Congrats Allie!

My niece, the adorable girl, front and center ( black boots), just found out that she made drill team again for next year.
It's a huge commitment and a lot of work.
Here she is pictured with this year's drill team.
Aren't they all gorgeous?
photo-

Elise Parrish Murdock

Photoshop Fun.

Obviously I am a bit bored. So I've been fooling around a little.


My poor daughter is down with mono.
 I know... poor girl, right?

Anyway I thought I would torture her and take some pics when she is extra white and feeling sickly.
Adding some color can set a mood.
The purple here , although it makes her blue eyes pop, gives her a more sickly persona.

But the blue, the blue makes her ethereal, which means, "heavenly or celestial.

I think the cropping makes the image even better.
What do you think?

Are you on overload? No? Well twitter is!

 Hey I want to tweet, I really do!
Preppy player is a big tweeter, so what the heck?
 Found this on www.thepicky.com and it perfectly explains a recurring problem:

"Have you seen your twitter page show like this? “Twitter is over capacity. Too many tweets! Please wait a moment and try again.” Are you frustrated? Don’t worry, you are not alone. This is one of the hottest discussion in web.

In Technical Term: You are getting this message because you are being redirected to Twitter’s 503 page (503 Service Unavailable page).
An HTTP status code 503(503 Service Unavailable) indicates that twitter Web server is currently unable to handle the request because of a temporary overload or maintenance of the server.

Why Twitter server is overloaded?

Sometimes twitter traffic is very rapidly and its Web server is unable to handle rapid amount of request in very short period of time (server temporary overload). Hence you a re getting “Twitter is over capacity. Too many tweets!….”.
So, why twitter server is overload? Twitter has become the SMS of the Internet. Because of its restricted 140 characters per post, It has become the hottest thing in social networking. Every one from big companies, to  CEO’s (@ExecTweets) to youngsters’ uses Twitter. According to Forrester estimates around 5 people use Twitter, this causes overload."

Do you care?
Only if you tweet, which I am doing with more frequency...

Only 30% Irish. But please don't tell him.

Do you have your own leprechaun?

everything old is new again, right?

Miley is the new Sally, right?
In fact, I just read that Miley may be cast in a remake of Gidget.
Please don't tell me you don't know Gidget?

cuz then I know how old you are!

Fill in the blank!

I'm stealing/borrowing this from my sister, the frau

I am......tired ( daylight savings time!)

I think.... about work way too much.

I should... play less mahjong solitaire online.

I dream.... that I can fly!

I want.... to get started on our kitchen construction.

I know....I have to balance work and family better.

I don't like.... when people are rude!

I smell...burritos.

I hear.... the tapping of computer keys.

I fear.... that something has happened to my family whenever I hear a siren.

I usually.... play paddle.

I search... for new gigs all the time.

I miss.... baby smell.

I always....make a good dinner.

I regret.... not staying in touch with an old friend.

I wonder.... if I will ever live anywhere else.

I crave....cookies.

I remember... to turn off the coffee pot.

I need.....my hair dyed.

I forget....my hair appointments way too much, hence need for hair to be dyed..

I feel.... happy.

I can....get a lot done.

I can't....help with math homework.

I am happy....that our family is healthy.

I lose.....chargers all the time.

I sing....too much.

I listen...when my teens finally open up.

I shop....when I have to.

I eat....too much.

I love.....my husband, my children, my parents, and my sisters and their families so very much.

Without electricity?

Because of a Nor'easter, we were without power for a number of hours last night. Luckily we have a generator because due to huge snow melt AND torrential rain there has been massive flooding which means our finished basement would have been under water.

why?

Because we have Sump pumps that are electric. We did not splurge ( what we thought it was at the time) and pay extra for a battery back up.

So compared to many people in our area we were very lucky.

However, we were stuck at home for hours since there were extreme wind conditions outside and it wasn't safe to drive anywhere due to fallen trees.

We gathered all our candles and flashlights, but the surprise hit of the evening were the headlamps my husband and son bought for a boy scout trip last summer.

As kooky as the man in the pic above looks, we looked worse...

but they are awesome!

Invest in some to keep around in case of emergency, you won't be sorry.

Rainy day. Hood or hat?

Rainy days kill my salon blow-out.

If you have crazy curly hair like I do and if you have just plopped down too many $$'s for a blow out...

You want to protect that hair and make it last for a couple of days.

So what do you do?

a. Do not leave the house.

b. wear a rain hat.

c. wear a raincoat with a hood.

I remember my grandma always having a plastic rain hat in a little pouch in her purse, always prepared. No matter how pretty the model looks... this looks wrong.
This is hysterical. Clear plastic hat so that you can look out? Sorry, the flower does NOT help.
Hmmm. Bright yellow rain hat that does offer a lot of coverage for my curly locks...
But I just can't get this guy out of my head when I see that hat!
Ok, this jaunty number is right up my alley... on a sunny day. Because that hat is never going to keep the frizz and curls at bay.
fashionable, classic, great for you straight hair, Marcia Brady types.

Me? No.
Now this style hat might give me what I need and want- fashion and protection.

But somehow I see my hair peeking out like the model... that spells-

Hair disaster!

So, maybe it's a coat I need?
Doesn't this spell Rainy Day at Disney World to you?

I guess you had to be there. A sea of these on every ride, in every attraction.
This is sporty and cool. A little too skier, even for me.
Now, this is nice. Fashionable, stylish, long enough to cover my bum.

A contender.

But, the Northface grace raincoat is what I have my eye on. My sister Beth has it and she lost it temporarily to our sister Mary. I almost hijacked it from Mary before she guiltily sent it back to Beth.

We love it.

It is very flattering, does the job of keeping you AND your hair dry, and it can work with casual and semi dressy.

What's your vote?

*Do NOT say Paddington Bear!

Horse show season upon us...

Most of you know I love being a vendor at Horse shows.
I love the smell of the barns, the saddles, the hay, even the horses!
The vendors are very different and very upscale.
It is a whole other culture. people who are in love with, obsessed with, passionate about horses, ponies, and dogs.
And it is also a group that doesn't have to worry about the economy...

Not a bad group to sell to.

Mostly it is a nice change up for me. I buy differently when I go to market.

I look for "horsey" things- Head bands with bits, umbrellas with jumpers, necklaces with ponies, all with my preppy vibe.

the only potential problem?

Rain.

At the mercy of the weather.

I guess it isn't so different from lacrosse tournaments!

Elusive sleep- Thank you Ms. Peri Menopause!

Because "Peri" and I have been hanging out for a number of years, we met earlier than most women do, I thought I was done with the sleep issues.

In the middle of our "relationship" when hormones were up and down or as I know now diminishing...

My sleep sucked.

Some nights I would just get up and read ( this was before blogging obvs!) or I would lay there tossing and turning drifting in and out of sleep.

You can imagine the mood I would be in the next morning/day.

Cranky, grumpy, tired... rhymes with witchy.

But now that I am nearing the end of 'Peri" and easing into "Meno" I rarely have sleep issues.

I am back to my old self. I don't feel as edgy or... rhymes with bitchy.

Until tonight.

Here I am at 5:15am. I have been tossing and turning since 3:30.

I am WIDE awake.

Which is fine, I can find plenty to do.

The problem is that later today, around 10:30am,

I will not be someone you or anyone want to be around.

I will be irritable, edgy, and annoyed.

I will be forgetful, disorganized, and scattered.

I am not alone. According to More magazine,

"Sleep woes peak during the perimenopausal transition, says Barbara Phillips, MD, medical director of the UK Healthcare Good Samaritan Sleep Disorders Center, in Lexington, Kentucky, who notes that 12 to 40 percent of women report having trouble sleeping during these years.

"With impending menopause, most women experience a reduction in progesterone and estrogen," says David Slamowitz, MD, medical director of the SleepWell Center in Denver. "These hormones help regulate sleep, so declining levels can cause sleeping difficulties."

Although scientists are unsure exactly why sleep is so affected, there are several possible causes. The conventional wisdom is that hot flashes and night sweats interrupt sleep; however, Phillips says, the opposite may be true -- that middle-of-the-night wake-ups may actually cause hot flashes."

Somehow, it feels comforting to know that this is out of my control, that I did nothing wrong.

Blame it on the peri,peri,peri, peri meno pause!

Now the important stuff...

I am pretty sure I will be needing these in the near future-

Fitflop-walkstar 3
And the white will be a must have,

fitflop-walkstar 3
As for the black, I think I NEED these suede beauties,

fit flop- Oasis

Mineral basin, Snowbird utah

This is where we wanted to be. The back of Snowbird,

Mineral Basin.

When the sun is out it is the best place to be.

Lots of black diamond skiing.

Yet, as you can see, there is an easy way down as well.

Be aware that due to the vertical, blues and greens at Snowbird would be considered blacks at other resorts.
This it the way we chose to go.
This is a tunnel with a magic carpet that brings you through the mountain into the wide open bowl of Mineral basin.
it feels like a ride at Disney World!
I think they should have more signs and entertainment along the ride.
It takes about 5 minutes.
and then you're out.

Ready to find some fun!

Believe it or not, as much as there was a blizzard most of our time there, pockets of sun would open up through the clouds. Because you are so high up you could see it snowing across the basin and it would be sunny for a few minutes and not snowing where we were skiing. And then within minutes we would have skied back into where it was snowing!

Try to ski Mineral Basin when you go to Snowbird- It's amazing!

Lacrosse gifts, Lacrosse posters

Lacrosse gifts, sports posters

Lacrosse gifts don't have to be boring.

Your son's bedroom doesn't have to be boring either.

Go to Backyardartllc.com

See what you need to start the season off right!

St. Patrick's Day, How it's done... in Hoboken

In Chicago they dye the river green.
In Hoboken they start... on March 6th!

The parade is the big draw and although it starts at 1pm...

This was the line at 8:30 this morning as people begin to line up outside the bars in Hoboken getting "ready" for the parade. My son was up at 8am this morning,

( the EARLIEST I have seen him up on a Saturday morning in years.)

he took an 8:30 train to Hoboken to go to a St. Patrick's day party that starts at 9am!

The parade in Hoboken and the all-day pub crawl has become so popular that people actually prefer it to the St. Patrick's day parade and celebrations in NYC.

I have asked why and most say that it is because Hoboken is easy to navigate, all the pubs are in a centralized location giving the feeling of a huge block party, and public transportation is so easy going back into NYC or anywhere in NJ that no one has to worry about driving.

Need recommendations for Paris!

Calling all bloggers!

The Frau and I are meeting up in Paris next month and need recommendations for hotels.

We know we can count on you to let us know about the most economical, best locations, most clean places to stay in the city of lights- the BEST hotels in Paris!

Happy post! Happy Birthday!

A sweet sixteen is coming up!

The frau took these photos and was saying that the B&W didn't come out the way she liked, so I started having some fun!
I lightened this up a bit- the middle pic is darker so it was tricky trying to lighten up the middle without washing out the two side pics.
This one I had fun cropping, I like how it looks!

The colorful ones below are to celebrate a colorful, beautiful, and interesting girl that is growing up overseas. She is learning about other cultures, other languages, and ( I hear) how to stick up for herself!

Love her!