*Farewell Johnski*

I don't know how it ended up that he called me Dawnski, but he did and it stuck. I, in turn, called him Johnski. And so it went, for the next 5 years. That's how long I was fortunate enough to know him. Most of my co-workers were lucky enough to know him for 15+ years. Some of them for 25 even. I'm convinced, however, that if I'd only known him for an hour, my life still would have been richer. I always said that John was the kind of guy who knew a lot about everything. Some people, when you show interest in something or are inquisitive about something, they really talk your ear off or go off on a tantric about it for what seems like forever, and you lose interest. That wasn't the case with John. When he talked, I listened. I was so interested in what he had to say.
It seriously could have been a conversation about peanut butter. John had a way of keeping you interested no matter what he was talking about. He was about my dad's age, so he was fatherly but friendly all the same. He and I talked about the simple things but we also talked about the bigger things. When he got sick & went out on disability & later retirement, we emailed back and forth. John gave me a lot of advice. He spoke with knowledge & compassion... he understood things. He didn't judge people. He loved his wife with his whole heart and then some. He loved his kids as much. He was blessed with grandchildren. He was blessed with life long friendships. I was looking through my saved messages from him today and one of them was dated July 3rd, 2008. John died yesterday. July 4th, 2009. Ironic. The text of it:
I am feeling the same as when I left there, this seems to be as good as it gets.
I have been enjoying the time I have with Pamela, without her I would have cashed it in long ago.
May God bless you and help you on your path to happiness Sometimes John's messages were funny, other times they were more serious. Whatever they were, I was glad to get them. Sometimes, he didn't want a response and he'd tell you that. When things were looking grim, he'd wanted us to know and wanted to say thanks for keeping him in our prayers.. but he'd tell you right away, that he didn't want any response. It was hard to not reply to him and tell him "things will get better, I'm praying for you"... but I respected his wishes. Sometimes you just want to make a statement... that's not open for discussion. I got it. He kept in touch with almost everyone in the company, updating us on the current status of his condition. I think, for the most part, everyone was "prepared" for John's death but in the end, even when you've started to accept it, it still hits you like a ton of bricks. Cancer sucks. Period. John & I didn't really talk "religion"... we both believed in God and we both trusted him with our lives. We touched on the subject a little bit.. John knew where I stood with my Faith and that it was my GPS. I prayed for him everytime I said my prayers at night and whenever he crossed my mind. How blessed to have known such a great man. He was many things to many people. He was a wonderful being all around and he was a great friend to me... I appreciated him. I think he knew that. I hope he knew that. He'd made an impression. He'd left a mark. I sent him this poem one time (that I found on the internet)...
I Said a Prayer for You Today

I said a prayer for you today
And know God must have heard.
I felt the answer in my heart
Although he spoke no word!

I didn't ask for wealth or fame
(I knew you wouldn't mind).
I asked him to send treasures
Of a far more lasting kind!

I asked that he be near you
At the start of each new day;
To grant you health and blessings
And friends to share your way!

I asked for happiness for you
In all things great and small.
But it was for his loving care
I prayed the most of all!
... I said it wasn't written by my hand, but felt by my heart. I hope it made him smile. I sent him the link to a song one time that I wanted him to listen to. It had made me think of him on so many occassions. Believe by Diamond Rio.
He's sent me this message in an email once, and I'm glad I held on to it...
Do not get misty eyed as you read this, but sometimes the heart must speaknot the brain. I have few friends in this world, but even the ones that I do have, I do not knowhow they feel spiritually. As you know, I have spent the last two years taking some really ugly drugs with some interesting side effects. I go in for tests every six months to see how the tumors are doing.For the last two years, every test showed that the drugs had slowed the tumor growth to aboutone inch every six months. This was helpful for me emotionally, for awhile. But as time has gone byI have been slowly giving up because even two inches a year becomes very large as time goes by.I have prayed for guidance from the Lord, and many other things. Yesterday I received the latestreport on my tests I took last week. Not only have the tumors not grown any but they have started to shrink. I believe in talented Doctors and the new things that they come up with , but as you and I know, there is something much larger then that at work here. What I am trying to say is Thank You. I have received many prayers for my health frompeople I don't even know. But for some reason my heart (or the Lord) is telling me that you are theone that made a difference. I do know how you feel about your relationship with the Lord and I truly feel that your prayers tipped the scales in my direction. I have also thanked my wonderfulwife X for without her I would have died a couple of years ago, She is my reason for living. Thank You, X

A wonderful person has left this world but Heaven is welcoming him.....

Post #200

Wow.. I've blogged 200 times? I only know this because last time I posted an entry, it was number 199. I don't think I've really ever paid attention to the #'s next to the entries. In any case, that's pretty cool. So much for my big plan to blog the other night. I was all set to sit down at the computer and blog my little hands off but it just didn't happen that way. I suddenly had a case of writer's block. Yuck. Hard to imagine me with writer's block. Almost as hard as imagining me "speechless". Never happens; trust me. So, Fourth of July weekend was/has been pretty nice. We went to a friend's BBQ on Saturday and had a nice time.... there was lots of yummy food. I baked Peanut Butter Kandy Kake and also made some dip. The cake is always a huge hit and it is so good. It truly does, if you make it right, taste just like the Tastykake Peanut Butter Kandy Kakes. Love them! I'm going to post the recipe a little later. Super easy .. and you will not be disappointed. If you like this sort of dessert. My Dad & step mom are having a small cookout today but I'm working so I may just stop by afterwards. I have to see how I feel because I came home last night with a crazy migraine and woke up today with a slight one. I never used to get migraines but when I do, I attribute them to food and drink usually. Last night I had some Michelob Ultra Raspberry Pomegranate and I totally think that's what did it. I can usually pin point it AFTER THE FACT. Oh well... it'll go away. It was hell trying to sleep last night though. I was so nauseous! I'm having some hot tea right now so maybe the caffeine will do the trick. I really don't like to take anything.. ie, ibuprofen, aspirin. The only thing I really put in my body is vitamins -- and that's even not very often. Hope everyone is having a wonderful Fourth Of July Weekend.. with family & friends. After all, that's the best way to spend it.

Ready, Set.... Blog!

Ah, finally sitting down to blog. I feel like I have one hundred and one posts to do tonight. I hardly ever get the chance to post anymore, because the only place I ever get a chance, is at work. I decided that blogging at work is not such a great idea. Not that I ever really put anything in there that is work-related or derogatory towards my employer, but it's just the idea of a blog being so personal. Yes, I know that it's open to the world ... but it's a different kind of invasion of privacy, when they're actually viewing your cookies and history on the computer at work to see what you're doing or where you're 'browsing'. Used to be that they were mostly concerned when you were on Monster or Career Builder. That always raises a flag. Then they start to eyeball you and wonder if you're planning on leaving soon and who'll do your job etc etc. So, where was I? Oh yes, updating you on the ever so eventful life o' mine. Not much to write home about lately. Mostly waiting for "things to happen" and still working on the wedding planning. I've just about got all of the vendors lined up and the deposits made. Luckily, I have the best maid of honor ever, so I'm relieved that I don't have to 'go it alone' when it comes to all the bride's duties and such. Jeff trusts me to take care of things. I mean, he gives his input but mostly he leaves it to me. Which I guess is better than the other way around. He doesn't give me grief about things.. like color schemes, music, menus. I think things are falling into place, in every aspect of life right now. It seems that my family is coming together again.. and I'm finding a lot of peace in that. I knew it would happen, or at least I prayed a lot that it would. I think it worked. Actually, I know it worked. It's rare that prayer fails, when you're really putting your heart into it. That's my biggest theory on praying.. I never ask God to "make" something happen; I ask him to help me find the tools to make it happen. Courage, Wisdom, Strength, Perserverance. All the good stuff.

Wedding --- affectionately titled "Take 2"

My older sister got married yesterday. This is #2 for her but I hope that this time is the last time. I mean that sincerely... I'm not taking a shot at her .. I'm sincerely hoping that this is the man for her. Her last marriage was a bit unstable. He was a nice guy etc.. and we all welcomed him warmly into our family but there was some trouble in the marriage and unfortunately it became too much that it was irreparable. I keep poking fun about it to her that she's already married twice before I'm married once. The irony also is that her divorce from her first husband hasn't hit the year mark yet either. Geez, woman! But all jokes and puns aside, I do wish nothing but the best for the two of them. We all went yesterday morning to their ceremony in a nice little boro park where the mayor officiated. We then all met at Villari's Lakeside for a luncheon and to celebrate. It was a nice time and I'm glad that my family was all there. Well, with the exception of my brother who had to work and wasn't able to get the time off. We didn't get too many pics at the reception but I've posted some. The one of my dad, my niece and my sister is my favorite! I've got to get some copies and frame it.

Finally figured out how to blog from my blackberry, so here we go. Pretty hard to type like this actually. I've got to get used to the idea of using two hands.

Just so you know

I didn't fall off the wagon ... but I did skip my weigh in last week. I was supposed to go on Saturday and it didn't quite work out the way I'd hoped. I'm going to really have to buckle down this coming week so that my results are chart topping. (as far as my own progress is concerned). It's been tough.. with all of summer's goodies floating around.. not to mention those Cider Donuts that Amy was talking about!
But I'm on to my program again this week. Nothin' to it, but to do it~ Not sure where I heard that but I didn't make it up - honest. It helps that Weight Watchers has all of their own brand of food products. It makes the points counting so much easier. I know they make money that way, but people like the idea.. so, it all works out. Things have been rather hectic lately. So much to do with the wedding planning and now that we're house shopping. sheesh, I hardly sleep at night. Well, I really never did sleep well, so now it's just a little worse. My dad also is moving this week. I think he and my stepmom make settlement this Wednesday. Happy for them to have found a cute little place to call home. I'm sure they'll be happy. My dad will have his plants and his veggies going full force in no time at all. He prides himself on that. Don't mess with a man and his garden. I remember years ago & I'm talking first-house-we-ever-lived-in years ago, my dad had a garden at the back of our yard and he had all his tomato plants in it. Well, our neighbor had a pesky cat that she allowed to be inside/outside.. and it would get to my dad's tomato plants all the time. He'd finally had enough and invested in a BB Gun. Now that I think back, that was NOT cool..and now I'm questioning why I even shared that with you~ Guess I was just trying to share (?). Oh and I'm on Twitter now. Why? I don't really know. I guess it was just another application that I could add to my Blackberry. It's pretty nifty though. Updating all day long telling a bunch of strangers what I'm doing at any given moment? I've blocked more people than I can count. Weirdos mostly. Advertisers too. Big time. I hope no one has blocked me - I would be really insulted.

*bump* post from 3 years ago ... because she's special

Wednesday, February 08, 2006
well, I said in an earlier post in January, that I hoped I could meet back up with some long lost friends from high school. Turns out I did just that. And it happened to be the one person in particular that I really wanted to get in touch with. Only about a month ago, our class president and some other members of the committee, started contacting the Class of 1994- through Classmates.com -- Our president created a website of his own so that we didn't have to use Classmates and we were all able to go on there and post forums and such-- and leave our email addresses if we so desired.. Well I am so glad that I posted mine, because that is how my long lost friend Shannon got in touch with me. She emailed me and then eventually we talked on the phone. It was so nice to talk to her after 12 long years! It felt like we hadn't missed all that time, but we did. I sure missed her, and I had mentioned to my sister a short while ago that if I wanted to reconnect with anyone, it would be Shannon. We were really good friends in high school- the later years. And I'm not sure how we got so close but we just clicked. I've been really down lately wondering how to catch up with old friends and seem like a whacko, since we hadn't talked in forever and then I'm popping up in an email or a letter to their home. So this has sure brought me some contentment. We both said that we should not lose touch this time and I hope we don't. It's really never too late to catch up. It will take a lot of catching up, I'm sure. But for the most part, we covered the basics already.

Love & Marriage & some other things to note

As if Jeff and I didn't have enough on our plates right now; we decided to really take a dive and we're now house hunting. I think I may take up drinking! Nah, the stress is not all that bad, (yet), I think we're doing ok. I've only got a few more things to iron out with the wedding & I'm not really letting it drive me batty. Things will work out just the way they should. I pray A LOT and ask for the guidance and wisdom to handle all the things He is sending our way. I know we're not in this ALONE. The house hunting has been quite an experience so far - to say the VERY least. We looked at a total of 4 homes over the last weekend and I actually had forgotten about the two that really sent my head in a whirl. I think, honestly, they were that traumatic that I blocked them out. Seriously. To be short and sweet but cut to the chase, and what's probably the real icing on the cake here... We went to one home and they had a dog. No problem right? Nope. He was friendly, if not just aloof. Didn't care that there were strange people in his home, he just sat on his little stoop in the window and let us do as we pleased. Well, evidently, he'd also "done as he pleased" at some point in the day before we arrived. Oh yes. There in the living room, sat not one, not two, but THREE small piles of dog doo! I almost went right back out the front door. At that point, any desire I had to give this house the once over and check it out, had just flown right out the window. Holy Crap. Literally. Ah, but that's not it folks. What? There's more? You betcha. Fast forward to Monday evening. We arrive at our "first" showing of another home. Awfully cute, well kept, quaint. It, unfortunately, was way too small. I could have never survived it. Too bad it had a 1/4 acre of land. Not so bad if I were going to live "outside" the home. Much more room to move. Leave house #1 and venture, just down the block to house #2. Note: I have this thing about going to "see" a home that is occupied. And by that I mean that the residents are actually home at the time of the showing. Realtor arrives on the steps of this home (#2) and she knocks. I look up and see a head in the window, curiously peering out to see who is knocking. A few more minutes pass, a young guy answers the door. He's a bit out of it, it seems, but he takes the realtor's card after a quick "hi, I'm the realtor here to show the house". We walk in, he walks out. The house? Structurally? Not all that bad considering that there are about 4 college aged, beer drinking, poker playing guys inhabiting it. And yes, I say that all based on the obvious facts. Beer bottles of every brand, flavor, country lined the living room wall. The dining room table was adorned with handwriting in every Sharpie color ever made, while the ashtray and poker chip caddy sat smack dab in the middle of it. Cardboard cut outs of movie characters were in the living room. (which by the way scared the shit out of Jeff and then me on the walk back through).
Cosmetically? The same as the latter. We've made our way through most of the rooms at which point we're now at the bathroom. (of which I couldn't really see the floor for all the Maxim & FHM magazines). Jeff walks in & I immediately say "Oh my Gosh, it smells like weed in here!"... Jeff laughs and says I'm crazy and that it's something to do with the bathroom. Oh really? Like what? Mold? Marijuana laden water? Not. But I digress. Next up? The laundry room. Hmmm... let's see, nice paint, no problems, washer & dryer are fairly new...... wait, what's that? OH YEAH! Now do you smell it dear??? Not only was the smell of pot as strong as heck, but it was enough to probably ( although it didn't) give all 3 of us a contact high. We all did laugh about it but the more I thought about it, I was kind of irritated. Obviously, we'd found the "smoking" room and obviously the guy in the window had been "indulging" shortly before we arrived. I don't know if he was embarrassed -- I'd say probably not. But I was almost embarrassed for him. Needless to say when we got outside, I told the realtor and Jeff that I suddenly had the munchies. It was one of those funny things that happen in life ... but the concept of it wasn't funny. If that makes sense. I'm fairly confident that these guys were renting this house & I'd be willing to bet that the owner will never know of this incident but in all honesty, I think he should. It's not a good impression for prospective buyers, that's for sure.

Sweet Post

Here ya go, all my chocolate loving bloggy friends... I received this link a few days ago via email from my friend. Pretty sweet deal! Literally.
From what I understand, it takes a few weeks or so to get your coupon but once you do, it's FREE my friends!! Who doesn't LOVE FREE and who doesn't LOVE CHOCOLATE?
Well, honestly, I don't LOVE chocolate. I like it.. but I still have to partake in FREEness.
Click here to get your FREE chocolate!! You know you want it!

Progress

Ever since I joined Weight Watchers, I've been going to the track every night. Ok, wait, I think I can say, honestly, that I missed ONE day. I officially LOVE running. It's the best adrenaline rush ever. But not only am I looking forward to the long term weight loss results but it has made such a difference everywhere else too. I feel great and I'm getting in shape. I'm not finding that I'm out of breath everytime I climb the stairs & I am realizing that my 3 p.m. slump has sort of diminished ENTIRELY. Every day at work when it came to about 3 pm, I would just get into this rut all of a sudden and my body felt like it had run out of gas; running on fumes! From sugar and carbs I presume. I don't get that anymore.
I imagine it's not just the exercising, it's much of the makeover I've done with my eating habits as well. I feel so good about this venture & I feel like I'm seeing the results. I weigh in on Friday again.. (or Thursday if I decide Friday won't work).. I have my mom's doctor appointment to take her to. <<--- Remember: Prayers please. ♥Thanks♥

Wordless Wednesday

The Dreaded Weigh in

Well, I made it through my first week of Weight Watchin'. And I'm happy to say that my first weigh in after joining... I had lost 3.2 lbs! It doesn't seem like a lot to most people but for me it was pretty darn good. I hadn't expected to hear that I lost that much. I was thinking maybe a pound or a pound and a half. I guess all my hard work is paying off. So nice. I really stuck to the points and changed up my eating habits significantly. It also helped that I went to the track every day last week... and either walked or ran or did both. That's what really helps; I know. So here we are at Week 2 now and I have so much motivation. I know I can do this... If I can average 3 pounds each week, I can lose 15 pounds in 5 weeks.. hopefully putting me at 165... which I haven't been in YEARS! I know I shouldn't get ahead of myself... I'm just trying to stay positive. It felt really good to step off that scale on Friday and hear those results. I think Jeff thinks I may be obsessing now.. I run/walk the track every day and I exercise way more than I ever even thought about! Well, keep me in your prayers that I continue on this journey to a healthier me.. and that I don't lose the willpower. I think I'll be ok.
I'm upping my "times" around the track this week.. making it a little more intense. It feels great!

A prayer rant & prayer request

Do you know how sometimes you've told your friends/aquaintances about something going on in your life, and suddenly your Facebook & MySpace comments start being flooded with "Praying for you"??.. This annoys me. Why? Because half of the people who say it, don't really mean it. I'd rather someone not even say that if they're really not going to actually stop and say a prayer. I know it seems strange for me to get all riled up about it but I do. Praying is powerful and sacred. When I say I'm praying for someone, I do. I have many 'real-life' and virtual friends who I know live their lives with prayer, so I trust that I'm in their prayers when I've asked them to please keep me in them or even to say a little extra for me. When the people who I know are "throwing" around the "I'll pray for you" phrase, and I know full well that they don't really even worship/believe, I wish I could get a moment to go to them and say "Ok, here I am, now let's hear it"... and I know that they'd get all tongue-tied and not even know where to start... Granted there is no right or wrong way to pray when you do, but it just irks me when people say that... who I know have NO intention and haven't prayed in years or a day in thier life. So.....now that I'm off the soap box, a prayer request: For my mom.. she is going for a mammogram this coming Friday... she has a lump in her breast (and has for a while).. PLEASE PRAY THAT WE GET SOME POSITIVE RESULTS FROM THIS WHEN THE TIME COMES AND THAT EVERYTHING TURNS OUT TO BE OK. She is super scared about this and truth be told, I am too. Just trying to be strong for her and be optimistic. She found out only recently that a cousin and an aunt of hers (on her mother's side) both had Breast Cancer ... they're in remission now and doing well but it's scary because now we know that it runs in the family.
Thank You

Joined Weight Watchers

... again...
Hopefully I stick with it this time & really accomplish my weight loss goals. This Monday will be my first official week. I think I can do it and I'm really motivated/determined. It's always tough at first but I'm going to be ok. Thanks Amy for your sweet, encouraging words on the last post. Let's see, lots of water, no junk and NO FAST FOOD! Think "dress" Dawn!

May is here already

Good grief .. I can't believe how time is flying by. Wedding planning is coming along, I guess. So much to do still. This rain has been non-stop lately and has got everyone down. I wish it would just stop already.. yuck. It feels like we're living in Washington State or wherever it is that it rains for weeks or months straight. I think it's there. I'm back on the wagon with the whole eating better, losing weight goal. I seriously need to lose 20 lbs and if I can do it by the time I get married, that will be wonderful! I'm very motivated right now.. my sister and I have been walking every night... and we're going the distance too. Once you get into it, you just keep going and don't realize, at first, how far you've gone. It's great! Such an adrenaline rush. I don't see any results as of yet but it's too early. I'm going to join Weight Watchers this Friday, as I've done twice in the past already. It's a wonderful way to lose weight and really stick with it. I really liked it when I joined before. The results are there. I think it's so much more effective with Weight Watchers because you know that you're going to have to get on that scale each week and you're not going to want to see that you've gone up in pounds, ONLY down. Once you've started with it and see the results and get your little "achievement" stickers, you're committed. In addition to walking, I've started doing crunches at night before bed too ...OUCH! I'll get used to it. I need to. I just hate the way I feel anymore. I hate seeing my body and I hate getting out of breath when I walk up a flight of stairs, HATE the guilt I have after I eat something I know I shouldn't have. Just done with all of it!!
And just to put a little more fire under my ass, I'm going to put a weight loss ticker on here - just to keep me focused. Well, and to share my progress with you of course. I have no problem telling anyone that I weigh 180 lbs and I should be about 150. I don't want to be a hiefer at my wedding ... but more importantly I want to be healthy.

We the jury

I finally served. And you know what? I'm glad I did. I think at least 85% of people who get the notice for jury duty in the mail, cringe. I didn't. I really wanted to do it. Isn't that odd?! So last Tuesday, there I was "reporting for jury duty" with a bazillion other Camden County-ers and I actually was picked to serve one of the juries. It was not as bad as most people make it out to be. I seriously felt like I had to be the ONLY person sitting there who, on the inside, was happy about it. I guess I'm a dork. Ours was just a civil case, (even though I was secretly hoping for a criminal case), and it lasted 3 days. So I ended up having a sort of 'vacation' because I was out 3 days at work and then my regular days off followed and that made for 5 full days of not reporting to the office. The court that I had to report to was literally (less than) 10 minutes from my home so that was a nice change in the morning last week too. Being that my normal commute to and from work is 30 minutes. I believe the law is that you only have to serve every 3 years so I guess I'm done for a while. But yes, all in all, it was a really neat experience.. I had no idea what to expect but it was just like Law & Order!
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
In other news, I've been way behind on my posting lately. Time to update the Wedding Blog too. Sorry if anyone has tried to read it and it was not there. I had to change the URL and when I did, I guess it didn't update on my front page. It's fixed now and I also even put a link to it on this blog on the left side ( I think).

Birthday Treats

Aww... they remembered. *hee hee* It's come to my attention that I have signed up for entirely too many 'clubs'. You know: the Cantina Club, the Habaneros Club....etc.
Case in point? My birthday is this coming Saturday. Over the course of this week and beginning at the end of last week, my inbox has been flooded with coupons/free stuff.. etc. Here is the rundown:
♥ On The Border: Free Empanadas
♥ Uno Chicago Grill: $10 off of $25
♥ Don Pablo's: $10 (loaded onto my Habaneros card)
♥ Cold Stone Creamery: Free Ice Cream (duh)
♥ Texas Roadhouse: A Free Appetizer
♥ Chuck E. Cheese: free tokens or something (how did I end up with this one)

Luckily, I don't think I signed up for anything else.. so the flood should stop now. I do think it's pretty comical though. And just an FYI, if you like mexican/Chi Chi's style food.. SIGN UP for the Habaneros Card at Don Pablo's. It really is worth it! There is NO cost and I'm telling you, you will save a lot of money. I think the most you can save at one time is $10, but my friend and I go often, as do Jeff and I... and on occasion my friend Stephanie has used her $10 coupon on her total bill and ended up paying like $4.00 for her whole meal, including her drink and a cup of queso. Seriously! You can have $5 and $10 coupons on the card at a time, you just can't combine. The savings are loaded at all different times too. Anniversaries, birthdays, holidays (just about EVERY one). Awesome. So, I really have my options this weekend,huh? I guess no matter what I choose, it's nice to have the option to finish off with some ice cream at Cold Stone. Too bad I don't really eat ice cream.

Hoppy Easter

Happy Easter everyone. I'm working but just as well. Remember the reason for the season and remember that it's not just about baskets of goodies & ham dinners. Although I'm a big fan of those ham dinners! I think sometimes when we celebrate Easter & Christmas .. we get away from what it is we're really celebrating. So today just take time to reflect on the meaning. Have a Blessed Easter everyone.. and if you don't celebrate Easter... well, have a Blessed Day anyway.

John 11:25-26
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.

Easter Weekend

I'm working today AND tomorrow.. so it's going to be a normal 'ol day for me on Easter. I hope I can make it to the in-laws' before they put all the ham away. Gotta get me some yummy Easter ham. Hopefully the weather clears up soon. I don't like this rain.. it's so gloomy. I was driving in at 6:30 this morning and it was so nasty out. The roads were crappy and my fellow road-buddies were driving like tards as it always seems to be the case when the weather's like this. I was at the store yesterday and it was so packed! People waiting til the last minute to stock up on the Easter basket goodies etc. I try my hardest not to be a last minute shopper at the holidays. I definitely am with Christmas but as for Easter and Valentine's Day? You need to get that stuff as soon as it hits the shelves or you'll be scraping the bottom of the barrell and putting whatever you find, into the cart and praying that they'll like it. My big thing every year is to find white chocolate bunnies. I never did like chocolate when I was growing up. My basket always had white chocolate in it. I still love white chocolate. Funny thing: Jeff does too! One of the many things we have in common.

I'm going to try and upload an ancient Easter pic of my sisters and myself. They'd freak if they knew I did this.. Tammy moreso.. she's the one in the middle! haha

Ahh, spring...

Could it be? The weather today is beautiful. A bit chilly but for the most part the sun seems to really want to be here. I just want some sunny days already.
My weekend started a bit early .. I was off today. Unexpectedly, at least as of yesterday afternoon, but nonetheless here I am. I'm working on Saturday to cover for another co-worker & then of course I work Sunday too. Eww, I don't like working on Easter. I think it's a major holiday but evidently my employer doesn't. Not nice. I really like getting together with family and having the traditional Easter Dinner. I wish I could just work Monday through Friday. But then there are days that I like having my Fridays off. Jeff and I really only get to spend ONE full day together. He works on Fridays and I work on Sundays, so Saturday is the only day, start to finish, that we can actually spend together. Doesn't really put a strain on things .. at least I don't think it does. ??? Just stinks sometimes with this schedule I guess. I'm going on my 5th year with this schedule so ya think I'd have stopped whining about it by now. I will.... Eventually. Hope everyone has a WONDERFUL FRIDAY!
- Peace out -

Looking for that sun ...

What's that thing about 'when it rains, it pours'. I feel kinda like that. I never wanted this blog to have a Dear Abby theme but that's what it feels like lately. I have the oddest tug of war going on with my emotions right now. On one hand I'm all happy-go-lucky, in the throes of planning my wedding. (Our wedding). Then there's the mess that is my family life. I'm really thinking of sitting down tonight and writing a letter to EVERYONE. Meaning everyone in my immediate family. Telling them how I feel about the state of our family and how disgusted I am that everyone allowed it to fall away to shit. And how we better all pick ourselves up off the ground or step down from whatever high horses we're on and start to repair the relationships that have been severed. I see other peoples' blogs or just people in my life and I see so stability and closeness - I envy that. I know that all families are not perfect and just because I see something so desirable on the outside, I do realize that you don't always see what goes on inside. But as for my family, I just want a little bit of normalcy. I want everyone to be in touch and I don't want hard feelings between people. Hell, if there is something that is keeping someone away from the family then lay it out on the table. I have a sister who is estranged. I have a brother whom does not speak to my stepmother and RARELY speaks to my father. My two sisters have not spoken in months.... And all the while I'm trying to devise a way to get this all fixed. I'm banging my head against the wall trying to figure out how to get everyone together and put the pieces back together BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE.

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God" (Matthew 5:9)


Jesus' own instructions were for the offended to go to the offender and for the two of them to find a way to reconcile their differences.

Just a quick photo...

My sister and myself this past Friday night. Some say we look identical.
Sometimes I see it, sometimes I don''t. What say you?

(me on the left, sister on the right)

Next stop .... The Funny Farm

Life has been one crazy whirlwind the past few weeks.. with just the past few DAYS being the real icing on the cake. I've been doing a lot of praying lately. Not that I don't pray every day to begin with, but I've found myself at work even taking a few minutes to get a quick one in here and there. Heck, sometimes I even resort to the ladies room so that I have peace and quiet to focus. It gives me strength. I immediately feel a sense of relief when I can focus on asking God to take the burdens from me and help me make a positive out of them, or to at least give me the strength and wisdom to work through them and not let them control me.
It just eats me alive when there is so much discord in my family/life. I don't know when or how my family fell away to shit but I've persevered and tried to keep it all together... I am not a miracle worker; I've realized that. Tomorrow's another day -- and I try not to dwell on things - I just hope for some light at the end of the tunnel and hope that things start to look up. It's so hard to be happy-go-lucky and plan a wedding when I feel like others in my life are being dealt such a bad hand.. and that my family has fallen apart & no one seems to care to repair it. I can't fix them all. Like they say, you can lead a horse to water........

Have to Spring this on you

Tomorrow is the first day of Spring!! Yippee!! Hope the weather knows that it's supposed to get with the program!

I've been a busy bee...

I haven't updated in days! If I had to tell you what I've been doing that has me so busy, I'm afraid I couldn't. hee hee. Truth is, I have been busy though. The weather's been pretty decent the past few days, I was really hoping to go the track and get a few rounds of walking in or at least a run. I really want to start running. It's such an adrenaline rush... and for me, a person with so many thoughts going at once in this crazy head of mine, it's kind of a way to "run it all out". Stress relief in it's best form!
I really want to go to Cooper River Parkand start running because I think it's the best place to go but it's a rather large track and I don't know if I'd make it. Probably end up face down in the river, from sheer exhaustion. Yikes! But we'll see.

Another thing I love about Spring???

This....



Yes, I have an addiction to Weber's Drive In too! Love it.

** some things to note: DO NOT go to the one in Brooklawn. Do go to the one in Stratford or Pennsauken. <--- which is my favorite.
They're closed on Mondays & the one in Pennsauken occasionally has an Elvis impersonator hanging out in the parking lot with a boombox that blares... you guessed it, Elvis songs! The Pennsauken and Stratford ones are very clean and have awesome service. Go there today and get your Root Beer!

Concert w/ Mom

Friday I took my mom to the Johnny Maestro & The Brooklyn Bridge Concertat Dennis Flyer Theatre in Blackwood. It was by far one of the best shows I've been to. Most people my age probably have no idea who this group is but I grew up on oldies music so I'm a pretty big fan. I love their songs! Practically EVERY SINGLE ONE.
I waited all night to hear my favorite song and I was convinced they just weren't going to do it... but alas! it was the last song they did. Well, if you don't count the encore, which by the way was kind of moving. The really cool thing about this whole night was that my mom had no idea where we were going or who she was going to see. Here's the story: I'd seen the announcement for this show a while back... and I mean, a LONG time ago. Last year sometime. So I saved it to my Outlook calendar and the reminders were popping up every so many days leading up to the actual night. I kept dragging my feet and putting off buying the tickets until last Thursday. Yes, one day before the show! Stupid? Probably. But anyhoo, I got the tickets online at Ticketmaster and am pleased to say that I could not have gotten better seats if I'd bought them when they went on sale! We were in the middle section which is the best because you can look straight ahead and you're not off to the side. Our seats were seriously in the 2nd row from the stage, (technically).. I say technically because they set up folding chairs (3 rows for the alum at the college, who were privy to such seats.) My mom LOVES Johnny Maestro & The Brooklyn Bridge and once we even attempted to go see them when she had a comp at one of the casinos some years back... but we got tied up and never made the show. But here we were on Friday ... and I never told her where we were going. I told her a few weeks before the show that we were going 'somewhere'. I asked her to be ready and that it was a surprise. Well I really pulled it off. She had no idea until about 5 minutes before showtime. We even arrived at the doors where there were greeters handing out flyers with the information on it and I quickly intercepted it, asking the lady to not give my mom a program because it was a surprise. Well this poor woman obviously thought I was a loon because she looked at me like I was crazy. Oh well. So we sat down and all my mom could see was a stage with all of the band set up. Nothing else. No flyers, no banners.. NOTHING. So then the emcee comes on and welcomes everyone.. at which time he announces 'them'. To say that my mom was shocked would be an understatement. I thought she might cry. I think I might have. So we sat back and enjoyed the show. Listened, sang along, swayed, bobbed our heads, etc... it was a fantastic show! I wish I could go again.

** 5 Days, my friends, 5 days **

Says here on my wall calendar that March 20th is the first day of Spring. Sweet!
Now just 'cause it says that doesn't mean that we're going to get springy weather right? But one can hope! If I could pick one season for it to be all year, I'd want Spring. It's not too hot, it's not too cold. It's the happy medium that we all crave. I do like summer but it gets too hot sometimes and I just can't hack it.
When the Spring weather hits, I love taking my niece to the park, I love taking my doggie(s) for walks, I love being able to go to the track and walk (or run, if the spirit moves me), ... I could go on and on about what to do when the sun's out and the wind is there but barely. And the flowers???!! So awesome!

Hop on over

** Ah ha, none of ya'll caught on **

There is a live link to the other blog in my Juggling post.


Silly girls!

Juggling

This might be harder than I thought- juggling two blogs at once.
I thought I could differentiate between the two and keep the wedding stuff there and the other stuff here. It seems all I have on my mind these days is wedding stuff. I really need someone to smack me and tell me to slow down a bit. Good grief. I'm the reason for that heartburn.

Bride-to-be Survival Tips?!

Safe to say that I have been having more and more heartburn lately.. at least ever since I started ATTEMPTING to plan a wedding. It puzzles me so that I've done endless planning for showers, weddings, birthdays, etc.. in the past, without so much stress but yet here I am in the throes of planning my own wedding and I'm met with such frustration already. Is it really this hard? Maybe I'm just creating the havoc myself. The one thing that really stands out in my frustration is the cost of some of the 'things' associated with this wedding. First of all, I'm getting married in a Catholic church, in WHICH we are parishioners.. WHERE, each weekend, we give them our church "offering", which is usually anywhere between $5 and $10.. sometimes more in other circumstances. And this is every weekend.. (52 weeks). So imagine my surprise (for lack of a better word), when I opened the pamphlet last Saturday and saw that we are to pay $350.00 for the ceremony, $20 to each alter boy ( a max. of 2) and it states that you "should consider a small monetary gift" for the officiating priest. Wow! What else can I say. Seriously. It went on to say that the fee for Non-parishioners is $500. Damn, I pity anyone in that boat. Let's not forget that we, as Catholics, are required to attend pre-cana, sessions. Notice, I said: HAVE to. As in it's not optional, my friends. And the cost of this? Oh, just $150. Now do you see why I'm ripping my hair out? I guess it all comes down to money... it's nuts! I am keeping the wedding and the reception, as well as all of the other amenities, as simple as possible, in that I am not going over the top. I want it simple. I really wish I could just win the mega-millions and I would be set. Heck, I'm not even being greedy, I'll take the $500,000. I can get a decent reception out of it, pay for it all up front, not have to ask my dad for any money.. and then buy a nice little home for about $200,000. I even prayed on winning the lottery and promised to donate a large sum to charity.. or the church. (Funny as that may seem, at this point!) Ah, it just seems so complicated trying to get it all together. I do have a year to do it but I feel like the time is going to fly and before I know it, it'll be here, and things will be unpaid for... blah blah blah. Well, if ANYONE has any tips on cost cutting or has anyone that they know of who is a vendor of any sort (photographer, DJ, florist).. do tell me. You'll probably find this post again soon.. because I want start a Wedding Blog. I need one. That should be fun & witty and ......full of whining.

*Quickie* Conversations with a 3 year old

Last night, my precious niece came strolling into my bedroom wide awake, at about 11 p.m. She gave me a hug and then decided she wanted to sleep in my bed. Not unusual -- and I rather love it. So, she sees my wedding planner sitting on my bed & then the conversation went something like this:

M: Dee Dee, is someone getting married?
Me: Yep, I am. Remember?
M: Yeah. To Uncle Jeff, right?
Me: Yep.
M: Dee Dee, do they have a bathroom?
Me: Who? Where we're getting married? Of course they do.
M: Ok. (laughs a little).
**** a short pause ****

M: Dee Dee, what am I going to wear. (laughs a little more).. a dress like yours?
Me: Yes
M: oooh, (brushes her hair out of her face).. Ok.

Is there a Support Group....

For Facebookers!? Good Lord, I am seriously addicted to this. I thought, when I first was introduced to MySpace, that it was quite addicting but Facebook? I've gone to the extremes of downloading the application on to my BlackBerry and now I have all the status updates etc.. at my fingertips. I'm really getting concerned.
I can't go for any period of time without looking at it while I'm working. It's bad my friends! I even went to the diner yesterday for breakfast and saw a gal that I've been in touch with on FB and I sent her a wall post because I knew she has the app on her phone too and would get it within seconds! How funny is that!??
I'm amazed at how many people have reconnected etc.. I'm talking to people on there from high school and such, that I never even looked at twice back then. I guess we all grow up.
Then last night we went to a local bar/restaurant/hangout to meet up with some of Jeff's friends. It turned out that not only was his graduating class there but so were a few other years. This place was jam packed - thank goodness we got there early and were able to 'claim' a table. I had a really good time meeting some friends of his.. etc (well, some of them).. we'll leave those details for another time. But, where was I?? Oh yes, the FaceBook thing. Well, I'm pretty much done with this post.. I just had to share my story with you. In closing, here are some funny pictures that I just have to add.

Couldn't wait til Wordless Wednesday .. Sorry

I have a much longer post to publish but I have to get my thoughts situated.. they're going berzerk in my mind right now. I wish I had one of those bingo ball machines... and if I spun it a couple times, all my thoughts would come out in perfect order so I didn't jump around so much when I get it all down in 'writing'.
Anyhoo, I'm babbling. So I'll leave you with this..

*** Wordless Wednesday ***

Yes, I jumped aboard the Wordless Train..

I love....... Red Box

Seriously, people, if you haven't already started using this thing, YOU HAVE TO!
I heard about it from my besty Renée and was apprehensive for so long because, honestly, there HAD to be a catch. But I was in Shoprite the other day and decided to check it out. I went over to the Red Box kiosk, scrolled through the movies and rented 2! Get this... Redbox rentals are really only $1 per night. If you rent it today and return it by 9 p.m. the following day, you're good. If you do have it out longer than that, each day thereafter is only $1. The fine print is that if you keep it out longer than 24 days, it's yours to keep, at which point you've obviously purchased said movie. But I can't imagine that you'd do that. So, back to my story. I went online before I went to The Shoprite and I signed up via email to receive info, offers etc. Next thing I knew, I had a promo code in my email for a FREE rental. So, when I checked out, I rented 2 movies. But it only cost me ..... You guessed it.... One Dollar!
Well, there is tax, so it was $1.07 ultimately. The weird, but great thing is that you don't even have to return the movies to the location you rented it from. I rented my movies in Blackwood and returned them to Swedesboro because it worked out better for me. So that's my Red Box endorsement folks. Oh and Nights in Rodanthe is out today, so I'm reserving mine online! Yep, you can do that too!

I love............... Valentine's Day

And no, it's not because of gifts. I'm not really one for gifts. I like to give little trinkets/treats out for V-day but for the most part, my love of Valentine's Day simply has to do with the idea that it's all about L-O-V-E. Truly. I'm a big fan of anything 'hearts'. Valentine's day is just fun. Just for kicks, you should go to a local CVS (or the like) the night before Valentine's day.. You will get a kick out of the all the men lined up trying to find a card at the last minute. It always makes me laugh.. No offense, guys, but it's a known fact. Really. So anyhoo, as for us (Jeff and myself).. we're just going to lay low for this Valentine's Day. We've decided to stay in, have takeout (from somewhere yummy,to be decided) and we're going to watch FireProof. I decided on that one. I think it's going to be one of those movies that you should watch with a spouse/significant other. For some reason, before I even heard any reviews, I decided that I wanted to see it. It looks like a very moving, spiritual movie. I will definitely post my review. In other news, I took this Thursday off so that means my work week ends tomorrow - Woot! My mom and I are having a night out.. and if we end up being out later than anticipated, I don't want to have to worry about getting up bright and early for work in the morning. Ah, a 3 day weekend! Nicey.

A Lovely Give-Away

Yes, once again, I'm at work.. but I had to post this real quick. I happened upon a jazzy new blog and it just so happens that there's a wonderful give-away going on over there! er, HERE, at the Magic Risotto Diaries!

Happy Sunday, bloggers! I'll post a little later when I have a few minutes.

*The Bestest Aunt in the whole wide world*

My precious niece is really bewildered by the moon and the stars lately, so I got an idea in my head yesterday and went with it. Luckily it didn't take me hours on end to find what I needed. Thank you Wal-Mart! So I put these all over her ceiling right under where she'll rest her precious crazy
curl-adorned head later this evening. As a bonus; it will be a SURPRISE tonight because she has no idea that I've done it. She's going to love it! I'm excited!

Tagged!

I've been officially tagged by my friend Amy, so to make her proud, I'm following through. Here's what I'm doing and what YOU'RE doing if I've tagged you! Ha!

The name of the game is tag and the rules are as follows:
1. Go to the 6th picture folder and pick the 6th picture.
2. Post and tell the story about the picture.
3. Tag a few friends.



(I have only two picture folders on my work computer, so I went to the 2nd and posted the 6th picture)... It's a picture of me and my brother... I want to say I was between 21 and 22 which would make him between 8 and 9 yrs old. (We're talking about 10+ yrs ago).. (I'm 32 now).
How precious. Now!! ... who ever shall I tag?
Pretty much anyone I 'know' on blogger has done it already, so... I'm going to tag random people and if they repost... Perfect!

1.) April
2.) Nicole
3.) Kristen

And yes, I totally picked #2 and #3 RANDOMLY.. Now, I just have to leave each of them a comment and tell them. Is that weird? Oh well, I'm not shy.

Reflections

You know it's been a hectic day thus far, when I've nuked my coffee not once but twice already. Whew! Can't a girl ever just come in to work, have some coffee and blog a bit? Guess not. But, I'm updating anyway. I feel like I've had a very thoughtful morning and now that I'm smack dab in front of the keyboard, I'm drawing a blank. Imagine that; ME at a loss for words! Well, on a more serious note, yesterday was the one year anniversary of my Dad's heart attack. (only to be proceeded by several other health conditions).
Looking back on that dreadful day, I remember getting the call at work and sort of just breaking down, only after trying so hard to walk into my manager's office and tell him I was leaving. I was the first of my siblings to know, which meant I had to the bearer of bad news. So I called my younger sister at work, my older sister at work, and hightailed it out of work and to my brother's school where he was in class taking one of his mid-terms. I can remember waiting in the guidance office for what seemed like forever for him to finish his exam..his guidance counselor said he could go get him sooner than later but that this exam was a large portion of his final grade(s) so I sat and waited patiently. Finally, once getting word from the teacher, the guidance counselor went to get my brother out of class. My brother was walking down the hall towards me and I was trying so hard to stay strong and keep my composure.. it seemed like such a long hall way all of a sudden, like it would never get to the point where he reached me. It was so hard at that moment - I've always been the strong one and I wasn't going to break now either. Once my brother got into the office, I could feel my lips starting to tremble as I told him as calmly and solemnly as I could, why I was there.

Dad had a heart attack at work but he's ok. We're going to the hospital.

He said he knew something was terribly wrong right away. He could see the expression on my face and the makeup smudged all over my puffy eyes. We got into the car and headed to the hospital.. I just remember doing my damnedest to remain cool, calm & collected so not to upset my brother who was already clearly shaken. He's very close to my dad.. he idolized my dad. (*that seems to have all changed a bit- *Later post) I just kept telling him that Dad was fine, he had gotten medical attention early on and that he'd be ok when we got there. Once at the hospital we met up with my step mom and younger sister T who was already there, having worked just around the corner at a neighboring hospital.She had really taken this hard already. Besides a couple of other unfortunate events, I never wanted to get to her so fast as I did right then. She had called me a few times while I was en route telling me that she felt so alone and really wanted me to get there. My brother and I got there just before my dad went in for surgery..my older sister G had also arrived at this point.. we waited in the family waiting area with all of the other families. Talk about anxiety. So many other people were there waiting for "word" on how their loved ones fared in surgery. It brought back memories of when my brother was in the hospital (Pediatric ICU) and we were all in the waiting area there. I always remember this one man coming into the area where we and other families were sitting and he asked us to all take part in a prayer that he then recited. I was met with such a feeling of comfort right then and there. We all bowed our heads and he went on with the prayer. It was as if for that brief moment, it didn't matter what any of our backgrounds were, religous, ethnic or otherwise. We were all there for the same reason. And we all really needed that. I wish I had stood and thanked that kind, mysterious man for his thoughtfulness but I didn't. I still think about him though. So back to my Dad.... Every time that door swung open and a doctor walked out, you could see how anxious we all would get. Is he coming over to us?? Why does he have that look on his face?? Is he Dad's doctor?? I watched people ask the receptionist, a million times, if they missed the call or if the doctor had come in when they were out for a break. If a doctor came out and went up to a family, I'd watch their facial expressions. Thankfully, I mostly saw sighs of relief. I remember holding my pocket prayer book in my hand and praying for what seemed like hours. I prayed to every saint I could, asked for forgiveness and promised to do my part from there on out. Not necessarily in exchange for my dad's health, because God doesn't really "bargain" with you. I guess in a sense He does but you know what I mean. In a weird way, with my family all there I felt a sense of togetherness yey I also felt a strange sense of being disconnected too. It was like my brother's accident all over again. (later post) When we were able to go in and see my dad, I of course had to be funny. I don't deal with this kind of thing too well so I always try to deal with it in a different way. After all, it's said that everyone deals with grief etc.. in their own way. Humor and lightheartedness is just my way of dealing with it. Finally, I went in to see my dad and it was so friggin' hard to hold back and not throw myself into his arms like the 5 year old who once stood at the back door waiting for him to come home from work. I wanted to tell him that I'd change my ways and not skip out at family gatherings when everyone was kissing and hugging him goodbye.. I wanted to tell him that I was sorry I didn't say I love you, more often, or EVER. I wanted to tell him that I learned a lot about not always having that second chance. But I didn't. Nope, I handled it differently and I immediately thanked him for getting me out of work. We laughed and that broke the monotony a bit but there was still such a look of uncertainty in every one's eyes, as you can well imagine. Fast forward 4 days later to January 28th my dad ,ironically, came home..ON HIS BIRTHDAY. We knew, (not to the extent that it is now) that it was going to be a long road to recovery for my dad. This was the one time in a long time that I felt so sure that my family was going to repair our severed ties and recreate relationships gone awry.. but much to my dismay, it wasn't the case at all. In retrospect, I think this was the time that my family seemed to completely fall apart at the seams. How on earth could that happen? Well it did, it has and I can't fix it.. no matter how hard I try. All I can do is pray. Pray that the 'injury' to 'certain' relationships are repaired and that those who seem to have "left" will come back... while there's still time and we're in the present. Not when something bad happens & guilt gets the best of him/her.In the next weeks/months that followed, my Dad was diagnosed with COPD, PVD and Lupus. Not so great, but he's managing I suppose. He's on long term disability now, out of work ( I suppose retirement?) He is still in a lot of pain ( althought he'll never admit it) and it's hard for him to stand long or get around for extended periods of time. But for the most part, I think that he's content. He's finding happiness these days in his new found love of Wal-Mart & Rachel Ray. January 28th is his birthday - we'll be celebrating Dad and thanking God for getting all of us through a rough year. For some of us, it has been an eye opener and we try like hell to not take things and people for granted. We're seizing life by the horns, trying to savor each moment with loved ones. There are always lessons to be learned and sometimes God uses whatever resources he has to teach us those lessons. The lessons I learned are that life in fact is unpredictable and we never know when we'll be thrown a curveball... (or in my case, a screwball).. I've learned that the power of forgiveness is in all of us and it is so instrumental in my life. In everyone's life, actually. I've learned that while some things are better left unsaid, most are not. ANDsome of these things I learned in strange order but just as well. Yes, 2008 was quite a side show but I feel like I've grown so much as a person and have gained strength I didn't know I had. I feel as blessed today as I did before the hellish year we had. I know that those plights were all just part of life's journey.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."
Proverbs 3:5-6

I think I may have shorted out my keyboard

I fully anticipated that this video was going to be emotional... but didn't quite plan on having to (yet again) scurry to the ladies room to compose myself. My faith in God has grown so much stronger because of The Lawrenson Family. I absolutely believe that this is a story of MIRACLES.

On my 'books to read' list

Pieces of me (not for the faint of heart)

It's a little known fact (for most of you at least) but I must tell you .. I'm quite a horror movie buff. Yes, it's true. I love to be scared out of my pants. When it comes to movies - I enjoy a good ol' chick flick as much as the next gal, but my favorite genre is definitely Horror. I love drama & love stories almost equally as much but not quite. In addition to the umpteen other horror movies I've got under my belt, I have seen all but the last Saw movie, all of Texas Chainsaws, all but one of the Friday the 13th movies, The Strangers, The Ring, Shutter.... and my favorite movie of all time is Halloween. (all except Season of the Witch, which had nothing to do with Michael Myers actually.) And I even have a Michael Myers doll, a collector's VHS and I even have a Michael Myers scene-from-the-movie 'blood' globe (as opposed to a snow globe, because.. well, it doesn't have pretty snow-like stuff floating in it when you shake it.) Figure it out yet?
So at this point you're probably wondering why I'm posting this in January instead of October when it would be more in tune with the season. Fact is, I'm doing a Movie/Dinner night tomorrow night with my 'horror-movie-side-kick'. Yep, she's just as weird as me! heehee.. We're going to see My Bloody Valentine, which apparently is in 3-D! Wow - can't wait for that. I'd be willing to bet that most people would be surprised with this little bit of Dawnology. Hey, I'm not saying that when I leave the theatre, I'm not driving down the road looking in my rearview mirror, checking out the backseat, making sure my doors are locked, etc etc..
So, dare I update with a movie review...?? Maybe you'll wanna see it too?? = )

Had to go 'warm' on the layout...

It's too darn cold out right now!! And it was just making me shiver, looking at my blog background, with all the snow etc.. Can we not just skip over this cold weather & impending snow and go right to spring. Oh how I love spring.. and miss it so. To think that I was wearing sandals all last night!
That brings me to my next topic.... Girls Night Out. Oh, it was very eventful.. as always. In a good way though. We had a lot of fun and of course, took plenty of incriminating
pictures. Going to bed at 5 and getting up around 9 a.m. just doesn't work for this old lady anymore. I think my days of all-nighters are behind me. Could it be??! All in all, it really was a great time and so great to get out and have good old fashioned, harmless fun with "just the girls". There's always lots of laughs. We started out at The Pub as planned, had some grub there.. which was mediocre, even for bar food. The waitress was really not with it. We're still talking about that. Whew! She was quite the space cadet. Lately, my pet peeve is bad service in a restaurant. And I'm pretty sure that The Irish Pub doesn't have heat. It was SOOOO cold in this place, it was ridiculous. Sheesh, sounds like I'm complaining an awful lot.. Well, after we got back to the hotel where we would eventually go dancing at The Pool, we were fine. We had some in room drinks... to celebrate before we headed out. I honestly have no idea what we were drinking but it was said that I made the best "concoction". Actually, it was a real drink, Jenny brought the recipe with her. And Em brought THE biggest bottle of champagne I'd ever seen. At one point, the girls just wanted some old fashioned brewskis, so we looked at the room serive menu and wow, domestic beers were $6 per bottle.. Not bad right?? Not at all. So 10 mins later, 6 beers are ordered and here comes the nice little room service lady (is there a proper name for her, like concierge or is that a door person?) Anyhoo, the woman knocks on the door and says "Hello, $51.20, please"... WHAT!!!!!????? Are you serious...?? Oh yes, she was serious. I don't remember off the top of my head how they broke it down, but it was something along the lines of gratuity, service charge, ...something, something, ... I don't know really..but holy moly, it was $50 for 6 beers. I could have bought 2 cases for that, or even a keg! I personally would have told the lady we changed our minds. The bottles weren't opened or anything, so I'm sure it was an option. Aside from that, The Pool was pretty neat. There were 2 big pools in there with jacuzzis throughout, and the music was awesome too. We danced so much, my poor feet were aching like you wouldn't believe so I eventually took my shoes off, which normally I wouldn't do, but there was tons of chlorine on the floor that I ended up soaking my pant legs in several times. Yes, we had a grand old time in A.C. .. as always. We must do it again soon.

Oh and before I forget, yes, they did chicken out and DID NOT go in the ocean. Thank goodness for that... I already told them ahead of time that I would not sit in the ER with them while they waited to have their hypothermia assessed.

How do you spell relief....

G-I-R-L-S N-I-G-H-T O-U-T! Woot, can't wait. It's almost here. We're leaving Friday afternoon for our girls night in Atlantic City to celebrate my sister's birthday. We (my sister & I) usually have one of these fun outings every few months so we don't really need an occassion to have one, but it just so happens that it's my sister's bday so what better way to spend it than with a handful of girlfriends, just kicking back and having some fun! We're kicking it off at The Irish Pub,of course, where we'll have a light dinner. (also known as cheap beer & grub).. then we're going to check in at Harrah's .... where we'll ultimately end up at The Pool. I've heard rave reviews about this place, so I hope it's all it's cracked up to be. I think we're all going to have a kick-ass time. Details will follow,of course!

And let me not forget: Apparently, a few of the ladies are all set to do a polar bear plunge??! I'm taking pictures of that one! I'm not putting my money on it, because.. Friday is going to be colder than cold. I fully expect them to chicken out, but we'll see.

Web Definition of polar bear plunge: A polar bear plunge is an event held during the winter where participants enter a body of water despite the low temperature.

I'll post the Definition of hypothermia in a later post.

To all of my cheapskate friends

Hey, we need to stick together...

This could possibly be my "blog o' the month" I just got my FREE NatureMade Vitamins in the mail a few days ago. (They actually came faster than anticipated).. So, do check out this awesome blog.
Lots of moolah to be saved.. and that is NEVER a bad thing. Lots of freebies too!
Heck, I've requested samples and such that I'll probably never even look at.. but I can't help myself.

Today's Assignment.....

Because I'm working and because I just happened upon a neat blog, I'm posting this ... just for the time being and will update with a better post later on. For now, check out this post... I thought it would be cool to do this with fellow bloggers. So get your thinkin' caps on and start askin' questions. Happy Sunday!

Fare thee well 2008

What a year it was. I pray that 2009 is a glorious year full of many happy memories, lots of good times with friends and family alike and just happiness all around. Last year (2008) was one of many challenges/tribulations. Although there were several happy(?) memories in there as well.
Let's recap, shall we?
º After an awesome personal Faith journey, I made my confirmation.
º Dad had a heart attack.
º Sister #1 finalized her divorce.
º Jeff and I celebrated our 8th year.
º My brother graduated high school.
º My brother was "kicked out" of my dad/stepmom's home.
º Sister #2 finalized her divorce.
º Dad is diagnosed with COPD, PVD, Lupus....
º My niece (all year long) continued to be a source of joy for all of us.
º I dealt with a private personal struggle with someone I love.
º Made lots of new memories with my friends ... (crazy memories with my sister!)

Yes, I know.... boo-hoo. But hey, isn't this my blog? Ok, thought so.
Just kidding... (sorta).


Um, Well, that's just what I remember as of this very moment... I know there were other pros and cons in '08, but for now, that's what I can conjure up in this cloudy mind of mine. I know that the negative events in 2008 were just tests presented to us by God and I'm confident in saying that we perservered through them... with the motto that "if He brings you to it, He will bring you through it". I have every expectation that 2009 is going to be a great new year. Much of it will be at my own hand.. as I prepare to accomplish some long-attempted goals. I do sit back and reflect on life's blessings.. big & small. I have so much I want to do this year .. but I'm apprehensive about making a list of resolutions. They're made to be broken I think... I'd rather call it Life Goals or something more substantial so that I feel more inclined to see them through. Life goals, yeah.. that sounds really forceful. My next post will be my "list".. so stay tuned. Happy New Year to all my friends & family. I hope that this year is one of many happy days. I pray that God continues to keep us all close or if we've strayed I hope that He can help us to come together again. Life is short and so very unpredictable... so let's live it as such.

A Confession.....

I have this habit of not saving Christmas cards... (I'm sorry if you sent me one and you're reading this).. Ok, I save some but mostly I don't save them at all. If it's a picture card, I do keep them so don't fret that you've wasted time & energy, not to mention money, on sending me one of those.
So .. what was I saying? Oh, yes... I did however save this card because I really liked the verse inside... and I wanted to blog it at a later date. Ta-da! Later date has arrived:

This Christmas, as you consider all the awesome things that have come to you through Jesus, God's perfect gift, remember that it is but a taste of all the good things that are yet to come.

There ya have it... God Bless & Good Night.

Christmas

It came & it went. The End.

Just kidding. Christmas was awesome... gifts galore & lots of family 'together time'. I wish every day were like Christmas.. with the family all together, spending time and enjoying each others' company... Not to mention eating like we'd never eaten and not feeling guilty because "it's the holidays". I also wish every day were like Christmas in that all of the "once a year" church goers would actually go to church regularly and not just show up on Christmas Eve/Christmas. That really irritates me and I'm not quite sure why... I guess for obvious reasons.
Anyhoo - Maya made out like a bandit with all of her goodies .. and I didn't do too bad either. People really like me! Again; just kidding. The only negative thing about Christmas this year?? I was (and still am a bit) miserably sick. In bed early on Christmas night and spent the better half of Friday in bed as well. I didn't roll out of bed til after 3 p.m. I wasn't sleeping all that time either, but my body just wouldn't allow me to get up and around. Saturday was much the same although I felt significantly better by this time. I'm still sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head... (wait, am I quoting the Nyquil commercial). Of course I am. But that's how I've felt. The sneezing is way out of control! Jeff and I were in the mall last night (how crazy are we??) and I had such a sneezing spell, he was really taken aback. I used to worry about all of those consecutive sneezes - don't they say that each time you sneeze, your heart stops or skips a beat or something to that tune? I'll have to check that out - AGAIN. So I'm back to work after a nice(?) 3 days off and then I work Sun, Mon, Tues, Wed, and then I'm off for another 3, during which I hope to be over this torturous winter cold. No plans or New Year's Eve .. probably just the usual of meatballs in the crockpot and other light fare (I like that word when referring to food!)... in the hopes that some friends/family might stop by. Could it be the end of another year already??
Dare I even mention New Year's resolutions? Nah, not in this post. Maybe next.
Oh and lest I forget!! I made the Funfetti cake & it was a hit!
Pictures to follow...

America runs on Dunkin'

I promise I will blog later... I just ran into this and it had a nifty little tag to post on a blog so I did... Free Samples are good.

Happy Birthday My Lil' Thing!

That doesn't sound so affectionate but it is.. and it's the way that I say it that makes it even cuter.

Today is my beautiful niece's 3rd birthday! Happy Birthday Maya! Hard to believe that she has already reached her 3rd year. You know the old saying that time flies... and I think it stands true moreso when it comes to children. They grow so quickly, both physically & intellectually, etc. These past 3 years of being an aunt to such a precious child have been the most rewarding 3 years for me!
We've really been blessed by God. I love this little girl more than you know!!


Here are the 3 years!

I don't like snow....

Nope.. I really don't. My apologies; all you snow-loving-snowman-building-angel-making bloggers. I really hope that we don't get it this year ..or at least that we don't get that much. I do love the way that it sets and how it lights up the room through the blinds in the morning but for the most part, me no likey.
I guess I would rather have snow than ice if I had to choose though.
Okey. 'Nuff about snow.
Work is so stinkin' boring today. I seriously think I may have run out of websites to peruse. Remember that commercial where the guy/girl surfs the entire internet or says that she/he reached the end of it? Or something? That's what keeps coming to mind and it makes me laugh. Five o'clock is just not going to get here fast enough today is it? We've got to put the finishing touches on the tree tonight and get the nativity set up. I did a lot of hanging, stapling last night and I think it's starting to come together. We have to have it all done this evening because tomorrow is my precious niece's birthday and the family is coming over for cake. Yes, the staple gun is my new best friend. I was a stapling fiend last night! It really is the answer to securing those pesky Christmas tree lights all over the house - ie; in doorways, etc. Scotch tape just does not cut it and any other kind of tape (duct, electrical, masking..) is just plain tacky.
Well in other news: I'm off to find some info on why our washer is pouring out water when we run it. Oh, Lord!
Have a Happy Sunday ~

Super Saturday

Did you even know there was such a day? I sure didn't... but I hear that it's today.. and that it's the busiest shopping day of all year. Really? Even up against Black Friday? Wow.
Well, my mom and I did our annual Christmas shopping outing yesterday and it was a great day. No major problems... no minor ones either; come to think of it. I think I got everything I needed. I have one gift card to buy and then just have to grab some cash for my brother's card and that's it. Now I can sit down and decide what the heck I'm taking to the in-laws' house. I was thinking of getting one of those funfetti cake mixes and making that, since I'm in charge of one dessert and one appetizer.


I think that'll do the trick and it's so easy so I shouldn't be able to screw it up!
Otherwise, I'm making a yummy dip that I stole from someone else who stole it from....well, you know how it goes. It's so yummy.. I'll share it with you.

What you'll need:

- 1 jar salsa
- 1 package cream cheese (use any variety you like; fat free, neufchatel, etc..)
- 1 bag shredded cheddar cheese

1.) Soften the cream cheese in the microwave, not so much to a liquid consistency, but so that it's pretty good and soft.

2.) Mix in a half jar of salsa ... (more if you like it)

3.) Mix in the shredded cheese.

4.) Mix well, until all blended. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight .. and serve with tortilla chips.

I'm telling you, I have never served this and NOT ran out of it. It's that good!

Sorry, I didn't do the pics and everything.. But I'm no Pioneer Woman by any stretch of the imagination. She's my idol. = )

Ok, back to cleaning the homestead... TTFN

Twas the week before Christmas.....

And I hadn't started shopping yet! What a proscratinator I am.
Each year my mom and I go out and do our long day of shopping til we drop. I bought one gift so far. Not bad. I don't know why I'm so behind this year, it seems I've just been so busy with this, that & the other thing. So, Friday morning I'll pick up my mom nice and early and head out for a long day of shopping. For the most part, I know what I need for whom, so it's just a matter of deciding where we're going. I'm not a big fan of going to a million different stores so if I can get it all done in one stop, that would be ideal. I've thought about maybe going over to Franklin Mills Mall .. I know that's pretty brave but that's really my only idea so far. I used to like going to Vineland (Cumberland County Mall) because they had a Value City there but then Value City closed up so that's out of the option pot. I'm sure I'll have decided before we venture out Friday morning.
I don't expect to be back home before midnight. Truly.

Knock, Knock... Who's there?

Old man winter! Yikes, is it cold out or what? It's that kind of cold where it hits you right in the face and almost takes your breath away. Actually it literally did last night... My sister went to say something when she stepped outside and sucked up a gust of wind.. and well, it took her breath away. Funny how that works.
I'm trying to catch up.. it's been a while, naturally. What a busy weekend. Friday night I watched my precious niece - Jeff and I took her to the Christmas bazaar at our church and then we picked up our Christmas cards. Which by the way turned out really well. Then Saturday, my sister and I made the annual trek over to G-Boys in Marlton for our picture with Santa. It's so sweet to see the pictures of Maya through the years. I say that like she's graduating high school when in reality she's only turning 3 .. but you know what I mean. Monday is the last day of school for me... it's not really a day of school, because we're really just "showing up" to get our certificates and then we're heading over to have a mini get together, to wrap things up, at Charlie Brown's. I picked that place because it's close by. Everyone in the class has been really nice and I'd like to keep in touch with them actually, so hopefully we all make the effort to do so. I've already started sending in my résumé to various places (shhhh!!).. so hopefully something comes through for me. I'm going where the money is... & the benefits. (At least that's my goal). Hard to believe that 2008 is almost over already! Sheesh!
What is everyone doing for New Year's Eve? Or is it too early for that yet?
I saw that Penn's Landing has a nice event going on for NY Eve... that I'm actually considering. I've done all of the crazy, loud, drunken New Year's Eve parties, (either hosting or attending).. and now I'm at an age where I want something a little more low key. I'll save those other crazy, loud, drunken nights for another time. =)
My niece's birthday party at Bounce U is this weekend and I think it's sure to be a good time. Of course this is the party that is mostly for the kids... we'll do the 'ol adults -kids - mostly family- birthday cake-on-her-real-birthday-celebration on the 22nd. Did I just confuse you? Sorry.
After this post, I'm off to bed -- I'm really exhausted after a long day at work and a grocery shopping trip to Wegman's... {I love Wegman's by the way}... I used to think they were a big showy, high end grocery store but now I know otherwise! We were so hungry when we got there which is always a bad thing... but we ended up stopping mid-shop, and got a slice of pizza.... which was really yummy until I looked down and positioned perfectly in my cheese was a cute little.......... gnat. I didn't say anything at first, I just put my hand out to my sister and said "Do you want that, or can I eat it?"... she looked, gasped, decided she hated her slice of pizza .. while all I could do was laugh... because it never fails. If someone is going to end up with a foreign object in their food...it's always me.
So, there ya have it... My weekend in a gnat-shell. I mean, nut shell.

Good Gnat, sleep tight.

Wordless Wednesday (even though I posted already)

Just something to hold you over...

Happy Humpday, (to everyone who is a nine to fiver)... If you're a SAHM like some of my friends, then that may not apply to you, as your job never really gets a weekend. I'm just posting a little something right now and will follow up later with a much better, longer post. You've probably seen this link before.. but if you haven't, it's kinda neat. I got this in an email the other day from my friend Shannon. (who I *heart* dearly)... and the idea was to go to the website, input your birthdate (including the year), and then forward the email on with your added info. So it would like something like this..

Rose: "Silly Love Songs" by Paul McCartney & Wings
Mizuho - "Stuck on You" by Elvis Presley Marisa- Creep-TLC
Danica - "This is How We Do It" by Montell Jordan
Mary - "In the Mood" by Glenn Miller
Patty K-"Cocktails for Two" by Duke Ellington
Dolores - Happ y Days are Here Again
D ennis S W - "Why Don't You Believe Me" by Joni James
Nancy C: "Little Things Mean a Lot" Kitty Kallen
Megan: "When I Need You" by Leo Slayer
Scott: "Without You" by Nilsson
Bryce: "...Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears
Brinton: "Foolish" by Ashanti
Bobbie: "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Diana Ross
Nicholas: "Kiss Kiss" by Chris Brown
Lonnie: "To Much Heaven" by The Bee Gees
Liz : "Shakedown" by Bob Seger
Peg: "Singing the Blues" Guy Mitchel

Well, 'Nicholas' must have been confused or he's simply a child prodigy who not only can use a computer, but who also has email... because I'm pretty sure that song by Chris Brown came out in '07... or something. Ciao for now.