vacation recap

September 1, 2016 2 Comments

 

hello, friends!

 

If you are friends with me on Facebook   Or Instagram  then you know that I’ve travelled more than normal this summer.  We recently went on a cruise that was planned rather last minute.

Scott and Ali planned it and I honestly knew none of the details. Which was kind of cool!

 

Since we planned the trip so late, Scott told us that he couldn’t get 4 seats next to each other on the plane, so he had to buy 1 first class ticket and 3 coach.  We played board games every week and kept score to see which one of us would ‘win’ the first class seat. Ali won!

Side note.. This is our favorite game

as we were boarding the plane, Scott handed each of us our ticket. He used miles from work travel to book all of us in first class!  Wow.  It was amazing!

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I could totally get used to this!

 

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The view from the plane as we approached San Juan

 

 

The next morning, Scott and Ryan toured an old fort while Ali and I hung out at the hotel.  We boarded the ship around noon.

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Our home for the next week.

As we headed to our stateroom, this was the chosen featured artwork in our halI was convinced that this guy was going to come alive at night.  I checked each and every time we walked by him. Trust me, he didn’t move.  By the end of the trip we were buds. He was my homeboy. We were tight. Rock on, buddy.. Rock on.

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our first port of call was st. Maarten.

we participated in an America’s cup race.

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Everyone on our tour was divided up into 2 groups with 3 crew members on each boat.  We were each given a specific job to do and the crew members directly us.  Ali was our captain!  I was primary winch.  I’ve never been on a sailboat before. It was hard work!

 

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imageYes.. That’s a hockey stick ☺️

 

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We ended with rum punch!

 

The next day we wen to st. Kitts. I chose our excursion here. Stand up paddleboarding!  I’ve been  dying to try this!  Ali and stood on one last summer at the river fest downtown, but this was my first time doing it for real.  I’m hooked!  It was so much fun!  I fell a few times, but that’s ok.  It was really windy in the cove and therefore it was wavy and challenging.

 

I don’t have photos of us actually doing it, but this is where we were{

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could this be more beautiful?

Our guide was from Denver! Small world.

 

After paddleboarding the rest of the fam went snorkeling.

 

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For or whatever reason, I felt claustrophobic when I put my snorkel gear on so I opted for this

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When they were done snorkeling there was more rum punch!

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in Antigua we did a cameraman ride and Ali and Scott did some more snorkeling

 

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We we had some Boston folks on our boat, so it was cool to tall Boston stuff.

And ended with rum punch!

 

 

 

 

In in st Lucia we boarded a pirate-themed spanish galleon and sailed out to volcanos ans volcanic mud baths

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We didn’t take  pic of the boat, but I found one of the boat we were  on that World Wide Web thing.

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After ali and I coated ourselves in mud and soaked in super hot natural spring water, we had a buffet lunch , then boarded boat and began to sail back.  We stopped about halfway back for a swim

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With noodles! (I’m not a strong swimmer, so I was thrilled with the noodles)

 

we headed back to the ship listening to reggae and yet again, more rum punch!

 

(Notice a theme here? 😎)

 

in barbados we just walked off the ship and did a tiny bit of shopping.

 

it is SO much fun hanging out with your adult children!

 

I’ll leave you with random photos in no particular order

 

 

 

 

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Peace out, my friends!

 

 

Next up.. Homemade ramen!

Filed Under: Uncategorized, Vacation Tagged With: , , ,

re-post… i’m thankful

March 14, 2013 1 Comment

In this time of extreme change for me, I have spent hours upon hours remembering what life has been like and envisioning what life will be.  All of the soul searching has had me thinking. A lot.

 

I found myself laying in bed the other night, re reading old posts, trying to decide what direction that I want the blog to go in ( I had contemplating quitting it altogether, but have changed my mind.)

 

Anyway.. I read this post from this past Thanksgiving. Although it’s not an old post, I feel like it bears repeating.  It’s very easy in life to think about what we don’t have, or how how difficult something might seem when we are in the midst of journeying through something… but we always come out the other side, usually with great lessons learned. Priceless, really.

So if you have already  read this, please forgive me…

 

I feel in my heart that it is important to remember what we are thankful for all year ’round…

 

❤ me

 

 

i”m thankful.

 

*for my mom and my dad ~or bringing me into this world, and for being there when I really need them.. the advice & support that you both have given me ( the same btw) will guide me… thank you.. I love you both

* for my sista~ I’ve known you the longest and lord knows growing up was a challenge, but I love you dearly and wouldn’t change you for the world. you are simply amazing! SMOOOOCCH!

* for John, and Dick and Phyllis… for loving me like your own

*for my aunt~ a sweet woman with a huge heart and so much love. and an uncanny way of knowing the exact moment that I needed to talk.. and being that phone call

*for Scott~ married almost 24 years now, and although it has not always been easy, we are still here.. About to become empty nesters… With a whole lot of adventure in front of us :). Just think… We may end up in an osteo bi flex commercial or something 🙂 oxox

* for my oldest son, Jason~ the boy who changed my direction in life. I am SO proud of you and am thankful every day for what an amazing man that you have become..

* for my second child, Ryan~ who taught me in an instant that you can love 2 children with the same amount of undying love. For teaching me that you have to peel an onion so to speak to get to someones’ true self… never judge a book by its cover, the world is full of all types of people, and that its ok.. that there is NO obstacle in life that you can’t over come if you want to.. and that having a part of my heart across the country actually feels ok.. because I know he is happy and THAT makes me unexplainablly happy.

* for  Ali~ my ali…. Im thankful for the wonderful compassionate young woman that you  have grown in to. I dont know of anyone else who thinks of others as much as you do .  You  will go far in life .. and be surrounded by people who love you … always

*for Amanda Sue~ Jason’s wife.. my wonderful daughter in law. I may not have given birth to her, but I love you  like you are my own. You are  a hard worker with a lot ahead of you  and and you have an amazing attitude.

*for Kim~ thank you for sharing Amanda with me 🙂

*for our grandparents~ gone too soon, this is a holiday that they are greatly missed, ( meme, pepe, papa, babchi, dzaciiek) but knowing they are in heaven looking down on us makes me smile :

* for my ‘shared ‘ sisters and brother … Krista, Bryan, Audra and Val… We may have grown up with different lives. But siblings we are .. And we’ll always have each other:).

* for Tian~ my exchange daughter from Hong Kong.. for opening my eyes to what life in China is like

* for my nieces and nephews~ watching them grow and become extentions of who we are is mind – blowing. It makes me think al the time about the circle of life… YOu are all amazing people and have bright futures ahead of you

*for my in laws- Linda and Pete… For helping Scott and I get a head start early in our marriage.. and all of your help along the way 🙂

*for Scott’s extended family~ I’m thankful that they raised a man with such drive and adimance… and with such love for his family

* for Erika~~ I love that I can just show up and have a cup of tea at your counter unannouced. and feel warm and welcomed and loved.. and I feel that i am an extended part of your family. I love Leah and Grif like they are my own.. it’s been a pleasure watching them grow…

* for Celia~ my closest friend that is so far away….. I love that you are in my life <;;3

*for Kara~ thank you for all of your help recently… it’s so nice to know that you have insight and can help talk me through some of this….. and the fact that we both love lunch doesn’t stink 😉

*for my ‘ho’ friends~ you know who you are. I love that they have been there always for me, and they are proof positive that real relationships are not affect but distance. they have become some of my very best friends.. and I look forward to someday traveling the country to meet up with all of them…. these are truly wonderful ladies

*for my ‘old time’ friends~ the friends that I went years without seeing, or even in contact with… this past week has had me in awe of how many of you reached out to me and really care. It has had me thinking at length about old relationships. and times spent together .. and about how lucky I am to have had you all in my life. YOu are all a huge part of who I am today… I feel so blessed whenever I hear from one of you..

* for Ali’s friends…the really special ones that make me feel loved every day. Sara and emmy I love that you know that our home is your home… Thank you for making her smile.. And Colleen. Because you know how much I love you !!!!.. And Alyssa… Ali’s younger sister and my second daughter…I love you girls!!

* for my pup, Fenway~~ I just love her to pieces and no matter where I am.. she is *right there*

* for my grandpuppies, bruin & Kallie…. because they love me so much and I can;t wait to make them home made frosty treats 🙂

*for yoga~ yoga has brought not only a ‘peace’ to my life, but a biggest understanding that the path that we are on is exactly the path that we are supposed to be on.. don’t always knock the broken road.. that’s usually the one that is getting you to where you are supposed to go…

*for Bruce Springsteen~ yes I went there……. I love this man’s amazing voice, talent, poetry, etc…… as long as I live I could never explain what his music does to me… I swear it hits a little lost part of my soul… I am thankful that I always can turn to his music.. no matter my mood

*for my blog readers~ you are what makes me want to keep on writing… you comments always make my day and I am thankful that you take time from your lives to read whatever was on my mind today. This is what makes us friends

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and lastly…… I’m thankful for the moon. because throughout my life, it has always been there… and I know that wherever I am, wherever I may be.. I can always look up.. and have the moon with me… and know that each and every one of you, wherever you may be.. will be under the same moon. possibly looking up at it, and thinking of me <;;3

;

happy thanksgiving, friends.

;

Filed Under: family Tagged With: , , ,

laundry balls ~ a giveaway!

November 7, 2012 6 Comments

where else could I possibly go after introdicing so many of you to SOAP NUTS??

 

dryer balls. yup… I have fun with my laundry… what can I say?

 

So ya’ll are wondering what in the heck are dryer balls?

 

here you go!

what do we do with these???  well.. you put them in the dryer with your laundry and they

1~ help you laundry dry faster.. making your dryer more effecient

2~ natural fabric softener… the bouncing of the balls between you clothes ‘softens’ the clothes and helps them to be less wrinkled

3~ you can put a dab of essential oil on the balls before throwing them in the dryer and they will make your clothes smell purty

4~ when folding your laundry, you can have the kids fish them out

5~ I happen to know that they bounce a little. making folding laundry a bit more fun

6~ they are just so darm cute 🙂

 

I’m going to show you how to make these..

 

*warning * they are addicting…

* yarn…  make sure it is 100% wool.  you can find it at any craft store.. and often find a coupon online as well

* scissors

* an old stocking… it’s ok if it has holes

 

start by taking your yarn and start to roll it into a ball… I like to keep my thumb in place so that it makes a little hole

roll your ball as big as you want it… you can make them all different sizes.. ( the more the merrier)

cut the tail and weave it into the hole.

if you want to make a design, take a scrap of yarn and randomly wrap around in any crazy design

dont worry if it seems loose, it will tighten up soon

 

next, take you ball and carefully insert it into a stocking… ( if there is a hole in it, knot it so that you create a ‘pocket’ so that the ball does not have the hole directly on it)

 

tightly knot the stocking around the ball, so that it is snug in there.

 

then add another..  and another.. make a whole chain!!

 

Next.. wash it in the hottest water that you can.

Ans stick in in the dryer..  I run it through a little extra cycle, just to make sure it is uber dry.

 

now.. the fun part.

 

using your scissors, carefully cut the stocking away from each ball…

 

 

and there you have it! dryer balls 🙂

Last month, Ali and her friends went white water rafting…  I washed a couple of the girls sleeping bags before they went.

 

when the girls got to the cabin, they unrolled their sleeping bag and snuggled in the bottom of one .. was one lonely dryer ball…  They ened up throwing it across the room at each other for entertainment.

yet.. another use for these babies.

 

sooo….  in honor of it being Wednesday… I want to share. ’cause I love you.

I’m going to give one of you your very own set of balls!

 

simply click on the comment box and the giveaway prompts are waiting for you!!!  enter using the “share on your wall” option once a day.. giving you extra chances!

 

ready.. set.. GO!!

Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: , , , ,

don’t bug me.

September 6, 2011 6 Comments

Just kidding!

I was going to title this ‘shoe fly, don’t bother me’ but since today is not only a Tuesday, but the Tuesday after a 3 -day weekend AND the official end of summer.. added to the fact that it is cold & rainy here in the northeast & some many peeps had rainy first day of school pictures of kiddos getting on school buses…..

well, I thought that don’t bug me might fit some friends’ moods today.

me? not so much.. I love rain & ADORE fall.. so I’m not so grumpy, but I know I have friends who are. Sorry 😦

Ok.. this post doesn’t have a recipe.. so if you are looking for a dinner suggestion, tonight I can’t help you. Unless you want to make THIS…

I CAN however show you how to get rid of the nasty little fruit fly.

Yup. You heard me. today I have an extermination  lesson for you all.

You know, in a barefootgirl, friendly , humane sort of way 🙂

And in advance, kudos goes out to my daughter-in-law Amanda who showed ME what to do when the little buggers were bothering her last month while she was here for a visit.

 

( and proof that you are never to old to learn )

❤  Amanda Sue  <3.. I’ve tried for YEARS to get rid of these things. And she got them on her first try. Brilliant!

Start by taking a piece of fruit or vegetable.. Something that you would add to your compost pile.. in my little lesson today, I’ve used half a lemon. But since I switch it out daily I’ve also had tomato pieces, cucumber ends and most recently, pineapple skins.

Anyhoo…. place yer veggie in a small bowl.  

Cover with a piece of plastic wrap then place a rubber band around the rim to hold it in place .

using a paring knife poke little holes in wrap.

Then place it in the area where the flies are hanging out. They find their way into those little holes in the top, but can’t get out! I collect usually at least a dozen.

Then just wait!  Once a day, I take this outside and release them, then make another..

:note: make sure you go outside to release. The first time I went to empty into the trash and basically just set them free back to my veggies.

So there you have it. So bub-bye fruit fly! you won;t be bothering me anymore 😉

xoxox

p.s.   no flies were hurt throughout this experiment 😉

Filed Under: random, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , ,
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