I guess I should have done this on Post-it note Tuesday, oh well.

Friends, Flower Show and IKEA

Silver Burrow's Tail I purchased at the flower show.

I love its color against the aged color of the urn.

Amber and Carrie

This past weekend I went to the Philadelphia flower show with a couple of friends. A chance to get out of the house and into the big city with friends? I'm there!

We made our way onto the turnpike and in no time we were in the bustling city. It's always exciting to me when I see a nice skyline.

The flower show was filled with interesting floral displays and the aroma of sweet smelling blooms. There were plenty of items to buy as well so we each made stops to different booths to get flowers, seeds or plants. I rather enjoy the Silver Burrows Tail which will eventually grow and hang over the side of the planter. It will look so great when it gets to that point.

It's small enough to sit atop the counter in the urn for now.

After the show we were IKEA bound and continued shopping there. Who doesn't love a trip there as well?? Over the loudspeaker they tempted us with dinner for a dollar. So we checked it out and got Swedish (of course) meatballs and mashed potatoes - for a buck, really. It was so inexpensive that we treated ourselves to chocolate cake. Besides, we had walked a few miles already.

Over dinner we decided that for the show's price of admission there really should have been more to do and see. But it wasn't too high and we thought it was good to try once.

But it will always be worth any admission price to have a day to hang out with these gals again for good fun and conversation!

I would pay triple the price for that...

Up next - Baltimore harbor anyone??

Par-tay ideas

I love me a good party. Don't you?

I've been wanting to have some sort of soiree and was thinking of different themes.
Superbowl, Valentines, Summer kick-off, famous couple or a Tamale making party (this is one of our favorites and I'm planning to have one in May. Homemade Tamales- yum!)

But I thought a "Poor Taste" party that my friend told me about was funny.
At this party she attended each guest was asked to bring something or do something in poor taste. One guy brought chips and dip.
Harmless and easy, right?
Nothing in poor taste there except that the dip was presented in a diaper. Pretty bad...

One couple sent their 3 kids to the door with a note saying they were going to skip the party and go out on a date. When the host opened the door, the couple honked the horn, waved good-bye and drove off laughing. That was a hilarious choice of poor taste! I fully expect that to happen if I do have this type of get together...

My brother and his wife have huge parties. They are kind of known for them and everyone looks forward to their big bashes every year. When they have a white elephant gift exchange, there is one gift that has been going around for about 10 years now - a men's speedo. Whoever gets it has to bring it back the next year and pass it along with a picture of themselves wearing it.
Let's just say there have been many who would've liked to have gouged out their eyes after seeing those photos.

At least they had a year to get in shape...or not.
It can't be as bad as the guy I saw at a waterpark up in Fishkill, NY who was wearing a men's thong swimsuit. It was silver. Shudder.
And I wanted to gouge out my own eyes...

Anyway,
Do you have any good party ideas? Inspire me!

(Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. 3 laptops in 2 years and my desktop is biting the dust too. I had to call a foreign country to get the US address of where I needed to send the laptops. Don't even get me started...)

Still time for summer sun

Well, here we are on Aug. 1st going into the last full month of the summer.

The kids are already panicking about going back to school.

Although I love summer and the fun it brings us, I do look forward to getting the kids back on schedule.

Translation: I'm looking forward to the school year!

I actually think the kids are too.

They want to see their friends and socialize.

It's just that work thing they don't want to do.

I didn't either when I was their age I guess...

So, thanks August for starting us on another month of summer fun and leading us in to another season of Fall beauty.

But until it's officially back to work, we'll take the summer sun!

Halloween Memories

Well, another Halloween has come and gone

and I didn't get all the things done that I wanted to...bummer.

Oh well, there is always Thanksgiving!

It was a nice night for trick-or-treating.

No wind, and just enough chill to warrant a sweater.

The kids did not require bulky coats over their costumes.

Belen went with her friends around the neighborhood. I'm not exactly sure what they were. I think just a bunch of girls hoping not to outgrow trick-or-treating.

I remember my sister taking me trick-or-treating when she was 13 and I was 8. She told me to say "trick-or-treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat." So I did. The old people laughed and thought I was so cute and gave us lots of candy. Older siblings can manipulate you that way.

Another memorable Halloween was a time when all four of us kids were trick-or-treating, we came up to a house and rang the doorbell. A guy answered and he was shirtless, and had a beer in his hand. Upon realizing it was Halloween, he scratched his head and said, "oh man, I forgot!" He looked around to give us something and said, "I've got beer. Ya want beer??"

We all looked at our older brother, Blair, and he so politely said, "no thank you, that's okay." But the guy insisted on giving us something.

So we left with a buck each, some key chains and I think I got an ashtray.

It was the thought that counts I guess...

Anyway, this year Charley was the "punk rock" bride of Frankenstein. She's now in love with big hair and would've fit in well in the 80's. She's determined to wake up early and curl it every morning before school. Reese was Dracula, but he didn't wear the teeth because they tasted like plastic and "not a good flavor like blueberry." Blair Noel was a fairy princess, of course. Her skirt lit up and glowed. I was happy that she wore the princess crown my mom made me when I was 6. Trae wore a teddy bear costume so he could be all warm and snuggly.

Halloween amuses me. It's a strange holiday but always fun since it's the only day of the year when we feel entitled to go and beg the neighbors for candy. I mean we let the kids go and beg. We just watch from the sidewalk and then go home to see what good candy we, I mean, they get. I did see some teenage girls trick-or-treating for UNICEF. Now that is a worthy cause.

I hope you all had fun seeing your family and friends enjoy the night of fun costumes, sweet treats and the cool fall air!