These Small Hours

Today was such a surprise. After church me and the fam went for a ride and met my Relief Society President at the stables to feed her Arabian horse. She's beautiful!

Jalen had a BLAST sitting on her, and Brooklyn was too busy playing with her dogs. We were walking around the property looking at the other horses, and the breeze was so cool and crisp.

We've had such warm weather lately, and believe me I've loved it. But in the blink of an eye, it was Autumn.

Today reminded me of when I was going to school in Pennsylvania. There, in September~ early October the weather jumps into Fall. Before you know it, the leaves are changing and the shades of pink don't linger in the sky as much. I used to LOVE days like these when I lived there. It wasn't too cold yet, and (when I moved out of my step-mother's house) I spent a lot of time outside running, going ATV riding, or just hanging out with friends. It's the time (for me) to pull out an extra blanket and make hot chocolate. Well...anytime is good for hot chocolate!

Pear Tree & Pink Sky

I took this picture on my cell phone so it's not that great, but I wanted to remember this day. Our girls were running in the fields, laughing, playing with horses...just being little girls.
I caught the last of the pink in the sky today, savored memories made years ago and made a new one that will happily remain in my thoughts as well.

No One

I am lame b/c I haven't updated October at all. There's been a whirlwind of things going on, but I'm also out of commission right now.

Thanks to my lovely girlfriends for the fabulous weekend. Will be posting those pic.'s soon.
But for now...

"This goes out to that special person in my life that I couldn't live without all these years."

Yes, someday I will forgive you for taking my camera all those times!!! Hope you're dancing in your car when you hear this on the radio. You know you'll always be one of my best friends.
I know you're not a blogger, I barely count as one. SO as soon as you read this, you can tell me to "blog off" and I won't be mad. Love ya!

...And John - my all time # 1, I love you with all my heart! See you soon.

The Permanent One

Take-Out Tuesday

A few years ago, Sheba's friend Missy made a CD for me and it had a couple of Natasha Bedingfield's songs on it.

I fell in love with her voice and also b/c to me, she had so much feeling that came through in her songs.

I hear certain songs, and like second nature, I'm choreographing a dance in my head.

I finished teaching my classes last night, and played this song while I laid on the floor with my eyes closed. Flashes of memories like a picture book danced through my head.

Music has always been like a best friend to me. It has been there for my ups and downs; getting through the good and the bad. An instant time machine for episodes in your life.
Divorce, re-marriages, sisterhood, moving, parties, heartbreak, happiness, friends, boyfriends, summertime, per chance meetings, disappointments, final goodbyes...the list goes on.

I hear the word 'soul mate' and I think of friends that I have the greatest connection with. Friends and family who are not with me anymore. My sisters who, even though we don't always see eye to eye, I have learned to admire them for their beautiful talents; and that they will be there for me through and through ('not for nothing').

My daughters, who teach me something everyday, and pray that they will know I am there for them today and forever. My husband, who, from our first kiss knew we were instant soul mates; through the good and the bad. He keeps me in check, tells me 'like it is', and loves me through all my stubbornness. He supports me and makes me laugh.

I am grateful for all my soul mates. I am grateful I am here on this earth to appreciate them all.

Clean bill of health this time around.

And-You-Are-IT

OK, my TOTALLY awesome sister TAGGED me a MONTH ago and I've been stalling. Well, I've been busy, but I know she deliberately tagged me because I was making fun of her on the phone about being tagged.

Note to Self: Older sisters always have the upper hand

...(except when we're in Times Square in front of TRL!!!!) Give the Monk a High Five!!


***************************

Jobs I've had:

1. The Limited
   
2. Photography Studio
   
3. Scout for Modeling Agency
   
4. Supervisor @Fleet Bank Headquarters
   
5. Publicist
   
   

Movie I could watch over again:

1. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
   
2. Gone With the Wind (yes, I know how long it is)
   
3. Clueless
4. Tommy Boy
   
5. Anything with Brad Pitt...[Or Shebs...go see The Kingdom!] ;)
   
6. ACCEPTED
   
7. Can't write them all!
   

Places I've lived:

1. Staten Island & Brooklyn, NY
   
2. Mesa, AZ
   
3. Clarks Summit, PA
   
4. Woodbridge, VA
   
5. Newport News/Yorktown, VA
   

TV Shows:

1. So You Think You Can Dance
   
2. CSI
3. Anything on HGTV & Food Network
   
4. My Big Fat Fabulous Wedding
   
5. Dancing With the Stars
   
6. All the 'Friends' re-runs
7. Law & Order
   
8. Sex and the City
   

Places I've been on Holiday:

1. Trinidad & Tobago
   
2. Cape May/Wildwood
   
3. St. Thomas/St. John
   
4. Ocracoke Island/Pea Island/all of the OBX
   
5. Catskills
6. Ocean City
   
7. Miami/Orlando/Ft. Lauderdale
   
8. Philly
9. San Francisco/San Diego
   
10. Niagra Falls & Ontario, Canada
    
11. SLC/Provo/Bethlehem, Utah
12. Washington, D.C.
13. Connecticut
14. Miami & Orlando, Florida
15. Island Park/Rexburg
    
16. Bethany Beach
    
17. Hamptons
18. The Poconos!!! (ONCE in a lifetime experience)
    
19. NYC...Of Course!
    
20. Springerville/White Mountains/here & there, AZ
    

Favorite Dishes:

1. ANYTHING my Mom makes
   
2. Italian
3. Indian & Caribbean
   
4. Spanish
5. Thai

Websites I visit:

1. Martha Stewart
2. The Knot
   
3. Inside Weddings
   
4. Songmeanings
5. My two Favorite Photographers : Art Louis Photography & Innate Photographics (Kirsten Lewis)
   

Places I'd like to be:

1. Anywhere in the Caribbean with my family!
2. Italy
3. New York City ...................... (My sister wrote all three of these; great minds think alike, b/c all these are the ones I was going to write!)
4. In Bed
   

Tagging:

1. Tara R.
   
2. Tera T.
   
3. 'Mr. Busyman'
   
4. Jennifer R.
5. Dave
6. April S.
   
7. Anyone who feels like doing this!
   

Jumping Off the Cliff...

So the saying: "If your friends jumped off a cliff, would you do it too?!" came to mind while doing this.
So many friends have done this and I did too many months ago,...but actually having the cajones (sorry if spelled that wrong; have lived out of Arimexico too long I suppose) to post it.
This picture is not the best either, but I took a shot.

The first thought that came to mind was "Wha?! I don't think so!"
But hey...I would never turn down a job to be Beyonce's stand in if she ever needed one!....That's Hot. ;) Love that girl.

I think my personality is too silly to pull off any of these people. After Faith Hill was Gwen Stefani. How they figured that I have NO idea, but I loved her before she was on the map so I'll leave that alone!

If anyone hasn't done this yet, you should! It's fun!

Take-Out Tuesday = Throwback Thursday

I have had these songs on my mind for the whole day...and they're all 'goodies but oldies'.
I can't help but have a smile on my face whenever I hear these songs. I think anyone who lived the 80's has a story about these songs!

Love it!



This one is a little saddening for me to hear, but nonetheless, a great song...



Dedicated to all the John Hughes movie lovers:

Libra

I'm not one to keep tabs on my horoscope all the time...sometimes it pops up on my homepage and I thought this was rather interesting and nice. My life is very busy right now and felt a little pessimistic this morning. But I really can turn that frown upside down...especially with good friends coming to visit. It will be a nice break.

You can make real gains as you appear more optimistic
than you truly feel, but your current
progress is about neither fame nor fortune.
It's more about the quality
of your interactions.
Remember, good feelings that come from lasting friendships are,
in themselves, great spiritual blessings that are now
available to you for the asking.

Craving

It's almost five in the morning and all I'm craving is the new Twix PB. I usually keep a stash of my high-end choc-o-late-aye in a 'secret spot', but just like Pooh's Hunney Pot...I'm all out. So unfortunately I have nothing in my house except for the Special K Chocolatey Delight.

That's good and all...but which would you HONESTLY rather have? I really like this cereal, but after a day (and night) like I've had, I want my Twix Fix. Mmmm...

Twinkle Toes

This is why I procrastinated so much. 700 pictures to edit. I'm so tired right now, I can't remember what I added in. I might be adding more later so I figured I'd 'Slide' them since I helped my busy sister create hers.

I do know that Recital Day was very hectic, but a lot of fun! This is Jalen's third show now, and she did great! I know, as a parent it is your right to say that, but I really mean it! John and I were so proud of her. It's days like this that I truly love having little girls!

She was Miss India in her ballet; she kept going around the house all month long "I'm Miss India!" She played the part VERY well I must say. ;)

Then her tap, 'Broadway Baby' was awesome! She sang her little heart out center stage.

**sidestory: On the last week of school, they had a play and Jalen was called on stage to help with a story. After she was done, she took a bow and blew a kiss to the audience and waved as she went offstage. Her teacher said she was going to miss Jalen's 'little' personality. **

After all the sweat, extra practices and raw, torn feet, in the end everything came together and I was so proud of the effort my girls gave. At the beginning of the year, all I asked of them was to give me their 100%, and (besides a few teen-age meltdowns) they did.

Congratulations to Alexis who got accepted into the American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive Program, and Dori for continuing her dance at NC State. Oh, and Tara! Who was chosen to perform with (specific name that I can't remember right now) Russian Ballet, and then onto New York!!

Well...no time to catch my breath. On to prepare for the coming year!

Big Girl Now

So...June came and went, and I have been wanting to write about all the 'fun', but really, I've been procrastinating because it just takes too long to write about.

I figure if I break it down it might be a little easier. So I'm starting with the most exciting part from June and that is when Ms. Bella (Isabella) "graduated" from Grade K.

We can't believe our little girl is already out of Kindergarten. I still can't believe she's going to be 6 in September!...and I can't believe I have a 6 yr. old. My friends that have like, 12 kids laugh when I say that...but it's true!

She was so funny her last day saying "Mom, now that I'm going to be in first grade, I can use the phone to call my friends without asking you or Daddy." Hmmm....



I was very nervous her first day of school. We were in a new town, and a new school and she knew no one. I should have known not to worry though. She made wonderful little friends...and to my surprise... the boy in the background showing his muscles claimed to be Jalen's boyfriend and 'Power Ranger Protector'.






















And most importantly, she had an amazing teacher. She was one of the most easy-going,helping, and nicest Kindergarten teachers there. John and I were so grateful for that!
She made Jalen's first year at her elementary school a fun and memorable one!

Slow Motion Running At Its Best

They have brought back The Bionic Woman!!! A few new twists, but totally excited to see what the show is like. Interested if they'll bring the infamous Fembot episodes back.

My sisters and I used to watch this all the time!

We would fight about who got to be Jamie Sommers so much, that in our version, she had two other sisters that had bionic powers as well.

(the new bionic woman)

I'm so sad I won't have anyone to make the 'bionic' sound with anymore while running in slow motion.

"Take-Out Tuesday"

So a fellow New Yorker friend and I had this thing called 'Take-Out-Tuesday' when I lived in Virginia. We had a lot of fun together, and laughed more at each others' cynical, blunt behavior more than anything else. (Although, I think I made her laugh a lot more with just being plain ol' gullible with certain things...I have my mom to thank for that.)

After work we would meet at each others' houses, bring take-out and a stack of CD's. We would randomly pick 3 out of each stack and reminisce on oldies, laugh at the one-hit-wonders, or be totally excited that we got a new CD to listen to.
She was thoughtful to my dedication to music, and when I told her about my favorite Alanis CD being stolen in Port Authority (along with 100 other of my favorites) she surprised me by playing it and giving it to me when I went home.

I did a similar thing in college with my roommate, but without the designated night for take-out...or CD's. (Since almost every night was a take-out night).
For some reason, our girlfriends always migrated to our house so we had random nights just hanging out and listening to music. Nonetheless, I always had fun.

I am always interested in other peoples' taste in music because I feel it tells a lot about them, and also gives me a chance to expand on my own knowledge and thirst for songs and artists.

I love all different kinds of music, and try not to inhibit myself to liking one genre.
So, here's my 'Take-Out-Tuesday' picks: