Catching up in Boston

At the end of last month, we traveled to Boston for Jack's grandparents 50th wedding anniversary. Everyone was there! Kristen, Justin & Flynn flew in from LA, Jack, Lyn, Danny & myself flew up from DC, along with a few other family and friends. It was great seeing everyone, and being able to surprise Nana & Pop. It was also really good seeing Kristen, Justin, & Flynn.

Flynn is getting so big! He gets bigger everytime I see him. He is such a cutie !!!!!

Visiting Nana Moakley

The Gibsons & Garrisons

Nana was so surprised!

Jack, me, danny, Kristen & Justin

Flynn. So handsome!

Justin, Jack, Brian, Danny

Hot Mama!

Me & Kristen!

Nana & her favorite Flynn!!

Who are you?

Jack's work schedule and my work schedule aren't very compatible sometimes. i work 7-3pm, he works 12-8pm. He is getting home by the time I get in bed, and I wake up and he is still asleep. Not exactly ideal for a marriage, but we make it work. This upcoming week he is traveling for the week and has been working late, and the only difference in not seeing him this week is that we won't be sleeping in the same bed. Sometimes I don't even hear him when he comes home because I am dead to the world.

But, you know it is bad when you actually haven't seen them for a few days because of work schedules, and just because you sleep in the same bed, it doesn't not count as quality time. It is funny, this is a conversation we had last friday, he was home early from work. Keep in mind, I had not actually seen him, or had a face-to-face conversation with him in like two days.

Me: "Hey did you shave your beard off? You look like you shaved. Why?"
Jack gives me a weird look.
Jack: "Yeah. I did. Like 3 days ago."

Wow. hahahahahaha

I haven't seen you around here in awhile. Who are you again?

West Chester Hospital Fair

I went to West Chester this weekend for a fundraiser party I was hosting. While I was there, I did many things: hosted a party, went to a fair, and made cannolis. More posts are to come!

Lucy at the fair. She was so excited!

Steph & Bill

Lucy holding her two prized animals from the fair

Baby Maggie. Just chillin' being the good baby she is. 

Caught her laughing!

Kisses from Mommy!

The Evolution of Life

Last year I planted 4 Azalea bushes in the same flower bed all in a row. This year was the year they were supposed to stay alive and grow back. Unfortunately there is this thing called the evolution of life.  Please look at my progression. I am surprised I didn't kill them all.

Last spring: All 4 Azalea bushes are alive and well. 

Early spring 2011: please note the the flower bed closest to the house. with the 4 Azalea bushes. 

on a side note: all the Hosta bushes you see growing in the big section of flower bed are doing great. 

plant #1: great. Grew back even bigger.

plant #2: good, grew back good.

plant #3: ehhh ok. Half of it is alive and half i am not sure. 

plant #4: We decided was officially dead. I keep trying to water it and hoping it back to life. 

All attempts so far have been unsuccessful.

Wallflowers

Bath and Body Works makes an amazing plug in wall scent. It is called Wallflowers. I love it when I come home and the house smells lovely. I found that these beat out Glade Plug ins any day. The scent from the Wallflowers fill the room! It is an oil plug in similar to Glade, but far more powerful. I would recommend them to anyone who loves a nice smelling house! I first bought one for my bathroom to try it out (Eucalyptus Mint), and it is AWESOME! I now have one in living room, bedroom, kitchen, and back where I keep the kitty litter. They are amazing, try them out! And they last for weeks!

National Police Week

It is National Police Week in Washington D.C. 

Please take a moment to remember our fallen heroes and the ultimate sacrifice they made protecting and serving in the line of duty.

2011 Bucket List

Melissa's Year to LIVE

I had another blog but decided to close it down. I didn't spend enough time on it, and it was pointless to have. This blog and my baking blog keep me busy enough! I did want to snag this post from it before I deleted it forever!

Earlier this year a girl I was friendly with at work, one of my my few female friends quit. She hated life and work more than I did. I was SO excited for her. I must have hugged her a dozen times. The one good & bad thing about my job, you have plenty of time to just let your mind wander and contemplate life. I do that ALL too often. That day she quit, I thought about a lot.What could I do to make myself happy at a time and place in my life that I am so unhappy? So, I made a list. Things this year I could do to strive for happiness, my "to-do" list this year.  I was going to concentrate on my happiness. I decided that this would be "My Year to Live. " I told my list to my husband over dinner, and he was very supportive. It is a very reasonable list. Nothing completely outrageous. Some stuff if simple, and some stuff isn't instantaneous. And, No.  i am not going to quit life and move to Iceland to meditate. 

This is a list of things I want to do this year. I may not be having a child this year, but hopefully we will have a child some point next year. This is my year to live, and do things I want to do before I have to put my wants on hold. I don't make New Year's resolutions ever, because I tend not to keep them. This is a list of goals, but if I do not complete them, I will be OK with it, it will just have to wait later in life!

My 2011 Year to Live List:

1. Snowboard more (4x so far!!)
2. Sell on Etsy
3. Use Sewing Machine More
4. Have child/get pregnant
5. Bake More, work on business
6. Find happiness in a job somewhere, even if it isn't in my job field.
7. Spend more time w/ family8. Snowboard in New England or out West (02/12/11- 02/15/11)
9. Save more, Spend Less10. Stay Active (Insanity!!!)
11. Work on Photography, save for Canon 60D Camera.
12. Hike more, do more exploring, A.T.
13. Places to visit:
      a. Maine (Mt. Katahdin, Baxter State Park)
      b. NH-White Mountains, hike Mt. Washington
      c. Washington State: Explore Mt. Rainer/Olympia Nat’ Park
      d. LA (visit sister-in-law)
14. Donate my hair to Locks of Love if it long enough  (02/10/11)
15. Participate in some athletic races (5k, 10k, fun races etc)

All the thing on my list are reasonable, and my husband said it was. Once something on my list is completed, i'll have a whole blog post on it and i'll mark it off on this this. I might have to save $ to buy a plane ticket, but these are things that I am doing. I told my husband he is more than welcome to come on my adventures and would love for him to join me, but if for some reason he can't go, I'll either go with a friend or just go by myself as long as I plan it reasonably. Either way, I am going. This is my year to live, and I can't wait! 

The Life of A Cat

What a hard life these kitties have. I wish I had the life of these cats! Easy living our kitties have!

Gracie surfing the channels through her R.E.M cycles

Patches inspecting the water supply. Apparently it tastes good.

Snow is fun too!

Secret cuddle buddies