the technical issue weekend. On Friday and Saturday the phone stopped working .. on Saturday my cell phone did strange and foreign things (kind of like the behavior of teenage children!) My new dog hurt my prized possession, the laptop .... so on Sunday I trekked out to the store that fixes computers (the desktop stopped working a week prior..)and also to the cell phone store. This was not on the list of things to do for the weekend .. the computer store worked their magic, at no charge .. and the cell phone is 30 days past it's manufacturer's warrantee, so a phone call had to wait until Monday. At this point I decided to go home and lay out in the sun ..

Saturday the kids and I did go to the cookout for deploying soldiers .. we manned the bouncy room for the little, little ones .. I did get to have quiet time on both Friday night and Saturday night .. with my glass of Red Diamond Merlot .. a nice full body wine. Sunday came and went .. I did get to run again ..at 9pm! This Texas heat is insane, and we are only in the beginning of June!! I guess there should be no complaints .. coming from 20 years in New England ... having 90 degree weather days in May still astounds me! (it was wearing shorts in January that really got me!!!)