Thankful on a Friday ('cause Thursday slipped by me again...)

I just have to say that even though thursday is the technical "thankful" day, I'm pretty darn thankful for fridays too. I'm thankful (oh so much more than I can express) that I get to go home, put on my jammies, and, if I choose, not get up again until sunday morning. Oh, how very lovely a saturday with no responsibilities is. So what should I do tomorrow? Should I finish putting away my stuff from my trip? Should I have a massive laundry-fest? Should I go for a long walk and stop at every yard sale I see? Should I go for a joy ride out into the county and buy fresh home grown produce? Wow, I have so much I could do, but nothing I have to do. See why I'm thankful?

I'm Thankful for the Beach!

A lot of you know about my beach trip every year, but for those who don't, I'll explain. My client and her family go to Ocean City New Jersey every year in the first week of June. Two years ago, I was invited along as the attendant to help Carol with Melissa. Well, this is the week this year! Last year it was record-breaking highs, so I got into the water every day, but this year, it's been rather chilly. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for the chilly weather. I'd rather have that than the burning hot scorchings we had last year. There have been a few days that were water-worthy, and that's about all I need.
So the first day here was spent taking care of general things like grocery-shopping and getting unpacked. We were told that Sunday would be the only good beach day, so we took advantage of that. The great thing about this is that I always have to go to the beach alone, but this year we managed to get everyone down!

I can't remember if it was that evening or the next that we went to the carnival area on the boardwalk. Carol's sister's granddaughter (Carol's great-niece) wanted me to ride the rides with her, so we had some fun.


For some reason, I decided to do the Double-Shot where they shoot you straight up in the air. Click on this one to see my face-it's priceless.

And here's the stupid sqwaking (sp anyone?)seagull that was trying to steal our funnel cake as we innocently shopped on the boardwalk. He has some balls, let me tell you.

All in all, it's been a wonderful trip. Tomorrow will be our last day here, but alas, all good things must come to an end.

Snip Snip!

That's right folks! I've cut the long locks off! I'm a little sad to see it go, but this new hairdo is so much more summery that for the most part, I love it! And yes, that is my ponytail that I'm holding.

Umm....can I get an update?

Alright, alright, it's been a while since I've posted and I've been meaning to sit down and do thankful thursday (no, really, I have!) but then suddenly, oh, whoops, is it friday? And then, on friday afternoon, my mom called and asked if I wouldn't mind coming a little sooner than planned (I had planned on heading up there in the evening) and oh what a difference a few hours make! The traffic was heavy but not bad, but I95 was completely clogged the entire way. It added a solid hour to my trip. It was clogged like it always is in the evening from all the New York traffic, but *sigh* what we will do for our loved ones. I arrived in a none-too-pleasant mood. Luckily the next day I had shook off my bad mood enough for mom and I to do a little bikeriding/yard-saling.
I'm going to backtrack a little here (for memory's sake) and talk about Mother's Day Weekend. Mom's present this year was (drumroll please) ME! I decided to spend that weekend up in New Haven just hanging out and doing nothing in particular. Mom suggested bringing my bike so that we could mosey around town. This turned out to be an excellent suggestion. We first went to the Peabody Museum, but only to shop at their gift shop. They have an amazing one! We got little dinosaur heads that chomp for Rees and Nicolette. Then, once outside, we bought hot dogs from a street vendor and then sat on the lovely grass and had a little picnic. These pics are from that:



We spent the entire day on our bikes seeing New Haven. Seriously, if you haven't gone on a bikeride for a while (like myself) try it out! It's exhilerating!
Anyway, back to this past weekend. Mom and I spent the next day chilling out and yardsaling (like I said before) and then the whole family arrived in the evening. We went out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant and then to Baskin Robbins for dessert. YUMMY!
The next day, mom and I rode our bikes a bit more, but were called by the family asking us to come swimming at their hotel. After running quickly to a thrift store (I got a bathing suit for three dollars! And yes, it fits!) we joined them at the pool!


The next day, DEVAN GRADUATED!!! He has a Master of Arts in Religion from Yale University! The big graduation was really amazing. Someone said "That's 300 years of tradition right there" and that phrase kind of stuck throughout the day. We then went back to the divinity school where Dev actually got his diploma. What a wonderful way to spend Memorial Weekend!

A Love Letter To My Mom

These pictures are some of my favorites and I think they stand for themselves without words. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MAMA! I LOVE YOU!

Thankful Thursday

I'm sitting here at Carol's computer (because I accidently left mine at Dev's when I was up there last weekend) and I'm thinking, "Hmmmm, what am I thankful for today? I mean, REALLY thankful for? Well, what am I thankful for that I haven't discussed already in Thankful Thursday." It's spring and I look around me and how could I NOT be thankful just for what I see? There's gorgeous trees blooming in bright pinks and purples (yes, for those of you who live out west, there is such a thing as blooming trees and they're just the most beautiful color). I could be generic and say that I'm grateful for this earth that we live on and how miraculous it is, but somehow, I feel like that just goes without say. I'm extremely grateful for family and friends even when I feel like I'd rather not be bothered, they draw me out of myself and make me a better person. I'm also thankful for those silent and alone moments where I can sit and read a book for hours on end (like I did these past couple of days- as a sidenote, the book I was reading, City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, was very interesting) or I can go out for a walk with my neighbor and friend Luther (Don't get any ideas, he's a dog. I'm not dating a neighbor. Unfortunately). All of this makes for a very delightful Thursday which isn't all that exciting, but certainly something to be thankful for. Oh, and PS-Gray's Anatomy is on and gossip on the inside is someone's getting married soon....this is the stuff I look forward to.

New York in the Springtime

On Friday, Carol (Melissa, my client's, mom) and I went up to New Haven and met up with mom. We did a little shopping.
Yes yes, I'm a Yale Sis. That's about as close to Yale as I'm gonna get.

We enjoyed the loud music playing around campus (something fun was going on, I'm not sure what it was, but we enjoyed being in the midst of it all). That night we settled in and watched "An Ideal Husband". The next morning, we dragged our tired hineys (okay, well, I was tired) and drove to Dev's. We snapped a few pics before heading into the city.

When we got there, I split up (mom and Carol weren't interested in the show, so they went their own way over to the Dakota) and went over to Times Square where I met up with Tracy and Sherma for a show called "In the Heights". Excellent dancing and singing! The reason for our visit is that someone from my dad and aunt's high school was in the show, but unfortunately, for that performance, he was injured and wasn't in it. We still thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Tracy and I then went to an outdoor Bazaar and bought some delicious bbq chicken on a stick and corn on the cob (along with a new purse, but that goes without saying, doesn't it?)

I then said goodbye to her and went up to Macy's to meet back up with Carol and Mom. We took a few pics in Herald Square.


We had dinner at a yummy Mexican restaurant in the Upper West Side then headed back to Dev's. The next day (mommy had to leave early) we had brunch with Dev, then shopped a little. A skirt and a Mother's Day gift later, we headed home. Now I'm out of money so I need to take a break. Otherwise I would've stayed.