Getting Set for NSD!: Day 74

It's NSD on Saturday...for those who are unaware, NSD stands for NATIONAL SCRAPBOOKING DAY!

Gayle, Marlyss and I are celebrating by going to a crop at our favorite store, Scrapbook Clubhouse in Westbrook from 9am to midnight. There will be some yummy snacks (usually chocolate!), a delicious dinner, great prizes and lots of fun.

To get ready I have been putting together some page kits: paper, photos, embellishments, etc. I painted some plain chipboard letters for one of my layouts (spelling out...Q U I E T K A Y A K I N G), and organized my boxes of embellishments.

Enjoyed a cup of TJ's Sleepytime tea, too. Looking forward to a day with the girlfriends.

My Spot: Day 73

Plum Tucker'd Out: Day 72

Joe has been so tired lately, with big projects coming due at school, working, and playing on the tennis team. This scene has been a frequent sight in the last week or two....

Oh, how things have changed: Day 71

Searching for a recipe when I was first married meant first checking out one of the cookbooks you owned; calling a friend or your Mom, or checking out your personal stash of recipes culled from friends, magazines or newspapers. I was cleaning out a cabinet a couple of days ago and came across this recipe box...

It contained lots of recipes taken from magazines or newspapers, but also ones from long ago friends...JoDean Marin, a nurse I worked with in 1979 when I first started at MMH, gave me this delicious recipe for Chocolate Cherry Bar Cake, a cake so good, we made it for our rehearsal dinner.
I also found a recipe for Pumpkin Bread from Leslie Campbell, one of the first families I ever babysit for, and a recipe for a casserole from my friend Cathie Walsh, whose son is now going to the same college as Joe..she probably gave me this recipe 25 years ago. Nice memories going thru this box, but I don't use it for it's intended purpose; in fact I don't even use cookbooks anymore. I look up all my recipes on the internet now...allrecipes.com; recipeczar.com; eatingwell.com. Virtual cookbooks, with helpful "notes" from reviewers. It's a little nostalgic looking back, but as with the rest of society....there is no going back.

Grey Matter (s): Day 70

Went to the Okun's house for dinner tonight..they had us, the Faders, and Lucy over for appetizers and dinner. We brought a fruit trifle. We had a "loverly" time, and didn't even leave until 12:15am.
We came home to see Taylor ruining her gray matter (brain) watching Grey's Anatomy...nothing other than a glorified soap opera in my opinion and not a very good one either!

One More Day of OBX pics: Day 69

Thought you might remember some fun memories of your day at Jockey's Ridge State Park when you see these pictures...we had a fun morning jumping the dunes!

Sunsets in the OBX: Day 68

One night we headed to the bay side of the OBX to watch a sunset and take pictures (well, the scrapbookers took pictures-lol-everyone else thought we were nuts taking picture after picture of the same thing!!! ha ha ha) before going to dinner...we got some nice shots of a gorgeous sunset and some nice pictures of the eight of us..

Sweet, silly girls...Day 67

Just some more pics from our last day in the OBX....aren't they cute???

My son, the tennis champ! : Day 66

Finally got to see Joe in an official tennis match....he looked so handsome in his white uniform! He lost his singles, but he and Dave won their third doubles match in a row..beating the best Tolland tennis player and his partner...ya hoo, Joe!

Inspiration Needed: Day 65

The worst part of coming home from vacation is the inevitable weight gain that happens...maybe not to everyone, but always to me....the ugh of tight waistbands, shortness of breath where there was none....too much unhealthy food.
But on the plus side of vacation, we bought and read USA Today everyday. This past week was inspiring, as they profile successful weight loss stories once a week. Today I picked up another issue, even though vacation was over...it is such a great paper...just the right mix of news, advice and information. Anyway, they profiled at 52 year old woman who lost 145 lbs...it was timely and needed by me....point taken.

Home at Last: Day 64

After driving for hours (well, riding, Jim did all the driving) we finally made it home. Thanks to the beauty of the DVR, we sat down together and watched the finale of the Biggest Loser. Woo hoo..inspiring to the max...

Beach Pics: Day 63

Spent some time on the beach today and yesterday with the nice warm weather..headed back north later today..:(

Outdoors in OBX: Day 62

Today was our warmest day yet....high in the 70's with considerable less wind. We headed to Jockey's Ridge State Park for some "dune jumpin'" and then headed home (after a quick stop at the local scrapbook store) and spent our first afternoon actually DOWN ON THE BEACH. It was heavenly.

More fun times in OBX: Day 61

Fun times on Thursday...walked to a little Mom and Pop donut store for the most incredible donuts....shopped for some OBX t-shirts...had mani's and pedi's...grocery shopped, read, ate wonderful chef salad's the 3 girls made (boys cleaned up) and then had a wonderfully fun time tonight playing Balderdash with everyone...and I won!

Outer Banks Pics: Day 60

The internet is off and on here, so I am posting pics now, instead of later! Sorry no pics last night, as it was off all evening...
We are having a very relaxing time...just reading, eating, going window shopping, grocery shopping, walking on the beach, eating, watching American Idol together.
Good times.

We're here! : Day 58

We arrived in the Outer Banks yesterday....it's as beautiful as we remembered.
No internet yesterday, but Mr. Cocuzzo fixed our wireless...yahoo!
Wish you were here sweetheart...love ya.

Visiting Marist: Day 56

Spent the day at Marist College for Accepted Student Day...met with Financial Aid (ugh), heard a wonderful band and a cappella group, had lunch, sat in on a presentation from the Dean of Computer Science, and heard from students and faculty in the Computer Science/IT department.
A lot of questions that Joe had about Marist were answered, and it looks like this is the college he will attend for the next 4 years....woo hoo, Joe!

Left Marist and headed due south on our way to NC. Planning to get to MD and overnight it before arriving on Sunday. We should only have about 4 more hours after tonight. The Cocuzzo's, the Gages and the Maycheks are all arriving in NC tomorrow.
Can't wait to relax in the house and just STARE at the ocean for like a hundred hours.

Last minute packing:Day 55

" I'm leaving on a jet plane (ok, really a car) don't know when I'll be back again" (well, ok, April 20th) mmmm...mmmmm...hhhhmmmm....I love that Peter Paul and Mary song!
So the car is packed..just a few last minute additions hanging out on the rocking chair.
Bye bye!!!!