Springtime in New England

I love spring. I love it for so many reasons, not the least of which is the smell of the air. While the chilly temperatures are trying to dissuade me that it is not spring, it really is the second day of spring. A glance out my kitchen window, just now, revealed 23 robins digging for worms in the backyard. My next door neighbors daffodils and crocus are starting to bloom (sadly, mine are not--but that may be because Steven mowed them last year). With a bit of luck later today I'll pop up to the botanic garden to see what spring has yielded there.

I love spring.

The Ecclectic Ipod

For those of you who don't know my mummy, she is a technophobe. Slowly we are bringing her--kicking and screaming--into the 21st century (she recently bought a digital camera). But bless her heart, she's willing to at least look at the latest gizmo I had to have, sometimes she'll even go so far as to hold it and try it out. This was the case the other day with my Ipod. I got it for Christmas from my in-laws. Bless there hearts, they don't know how these things work, but they are willing to buy them for us "kids" when they ask us what we want for Christmas.

So I have a 30GB Video Ipod. I love my Ipod. I love being able to sit through waiting times at appointments listening to music I want to hear, rather than lame elevator music hosted by a DJ who sounds like he/she has had way too many Valium to start their day. I love being able to do my grocery shopping with my Ipod keeping me company for much the same reason except now I don't have to hear, "Deli, you have a phone call on Line 4. Dairy, please meet accept delivery at the rear door." Anyway, I digress (I know I do that often, so sue me).

Mum was checking out my Ipod and her response after learning how to browse through it was, "My, you do have ecclectic musical tastes." Yup.

Here is a sample of the musical offerings of my Ipod:

• Chopin
• Beastie Boys
• Metallica
• U2 (lots of U2, including the last 2 concerts I attended)
• Sarah Maclachlan
• Louis Armstrong
• Prince
• Beatles
• Led Zepplin
• Brian Setzer
• Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
• Elvis
• Harry Connick Jr.
• Cowboy Troy (just that chicken song, see Amanda, I've expanded my horizons to country)
• John Kirby
• Eminem
• Georges Bizet
• Beethoven
• Don McLean
• Tribe (a now defunct, but amazing band from Boston)
• Frankie Goes to Hollywood
• Gregorian monks chanting
• John Coltrane
• Norah Jones
• Loreena McKennitt
• Madeleine Peyroux
• The Cure
• Pink Floyd
• MC Hammer
• Paul McCartney
• Andrew Lloyd Webber
• Stevie Ray Vaughn
• Blind Boys of Alabama
• LL Cool J
• Tito Puente
• Nine Inch Nails
• Duran Duran
• Etta James
• White Stripes
• Morris Day & The Time
• Isley Brothers
  
• Franz Ferdinand
• Tommy Dorsey
  
• Ivor Novello
• Sha-Na-Na
• Lenny Kravitz
• Toni Basil
  
• George Thorogood
• Mozart (I LOVE Mozart--as said by Gary Oldham in "The Professional")
  
• The Animals
• John Williams (boy can that man do a soundtrack justice)
• Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy
• David Bowie
• Will Smith
  
• The Pursuit of Happiness
  
• Mel Torme
• Al Green
  
• Ministry
• Johnny Mathis
• Sly & The Family Stone

Yes, weird and ecclectic. Light on the country, just that one song because it's one of the few that doesn't make me crazy.

Bad, Bad Blogger!

I've been a bad blogger of late. Life has gotten away from me. I've not returned phone calls, forgotten to reply to emails and sadly, neglected my blog.

So our plans for the weekend to go to New Jersey for our little Sophia's 1st birthday were squashed by J having a very upset tummy on top of his double ear infection. We figured in the end, that the parents of the nearly half a dozen under 6-month-old babies would not thank us if he infected their little ones. Besides, while the Merritt Parkway has a good number of rest stops, I'm sure none of them would have been handy when J needed one "right now!". So we chilled out at home. Such a shame too, as I was feeling rather sassy with my L'Oreal Color Expert Cinnamon Stick hair color & highlights and was looking forward to being in the company of other adults.

One of my favorite movies is on right now, Ferris Bueller's Day Off. My mum took me to see this in high school and it to this day, some twenty-plus odd years later, it still makes me smile and wish I had the courage to ditch school with the finesse that Ferris did. I was a good girl, I never ditched school. Lord I was patheticly good.

That's all for now. The Cosmopolitan that I had is making me nice & sleepy. Love and peace to you all!

Aruba

The reason we were all in Aruba together was to celebrate my mother-in-law, Candy's, 60th birthday. She is the kind of lady that it is impossible to buy anything for, so we agreed with Steven's sister and her husband that we would all take Mom out for a really nice dinner and that Mom was not allowed to pay! Easier said than done. When the check came, Mom tried to get it before we did. Nice try, but this is our treat!




We had taken them to Ruinas del Mar at the Hyatt hotel. The pool and surrounding gardens area are just gorgeous.













The weather was not the best all week and we only had one really nice sunset to photograph. So here are a couple of different views of that lovely evening.














Like I said, our birthday girl is a hard person to buy anything for. My father-in-law, David, arranged for a nice surprise. The national newspapers of Aruba love to do human interest stories. So David arranged for The News to come and interview the whole family. This is a picture of all of us that was on the front page of the paper. Back row, left to right, Me, Steven, David, brother-in-law Pablo. Front row, Jonathan, Candy, sister-in-law (Steven's only and younger sister) Sue who is holding her daughter Sophia.






Grandpa and Jonathan early one morning. Both of them were early risers while the rest of us were lay-abouts!











Grammy bought Jonathan this very cool t-shirt. Indoors it is just a black & white shirt. Once exposed to the UV outside, it turns fun colors. So here is our little scurvy dog pirate. We had brought his pirate eye patch with us, but he had forgotten to bring it outside with us when we took this picture of him!
















Footprints: Mine, Jonathan & Steven












On the Monday, we abandoned the family to go out exploring on our own. Here we are at the California Lighthouse. After that, we drove out to where the Natural Bridge used to be before it collapsed.














We were also fascinated as we drove out to the Natural Bridge that there were little rocks stacked on the ones that Mother Nature had left behind. So I made Steven stop so Jonathan and I could find our own rocks to stack.






One of the things that we worked on while on vacation was teaching our 11-month-old niece, Sophia the concept of SO BIG! She looked at us like we were insane early in the week, but by mid-week she had it down pat. The day after this photo was taken she was looking around, noticing that no one was paying attention to her. So she threw her hands up in the air and of course, several of us responded with "Sophia is SO BIG!" I'm wondering who got trained with this accomplishment.









Here we are, somewhere under the rainbow.













Our little sweet pea!















Me and a Tree Nymph butterfly. This freshly hatched little lady was placed on my hand by Anna from The Butterfly Farm. She took her very first flight off my fingers after Anna was kind enough to take "our" photo.











Jonathan took advantage of a sleeping Daddy to store his toys so that Sophia wouldn't get them while they were on the floor.








The last time we were in Aruba, the lizards, geckos and iguanas totally freaked me out. This time I approached them with a photographers eye. Steven teased me that I finally embraced my inner iguana. Either way, this guy was way cool.








Like sands through the hourglass, these were the days of my life for a whole week.

Quick Update

Will write more in depth this week--and post the much promised Aruba pictures--but for those who are awaiting my karate test news:

Just Plugging Along

Lots of stuff going on lately. Trying to get caught up--still--from vacation. Steve is under my gun to finish editing photos. Really, I promise they will get posted here before J graduates college! I think I finally got all the laundry put away from vacation. Oy vey, my boys go through clothes worse than any girl I know.

Karate. J passed his Orange Minor Stripe belt test on Monday. I am testing for my Orange belt this coming Saturday. If I wasn't nervous enough, I found out in class the other night that I have to break a board--with my hand--holy crap Batman! I'm trying to be very Zen about it. I've been sitting with my Ipod listening to the Memoirs of a Geisha soundtrack and meditating, picturing myself breaking the board. No problem!

J also finally got elevated from being an Eel to a Stingray for swim lessons. He's been an Eel for ages. But the time spent swimming in the pool and ocean on vacation really paid off and his endurance is there to elevate him. He's very proud of that.

What else? My rubber stamping class for the town's continuing education department never got more than 1 registration, so that was a bust for this time around. We're going to try again later in the spring and I have been brainstorming how to promote the program more. But my Stampin' Up! business has been going really well and there is the potential for this to be my best quarter ever!

In general, tides are turning and shifting for the better as far as life in Casa Owen. It just seems like things are much brighter and a tad easier. Guess the addage, "Everything happens for a reason," is really true and what doesn't kill you definitely makes you stronger.

I'm just plugging along and very happy about that! Peace out.

Yeah, I'm officially freaking out

My last post showed me in my karate gi with my beginners white belt. Now I started this session a couple of weeks in, so I figured I would not be testing next week since I didn't complete the full course. Tonight was J's first night back and he was given his testing paper. So I ask Sensei what is the fee for J's test and he replies that it is $35. He sees me with my checkbook then adds, "But you need to write the check to include your test fee for next week." Gulp! What? "I'm testing?" I ask innocently. "Of course you are." "But Sensei, I wasn't here for the full session." "Yes you were, between class and working with the kids during J's class, you're ready." I'm ready. Yeah, I'm officially freaking out and will be practicing Taikyoku Shodan repeatedly every day between now and the 18th (with the exception of the 11th when I'm cropping with my girls up in NH). If I pass my test, I will earn my first color belt, orange. If J passes his test, he will earn his orange minor stripe--yes, he will still rank higher than I will. Oh good grief! Give me strength!

Mighty Warrior, Hear Me Kiai!

Some of you have wanted to see me in my karate gi. Your wish is my command. Here I am in two poses. The first is Jodan Age Uke. This is a rising block position. The second image is Oi Zuki, which is a lunge punch. Since being on vacation, I'm itching to get back to class. Yesterday should have been my first day back, but J's got a nasty Swimmers Ear Infection from being such an Aruban Water Rat in the pool and the ocean. Will post some of my vacation photos later!

The Road to Hell is Just Down Those Stairs

There is an old saying, "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions." When Steven travels, I always try to line up a project to keep me busy and make some sort of dent in the house somehow. My intention for this week was to buy a couple more of the Rubbermaid shelving units, set the up in "his" side of the basement and move some of the junk over there that clogs our basement. I had even intended to buy some clear boxes and sort stuff in the basement to sell on Ebay. I will be the first to say I have several hobbies that have fallen by the wayside or have changed direction on, that the casualties of are in the basement (rubberstamps that I don't want to use any more, cross stitch patterns, boxes of DMC floss, etc. ). I would love to arrange them in such a way that I could easily access them and perhaps arrange a packaging area in. When I go to ship a box, I rummage several different areas of the basement then haul it up here. I would also like to have a good sort out of Christmas decorations and make sure that everything I reallly want to use every year is in one place, not four places. I know somewhere "down there" I have ornaments that haven't graced our Christmas tree in well over 5 years that I would have loved to have put up this past Christmas. I intended to make a pile of stuff to go in a yard sale this year.

Did I do any of that this week? Of course I didn't! Between being sore from my first couple of karate lessons and the basement being bloody cold from the single digit temperatures, I did not want to spend any more time down there than necessary to throw a load of laundry in the washer. So I will look forward to this project as it warms up downstairs and Steven heads west again sometime soon!

Until then, my basement is what hell must look like!

Playing Four

My friend, Stephanie, tagged me this morning:

Four Jobs You've Had In Your Life:
1. Office manager for a construction company
2. Sales girl for a sporting goods shop
3. Human resources recruiter
4. Human resources benefits administrator

Four Movies You Could Watch Over and Over:
1. X-Men 2
2. A Walk in the Clouds
3. Dogma
4. Legends of the Fall

Four Places That You Have Lived:
1. Northboro, MA
2. Westboro, MA
3. Worcester, MA
4. Shrewsbury, MA

Four Tv Shows That You Watch:
1. E/R
2. General Hospital
3. The Apprentice
4. Real World/Road Rules Challenges

Four Places You Have Been On Vacation
1. England
2. Ottowa, Canada
3. Disney World
4. Aruba

Four Websites You Visit Daily
1. Lucky Stars Cattery (the kitten cam is awesome to watch!)
2. Two Peas
3. Various friends blogs
4. Stampin' Up consultants site

Four Favorite Foods
1. Chocolate
2. Nacho chips w/ queso
3. Thai food
4. My mummy's mince w/ minute rice and canned peas

Four Places That You Would Rather Be Right Now
1. London
2. Cape Cod
3. Colorado
4. Anywhere with Keanu Reeves! LOL!

Karate Mom

J has been taking karate lessons for almost 3 months now. I have sat and watched each of his classes with interest. Now, as you can see from my profile picture, I am not exactly the picture of slim & petite health. I am a believer in the real woman have curves philosophy, unfortunately my curves are not in the best places. So earlier this week I asked Sensei if it was feasible to take his adult class or was I too big? He said that I could do it, as long as I listen to my body and take it's cues for slowing down so I don't injure myself. My next question was, do they make a gi in my size? Yes, no problem. He then suggested that I attend an adult class to observe. I did that this morning, by the way "observe" means actually participate in the class. OH MY GOODNESS! My muscles are screaming right now. Stiffness is setting in a bit. I'm eating my lunch right now and some Advil are in my future. However, I did ask Sensei to get a gi for me and that I would be back on Monday for class.

I am --- Karate Mom! Hear me kiai!

Confessions of a Media Junkie

I am a self-confessed media junkie. I love TV, music, movies, magazines and books.

My Tivo gets a daily workout that puts my husband's Tivo to shame. And yes, His and Her Tivo's create marital harmony that knows few bounds!

It's not often that I get out to the movies, I think in 2005 I only saw 4 movies in the movie theatre, which is up from the 2 I had seen in 2004. Thank goodness Directv offers pay-per-view. I can just rent it, watch it when I want and not have to worry about getting it back to the video store. The only video store around here is Satan's Playground, um I mean Blockbuster. I have loathed them for years since they are owned but an ultra-right-wing conservative Christian organization. Don't get me wrong, I am probably more right than left-winged, but The Man has no right to make my viewing decisions in what versions of videos I can rent. If I want to rent an unrated, director's cut that is my decision, not that of some holier than thou nutter.

Magazines, I am a sucker for a good scrapbooking magazine. If I'm in line at the supermarket and see a women's magazine touting organizational helps & hints, inevitably it ends up in my cart. I've got a basket down by the side of my chair in the living room full of magazines (and catalogs) that I've yet to pour through. I think a few of them will have to go in my suitcase on vacation with me.

And what can I say about books. I have had a love affair with reading all my life. My two bookshelves in my office are chock-a-block full of books, most of which have been read, some of which haven't. The other night as I sorted out scrapbooking supplies I cleared enough space in front of one of my shelves that I sat down on the floor and had a sort out of books. I have about 15 unread books beckoning me to choose them next. Again, a couple of those will end up in my suitcase for vacation. And let's not even go down the cookbook road. Two shelves bursting with various types of cookbooks. I really ought to, you know, cook with them.

Finally, music. How did I ever survive before I got my iPod Video? I only got it for Christmas, but I have used it so much. It's wonderful. I can listen to virtually anything I want in the car now. I'm not limited to my CD wallet or the pitiful FM offerings. If I want to listen to Sheila E one minute and the Andrews Sisters the next, there is no stopping me. While I'm sitting in J's karate class, I can watch a U2 video or show my hairdresser pictures of our sweet little niece at Christmas.

My name is Jenn and I am a Media Junkie. Thank goodness!

Rest In Peace Velly

Mercedes E. 1925-2005

This lovely lady was my brother-in-law, Pablo's grandmother. Pablo's family came from Argentina and while she could speak some English, Velly was never comfortable speaking it. Velly is actually pronounced "Welly" short for abuela, the Spanish word for grandmother. Apparently when Pablo was little, he couldn't manage the word abuela and it came out Velly. The name stuck.

I first met his grandmother at my sister-in-law's bridal shower at a SoHo restaurant a month before their wedding. In came this sweet smiling lady, she took my face in both her hands and told me in broken English how I am the mother of a beautiful little boy whom her grandson adores, how I made Pablo & Sue a beautiful family album and how lovely I was. This was particularly poignant to me as my own grandmother, Nana had passed away 3 weeks earlier. So I stood there with tears in my eyes as this woman I never met before welcomed me to be a part of her family when Sue & Pablo got married. She insisted that we call her Velly "like the rest of my grandchildren." Who was I to argue with her?

After that I only saw her a couple of times, at Sue & Pablo's wedding weekend and at Sue's baby shower, where I took this photo of dear Velly. My Spanish is rudimentary at best, but I would try my hardest to converse with her in her native tongue. Thankfully she was a forgiving woman when I mangled her language.

Pablo & Sue were on their way to Long Island on New Years Eve with baby Sophia, and their friends when they decided to stop by her apartment to check on her. When she didn't answer the door, Pablo's friend went in first. He was like a grandson to her and had a feeling that Pablo would be finding her. He covered her up and then told my dear brother-in-law. As you can imagine Pablo's heart is broken. He and Velly were very close and when she was ill a year and a half ago he made all of her important decisions for her care.

Vaya con Dios Velly. Es sido encantador instruido usted.

Tristan & Isolde

I've always had a fascination with the Arthurian Legends. So much so that I took a literature course in college all about it. I've got several books on my shelf that I have not touched in years. Now there is a movie coming out, Tristan & Isolde. It was probably one of my favorite legends when I studied it in school. Yes, I am a girl and yes, I am a hopeless romantic! Despite that, I'm not a huge chick flick kinda gal. I almost never seek them out in the movie theatres, but might catch them on HBO or occasionally pay-per-view. But this one I think I will go to the movies to see. Something to look forward to!

It's 3AM, Go Back to Bed--PLEASE!

We had a lovely Christmas Eve dinner with my parents yesterday. Even though we'll see them at my in-laws house later today, we exchanged gifts with them. Steven spent much of the afternoon as he did the first Christmas we were together, with his nose buried in a Calvin & Hobbes book, only this time, it's the full treasury box set. It weighs a ton and my dad was convinced he'd give himself a hernia carrying it into the house. Not something you'd want to drop on your foot or the cat for sure!

After working in the kitchen for most of the day, putting on a nice grilled beef tenderloins, Paula Deen's Shrimp Stuffed Potatoes and asparagus dinner (with Christmas cookies for dessert), and just generally getting the house ready for Christmas, I was totally exhausted last night. I was in bed by 8:30 PM. I read a mystery novel for a bit and then conked out by 9:00 PM!

Then I was awoken at 3:00 AM to the sounds of a certain small person, "Oh my goodness! Santa's been! Mummy! Daddy! Wake up! Santa's been here and you should see all the presents under the tree and our stockings have stuff in them!!!!" I love my boy, but not so much at 3:00 AM out of a dead sleep. We convinced him to go back to bed and get some more sleep. That lasted for 2 hours. At 5:00 AM he started in on his stocking and we again told him to go back to bed--PLEASE! There was no escaping his excitement at 7:00 AM.

So we've opened all of our presents, I have made Monkey Bread for our Christmas morning treat and now both Steven & J are assembling their Ferrari F1 Lego sets (yes, they each got one--gotta love boys!). I'm sitting here debating a third cup of tea. Being woken every couple of hours through the night is taking it's toll on me this morning. I'm also anxious to get my iPod from my in-laws, as Steven bought me the iPod camera attachment, so I'll be able to back up our vacation pictures when we go to Aruba. Wah-hoo!

We'll pop around to my in-laws house with cake, shrimp stuffed potatoes and cookies this afternoon. Can't wait to see our sweet little niece, who was kind enough to bring her mommy & daddy up from New Jersey with her this morning!

Merry Christmas friends!

PS: I should add that Steven went to the scrapbook store in Grafton and got me several things that I didn't have and are way cool. What a good boy he is.

Life Dreams

Last night I was watching the History Channel about Stonehenge. I am so glad that Steven & I went there in 1998. It got me thinking about Life Dreams. That was a dream fulfilled. I'm pretty impressed with that by 36 I have fulfilled a number of life dreams. I have

- Walked around the stones of Stonehenge
- Ridden in a hot air balloon (twice!)
- Climbed the pyramid at Chichen Itza in Mexico (easier said than done)
- Swam with dolphins (that dream is partially fulfilled, I want to do that one again)
- Seen Faberge Easter eggs

I still have a number of other life dreams to fulfill, among them are:

- See the pyramids of Giza
- Tour St. Petersburg, Russia
- Take a train ride across the U.S.
- Learn to speak Russian

Christmas Tagged!

Hot Chocolate or Egg Nog? Hot chocolate--Land O Lakes makes one called Chocolate Supreme. Good stuff!

Does Santa wrap the presents or just set them under the tree? Santa wraps his presents in paper with Santa Claus' on them. Non-Santa presents are wrapped in non-Santa wrap.

Colored or white lights on the tree/house? Colored, white is BORING!

Do you hang mistletoe? No, I always worry the cat will get it and eat it. She's not that bright after all.

When do you decorate? Normally Thanksgiving weekend, but this year I didn't get to it until last week.

What is your favorite holiday dish? Beef tenderloin with twice baked potatoes.

Favorite Holiday memory as a child? We almost always spent Christmas on the Cape with my Nana & Grandad. Sometimes my Aunt Val-Val and cousin Susie would be there. One year it was 72 degrees (highly unusual for Massachusetts in December), so my aunt & I walked down to the beach. We sang Christmas carols off key, collected shells and umm, "borrowed" an evergreen branch from one of Nana's neighbors. We put it in a pot of soil, hung the shells and put tinsel on it. Then I had it in my bedroom to decorate my room down the Cape.

How and when did you learn the truth about Santa? No clue.

Do you open gifts on Christmas Eve? Steve & I usually open one, a DVD and watch that together.

What kind of cookies do you set out for Santa on Christmas Eve? My spritz cookies.

Snow! Love it or hate it? I hate the mess it makes, but to look at it makes me happy.

Can you ice skate? I haven't in years, but I used to when I was a little kid.

Do you remember your favorite gift? My gold Celtic cross that my parents gave me the Christmas that I was pregnant w/ DS. Mummy designed it for both my dad and I.

What is the most important thing about the holidays for you? Spending time with our families.

What’s your favorite holiday dessert? My homemade cookies.

What’s your favorite holiday tradition? Spending time with our families.

What type of tree? Live of course!

Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? Both honestly!

What is your favorite Christmas Carol? "Silent Night"

Candy Canes, YUCK or YUM? The first few licks, YUM. After that, YUCK.

Now I tag Stephanie and Karen.

Light a Candle for Meghan

It's been almost a year since Meghan Agnes Beck left our circle of friends that is like family to us. Next Sunday, December 11th, there will be a candle lighting ceremony to honor those children who have been called home to Heaven. Please join me from 7-8PM and light a candle for this little angel.

For more information on Meghan's story, please visit Meghan's Hope.

God bless you and yours this holiday season.

Bono Here I Come!!!!!!

OH-MA-GAWD! I'm going to U2 on Sunday. We had only one General Admission ticket for the show. Originally this year I was supposed to see them in May with Steven, but then I got really sick and couldn't go. So instead of 1 spare ticket, we had 2 for that show. He swapped them for our October tickets. Somehow he ended up with a single ticket for the upcoming show and he even offered to let me go on my own. My problem is I have panic attacks in crowds of people. If Steven is with me, then I can reach over for him or have him talk me down. The thought of a concert by myself is an impossibility right now. So I said, "No dear. You go. I'll stay home." Well gosh darn it all if our friend Paul didn't discover he had a spare general admission ticket for the same show! So about 72 hours from now I'll be standing on the floor of the Bank North Garden being showered with red and silver confetti as the first few notes of "City of Blinding Lights" whips the crowd into a frenzy. And this time, I'm bringing my camera!!!!!

Thankful

As Thanksgiving draws to a close, I want to share what I am thankful for with the world.

I am thankful for....

...my husband
...my son
...my parents
...my other parents (a/k/a my in-laws)
...my sister-in-law, her husband and their daughter
...my cousins, aunts and uncle
...my dear friends

These were taken today. The first one is my little niece & I. The second was the cousins.