BIRTHDAY LUNCH & DINNER............ YUMMMMMMY!!!!!

One of the best things about birthdays is that people want to take you out to eat......   As far as I'm concerned, any food eaten while celebrating your birthday has absolutely no fat, no carbs and no calories.

Today Marge took Bobby and I out to an Italian restaurant right by my job.  Have wanted to try this place for years but never got around to it.  I am so glad we went there.  The food was delicious and the service was good.  Even talked to the owner about delivering lunches to our office - Cause lunch is certainly a high priority at our office.......
Thank you Marge.............

I was so full after lunch but ofcourse nothing was going to stop me from going out for Hibatchi with my friend - uh...  I mean my Sister Lori.  Lori and I have known each other since the third grade and no matter what life throws at us to try to keep us apart, Lori and I will always be friends.

Mmmmmm -  Hibachi  -  Yummmmmm

Thank you Lori......... 

BIRTHDAY IN NEW YORK CITY

So my birthday is just around the corner (August 3rd)  Yup.... 45

For my Birthday, my BFF Laura really surprised me....  She took me for a fun weekend in New York City.  We really dont live that far from the City but I hardly ever get to spend any time there and have never actually stayed over for the night.  This was truly a memorable weekend........

Train Ride to NYC
Cupcakes at Crumbs: http://www.crumbs.com/

Dinner at Bubba Gumps: http://www.bubbagump.com/

(We wont talk about my stupid over priced camera purchase in Times Square - I'm such an impulse buyer!)

Comedy Club: http://www.broadwaycomedyclub.com/
Late Nite Snacks at Planet Hollywood: http://www.planethollywoodintl.com/locations_newyork.php
Stay in NY hotel: http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/nycmd-courtyard-new-york-manhattan-times-square-south/
Lunch at Grand Central Station: http: http://www.manhattanchili43.geomerx.com/
Train Ride back home.....

Weekend in NYC with BFF:   UNFORGETTABLE!!!!!!

THANK YOU LAURA!!!!!!!!!

UNCLE KRACKER - STAMFORD, CT

The City of Stamford, CT puts on some pretty good free concerts during the summer.  On Thursdays they have "Live At Five" and Bob usually goes to work for the City - They're the ones that get the fun job of putting away all the barriers that were set up during the day to block off several streets for these concerts.
He never really goes to the concerts, they just show up mostly after the crowds clear out.

This time Uncle Kracker was going to be there.  I LOVE UNCLE KRACKER.....
He sang so many great songs but my favorite part was when he did "Good To Be Me" followed up by "All Summer Long"

"All Summer Long" was my Summer Song last year and "Good To Be Me" is my Summer Song this year.
You can imagine how amazing it was for me to hear him singing those two songs one after the other....
YAY!!!!!!!!!

After the concert Bob stayed to work and I drove home with a HUGE smile on my face.
This was soooooooooo much FUN.......

DAMN, IT'S GOOD TO BE ME!!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIDhtTrr2FQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwIGZLjugKA

TIKI BAR - Playland

Ever since I took the Tiki Hut Mini Book Class with Cheryl Mezzetti I've been trying to figure out what in the world I was going to use for pictures in that book....  I mean it's not like I"m going to be going to any tropical islands any time soon....  Sigh.......

Well, recently I heard that Playland has a new Tiki Bar.  Note - I absolutely can not stand Playland......
I know it is supposed to be a great amusement park but I have never been and probably never will be a fan of the place.  But a Tiki Bar??????? Now that is a different subject......  Especially when that Tiki Bar is right on the water and there is a live band playing great music.......  Ohhhhh Yeahhhhh...
http://pierrestaurantandtikibar.com/

Drinks
Buffalo Calamari

Live band
Summer breeze

Now all I have to do is actually get some pictures into my album........   LOL

CHA SNEAK PEAKS - Sigh...........

CHA = The Craft & Hobby Association Trade Show is coming up at the end of the month.
Everywhere you look you can see "Sneak Peaks" - Some great, some good, some not so good and some just plain What The Heck Were They Thinking!!!

Then I saw "MOONRISE" from SEI.......
Gorgeous..... Gorgeous..... Gorgeous........
The bottom three papers are very nice and I'll definitely get them but the top six......  Well they just make my heart skip a beat.....  Sigh........ 
If you want to see more SEI Sneek Peaks and great inspiration then click here for their blog: 
http://seilifestyle.blogspot.com/

CROPPING WITH FRIENDS

Hope you had a great weekend.

Mine was wonderful.  I spent Saturday at a Crop in Connecticut.

Cant say I got a lot accomplished - Not like a lot of the girls who whip out 10-20-30 scrapbook pages.

Nope, not me.  I didn't even do one.  What I did work on was a couple of simple cards and two mini books.
Still need to add some die cut flowers to the cards and need to do a LOT of embelishing of the mini books but hey, it's a start.......  
The best part of the day for me is never how much I get done - It's always about the fun I have with my friends........  This time I sat with Laura, Barbra, Jean, Rose and her daughter, and Barbara Z.
Ofcourse all the food is the second best part..........   OMG - I ate so much I thought I was going to pop.


.....

SIGNS........

I was just on Facebook and saw Marah Johnson's Status which read:  " It's hard to wait around for something that you know might never happen, but it's even harder to give up when you know it's everything you want."Well, I'm taking this quote as just one more sign that there are some serious changes that need to be made in my life......
I wish I could put into words what exactly those changes are but there are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many things to list.
Let's just say that I really need to figure out how I can be who I want to be....

So let's start here..........
Today is Friday - June 25th.......
There are 39 more days till August 3rd.......   - THAT IS MY 45th BIRTHDAY -  YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How do I know it's 39 more days??????  Cause I've been counting down - From 45 more days, to 44 more days, to 43 more days, etc..........
I've been planning on counting down till THE BIG DAY......
Then I plan on counting forward.........
Maybe I should say looking forward........
Because THAT is what I need to start doing -
LOOKING FORWARD TO BEING A BETTER ME......
LOOKING FORWARD TO BEING A TRUE ME........
"Be True To Yourself"......
Easier said then done - But it's time to try....

Okay people.........
We're in for a bumpy ride but here we go.........
Hopefully some of you who are reading this are willing to hang in there with me to help my on my little journey........   Cause some of you have heard me say it before and I'll say it one more time.......
THAT is who I need in my life  -  People who are there to inspire me, to encourage me, to tell me it's okay to just be ME..........

Hugs to those who are willing to be there.........
And
Kiss my ass to those who are not............



............