R is for Riley

Minding my P's and Q's

P is for Passport!!! John and I applied months ago and they finally came yesterday- wahoo! What a huge relief. We had just given up hope and were starting the process of having it expedited. John leaves for England in three weeks- and I got a passport because I'm hoping to be able to go visit him and because, ideally, parents should be ready, god forbid, in case they need to get to their child in an emergency.

Q is for quotes. I love a good quote- I collect them. I'm always ripping one out of a magazine or jotting something down on a piece of scrap paper. Some Favorites ;

• "The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our disposition, and not our circumstances" Martha Washington

• "Nature is by and large to be found out of doors, a location where, it cannot be argued, there are never enough comfortable chairs." Fran Lebowitz

• "A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety." Aesop

• " My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it." Mark Twain

• " I'd rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck." Emma Goldman

• "As you walk and eat and travel, be where you are. Otherwise you will miss most of your life." Buddha

• " None of the new spiders ever quite took her place in his heart. She was in a class by herself." E.B. White

• " My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, but just enjoy the ice cream while it is on your plate." Thornton Wilder

• " In my whole life, I've wanted to feel comfortable in my own skin. It's the most liberating thing in the whole world." Drew Barrymore

• " Santa Claus has the right idea. Visit people once a year." Victor Borge

• "They drew all manner of things- everything that begins with an M... such as mousetraps, and the moon, and memory and muchness." Lewis Carroll

• "There is no old age. There is, as there always was, just you." Carol Matthau

• " Love, very simply, matters most." Nora Roberts

• " There is more to life than increasing its speed." Mahatma Gandhi

• " There are always hungry people to feed, naked people to clothe, sick people to comfort, and make well. While I don't ask you to save the world, I do ask you to love those with whom you sleep, share the happiness of those you call friend, engage those among you who are visionary, and remove from your life those who offer you despair and disrespect." Nikki Giovanni

Elemeno

L is for love..... I love my home and family and these flowers my sister-in-law gave me last weekend for my birthday present.



M is for Mom. My mom is out tonight with the boys- "back to school" shopping. She takes all her grandchildren out (one family at a time) for a new shirt or backpack or shoes or something. I'm so glad she still does this with my boys even though they don't go to school. Afterward, they are planning to go out for ice cream. Tim and I went out to dinner tonight to celebrate my birthday next week. Tim will be on a business trip on the actual day.

N is for New Jersey. The Garden State. The butt of many jokes. My home. I love it here. We've got the beach, the parks and we never run out of things we could do. I'm not saying we do a lot- but it's nice to know that it's there if we want to.We live about a ninety minute drive from New York City- another thing we don't do so much. It's about an hour to Philadelhia- another thing we don't... well, you get the idea. Now, Baltimore and Washington D.C. aren't that close , but we have done them as daytrips. I tell the boys how lucky we are to live in this state and especially so close to the ocean and that people save all year to take a weeklong vacation here.


O is for old costume jewelry. I love to collect pieces from Rummage sales, Garage sales, Thrift stores,etc. This old rhinestone pin is from a nearby thrift store and was $2.00, which is about twice what I usually like to spend but I just loved it. I don't really wear jewelry much- sometimes a ring and a pair of earrings , but necklaces and bracelets tend to annoy me quickly. Still, I like to use old pieces in my work and I like to unstring necklaces to make bead dolls.

Post script-- the title of this post refers to the way my boys always sang L M N O during the Alphabet Song- so cute- like it was one word.

Tim and Roxanne sitting in a tree.........

K..I..SS...I...N...G Tim and I kissing in Love Park in Philadelhia

J is for Johnno

l

Johnno- well o.k. he prefers John now. John has just turned 21! That middle photo was taken on his birthday enjoying a mimosa with his loving mother (me). It's hard to believe that twenty-one years have passed since we first became parents. He's about to start his junior year and will be leaving in about a month for a semester in Bristol, England. Now, he's working as an intern at Tim's office- they commute to work together.

Imagine instant ingredients

I is for Instant hot chocolate mix. This was the secret ingredient in Riley's birthday party cupcakes. This weekend has been full of family parties. Saturday we had a double celebration for both Johnno and Riley. We had Tim's family over for a B.B.Q. It was a perfect day for an outside party. Riley had a vision for his cake- he wanted hot chocolate cupcakes served in a mug with whipped cream, mini-marshmellows, chocolate chips and sprinkles on top. He wanted it to look just like a mug of hot chocolate and it really did! They were a big hit. Riley has a great imagination.
Today we had two more family parties. The first was a farewell party for my cousin Kate- she's moving to Florida at the end of this month. The second was a Birthday party for my nephew. He will be six in a few days!. A weekend full of parties and family!

Gunter glieben glauchen globen

photo credit: Rolling Stone .com

H is for Heavy metal, Hard rock or eighties Hair bands- last night we went to see Def Leppard, Foreigner, and Styx in concert. A few months ago, I showed Griffin and Riley the lineup of who was playing at the PNC Art Center this summer. They surprised me when they got so super excited about this concert. I kinda thought they would go for Weird Al (a totally underrated musical genius, in my opinion). I really enjoyed myself- I knew I would do some great people-watching (one of my favorite pastimes) but I really got into the music. We tailgated before the show (really just a picnic). We had a ticket for Johnno but he wasn't into it so we brought G and R's friend from down the street. I think because of some of their video games esp. Guitar Hero- they have been exposed to older bands. See- among other things- video games can teach Music Appreciation.
Highlights of the evening- Tim liked Foreigner the best.

I liked the people watching- especially the people I came with-they were so cute singing along and really getting into the music. Also- the teenagers in front of us -they were playing the air guitar and air keyboards- adorable. Unfortunately, I left my air cowbell in the car. I really rock the air cowbell.

Another highlight for me-Styx- "I thought that they were angels, but much to my surprise, They climbed aboard their starships and headed for the skies."
Then the song that closed the night-

Gunter glieben glauchen globen

I got something to say-
it's better to burn out
Than fade away
Rise up gather round
Rock this place to the ground
Burn it up, let's go for broke
Watch the night go up in smoke.
Rock on ! Rock on!
Driver me crazier, no serenade
No fire brigade, just a pyromania!
C'mon
What do you want?
What do you want?
I want Rock 'n roll
Long live Rock 'n roll!
you betcha

G is for Griffin

Top pic- G hanging out at bookstore, waiting for midnight and HP7
Middle pic-- G kicking back in our pool
Bottom pic-- That's Mike V, son!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Griffin-- 14 1/2 -- our middle child-- very tall-clever-funny-dramatic-fussy eater-enthusiastic to the extreme-never runs out of energy--Loves--- music- skateboarding--filmmaking--VIDEO GAMES-runescape--hanging out with friends and cousins-- bellyboarding at the beach--- junk food---money--- watching tv- Hates-getting braces--most fruits and vegetables--chores- -

Got Skills?

• E is for Extreme Sports Expo- which is how I spent my day. Who has more fun than me? We went to Point Pleasant Beach this morning and met up with my friend Aimee and her kids. The water was very rough - yellow flag (caution) but, Griffin went in anyway, of course. We watched BMX biking- Hell on Wheels- Parachute jumping- and we waited a couple extra hours to see the Globe of Death (insert evil laugh). The third photo is two motorcycles spinning around each other in the globe. Griffin took some great footage with his video camera and will be editing another movie for his You Tube account tomorrow. Click on the link to go see some of his skateboarding movies. The boys had a great time and it was a good day but, waiting around for the Globe of Death made us an hour late for...........

• F is for Family dinner. My "cousin" Jamie, her husband and son have come down to the shore for a couple days and my Mom invited us all for dinner. She served chicken and pasta and ham and mac and cheese and hotdogs and salad and eggplant and... let's just say there was something for everyone. I really enjoyed it- three of my four sisters were there (I'm the oldest of five girls!) and all the cousins. I have eight nieces and nephews on my side (two more nieces on Tims). Griffin and Riley had a great time hanging with their cousins. I gotta say if you're gonna show up late- arrive with a platter of ultimate brownies and all will be forgiven.
  
• 

• C is for computer- kinda a love/hate thing- it just ate my 1st draft and it keeps getting viruses lately. Still, I'm on it everyday and I can't imagine how we got along without it.

• C is for collage- sorry about how blurry the photos are- haven't read the booklet that came with my camera yet. Bottom photo is of a couple of my latest collages .

• C is for crafts- a true stressbuster for me and also my favorite way to hang out with friends.
  

• C is for clean-- doesn't come natural to me- but, I really love it when the house is cleaned up and I'm getting better everyday.

• C is for Craig's list- a lifesaver for us- we sold a car and posted "curb alerts" and recently when our dryer broke we were able to get another one for free!

• C is for central air conditioning- usually I'm fine without it- but its been high 90's here and our window units aren't cutting it!

• D is for decoupage -top photo is one of my mosaic mirrors- I loves me my ModgePodge.

• D is for Doris Day- I can't really explain why I love her so. This Saturday (the 11th) there will be a marathon of her movies - click on her name for the link to Turner Classic Movies.

• D is for Disney World / Land - the Happiest Place on Earth !

• D is for Decluttering-- a daily struggle.
  

jumping right in

I've decided to participate in the Encyclopedia of me Meme. Just jumping into this blogging thing with both feet, I am. I read about it on Bella Dia's blog - but I'm starting a bit late so I'll do two letters a day until I catch up.

• A -- A is for artist - which is what I'm gonna be when I grow up.

• A is for author-- which is what my husband is (not his day job, yet)

• A.D.D.-- which I have (self diagnosed) which is kicking in now so I have to move on to-

• B -- B is for baking blueberry muffins and banana muffins (which I did today)

• B is for boys- I have three sons.

• B is for beach- we live three miles away from the Atlantic ocean.

• B is for blogs - I love reading other crafter and homeschooler blogs

• B is for books- I can read a book a day. I just finished a collection of short stories by Rosamunde Pilcher- love her books!

• 
  

Monday,Monday

Today I --

• Got rid of five bags of clothes (mostly mine)
• Painted some trim in the bathroom
• Took Riley to the library
• Finished making invites for Aug 18 party
• Made RiceKrispie Treats for dessert
• Finally wrote a real blog entry!!!!!

My three handsome boys at the beach. Saturday -Aug 4th

Photo credit: Me!