Stormy Weather

Last night we got hit with some MASSIVE thunder and lightning storms. Lets just say that the lightning was lighting up the skys for most of the night. Then add the unbelieveable humidity to the mix and it sure made for a very uncomfortable night that is for sure.

Well, yesterday afternoon my mom left to go back home. She said to me " I can't believe its time for me to go back" I was like "Mom, that's what happens when you only stay for 4 freakin' days". She thinks she is going to miss something at home. I could tell her she is missing nothing at all except about 110 weather. Of couse it probably felt about same here with all the humidity we've had the last 2 days. Oh well, she made it to her mid-point stop, Chicago Mid-way, and then they got the delays due to all the storms (the ones that hit us last night). Her plane finally got into Las Vegas about 7:30 pm and her and my dad sat waiting for the luggage with about 40 other people. Finally, they decided to check it out. And you guessed it, All 40 of them did not have luggage that followed them! My dad was pissed. Who knows where it is???? No one, but I'm upset with my mom, I told her not to put her medicine in the suitcase and that she needed to carry it with her (she does have a lot of med's), but she didn't want to. Now she doesn't have any of her medicine. I hope they find everyones luggage soon.

Other than that, nothing else is really going. We are suppose to get more storms this afternoon and boy this is killing me. I'm in sooooo much pain from all the humidity that its even hard to sit here today. So.. on that note, I'm going to get off here for now and go watch some Wimbeldon! Lets see who advances today. Any tennis buffs out there??? I really hope James Blake advances today.

Lets eat cake!

This past Saturday, my ds DJ graduated from High School. The day was perfect. We had decided a long time ago to give him a party, but we were going to have it on Sunday. Makes for an early night, so we thought, lol. Anyway, just like with my older two children I had a cake made up. It will ,usually, have a cute little saying on it. This year was no different! I thought long and hard on this one. My dd's cake was so easy to do. I put two photos on the cake, one was a baby picture and the other was a Sr. picture, they were side by side on the cake. They saying was... "You've Come A Long Way Baby!" The cake was awesome and no one wanted to cut it was so beautiful. My ds Jonathons cake was cute also. It had a picture of him on crutches ( he was always breaking some bone somewhere) and it said: "Try Not to Break the Other Leg! Good Luck"

Now it was time to think of something new for this one. It was a difficult challenge for me. Then all of a sudden I was looking through pictures of DJ and said this is it! I saw a photo of him doing a muscle pose (one of many) and decided this is it and the saying on the cake is going to be "So.... You Muscled Your Way Through, Congratulations DJ!" It was perfect.When he saw the cake, he couldn't wait to show it off to all his friends that were here. Then we started to cut the cake and he was so funny.. he wouldn't let anyone have a piece of the picture. His friends were like you are kidding? He said here you can have this little sliver from the one side. I was cracking up. He is so funny. We did eventually eat the entire cake. It was really terrific! So here you go a photo of a great cake.

It was also my ds Josephs Birthday on Sunday. I figured kill two birds with one party. So of course we had cake for him also. It is so difficult being 16! He did nothing but complain most of the day. He was very helpful getting everything set up and then he didn't even want any of his friends really. I was a little surprised. Oh well, maybe next year he will want it.

Who Graduated???

It would be ds DJ! I can't believe it. Boy does the time fly. It just seems like yesterday that I was dropping him off for his first day of Kindergarten.He had a big smirky smile on his face and he was waving good-bye as he walked into the Rall Elementary School all those years ago. It is funny, because as he was walking onto the field with the procession and he passed me, I got that same big smirky smile and a little (kind of a fake) wave. He looked so handsome out there with the rest of the 559 graduates. Thank goodness, it was a very nice, pleasant day out there. The weather was just perfect!

After the ceremony, all the graduates walk back over to the gym. The parents, family and friends usually get together and take some photos. Well.... lets just say that no one, and I really mean no one could find DJ. Not even his friends! They were all looking for him so they could take some photos with him. No one could find him. About 30 mins later he comes out of nowhere. I was like where the heck were you? He said I went right into the gym to get my diploma! By that time... all his friends were now on line in the gym getting there diplomas and well you guessed it. I got no photos of DJ with anyone except my mother and he had no cap or gown! Oh well.. I guess that is the way the cookie crumbles.

Danny and I decided to have a party for DJ on Sunday instead of Saturday since so many kids were having parties on Saturday I really wanted him to enjoy his day. He first went to his friend Steve Pappas' party and stayed for about 2-3 hours and then headed off to Nick Chionchio's at the China Buffet for a few hours. Then he came home threw on some shorts and headed over to his friend Justin Anderson's for the rest of the night. He had a great time. And I have to say that I am very proud of him. He did not drink any beers or liquor at the first 2 parties. The last one he did drink beers and was driven home by one of the other kids moms. I'm am so thankful that he is a very responsible kid. As parents, we know that the law says they are not allowed to drink at this tender age, but also as parents we know they are going to! You are a lucky parent if your child knows how to be responsible while they are doing this.

So now it is Sunday, our party day. I was cooking up a storm from Friday night until Sunday afternoon. Danny and I were on again, off again to the whole idea of allowing beer (beer only) at this party. Finally, about 1 hour before the guests were to arrive we decided to go for it. Of course we had rules! DJ's friends had to be dropped off by a parent, picked up by a parent and if they drove I was to get their keys the minute they walked in the yard and before they left they had to pass my drunk driving test. I'm so happy to say, that I'm please that so many parents decided to be hands on this weekend and they were dropping off and picking up. I had a total of 3 boys that drove here and I have to say that 1 of them only had 1 beer the whole time he was here and was completely sober when he left 3 hours later. One of the others left his car here and was picked up by a parent. and the other passed my tests with flying colors. I had kids here from 3pm-1am, they were soooo good and at 10:30pm I asked them to tone it down for the neighbors and they did. DJ was soooo happy that we gave him this party and I was happy to do it for him.

Ok.. I rambled enough for today.... I will try not to do that tomorrow.

What is it?

In answer to many of your questions yesterday about my photo for the challenge, this photo was taken in October 2005 and it is one of my favorite sunset photos. It was taken on Fire Island (Long Island) on Democrat Point. This is right at the ocean inlet for the Town of Babylon beaches and the furtherest point west you could possibly go on Fire Island. I love it there. It is very unfortunate though that they have just recently closed that area off due to beach erosion.

Ok... It is getting down to crunch time with ds DJ's graduation this Saturday! It is hard to believe that it is here already. We are having a party for him on Sunday and (again) it just happens to be ds Joseph's B' Day so I'm killing 2 birds with one stone as they say.

I still have tons to do. Right now I took a break from cleaning the bathroom. Still need to do the kitchen, livingroom, all the floors need to be done as we have had rain the last 2 days and clean all the patio furniture. Tomorrow will be dedicated to prep cooking. Plus, my dear mother is flying in tomorrow night.

2 peas challenge: Are you a spender or a saver? Blog about it. As of right now... I'm a real spender! I use to be a great saver. I don't know what happened to me in the last few years. Now I can't stop spending.

Well, I'm off to see if I can manage to get this all done today. Wish me luck! Something always sidetracks me along the way.

Its a Challenge!

The 2 peas challenge for today: Wordless post... make a wordless post. Just post a pic, and let the pic speak for itself.. this one should be fun!

Who turned 21 today???

It would be my dd Shannon! Yep, she turned 21 today. She was very excited. We ended up celebrating last night because her and her boyfriend were leaving last night for Atlantic City for a few days! She is so funny. She wanted to be sitting at a slot machine at 12:01 am this morning. That girl really makes me laugh. We had of course Chocolate Fudge cake (again)! and then some fireworks!

Here we have the wonderful Fudgy cake! Let me tell you,,,, this cake is to die for! If you love Fudge this is one. I wish I could say I made it, but I did not. I get our fudge cakes from the local grocerys bakery dept! They love me in there in June!

These are just a few photos from last night. We had a good time before she left for the 2 hr ride to Atlantic City.

Hope everyone has a great day!

This weekend

2 peas challenge for today: Fathers day is this weekend? What are your plans? Any? blog about it. We really don't have any plans for this weekend. We pretty much play it by ear. The kids are older and want to be with their friends. On Sunday, Fathers Day,we usually have a BBQ and cake, but that is really it.

I went to Target the other night and was surprised to find scrapbooking supplies in the $ spot! This never happens in my Target. So here are a few photos of what I got. Sorry about the glare from the lights and flash. Some cute papers and they are very colorful!

Heres some stickers and rub-ons.

And last we have some miscellaneous items: pens, diecuts, clue sticks, ink pad.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Finally able to get on here

Yes! it is another gloomy day here and it doesn't look like its getting any better in the next day! ugh This weather is very depressing to me. I keep trying to do things that will give me a little spark, but to tell you the truth, nothing seems to be working at all. Ohhhh well.. Life does go on.

Yesterday I was visiting Sabrina's Grazing in the meadow of creativity blog and stumbled upon this blog game SCATTERGORIES ! So here are the rules...use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the questions...they MUST be real places, names, things...NOTHING made up! If you can't think of anything, skip it. And one more rule...you CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.

*Famous Singer/Band...Linda Ronstadt/ Led Zepplin
*4 Letter Word...Love
*Street...Lafayette Street
*Color...Lilac
*Gifts/Presents...Locket
*Vehicle...Lexus
*Things in a Souvenir Shop...Lighters
*Boy Name...Luke
*Girl Name...Lily
*Movie Title...Longest yard
*Drink...Long Island Iced Tea
*Occupation...Lawyer
*Celebrity...Luke Wilson... Lindsay Lohnan
*Magazine...Life
*U.S. City...Lexington
*Pro Sports Teams...this one has me stumped.. Long Island Ducks??
*Fruit...Lemon/Lime
*Reason for Being Late for Work...Lost my shoe
*Something You Throw Away...Lint
*Things You Shout..."Lets GO!"
*Cartoon Character...Hmmmm... not sure there is one with an "L"

Ok.. thats it for me. enjoy

Rain, Rain Go Away!

I'm so done with the rain! Yesterday, it rained on and off throughout the day. It has been raining here now since about 4:30am! Its not a down pour.... its just a constant light rain that is very annoying! This is the type of weather that really gets to my bones. I just can't move. It started yesterday afternoon and then the depression started to roll in along with it. WOW! as I sit here it has just started to pour out. I really do not like this weather. Oh well, that is just me. I might have to go and get a tan just to feel a little better.

Yesterday, ds Joseph went to see about getting a job! His very first real job. He will be 16 next Saturday and he tells me that he was just waiting to be 16. Yeah right. So he is going to be the clean up guy at an Auto Body Repair shop. This field is something that he is interested in. Painting and designing autobodys. I hope it works out for him.

Today, ds DJ is going to his first graduation practice. This should be fun. He is already "bitching" that he has to get up to go to the practice.

I really need to get my house cleaned! It is less than 2 weeks away for DJ's graduation and my Mom and nephew are coming to stay here. I don't like cleaning, especially when I live with a bunch of people that really don't give a crap anything but themselves. I don't know how that happened... I'm not one of those types of people so where they got that from ... WHO KNOWS!

Todays 2 peas challenge: If you were to take a class on photography. What is one thing you would like to learn. This is something that I've been thinking about for a long time now. I really do want to take some classes on photography, but seem to keep hesitating for some weird reason. I would love to learn just about everything! I don't think I know much about photography and I just love taking photos. I think one of the most important things with photography is lighting! So that would be very important to learn. I'm also interested in "old" film developing, not just digital. Hmmmm, you've got me thinking about taking some classes at the college now. AGAIN!

Hectic Weekend

Boy, did I have a hectic time since Thursday, MY BIRTHDAY! This time of year in my house is just non-stop, I tell you. The boys have finals in school and then Regents (which is a State Exam and of course NY is the only state that requires you to pass them in order to graduate!) Also trying to get things a little more organized since my mom and nephew are flying in for DJ's graduation in less than 2 weeks. If it is not one thing it is another.

Thursday, was spent pretty peacefully at home! The kids and dh surprised me with cake, cards, balloons and well gifts. dh thinks it is fun to do scratch off lottery games! I'd much rather have the money he spent on them to tell you the truth. Oh well... I did end up winning $50. off them. Here is a picture of me and my cake! UMMMMM... just love this cake! all chocolate with dark fudge frosting and fresh strawberries on top! Everyone who is born in June asks for this cake for their birthday! Boy do we have a lot of June birthdays!

Friday, Danny and I took the boat out for the day! We went to our favorite spot, Sore Thumb! It is very clean there and I love to relax and watch the party boats drift for fish.

Saturday, I went for a manicure! yeah for me. The first one in months! The weather was not the best, but tolerable. Plus, I ended up having the invasion of the ants in my kitchen. So I was scrubing and throwing away everything in the cabinets.

Sunday, was just another day relaxing and well laundry! It was pretty overcast so not much sun out there. I took some photos for the Funky Photo Friday challenge that Heather started. We were to use the Macro setting on our camera (if we have one) or zoom in! Now I've got to tell you that I have the Macro setting and I never really use it! I usually just zoom in! I tried it yesterday and really didn't see much difference. I think its me though. Here is one of my photos for that. You can check out the rest of the photos if you want on my Picture Nut blog : http://picturenut.blogspot.com/

2 peas challenge:If you could write a letter to your younger self, knowing what you've learned in life already, what would that letter say? Wow this is a very good question. I really have to think about this one. There are a lot of things I would want to say. One that pops right out at me is : Don't waste your time arguing about the small stuff. There are a lot bigger things that need to be argued instead. Pick your battles wisely, don't just jump right into the flame. Live each day to its fullest. Learn to say NO ! You don't have to do everything that crosses your path. Cherish every moment you have with your kids. They grow up fast and won't be around as much. You will miss them even thought the teenage years will make you crazy, you will it.

Well that is just a little bit. Of course it would be in a nice letter form not just all jumbled together.

Who's 44?

Oh my! It's me! I still can't believe it. How did I get so old? This is a question that I ask myself time after time. After speaking with others and finding out how old they are, I'm actually the youngster in the group. We came to realize that I'm also the one with the oldest kid! Go figure. As my father say's," Your only as younger as you feel!" Well then I really should be a lot older, cause I feel like I'm more around 80!

Here is one of the only photos I have from a young age. I am 1 1/2 years old in this photo. It is pretty beaten up. I actually cropped it because this photo has my younger brother in it also.

This is the original photo.

And here I am today! What a big difference!

Todays 2 peas challenge: What one wonderful thing happened to you today? Well It's my Birthday! and I was shocked that my kids and hubby all said Happy Birthday to me before the left this morning! Usually, they forget and don't say it until they get home!

Varsity Awards

Last night was the Lindenhurst Varsity Awards Dinner which is held at the Marriott Banquet room each year. What a wonderful night it was. DJ was honored with MVP for Wrestling! I was sooooo happy for him. He really deserves it! He had to sit at the dias table (which he didn't like). Poor kid looked like he was bored out of his mind up there. He wouldn't let me take photos of him either! I wish my table was sitting right in front of him, but it wasn't we were at the other end. I only took a few photos there last night. The lighting was so poor that it was hard to get a good photo and it took forever for the flash to go off. (I still have to figure this stuff out). I did manage to get a few photos after the banquet was over that included me, my co-mom Josephine, the coaches and the boys, those photos came out pretty good because the lighting was a little brighter.

The first photo is Coach Frole (the Head Coach) and DJ as they introduced DJ and all of his accomplishments this year.

This next photo is DJ and Coach Frole right before they honored him with his MVP Medal.

Here we go.... Me and Josephine. I look horrible (Josephines son Steve took this photo and really didn't want to be bothered taking it). Josephine looks like she was just hit with headlights. lol At least she doesn't looked all doped up like I do.

Next is Coach Russo (Assistant Head Coach), Nick C., Nick D., DJ, Steve, and Coach Perez (Assistant Coach)

And lastly, Coach Frole, Me, Cookie, Mary, Josephine and Coach Perez

We had a Wonderful time.

Who just turned 69?

My DAD! thats who. He is 69 years old today. My dad and I are very close. I guess that could be because I'm the oldest of 5 or the fact that I'm the first daughter. Maybe it's because our Birthdays are only 2 days apart and on every newborn baby photo he would put the date down at June 5, 1963 (btw I was born on June 7th). Who know's? Not me. It just happened this way. It is hard for me living across the country and not being able to spend birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays together all the time like we use to when he lived only 10 mins away. I really do miss those times. This is one of my favorite photos of my dad. It was taken June 1981! We were at Disney World. I just love the hat. Thats the way it was back then growing up in FL.

Whew, What a Weekend!

Saturday we headed down to Cedar Beach for the Annual Wrestling Awards Picnic! It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and there was a cool breeze coming up from the beach. This is something the coaches do every year as long as the weather is good. Everyone has a awesome time reconnecting since wrestling season actually ended back in February for most of the team. There are a few that do summer wrestling like DJ.

Here are a few photos from the day! When I first arrived at the beach, I noticed 3 men getting some rays! I was a little shocked that it was our coaches. The first photo is of Coach Russo. He has been coaching for 28 years!

This next photo is of my closest wrestling friend, Josephine and Coach Dan Perez. Josephine is my partner when it comes to getting everything done for wrestling and I was a little sad since this is her last year. Her son graduates with DJ in 3 short weeks.

And here is DJ taking a quick break from the handball court.

Here we go.... there I am (wish someone would've told me I was so wide again) with Josephine and one of the other coaches Mark Frole.

Everyone had a terrific time. I will truly miss the boys and their families that leaving this year. Some of them I've watched wrestling since they were in 1st grade.

Now yesterday, the weather was just really crazy! It was sunny and hot, and humid in the morning. Then you started to feel the dampness come in. Eventually, the thunderstorms came and it was just really sticky. I did venture out earlier to a new LLS. It was very nice, but also very small. I hope they will do well there. They are only 10 mins from my home. The next closet LLS is about 40 mins from me. I still have Michaels on 15 mins away, but sometimes you just want to run in for scrapbooking.

How was your weekend????