Styx Junkie.....

That would be me - a genuine STYX junkie.

They're coming to South Bend and the Morris Performing Arts Center in May and I'll be there again - seeing them for the 8th time. (Wonder how long it will take for the Morris Center's website to correct the date to Saturday, May 19th?)

I've even converted my children to STYXism. Chrissie and Brock will be joining us for this concert - which I think is Chrissie's 2nd time. Bobby's seen them twice (which included a backstage pass), Katie - once, Kevin - once and Kelli - once.

Come Saturday morning, I'll be on the computer (hitting the refresh button) and on the phone (hitting redial) beginning at 9:58 a.m. Gottat get those GOOD seats!!!

One Last Weekend....

I had one last weekend of relaxation and it was NICE!!! A little shopping with Carrie, some scrapbooking done and I actually COOKED!

And now, March begins. We have a commitment every weekend in March. We're going to BLINK and Easter will be here!!

• Bob's company dinner.
• Bob and I hosting his baseball team dinner - 20+ Cardinals in my house!!
• A wedding in Chicago on St. Patrick's Day - our Bobby, the Best Man.
• Athletic Vegas Night for Clay High School.
• Scrapbook Retreat for ME!!!!
• ....and two ONION gigs worked in there somewhere.

WHEW !! Wears me out to just think about it!

At least by the time this is all over, the snow and ice SHOULD be gone and we should be seeing the first signs of SPRING!!!

Entree Vous

So, I'm in my car at lunch - heading for Kohl's. Didn't really need anything in particular, but the sun is shining and I needed OUT of the office for an hour. Just as I'm turning into Erskine Plaza, I hear the DJ on Sunny 101.5 talking about his live broadcast at Entree Vous. So, I decided to skip Kohl's and check this place out.

https://www.entreevous.com/public/menus/

Basically, this is a place to purchase meals that serve 4-6 people. Each month they carry a variety of 14 meals. You can wait while they prepare them for you or you can prepare them yourself. Everything is laid out for you - directions, spices, bread crumbs, etc. You package it, snap on the lid, peel off the cooking instructions and stick it on the lid. It's fool proof!! I was there a grand total of 15 minutes and walked out with tonight's Herb Crusted Tilapia with Rice Pilaf and another meal for the freezer - Lime in the Coconut Chicken Breasts. The best part was that Sunny 101.5 had a promo going - so if I bought two meals, I get two free!!! She marked my freebies on her business card and next week, I'm going back to package up my two free entrees. (Actually, I'm waiting until March 1st because a whole new menu starts then). It will sure be nice to have several meals in the freezer - ready to go!

15 Years Ago Today....

15 years ago today, Kelli Theresa Knight made our family complete.

Happy Birthday honey - your family loves you!!!

Feeling Blessed Today....

I don't know why today in particular - but I'm feeling even more blessed than normal. I think that sometimes we just have to stop in the rapid pace of life, take a step back and look around. We all have our concerns within our families and the world around us - but today, I'm feeling blessed.

• I've been married for 34 years to someone who loves me and takes very good care of me.
• We've been blessed with good health and beautiful children.
• I have four healthy grandchildren and another on the way. Another baby to love.
• I have a warm home on these cold and miserable winter days.
• I have a job I like.
• I have good friends that I know I can turn to in times of need - and they'll be there to support me and pray for me.
• Spring is just around the corner.
• I have my own guardian angel in my dad - looking down on me and guiding me through my days.

Slow down, take a step back and enjoy your surroundings and your life.

You, too are blessed.

Weekend Accomplishments...

Here's just a small sampling of what I accomplished during our scrapbooking weekend. I completed 20 pages in four days - but the bad news is that I'm only on the 2nd day of the cruise. This album is going to be HUGE!!! It was such a fun weekend of scrapbooking! We were up early, with bagels and coffee in hand working on layouts. We stayed up late with wine in hand and worked on layouts. We had lots of laughs and even a few tears. It was a GREAT weekend!!

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

May 25th is the date - the release of the final movie in the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy.

One more chance to drool over Captain Jack Sparrow!!!

What a Weekend....

My brother and sister-in-law arrived late Thursday night and we hit the ground running EARLY on Friday morning!! Between the two of us, Arlette and I completed 49 scrapbook pages! Somewhere in there, we managed hi-lights and a haircut at Colleen's salon, a College Football Hall of Fame and Notre Dame visit for all the guys, several visits to Starbuck's, some drinks at the Clay Pub with Bob's baseball buddies, dinner on Saturday night with the same baseball buddies, rocking to Bob's band on Saturday night and a HUGE family dinner and birthday celebration for Kelli on Sunday night at Hacienda. I have NO idea how we completed 49 scrapbook pages!

Here's some pictures from our wonderful (but too short) weekend....

A Good Weekend to Stay PUT!!

Not the best of weekends - aside from subzero temperatures and wind chills. I lost one of the lens to my glasses - probably buried in a snow bank somewhere. Stopped by to see our favorite eye doctor (our son in law Jimmy's dad) and before I was done, I was fitted for a new pair of glasses - thanks to his family discount.

Bob's car is having transmission problems and is in the shop. He noticed something a week ago and stopped to have it looked at. They drove it, and gave it a clean bill. Not true as of Saturday morning. So, this morning - he's got my car and I hitched a ride to work with my son-in-law. We'll hopefully have his car back by the time our company arrives on Thursday.

Bobby came over on Saturday to help his dad to do some furniture swapping between rooms and when he got ready to leave, his truck was dead. He'd left his lights on for only a couple of hours - but with these temps, it doesn't take long to kill a battery.

So between glasses, transmission and a dead battery - Saturday was not a good day.

Sunday, I was up early and on my way to Mass and a quick stop at the store and then it was back to my warm house for the rest of the day - curled up under a blanket, with a pot of brocolli-cheese soup on the stove. We even passed up a chance to party with friends and watch the Super Bowl. Just couldn't get in the mood to warm up the car.

Chill Factor...

You think 'ole man winter knows that my Florida family arrives a week from today? Hopefully, they won't see this forecast and choose to stay right where they are!!!

They want to see snow. OK - well we can maintain snow with 31 degrees - we don't need wind chills of 30 below!!!