Total Concentration....

Grandma had her camera and Anna was the perfect subject - except for the fact that Anna could care less that Grandma had her camera.

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Trying to get the attention of an 8-month old when they are deep in concentration is impossible.

I mean - come on! How am I supposed to compete with this colorful, musical treat sitting in front of her? All the tongue clicking and lip kissing and name calling and whistling - it's like the child is totally oblivious to anything but what's right in front of her.

OK - fine. If I can't get the attention of your beautiful face, I'll concentrate on your cute little baby shoes.

Lighthouses.....

I've always had this "thing" for lighthouses. Living near Lake Michigan, it's easy to find one. I have a lighthouse bathroom in my house. Just something calming about a lighthouse. When I was a little girl, I LOVED the movie Captain January with Shirley Temple. (My mom hooked me on those movies). Anyway - she lived in a lighthouse with Captain January and they'd dance and sing their way up and down those steps. ok - ok ok - I'm rambling.

So, on our recent cruise, one of the most photographed lighthouses has to be the one as you enter (and exit) the harbor in Nassau. This photo was taken as we were leaving. Of course at the top left you can't miss the unmistakable outline of the Atlantis Resort and to the right - the bridge leading out to Paradise Island. If you could see to the extreme right - you'd see the quiet harbor area, the cruise ship docks and the shopping district of Nassau - the Straw Market and more than just a few bars and restaurants. And to the extreme left would be the open expanse of the blue waters of the Caribbean.

A little different view than what we see on Lake Michigan.

Summer Hours and the Weekend....

It's time for the summer hours begin. From Memorial Day until Labor Day, our company works from 7 until 5 - Monday through Thursday and from 8 until noon on Fridays - giving us a little added weekend time. We started this week, so in just a few short hours my weekend will begin! I love my Friday afternoons. Gives me a chance to catch up on a lot of things I just can't quite squeeze into those lunch hours during the week.

As for today, I'll be hitting Walmart for a few more outdoor plants and then it's off to Pages in Time to drop off my Design Team layout and then shop with my Mother's Day gift card from my kids. After spending the last six months on a paid project, I am finally free and clear to resume my own scrapbooks. First on my agenda - a small album from last summer's Key West trip. I have to do that before I even think about starting on my cruise photos.

Tomorrow, we have a college graduation party to attend in Michigan. I make that sound so far away - IN MICHIGAN - when actually, it's only about 15 minutes from home. That's what happens when your house sits a half mile from the state line. And then tomorrow night, Rock Star has a gig - also in Michigan - also 15 minutes from home.

As for the rest of my holiday weekend - looking forward to catching up on my laundry (well, not really looking forward to it) and enjoying the beautiful weather (forecast says upper 70's and lots of sun).

Wherever you are and whatever you do - enjoy your weekend and be SAFE!!!

I Finally Picked a Winner.....

It only took me seven seasons of American Idol to pick a winner - and I did it!!! Most years, I'd pick a "favorite" and they'd lose out early on. Three years ago, the "rockers" started to enter the picture with Bo Bice. I was on his bandwagon until the final and he finished second behind a very deserving Carrie Underwood. The next year, it was Chris Daughtry. I just knew I'd finally found "the one" and was more than just a little SHOCKED when he finished 4th. At that point, I swore off American Idol. I mean COME ON - where the HECK is Taylor Hicks today?????? Anyway - Daughtry is laughing all the way to the bank on THAT ONE America!

Last year there were no rockers, so I threw my support to an extremely talented Melinda Doolittle and she finished 3rd. Would I NEVER pick a winner???

Season 7 came out with the rocker boys in force!!! A young bartender from Kansas City, Missouri caught my ear early on (when he sang his rendition of Billie Jean) and I'm proud to say that the rest of America must have been thinking the same thing. Congratulations to David Cook on winning Season 7 of American Idol and congratulations to ME for finally picking a WINNER.

One of the highlights from last night's star-studded season finale (for me) was seeing David rock the house with ZZ Top.

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...and then that MOMENT when the winner was announced.

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Knocked For a Loop.....

It's been a few years since I had a good case of the stomach flu. In fact, I can't remember the last time I was as sick as I've been in the past 48 hours. Today, I'm at least functioning at 80% - which basically means I can sit up longer than 5 minutes. From noon on Monday until Tuesday evening, my existence consisted of my bed, the toilet and the family room couch. I was better yesterday - at least enough so to move to the couch and I managed to get caught up on a week's worth of DAYS OF OUR LIVES and several LIFETIME MOVIES I had stored on my DVR. I really had the dog confused. He laid by me continuously - knowing that "mom" isn't usually at home during the day and she NEVER lays in bed all day.

For those of you who know me well, I was so sick that I had to miss Kelli's Sectional game against Mishawaka on Monday evening - a game we lost in the bottom of the 7th - 1 - 0.

So now I'm trying to determine where this "bug" came from. No one in my house has been sick. No one at the office. The only direction I can point is at one of my dear grandchildren - four of whom I saw over the weekend and all of whom shared kisses with grandma. Thanks guys!!!

In Style......

This is what happens when your mom takes you to the mall and your aunt works for COACH. It's an immediate photo op.

Vacation Feet

This is my June assignment for the Design Team - Vacations. I had this idea and decided to go with something a little different from the typical palm trees and ocean vista.

Make sure to read the journaling - it's written as if the feet are telling the story.

Embellishments are by Cloud 9.

A Few Hundred Hearts.....

At Saturday evening's wedding reception, I heard a young man tell Bobby (after meeting Anna for the first time), "Well, she's only going to break a few hundred hearts". Bobby just smiled and shook his head.

Nothing to worry about now honey - just wait until she's 16. That's when the sleepless nights will begin.

Photo Editing

I don't have fancy photo editing software. I've bought some in the past and I'm usually too ignorant to figure out all the bells and whistles - so I just resort to the simple and FREE editing I can achieve through Picasa. Had a little fun this morning, and thought these turned out kind of special. Maybe someday I'll take a class and learn some of the more intricate things I can do. Until then....

A Litte Too Close.....

My Florida family has spent the past three days worrying about wildfires. Arlette told me this morning that they are safe, but her best friend Jean spent most of Monday battling flames near her townhome in Palm Bay - just 15 minutes from Frank and Arlette's home. I pulled up this photo from Florida Today newspaper. The scarey thing is that I KNOW this area - I've traveled it frequently. This photo below is taken just west of Cocoa Beach - Interstate 95 and Highway 524. We traveled it just a month ago to get to the cruise ship terminal at Port Canaveral.

My Shy and Receding Middle Child...

I guess every family has one. You know, the one that always make you laugh. That would be our Chrissie. Not a shy bone in the body of this child. But she's also the biggest "softie" around. She was in rare form on Saturday - posing for tons of silly pictures and yet wiping away the tears as she gave her Maid of Honor speech.

Pretty Typical....

I look at these faces and think of three little girls running around the neighborhood. Now they are three beautiful women sharing in the perfect day.

Just look at those smiles!!!




And then, like I said - pretty typical....

Happy Mother's Day....

I gave birth to these seven punks - now I'm sitting back and reaping the benefits.

From left to right: Bobby (2), Carrie (1), Kelli (7), ME, Colleen (4), Chrissie (5), Katie (3) and Kevin (6).

Ain't Love Grand?

Chrissie and Brock's friends Steve and Brianne were married on Saturday. It was a beautiful day - lots of warm temps and bright sunshine. I look at these two and wonder.....will they be next??

The Week in Review.....

Aside from working 40+ hours - what else did I accomplish in the past seven days?

1. A bachelorette party for Chrissie's best friend Brianne. (I may be a grandmother, but I'm not DEAD!) Where the HECK did my daughter come up with some of those games??!!!
2. A Scentsy Party at Colleen's house - http://www.scentsy.com/ - if you haven't been to one of these, you're missing out!!!!!
3. Two high school softball games - with unfavorable outcomes - but then, what else is new?
4. Dinner at Hacienda with family to celebrate Grace's 4th birthday.
5. Booked our cabin for our November 2009 cruise.
6. The dog to the vet this morning for shots and a grooming.

Tomorrow, we're looking at a Softball Invitational with a potluck between games and somehow squeeze in a wedding at noon, cocktails at 4:00 and dinner at 5:00.

My wish for Mother's Day - absolutely NOTHING!!!! Just let me relax!

4 Years Old....

Our Gracie turns 4 today! Wow - how fast have those four years flown by??!!

She loves pretty dresses and Polly Pockets and Disney Princesses and grandma's dog.

We love you baby! Come to grandma's house - I've got plenty of juice and cookies - your favorites!

Indiana Jones.....

OK - so not really Indiana Jones, but I couldn't help but feel a little bit like we were on a movie set as we traversed the caves of the Sibun River in Belize. Unfortunately we had to leave our good camera on board the bus and use the disposable water cameras - and these just NEVER produce a very good image. Still, I think you can get an idea of what what our day consisted of.

After driving about an hour from the coast to the interior of Belize, we arrived at the Caves Branch Archaeological Reserve - where our adventure began.

We picked up our headlamps and tubes and walked about 5 minutes before we came to the river. This was our introduction to the fresh, mountain water we'd be tubing in - and it was COLD! Our guides encouraged us to get in the water and get wet before we started our walk through the rainforest. This would help us to stay cool with the hot temperatures. Us girls waded in gingerly, but most of the guys decided to follow our guides and take the plunge.

We started our trek through the rainforest as our guides pointed out poisonous trees and plants, medicinal plants and even edible bugs. After a half hour hike, we arrived at the start of our tubing excursion and the entrance to our first cave.

It was very dark inside the caves and our headlamps came in handy. Our guides pointed out formations that had been used in religious ceremonies by the Mayan Indians. Bats flew along the ceilings of the caves. Like I said - it was like something out of a movie script. Before long, we were exiting out of the caves into the bright sunlight.

This was one of our favorite days - something we'll probably never experience again. I think something like this is so memorable because it's nothing we can experience in our own country. Our guides were exceptional - taking pride in their country and its natural beauty.