Growing Up

Things I learned growing up......

1. Most ground balls that are missed go under the glove

2. It's not a good idea to touch the bottom of a microwave after you just made popcorn - your hand WILL burn

3. Every young lady should have a set of pearls

4. It's never to early to develop your fashion style

5. Practice practice practice - dad's words at softball, flute, soccer....anything really

6. Gentleness often accomplishes more than harshness

7. Yard work is an undesirable job but someones got to do it.....and getting an allowance for it doesn't really make it more pleasant

8. Aesop's Fables is the most useful form of punishment

9. Carpe Diem

10. Defrost ALL the windows before backing out of the driveway

11. Barbie dolls come as young women, men, Skipper & friends and the little babies. But everyone knows that in an imaginary world, you need to have a grandmother. The only proper way to create a Barbie grandma is to cut off the hair of one of your older Barbies. Maybe one day Mattel will understand this.

12. Cops and Robbers is best played in the dark with flashlights

13. Camping, even in your own backyard, just isn't a good idea - Creepy crawlers are everywhere

14. Don't grow Mint in your garden - it takes over the yard and is uncontrollable

15. If a babysitter isn't fun, you can misbehave....just know that you will be punished the next morning for it

16. If you take your hands off the handle bar on your bike because you're scared, you will most likely fall or hit something

17. It's hard to play a fair game of capture the flag when the teams are girls vs boys

18. Dads have the best reading voices, regardless of how old you get

19. If you don't keep your room clean, you may end up without a bedroom door - "privacy is a privilege"

20. Christmas isn't about consumer products and wanting, it's about being with people you care about....and drinking egg nog while decorating a Charlie Brown tree

21. When driving, do it with the utmost caution!

22. The fastest way to back out of a driveway is to have children push it out

23. The most delicious cookies are the ones that Mom let's you mush/mix with your hands

24. Mom's china is delicate....handle with caution and set the table properly

25. Family game night is both torturous and fabulous - especially if it involves having a pizza picnic on the family room floor.

Weekend of wonderfuls

This past weekend I 1. hosted book club 2. reconnected with the one and only Megan Hannah - future courtroom ball cracker 3. attended a military fundraiser 4. had a dance party with Pam at Union Jacks 5. watched the Eagles fight a tough battle against the Giants [36-31! ugh]

The military fundraiser is thrown each year by a man my friend knows. His brother was killed in Iraq and in memory of him they put together an annual fundraiser, donating the proceeds to a different military charity each time. Sadly, I did not win anything from the raffle, but Pam and I enjoyed our beverages. We did meet a rather sour man who hates Philadelphia as well as New York City. Hmmm...problem there...I love both of those places. After a quick exchange of words with Pam and I over how much we love those two cities and how rude he was, he walked away. We also witnessed some appalling behavior by some of the guests at the fundraiser. A group of four didn't want to tip the waiter because they had just "donated money to the charity" - here's an FYI to anyone attending a fundraiser: Make a donation, the size of it doesn't matter, and tip the wait staff! It's rude not to!

We moved on to a bar we love after the fundraiser to dance our little hearts out. It was only after the music switched to all Spanish that we skipped out the door. Throughout the night we entertained ourselves with pictures and giggles.

Sunday Sunday Sunday - worked my last Sunday at the gym yesterday and I'm feeling pretty good about it. Now I'm counting down the days until next weekend.....

November

November is going to be a FABULOUS month, followed by a spirited December. This weekend I see my local loves as I host book club and then I head to Pennsylvania November 14-16 to:
1) Take Luke and Sara Elizabeth to see Santa
2) Get fitted for my dress for Melissa's wedding
3) G-Ma's 82nd birthday dinner

The weekend after my college loves come down for a visit and Twilight is out in theaters. Followed by Thanksgiving in Connecticut and a chance to hang out with AW - twice within 2 months...wow!

December is upbeat as well - a trip down to Ft. Lauderdale where I'll see Mr. Florida and Chelle, Christmas with the Christopher's and then Christmas with the Patterson's, not to mention the holiday parties....

The next two months will be busy but I'm looking forward to every, single moment.

Burning Bright with Hope

"To those who would tear this world down - we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security - we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope. "

Last night, November 4th, 2008, the American people elected the 44th president of the United States of America. An unbelievable historic moment, Senator Barack Obama is the first African American elected for the highest office in our country. I was teary. I had tissues next to my bed. This is a great moment.

Obama did the unthinkable and changed the electoral map - taking Ohio, Virginia, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Florida....A new hope stirred two years ago when he first decided to run and last night that hope was cemented into the grounds of the good old USA. You can be sure that I will be standing there with the crowd on January 20th, 2009 to watch Senator Obama be sworn in as Mr. President.