thankful for...

...a few spare moments to update my blog :)
...a week of true happiness for my girl who sang for several nursing homes, sang at church and acted out the stations of the cross...all this week
...a friend who I only know through the world wide wide web, whose baby girl finally came home after a 5 month hospital stay
...for medicine and advances that will hopefully make my friend well who was newly diagnosed with cancer (this is definitely me trying to view the cup as half full b/c truly my heart aches over it)
...today being the last day of school for 10 days!
...free tickets to the circus tonight...for miraculously seeing the scale tick downward this week as I veered pretty far off my diet for pretty many days

Happy Weekend. Pin It

week 1, 2011

Ok, not so bad.
Adjusting to the morning school routine + the afternoon and evening homework routine.
The weather is cold. Not a fan.
Sat down to sew up a project that was in my head. After a few snafus, I ended up with this.
A Kindle Snuggie. Lined in yellow fleece.
Model: Shelby. Photo: I phone. Of course.
I have taken at least one photo per day on my iphone. They are being stored and shared HERE.
Admittedly, they don't look like much...yet.
Going to a girls' night gift exchange tonight. The gifts? $15 AS SEEN ON TV items!
House? A mess. Motivation to clean and organize it? Non-existent. Pin It

Capture Cincinnati Book

I finally got it in January. The book itself is gorgeous. Totally coffee table worthy. My friend Carla gave me a shout out awhile ago on her blog. Carla had a photo printed too!

Above is my picture inside the book. It is pretty cool to be in here especially when some of the other photos are AWESOME.

And due to my gig over at the Brides Buddy, I recognize some of the other contributors too. Read that post at Brides Buddy. And to buy your own book, visit Joseph Beth Booksellers in Rookwood or order online.

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thoughts on 2009

This week has found me thinking about the year and the inevitable highs and lows. From both, I have either learned, or been reminded of, important life lessons.

Make choices you are at peace with. Life is short and sometimes ends unexpectedly. When this happens, you will be filled with sorrow but when that fog clears, to have been at peace with your decisions, will mean the world.

Weddings and funerals bring out the worst in people (in my experience). Behave in a way that would make your Mother proud and you can rise above it. Remember, you only have control of your own actions.

Blood is thicker than water. Sometimes giving up on a person seems easier than standing by them. Trust me on this, don't give up on those you love.

Girls are fickle, emotional, sassy, argumentative and picky. Fortunately they are also sweet, loving, smart, surprising and beautiful.

As we age, we are faced with harder and harder challenges. Watching your friend soldier through cancer treatment and ultimately beating the cr*p out of it will inspire you like nothing else. So much so, that you can almost forget how the initial news of the diagnosis took you to your knees.

Lifelong friendships are precious.

Puppies are a lot of work. A lot. But they are cute and I can almost buy into that unconditional love part. If only dude would stop chewing up everything. Oh, and you (by this I mean the female head of household) will do all the work. Don't let your kids convince you they will. Not gonna happen.

Love your mom. She is awesome. She is your biggest fan.

Try to stay off the stage when you hear live music out in public. Without a doubt, there will be photographic evidence. On the Internet.

To help you accomplish the above goal, drink in moderation :)

Follow your dreams. Do what you love. Money (the need for, not having enough of), while one of life's biggest foils, also seems to have a way of working out in the end.

Network. Meet people in both the traditional ways and also through technology. I am such a believer in this.

A new laptop and Windows 7 can change your life. (Okay, maybe not but it did enhance mine!)

Happy New Year. Have one!

Tracy Pin It

a birthday celebration

I can finally reveal the gifts I made for my best girlfriends from High School.

Festive, Be Merry banners.

And here we are having a humongous, family style meal at Maggianos. Honestly, they bring out an embarassing amount of grub. And yes, we also enjoyed some tasty wine to go along with the feast.

Our tradition is to exchange birthday gifts just once during the year. The other gifts this time around were personalized stationary and address labels, Tervis Tumbler initial cups in a super large size, cute pumpkins for Halloween decor and Bath N Body snuggly socks and foot cream. Does it get any better....good friends, good food, good wine and we each come home with 4 gifts. Yea, us!

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Goodbye Halloween

It was a great day and night!

The obligatory family picture, with new addition Skipper the HOTdog.

Expertly carved pumpkins.

The pumpkin cupcakes.

And the gang. We host a pre trick-or-treat party each year. It was cool but sunny as you can tell, so a drastic improvement from earlier in the day. This a collection of the tricksters who attended.

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real men wear PINK

So, I have mentioned my great friend Beth here before. She is beating breast cancer and is definitely an inspiration to those who surround her. This past weekend, she showed up to her son's football game to see this:

All the boys wearing pink socks to show love and support for her and her family. Her husband is one of the coaches and he did not know either.

Her sister in law and the team mom organized the whole surprise. I mean honestly, is there anything cuter than 8 year old BOYS in PINK socks?!

It just about knocks your socks off, right?!

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komen-race for the cure-team shot

Here is a partial showing of our team: Teamin' for Nieman. The Fuze booth was taking these free photos and then passed out a magnet frame with a code so you could locate this online down the road. I did, and here it is. I know you are probably overwhelmed by our loveliness but just so you know, it was about 8:30 am. The t-shirts were provided by cincinnatirewards.com. If you are a Cincy local, check out their coupons.

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this is beth...

Here is a group photo of a wonderful collection of friends on the night of my Surprise 40th Bday party. In the center is Beth (with the pink star over her head, b/c baby she is a STAR!) who is one of the dearest friends I have ever known. In fact, the party was at her house.

Well, the week after this party, Beth was diagnosed with breast cancer. I cannot tell you how it has rocked all of us to the core. But Beth, she is just a strong warrior and is plugging along, beating the crap out of cancer.

In her honor, some of us are participating in the local Race for the Cure on September 12. Our team website can be found HERE. If you are in or around the Cincinnati area, we'd like nothing better than for you to join us as we represent our good friend and her courage.

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a visit from the southern belles...

Our neighbors, have the cutest niece with a totally fun family. We met them last year when they visited in October. This weekend they returned for a few days of outdoor play and swimming.

This is the youngest belle: Sarah. She is one darling, sassy, 4 year old.

This is our neighbor's granddaughter, Colleen. My girls, especially Olivia, love when she visits too.

What the heck? This Hula Hooper lives here! Olivia is actually a quite good hooper, something I am proud to say she inherited from me. I am pretty nonathletic. Ok, totally nonathletic. So my only two claims to fame are that I can hula hoop and roller skate--the old fashioned way on 4 wheels.

And finally, a group shot of the girl power...minus Shelby.

Today, I am settling back in to life...catching up on laundry, doing a little school shopping, a bit of sewing...all things that feel comfortable and more normal than the past week has.

Side note: A week or so ago, my Mom bought me some GREAT Amy Butler fabric to make a quilt. A splurge I would have never made on myself. I have been making blocks when I can find the time and I almost done with that. I hope to start piecing them together this week. Stay tuned for pictures. As per my usual, I get antsy and need more instant gratification so today, I whipped up an Iphone holder from the patchwork leftovers from squaring up my quilt squares. It could use a few tweaks but it is functional and pretty...isn't any thing made by Amy Butler?

Alright, back to the seam ironing!

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support the cause--buy the iHOPE kit

I have yet to share this here but a very dear friend, one of my very best friends of all time, was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Although I think about her often and have made phone calls, sent cards, emails...I still feel powerless. I am always looking for that something to do, to help. This may not be huge, and it may not filter down to her specifically, but it is something I feel strongly about and it gives me a very measurable way to help. The We R Storytellers digital scrapbooking website is offering a huge, wonderful kit....iHOPE...and all the proceeds are going to help fight breast cancer. Read about their efforts here, and please, if you digi scrapbook, make this purchase. Or, if you don't but you blog, or twitter or use facebook...share it there. Thanks! Pin It