HOWDY HO FOLKS!  GUESS WHAT?!

 We have another birthday in our family today. 
 It's my oldest brother Richard's 50th Birthday!!!

 

 We got together on Saturday night to celebrate Richard's birthday.  Richard is NOT fond of surprise  parties OR in being the center of attention.  I told him that we would just have a family gathering, nothing big at all.  SO, that was what we did.  We had Taco Night at Donald's house.  Richard wanted 2 tacos for every year, so we made 100 tacos.

 Richard wanted strawberry shortcake so I ordered it from the bakery that Denise works at and had her decorate it.  She didn't know what theme to go with but then came up with the TNT theme because Richard likes "explosives" - Firecrackers, smoke bombs, etc. 

 Here are Debbie and I making tacos:

 

 Sue is enjoying the guacamole while Richard's girlfriend Vickie and her daughter Maryssa help make tacos in this pic:

 

 The girls were all outside playing - I call this pic, "Tickled Pink" - Emily, Maryssa, Jessica & Abbie:

 

 Here is my bro Donald showing Matthew how to put bubbles in the bubble machine:

 

 PURE JOY - Matthew enjoying the bubbles:

 

 Cousins Nick, Peyton & Matthew: 

 

 Pierce and moi:

 

 Richard and his son Nick (my other nephew Jon couldn't be at the party as he is in Mexico with his church, building homes):

 

 Jessica and Matthew ready to sing Happy Birthday to Uncle Richard:

 

 Super Nino with Pierce and Peyton:

 

 We celebrated Sue & Debbie's birthdays too - They got a chocolate eclair cake for their birthday (Looks like Jessica snuck in on the pic too!):

 

 Richard modeling his new Stanford sweat jacket that I bought him for his birthday.  I got it at Kohl's at a KICKA$$ bargain!  He loved it:

 

 Jenny and Denise:

 

 On Sunday after church and breakfast I picked up Pierce from catechism and then we hit up a garage sale.  He got some new toys (yeah!) and we just hung out at my house, played, took a nap and then Pierce went home.  It was a pretty relaxing day. 

 That is it for today's entry.  I hope you are all well, had a wonderful weekend and have an even better week!  Be sure to hug your families!

 Sing a song of Birthdays
 Full of fun and cheer
 And may you keep on having them
 For many a happy year.
- Anonymous

 

Dejavu anyone?!

HAPPPY HAPPPY BIRTHDAY SUE!!

Sue claims to be the white daughter that my mother always wanted but never had AND she also claims that she was my mother's favorite child too.  Everyone knows that I was mom's favorite!  HELLLOOOOOO!  Actually, I care for Sue like I did/do for my mother.  I worry about her like I did my mother.  No, she isn't quite OLD enough to be my Mom but she is my "partner in crime", my shopping buddy and as I told her the other day - my OLDEST friend that I have!

Now onto more photos from Easter:

Peyton, Matthew, Jessica, Pierce and family friend Ashley lined up ready to go on the Easter egg hunt:

Peyton looking for eggs:

Brianna is 21 years old but it is still weird to see her with an alcoholic beverage:

Brianna with Ashely's mother Leslie:

My brother David (left). nephew Nick, brother's Daniel and Richard:

David's dog Johnny Rotten (YES, he is still rotten):

Wendy's hubby Jose and Jessica:

Cousins Matthew and Peyton:

Pierce and Peyton:

Cousins Nick and Brianna:

Nick's brother Jon and Brianna:

There ya go folks, you won't believe this but I still have MORE photos from Easter.  I'll post them later!! 

You all have a wonderful day, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my dear friend Sue and be sure to hug your families!

"What is a friend?  I will tell you...it is someone with whom
you dare to be yourself."
- Frank Crane

 

Today is my sister Debbie's birthday!

HAPPPPPY BIRTHDAY DEBBIE!!

The pic below was taken on Saturday evening at my niece Wendy's house.  Brianna surprised everyone and drove home for the weekend. 

Debbie and Jessica are doing their "Hollywood" smiles below:

I think my sis looks SO pretty in the photo below.  Taylor helped Debbie take curlers out of her hair and then she sprayed  hair spray in her hair.  For some reason after Taylor sprayed Debbie's hair, she would blow on it.

Now then, here is Jessica playing on Friday afternoon at the playground across the street from Max's house:

Here is my shadow Max - A BIG difference from my little shadow at home, Mandy.  Like about FORTY pounds difference!

My babysitting job is over.  Max is such a sweetheart.  I miss that little man!

Now for photos from Saturday night at Wendy's house coloring eggs....

Matthew and the egg holders:

Matthew, Pierce & Peyton:

Pierce

Pey-Pey:

Debbie, Brianna and Wendy:

Cousins Peyton, Pierce, Jessica and Matthew:

More photos later......I just got into work.  =(  I have a flat tire and my coworker had to pick me up.  This is the SAME tire that my brother-in-law Robin and Pierce changed in November.  I bought a new tire at that time, so I need to call Sears to see if I have a warranty on it. 

I shared this with my family and thought it should be shared with all of you too.

This is a from a Positive Thoughts/Attitude newsletter that I receive daily:

One of the most wonderful things about having a positive attitude
is the number of people it touches, many times in ways you'll
never know.

Not long ago I was in Nashville, Tennessee and I went into a
convenience store to get a newspaper and a pack a gum.
The young women at the check-out counter said, "That 'll be
five dollars please," and as I reached into my wallet, the thought
occurred to me that a newspaper and gum didn't quite make it
to five dollars.

When I looked up to get a "re-quote", she had a big smile on
her face and said, "Gotcha!  I got to get my tip in there somehow!"
I laughed when I knew I'd been had.  She then glanced down at
the paper I was buying and said, "I'm sick and tired of all this
negative stuff on the front pages.  I want to read some good
news for a change."

She then said, "In fact, I think someone should just publish a
Good News newspaper - a paper with wonderful, inspiring
stories about people overcoming adversity and doing good things
for others.  I'd buy one everyday!"

She then thanked me for coming in and said, "Maybe we'll get
lucky tomorrow; maybe we'll get some good news," and she
laughed.  She made my day.

The following day, after my business appointments, I dropped
by the same store again to pick up a bottled water, but a
different young lady was behind the counter.

As I checked out I said, "Good afternoon," and handed her my
money for the water.  She said nothing - not a word, not a smile...
nothing.  She just handed me my change and in a negative tone
ordered...."Next!"

It hit me right between the eyes:  Two people, same age; one
made me feel great, and the other, well, made me feel that I had
inconvenienced her by showing up.

By the choices we make, by the attitudes we exhibit, we are
influencing lives every day in positive or negative ways...our family,
our peers, our friends, and even strangers we've never met before
and will never meet again.

So when you brush your teeth every morning, look in the mirror
and ask yourself..."Are there things I'd like to change?" How will
you choose to live your Dash...as "the grouch" or as "the good
news girl?"

Your answer will go a long way toward determining the joy and
happiness that you will experience in your life.
_____________________________________________________________

OK, so it is OFFICIALLY spring now and besides having the beautiful flowers blooming, we've also got allergies going on.  AAHHCHOOOOOOOOOO...........Love spring but can't stand it all at the same time.

But in the meantime, I bring you more photos that I took last weekend:

Here are the beautiful East Foothills of San Jose:

Tomorrow Jessica and I are going to hang out and shop til' we drop!  In the evening I'll be going with Denise to a Multi Cultural evening at our alma mater (her children's high school too). Saturday I'll be at my niece's house coloring eggs with Jessica and Matthew.  Sunday will be our annual Easter egg hunt and then dinner following the hunt.

THOSE would be my weekend plans.  I hope you all have a wonderful Easter Sunday.  I KNOW there will be lots of hugging going on this weekend, so do I even need to say it?!

 

Hello All!  I've been babysitting my friend Dora's pooch since Friday afternoon.  Dora and her family decided to go to New Mexico to visit her family before her hubby Paul starts his radiation/chemo treatments.

I've been staying with Max at his house, spending the night with him.  I believe he is about 4 months old and he is so doggone goofy.  Here is the little man:

This is what I came home to today:

The little monster chewed up his bed.  Dora JUST bought it for him.  I guess he wasn't too happy being confined to the laundry room. 

I had to get Max on video chasing not his tail, but his back paw.  Silly man:

   

That's it for the pooch pics!  You might wonder who is taking care of my babies?  My brother David and I live together so it's nice whenever I go away (and vice versa), he takes care of my babies.  I had to get a report from him today and he said that they are doing well.  I'm going to see them on Friday as I'm on vacation because I'll be taking care of Jessica.  She is out of school this week and I volunteered to watch her on Friday to have a 3 day weekend.  To tell you the truth, I was off sick yesterday and came home from work early today with stomach problems.  SO, it is a VERY short work week for me.  I just hope my stomach calms down tomorrow.  This stuff sure isn't fun.

You all have a Happy Hump Day and be sure to hug your families! 

Dogs are not our whole life,
but they make our lives whole.
~Roger Caras

Howdy Ho Folks!  Just a VERY quick picture post for you all as I am just on my morning break.

I went to Denise's house on Sunday evening for dinner and Big Brother and had to break out my camera to take photos of the flowers at her house.  All of a sudden it seemed as if they appeared overnight.

Here goes:

I loved this photo.......Denise has a cherry blossom tree that is blooming like crazy and some of the blossoms fell off into her Blue Spruce tree:

Random photos:

 

Denise made this stained glass window years ago:

Here is Denise's furry child Sarah.  Look at where she puts her tennis ball when she is not playing with it:

After dinner Denise and I went to a neighbors house that has Golden Retriever puppies.  We fell in LOVE with them:

Look at the mama's face in this photo:

Walking back to Denise's house I saw another photo op:

OK, that is my quick entry for today.  Happy Hump Day everyone!  Be sure to hug your families.

Happiness comes of the capacity to feel deeply,
to enjoy simply, to think freely, to risk life,
to be needed.
--Storm Jameson

 

If anyone finds it, please return it to me as I am really missing it right about now.

And folks, here is the song I woke up to this morning: 

Mister Postman, look and see
If there's a letter in your bag for me
(Please, Please Mister Postman)

Does anyone think my Mr. Postman will be bringing me my missing hour??  You never know, someone may have found it and put it in a mailbox to send back to me. 

Speaking of missing hours.....yesterday was the mass in my parents and Christopher's name and guess who missed it?  Yep, I did.  I totally forgot to put my clock forward.  BUT, I'm not the only one that missed the mass....Debbie and Wendy did too.  This is the FIRST time that I've EVER done that before with the clocks.  DOH!  One of my guys was MIA this morning so my boss called him.  He too forgot to set his clock forward yesterday. 

SO, only Sue and my brother Donald and his girlfriend attended mass yesterday.  When I got to the restaurant, there they were sitting at a table for 12 waiting for us:

I had to get a photo of Jessica with her Jack-O-Lantern smile:

Wendy brought Matthew's school (group) photo to show us at breakfast.  This is my nephew Matthew:

I took a photo of the photo (yep, I am savvy like that) to see if you, my very smart Xanga friends could find Matthew in the photo:

In case you didn't find him, he is the little man in the second row with his face hidden, doing the bunny ears!  When asked why he did it Matthew said, "Because it was funny".  Heh heh....I thought so too.  Silly little man!

This not having an internet connection at home is REALLY getting old.  I seriously need to get it fixed.  One thing I'm not behind on is my TV recorded shows.  I only have about 15 hours of recorded items on it to watch.

Alrighty folks, now onto visiting your sites.  Have a wonderful Monday and be sure to hug your families!

OH yes, Mark - Taylor's papa is her grandfather, not her dad!!  Her father is my age!

A single rose can be my garden...
a single friend, my world.
--Leo Buscaglia

Edelweiss, Edelweiss
Every morning you greet me
Small and white, clean and bright
You look happy to meet me

Blossom of snow may you bloom and grow
Bloom and grow forever

Edelweiss, Edelweiss
Bless my homeland forever

THAT was the song that I woke up to this morning.  Where the heck did that one come from?!  The Sound of Music is one of my favorite movies but I have not seen it in a long time.  When I went to Europe in 1979 we (the band I was in) performed songs from the movie but again, I have not seen it in a LONG time! Weird, eh?

Kathryn sent me the following pics of Taylor.  I bought the dress for her for Easter but she is also going to wear it to her Papa's 80th birthday party next weekend:

Tonight Sue and I are going out to dinner, tomorrow I have to finish getting my taxes done.  I left a few items at work so I have to just finalize some items with my tax preparer.  Tomorrow afternoon/evening I'm going to a crab feed.  ALL YOU CAN EAT! YUM YUM! Sunday morning we are having mass in my parents and Christopher's name and THAT would be it for my weekend plans.

I hope you all have a GREAT weekend, don't forget to SPRING forward (yuck, I hate losing an hour of sleep) and be sure to hug your families.

I went to the dentist yesterday and was listening to my iPod while getting a cavity filled.  The song, "Lullaby" by Creed came on and of course the tears started right after.  The song reminds me of my Critter.

I'm leaving you all with this:

IN OUR HEARTS

We thought of you with love today,
But that is nothing new.
We thought about you yesterday,
And the days before that, too.
We think of you in silence.
We often speak your name.
Now all we have is memories,
And your picture in a frame.
Your memory is our keepsake,
With which we'll never part.
God has you in His Keeping.
We have you in our Heart.
~Author unknown

 

Joni Mitchell - Both Sides Now

I woke up with that song in my head early this morning. WHERE did it come from?!

I took care of my friend Dora's puppy over the weekend.  Peyton & Pierce spent the weekend with me too so I wasn't alone.  Dora has a really cool park right across the street from her home and the boys had a good time there.  The 2nd day we were there they met some other boys and had fun playing with them as well.

Here is the pooch that we were dogsitting.  His name is Max and he is a pound puppy and a REAL sweetheart:

Here are Pierce and Peyton on the playground:

 

What a couple of knuckleheads:

Pierce had a great time at his birthday party too. My brother and I bought Pierce his #8 Steve Young football jersey. He wore it proudly at his birthday party!

I also bought him this:

It's a little fake book box that held 8 gold one dollar coins. Pierce thought they were pretty cool!

Here are Pierce and Peyton's parents.  My bro Daniel and my favorite (ok, she is my ONLY sis-in-law) Jennifer:

My oldest brother Richard with his girlfriend Vickie (her sis is FINALLY out of ICU!) and her daughter Maryssa:

Oops, did I just wipe some frosting on your mouth Pierce?!

There ya go!  That was my weekend. 

I need to get busy and start my workday.  You all have a HAPPY HUMP Day!!!  Hug your families too. 

Be generous with kindly words,
especially about those who are absent.
--Goethe