A Teeny Favor.

I have so many friends who live all over this country and indeed, around the world.  If anyone wants to help my great nephew out, I'd appreciate it and he'd be so thrilled!


My sister, Peggy's grandson Marty has a postcard project at school. The class is collecting postcards from all over and the class will learn all about the places in the postcards. It would be great if people reading this would send him a postcard from their state/country. If you'd like to help out, here's where to send it:


Marty C.
c/o Mrs. Prahm's Class
Saint James School
830 W. Broad Street
Falls Church, VA 22046


Please send a postcard, please! Thanks!


This is a yearlong project, so if you want to participate, and are afraid of missing a deadline because you live far far away and the post takes weeks to get here, don't worry!


Thanks!  Thanks!  Thanks!

The bride was breathtaking and I have the pictures to prove it!

Yesterday my daughter's wedding day finally arrived!  I have a few photos that someone took and posted to Facebook, so I'm going to post them here.


The rehearsal on Friday night went smoothly.  A funny moment was when the parents had to go up on the altar and each light tapered candles.  So Gene and Jane (parents of the groom) and Greg (my ex) and I walk up the steps to the altar.  The priest tells Greg and me that we should be showing love and affection as we do this.  I turn to the nun who is helping with rehearsal and say, "Doesn't Father know that we're divorced??"  Later on, Father tells us to act like we know each other!  LOL!!  Too funny!


Rehearsal dinner was good!  Hot roast beef sandwiches and baked ziti with meatballs and salad.  Fresh fruit, cheese and pepperoni  and crostini as appetizers.  One of Gina's friends made a really fun cake out of Tastycake tandytakes! (if you're from the greater Philadelphia area, you'll "get" this!)   What fun!


We woke up early on Wedding Day because all the bridesmaids, the bride, the flower girl and mother of the groom had appointments to get their hair done.  My daughter, Dani, just finished hairdressing school, so she did Gina's hair.  The salon owner was kind enough to give Dani a station to work while the others were getting their hair done. I did my own hair since it's so short.  


We got back to the house for lunch and to get ready for the wedding.  I kept my cool all the while Gina was getting her makeup done and getting dressed.  Her Dad showed up around 2 pm, took one look at her in  her gown and started crying.  YES!!  He cried before I did!  Gina asked me to get a box out of the closet and bring it down, and THAT'S when I lost it!  When Gina was Christened, someone gave her a hankie, sewn into the shape of a bonnet, with a poem attached.  She was supposed to wear the bonnet at her Baptism, and then, when she was getting married, to carry it on her wedding day (ok, I'm getting all filled up just typing this!).  I saved the hankie for Gina all these years, and when she got engaged last year, I gave it to her, in the original box!  Then I forgot all about it.  So, when I got the box out of the closet, I just lost it!  So silly to be affected by something silly like that!


An amusing incident.  I bought my shoes and bag at DSW.  On Saturday morning, I showed the shoes to Jane (mother of the groom).  She informs me that she has the exact shoes in silver!  A few hours later, when Greg and Pam are at the house and I'm putting my shoes on, Pam tells me that she was going to buy those exact shoes in silver but chose another pair instead! And all of our dresses coordinated too.  I wore light blue, Jane wore dove gray and Pam wore dark blue and it was a complete coincidence!

Click on the pictures to enlarge them

 My son is escorting me down the aisle.  

The ceremony went off without a hitch.  The church is just lovely and Gina's good friend, Morgan cantored the wedding and she did a magnificent job!  Morgan has a gorgeous voice!  I guess Greg and I showed enough love and affection because Father seemed pleased with our performance at the candle lighting ceremony.  Hahaha!!!

 Here comes the bride!

 Gina with her dad, going down the aisle

 my daughter, Dani, a bridesmaid

the bridesmaids

I did get a little tickle from something.  At rehearsal, only people directly involved in the wedding ceremony were permitted to be there, so Greg's wife wasn't there.  Greg was sitting with me in the pew.  On the day of the wedding, she sat in the row behind us and he went into a bit of a panic because he didn't know whether to sit with me or sit with her.  He sat with me.  Hehehehe  I think if John was there, sitting in my pew with me, Greg would have sat with her.  But John chose not to go to the wedding (the jerk).

 saying their vows

 the deal is done, and sealed with a kiss!

lighting the Unity Candle

The reception was held at the Clarion Hotel (Greg worked there as the food and beverage director when Gina was a baby, so we got some extra special treatment.)  Open bar for 5 hours, sit down dinner, good food, drinks were flowing.  The featured drink of the bride and groom was a Lemon Drop Martini.  I think I had 6 of them!  They were yummy!!  They must have been weak ones because I never got even close to being drunk!  I felt fine all night, although I would not have gotten behind the wheel of a car.


The DJ was AWESOME!!  Her name is Jenny Z and she sometimes works at the radio station where Gina and Gene work.  Jenny mostly works at a sister station in Maryland since it's closer to her home than Wilmington, but she has a DJ business on the side.  I was very happy when Gina told me that Jenny was working her wedding!  Some of the other DJs were there as guests.  


A friend of Gina's made the cake.  The cake topper was the bride and groom high-5-ing each other.  My daughter, Dani spied the cake in the corner and realized the bride and groom were standing side by side on top of the cake, in what looks like a Nazi salute (Heil Hitler!)!!!  She quickly found a server and asked her to fix it!  I wonder if anyone got a "before" shot?  By the way, the cake was scrumptious!!!  Bibi did a fantastic job!

 this wedding cake was yummy!

 a close-up of the topper

she got him good!

When it came time to throw the bouquet and garter,  not sure how it happened, but the ring bearer and the flower girl were the big winners!!!  Hahaha!!!  Patrick put the garter on Leah's arm! 

the bouquet and the garter

The reception lasted until 11 pm.   We had 17 rooms booked for overnight guests.  The bar was scheduled to close at 9 pm (apparently Saturday is the slowest night of the week).  Greg slipped the general manager some dough and asked her to open the bar for the overnight guests, and they did!  We had that place filled and hopping until the wee hours of the morning!  The father of the bride got rather drunk, and I'm happy to say I never did!  He had to go to bed, which was disappointing because he was paying for my drinks!  I still did my fair share of drinking (Captain Morgan and Diet Coke) and even did 2 shots (I NEVER do shots!)!  My son bought me a Mind Eraser (kahlua, vodka and club soda), and my niece's fiance (and our wedding photographer) bought me a Dirty Girl Scout (vodka, Kahlua, Baileys and white creme de menthe)  It tasted like a thin mint!  I finally went to my room around 2:30 am. 

 these were taken with my cell phone.

Gina and me!

my favorite son-in-law and me!  

 my daughter, Dani and me!

my son, Tim and me!

Gina and Gene had the Bridal Suite for the night.  This morning she messaged me to come downstairs for breakfast.   And Gene called me Mom.  It made my day!   And on Monday, they leave for a week-long honeymoon in Aruba!

Family Christmas Party

Yesterday we had our family Christmas Party.  It isn't often that all of my brothers and sisters can get together at the same time.  We are somewhat scattered about the country.  I have family in  Pennsylvania (where we were all born and raised), New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, Indiana, Texas, North Carolina and Peru..  At some times over the years, we have had family living in Germany, Okinawa, Korea, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Panama, El Salvador, Peru, Colombia.  For now, only my sister's husband commutes back and forth to Peru for his job.


All of my brothers and sisters were able to attend.  However, some of the next generation, and even the third generation could not.  As it was, there were 33 of the 49 family members were there.  Some had to work, some live too far away.  We missed them, but we sure had a good time!


And oh boy!  Was there a lot of food!!  We opted to do just appetizers, snack foods and yummy desserts, rather than a meal.  It was a great idea!  I wish I had taken pictures of the food, but it was difficult.  Everyone would dig in as soon as a new platter was placed on the table!


I did take a few pictures... well, my favorite future son-in-law did!

Here are the eight of us!  I'm the only gal standing.

Here are some of the cousins with their significant others.

My daughter and her fiance' are on the left.  

My other 2 kids had school and/or work.

John and me!

We also have a barbecue at Peggy's in the summer too!  

Six Word Saturday

Family Christmas Party at Peggy's house!

Today is our annual Family Christmas Party.  We always have it at my sister's house, since she has the most room and we have a BIG family!  If everyone showed up, there would be 49 of us there!  This is just my siblings, their spouses, kids and, in some cases, grandkids!  As it is, I think there will be about 10 people missing.  However, my 4 brothers and 3 sisters are all supposed to be in attendance!  It's our kids who are busy getting lives and are unable to attend.  They will be missed, but we'll still have a great time! 


Want to try your own Six Word Saturday? Go see Cate at Show My Face and link up!

Dear So and So: I've had it!

I haven't done a Dear So and So in a while.  I was thrilled when I saw that Kat, from Three Bedroom Bungalow, had started it up again!!  Check her out, she's awesome!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Mother Nature,


Go away!!  Leave me alone!!!  Forty-three years is long enough!


Had it,
Joanie

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Dear Mason (my black cat),

Stop using my chair for a scratching post!  I don't care that it's ugly and is 21 years old.  Your real scratching post is right nearby.  And while you're at it, stop pooping in the  basement.

Had it with you, too,

Mom

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Tucker  (Tim's orange tabby cat),

Um.... Tuck?  You don't have claws.  Cameron and Mason do.  Why haven't you figured out NOT to go after them like you can actually win the fight? They weren't exactly thrilled when you moved in.  I'd lay low if I were you.

Thought cats were supposed to be smart,

Tim 's Mom

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Dear Junk Food,

Stop calling to me when I'm home alone.   I hear you whispering ever so softly from the kitchen.  It's evil, I tell you!

Has no willpower,

Joanie

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Dear Ann,

Good luck this weekend when you audition for America's Got Talent in New York!  I hope you don't end up on the Blooper reel!

Break a leg!

Joan (who will NOT be putting this on Networked Blogs on Facebook!)

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Dear Readers,

Why not check out Kat and her Dear So and So!!  While you're at it, do one of your own and add it to her post!  It's fun!  It's cathartic!

Love y'all!

Joanie

One Word Wednesday: Connect

Jillsy Girl hosts One Word Wednesday. Each week Jill asks someone to select a word and we have a week to come up with a story, a poem, a photo, a song that best describes that word.  This week, the word is CONNECT.  I was wondering the best way to blog about this word and then I remembered RE-connecting with some of my high school friends last winter.  I hadn't seen most of these women since graduation 100 years ago in 1973.  Luckily, someone brought a yearbook with her, because there was one gal who I had no idea who she was! (sorry Maria!)  To be fair, we were classmates, not really friends and didn't hang out at all.  And there were nearly 1,000 kids in my graduation class!

That's me, sitting on the far right, with my gray hair!  I got rid of that gray shortly after!

We had a great time at a bar/restaurant in the old neighborhood and enjoyed lots of laughs!!!

One friend, Meg, who I've known since first grade brought her sister, Eleanor along.  It was so good to see them again, because not much more than a week later, Eleanor passed away, in her sleep.  She wasn't even sick.  She was 51.  I was glad to have been able to see her again.  RIP Ellie!

Thanks to Facebook, I've been able to re-connect with quite a few of my former classmates and "kids" from my neighborhood (HA!!  We're all mid to late 50s now!) .  It's amazing.  Some folks look exactly the same.  Some look so different, I wouldn't know them if they knocked on my door!


I wanted to quickly add a Happy Birthday to the United States Marine Corps!  November 10th is the 235th birthday of our beloved Marines!  Semper Fi to the Marines, active and retired!  Thank you for your service to our great country!  

Spin Cycle:Halloween

I really dislike dressing up for Halloween.  I was SO happy when my kids were old enough to figure out their costume, and it was no longer my job.  My kids, though, especially my girls LOVED to dress up and go Trick or Treating!  It's no wonder my oldest has a degree in theatre and my youngest began her degree until she decided doing hair was going to be much more fun (not to mention lucrative!)


Gina, my oldest child is in a poker group.  They get together from time to time and play some serious poker.  Just about each year, in October, their poker night is also a Halloween party.  Gina and Gene always go as a pair.


One year, they dressed as Betty and Barney Rubble.  Another couple were Fred and Wilma Flintstone.

Betty and Barney Rubble

The next year, they went to the party as Where in the world....

Carmen San Diego and Where's Waldo

I don't know if there's a party this year.  


My youngest daughter, Dani got to dress up for school (she's in Cosmetology School in Western PA).  She decided to dress at Kat Von D, tattooed babe from LA Ink.  .


The first picture is Dani in costume.  The second picture is the real Kat.  The resemblance is amazing!!!

Dani as Kat

the real Kat

At work we're allowed to dress for Halloween too.  Thankfully, the past few years it wasn't mandatory, so I didn't participate.  I did, however, take pictures of my co-workers!  Here are just a few!

Dave, the Rock Climber (that was his real gear)

 Dijon, the um.... business man

Jess the bumblebee

Randy the Redneck

Julia the cat with Dave

Sam the nerd

Jenn, who writes Sprite's Keeper is the host for Spin Cycle.  She gives us a topic to write about and a week to produce something cool and fun!  If you want to try, check her out!

One Word Wednesday: Retreat

Retreat

I was having a difficult time, coming up with a decent blog post about the word, Retreat.  I read someone's post and my retreat came to me!

My retreat was the cruise I took with my friend, Tina, back in January 2007.  I wish I had the funds to do this every year with her.  That cruise was, without a doubt, the best vacation I ever took, because it rejuvenated me, and it gave me back my sanity after an extremely rough 2 years, when I was forced to deal with my divorce, one that I never wanted (but now I am SO glad I got!)

I saved for a year and a half for this cruise.  Tina became my friend when I was at my lowest.  She dragged my sorry ass out of the house for dinners and movies and just hanging out.  When she suggested the cruise, it was perfect timing!!!

Tina and me on St. Thomas

We spent 10 perfectly glorious days sailing the Southern Caribbean.  I can't remember the last time I laughed so much before that vacation.  We didn't do anything special.  We hit a few beaches, did a little shopping, took a bus tour.  But we mostly just hung out on the deck by the pool, reading novels, getting some sun, enjoying the Captain (Morgan, that is).  

I returned home, happy, relaxed, TAN and ready to face my world!  And I'd do it again tomorrow if I could!

If you want to play along, Jilllsy Girl has the rules right here. 

Masquerade: Musical Mondays Moves Me!

Lorie at The Shrewbridges of Celebration, FL told me aboutMonday's Music Moves Me, so here's another cool music blog meme to do!

Amanda at Bloggin’ with Amanda hosts Musical Monday – What Move’s You?. You can get the instructions by clicking here.   I don't know what the theme is for this week, so I went kinda sorta Halloween-y, since I did this one on October 31.


Since I'm writing this on Halloween evening, I thought I'd post a musical video of my very favorite song from the great play/movie Phantom of the Opera.  This scene is wonderful in  film, but it can't possibly do it justice compared to the Broadway version!  When I saw on stage, goosebumps ran up and down my body and I literally cried though th entire number!


So here is my very favorite number from Phantom....  Masquerade!!!



Firmin:
Misseur Andre!

Andre:
Misseur Firmin!

Firmin:
Dear Andre what a splendid party!

Andre:
The prolouge to a bright new year.

Firmin:
Quite a night, I'm impressed.

Andre: 
Well one does ones best.

ANDRE/FIRMIN:
Here's to us!

Andre:
A toast for the city.

Firmin:
What a pity that the Phantom can't be here!

Chorus:
Masquerade!
Paper faces on parade.
Masquerade!
Hide your face, so the world will never find you!
Masquerade!
Every face a different shade.
Masquerade!
Look around -
there's another
mask behind you!

Flash of mauve.
Splash of puce.
Fool and king.
Ghoul and goose.
Green and black.
Queen and priest.
Trace of rouge.
Face of beast.
Faces.

Take your turn.
Take a ride.
On a merry - go - round
In an inhuman race.

Eye of gold.
Thigh of blue.
True is false.
Who is who?
Curl of lip.
Swirl of gown.
Ace of hearts.
Face of clown.
Faces.
Drink it in
Drink it up
'til you drown in the light.
In the sound.

Raoul/Chistine:
But who can name the face?

Masquerade!
Grinning yellows,
spinning reds.
Masquerade!
Take your fill -
let the spectacle
astound you!

Masquerade!
Burning glances,
turning heads.
Masquerade!
Stop and stare
at the sea of smiles
around you!

Masquerade!
Seething shadows
breathing lies.
Masquerade!
You can fool
any friend who
ever knew you!

Masquerade!
Leering satyrs,
peering eyes.
Masquerade!
Run and hide -
but a face will
still pursue you

Madam Giry:
What a night

Meg
What a crowd!

Andre:
Makes you glad!

Firmin:
Makes you proud!
All the creme
de la creme!

Carlotta:
Watching us watching them!

Meg/Madam Giry:
And all our fears
are in the past!

Andre:
Three months!

Piangi
Of relief!

Carlotta
Of delight!

Andre/Firmin:
Of Elysian peace!

Meg/Giry
And we can breathe at last!

Carlotta
No more notes!

Piangi
No more ghost!

Giry
Here's a health!

Andre:
Here's a toast:
to a prosperous year!

Firmin:
To our friends who are here