Star of the week!

U.S. District Judge Denny Chin.

Why?

Because he was right to sentence Bernie Madoff to 150 years in prison.

I am certain that in the near future we will use the term Madoff to describe someone who is the ultimate swindler, one without remorse or conscience.

Princeton Women's Lacrosse...camp

Yes, it's true.

My daughter is going to Princeton.

Ok, so it's for four days at a lacrosse camp! 

It's a start, right?

I do love college sports camps because they give kids an opportunity to actually live on campus, eat in the cafeterias, learn the campus, get to know coaches and experience the college level of play.

It can be an eye opener for many student athletes. I think it can help an athlete determine if playing sports in college is really for them.

And, if it is something they desire? They may be  motivated academically as well, as the coaches always explain that grades and SAT's are just as important (more important)  to admissions as athletic performance.

I always remember a story a friend told me about her daughter. 

In her daughter's junior year of high school they were taking a tour of University of Virginia, (a truly beautiful school and campus), and as they walked around awestruck her daughter said, " you really should have taken me here in 8th grade. if I had seen this, I would have tried a lot harder!"

My friend about died.

So, let's see if the camp can motivate my girl :)

I'm back!

Well, it was a long weekend and I've spent today recovering. 

It's always like that.

I spend a few days before each event running around like a maniac preparing, loading the truck, doing inventory, mapping routes, and packing and then the day after I always crash.

I did well and I was correct in predicting my best sellers. 

I like that :)

And now...

I feel like summer is truly here. It was a beautiful day, I ran my errands without any deadlines. You know, 3pm pick ups, soccer practice, etc.

Gone.

Now, other than rock solid tennis dates and camp drop off and pick up...

The day rambles by. Love it.

I will post pics of my tournament booth, when I finally hook my camera up...

On the road again!

We are off  this morning to vend at our third lacrosse tournament this summer, a three day event.

The event, National draw is an elite, college recruiting tournament featuring the best players in the country. And, luckily there is plenty of time between games for shopping!

We will be selling in a vendor village located in the middle of the venue. It is a lot of fun, but a lot of work too. I look forward to catching up with the coaches, players and parents, and other vendors we have gotten to know over the years.

predictions-

I think the scout bags, boxers, capris pajamas and cord necklaces will be my big sellers.

I will let you know if I was right!

See you Sunday night!

preppy tennis cover +camp= perfect send off!

Preppy tennis racquet cover at www.preppyplayer.com

Picture it monogramed and you then have the perfect send off gift for camp and insurance that she will come home with her racquet

Arnold Palmer!

The most refreshing summer time drink?

An Arnold Palmer!

This drink made with 1/2 iced tea and 1/2 lemonade is named for the professional golfer, Arnold Palmer. It does conjure up the image of drinks on the patio after an 18 hole game.

It is my favorite "non-alcohol"  Summer beverage.

Try it!

Last day of school

Wasn't it a minute ago that I took the first day of school picture?

Probably doesn't seem that way to him. When I was a child it seemed like the school year took forever, like it was a lifetime.

When I was a young mother and had a bunch of little kids the school year was never long enough. I needed the time and structure to keep my brood under control.

Now I have come full circle. It really seemed as if the school year took forever, all the rain this last month didn't help and now I look forward to mornings without carpools, making lunches, signing papers, and rushing out the door.

 I am so glad this is the last day of school!

Lady of Guadalupe bracelets

Do you ever see people with these bracelets?

Many, many Mexican people or Spanish speaking people wear these bracelets showing their devotion to the Lady of Guadalupe ( the virgin Mary) The images on the bracelet represent different incarnations of her.

Interestingly enough, a lot of other people are wearing these bracelets as they have become very popular- a fad if you will.  Many of these people are not Mexican or Catholic. many do not know who the Lady of Guadalupe is!

At the last lacrosse tournament I had a basket of Lady bracelets left over from a Catholic fundraiser and I was amazed to find girls going crazy over these bracelets. I sold out right away!

I think it is a positive phenomenom when fads or traditions from other cultures cross over to the masses.

Do you have this bracelet? If so, is there a story or an interesting reason?

I am curious, let me know :)

Bridge!

I am loving Bridge!

I am just a beginner, but already find it so engrossing and enjoyable. I love the social aspects as well as the brain work involved.

It reminds me of  what yoga and paddle do for me. When I am involved with bridge I am so focused, none of the daily minutia of my life creeps in. I leave so relaxed as my brain was involved-yet was given a rest from family, work... life!

Do you play? Any advice?

Have I ever told you...

How much I love the music of Regina Spektor?

Because I am so lame with posting videos, please check out this link to her new CD.

Let me know what you think :)

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid4020141001?bctid=23871654001

Lacrosse recruiting 101 cont.

Ok kids, 

Time to get serious.

Are you a high school sophomore or junior laxer?

Do you want to play lacrosse in college?

If you answered yes to both those questions you need to get busy.

College lacrosse camps have become very important in the recruiting process. They have always been a must for boys and now for girls as well.  It is important to attend camps at a college you might be interested in or camps that many college coaches work at. Camps enable coaches to get a better look at players they are interested in or for a player to create interest by having a good camp. Camps are usually 3-4 days, allowing a player to attend 2-4 a summer.

They are not cheap.

But you get more bang for your buck than a tournament as camps are more intimate and allow many hours of coach attention.

Pros- Live on campus for 2-4 days, essentially trying out the college too.

          See how coach is, if coaching style is "your" style.

          More time to show your skills, than a tournament.

          See if college lacrosse is for you.

Cons-

You might have a "bad" camp, not show well.

           ( can be avoided by being in good shape.)

The camp might be "bad", giving you the wrong impression of a school that might be right for you.

The price.

Time. Between tournaments, summer vacation, club and high school commitments, there isn't much time. ( very important you research and pick the correct camps for you to attend.

My advice would be: email coaches of colleges you may be interested in, find out if they are holding camps or working at camps. Try to attend a camp with the most coaches (of schools you may be interested in)

When you have decided which camps you are attending, email the coaches that will be there, let them know that you are there because you are interested in their program and, most importantly, in the college their program is a part of.

Please remember,  coaches and admissions of most colleges want a good fit. They both want to hear that you are interested in the school as much as the program.

I hope this was enough info, if not email me and I would be happy to answer more questions :)

Feelings- Best/Worst

The best feelings?

1. Love
2. Happiness
3. Joy
4. Peace
5. Hopefulness
6. Relief
7. Thankfulness

The worst feelings?

1. Hate
2. Worry
3. Guilt
4. Jealousy
5. Dread
6. Sadness
7. Hopelessness

What would you add to each list and what are your #1 best/worst feelings?

Mine?

#1 best- Love

#1worst-Worry

Summertime quandary....

Part of me feels responsible for making sure the summer is jam-packed with fun and activities for my sixth grader. 

You know,  camp, music programs, summer CCD, trips to amusement parks and the Jersey shore.

Most of me feels that the summer should be relaxing and free of organized events and activities.

That  an occasional trip to the beach and a weekly trip to the library for fresh summer reads should be enough.

 Oh, and making sure there is a daily swim at our town lake should be my only involvement.

I picture my boy up early and out the door roaming the neighborhood and town with his friends, coming home for lunch when he hears the twelve o'clock whistle and then heading out again until it's time to go the lake...

Unfortunately that is unrealistic as the other boys are at camp, involved in music programs or down at the beach for the summer.

Well I think my compromise with myself will be that he will have an unstructured summer at least until July 4th. There will be no plans or activities to eat up the day. No places we have to get to.

No commitments.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads,

especially to you Dad!

You are a wonderful father and patriarch. I love and respect you so much.

Thank you for being a spectacular grandfather to my children, they love you so much too.

I know Marc appreciates and loves you as a father-in-law.

So, lots of positive energy and love coming to you,

from us-

especially me!

iPhone or Blackberry Curve... let's discuss.

I am about to take the plunge and move to a... 

Whole. Other. Level. 

I must decide between the iPhone and the curve.

Please give me your opinions. I'm not even talking about the New iPhone. I'm talking the $99 one vs. the Curve.

Please volunteer pros and cons to help me make my decision.

Thank you friends.

PS if you have never commented before, now is a good time. Especially if you are a techie and know your stuff :) Think of it as your charity for the month!

Friday raves and rants...

Rave- finally,  the sun's out! I feel my entire mood lifting.

Rant- it's not raining. We live in a town 1 mile squared, my children can't walk anywhere?

          Meaning, I have been in and out of the car all afternoon... I just want to stay put.

Rave- I am fully stocked for the season. I do not have to buy a thing for the rest of the summer,            all profit.

Rant- it makes me nervous to have all that inventory! Sell, sell, sell!

Rave- One more week of school and then we can all relax.

Rant- Why can I never think of the perfect father's day gift? 

           Ok, forget perfect, how about adequate?    

  

Rave- Love  Ralph Lauren chinos.

Rant- Hate J. Crew chinos, too thin.

Rave-  It's Friday!

           

beach cover-ups part II

So chicas, I just received my order and this is what I have:

( I do apologize for the minuscule swatch's.)

I have pink Cheetah in small.
Pink Monkeys in small and medium.
Green Monkeys in medium.
Paisley in large.
Passiflora in medium and large.
Mermaids in large.

Not a large selection, but my favorites, especially the Monkeys!

These cover-ups retail at $55 at most boutiques, I sell them for $45.

But, for my readers they are $40, with $2 shipping. 

Total-$42.

Email if interested.

Be on the lookout today... I also received an order of pajama Capri's'! 

I will post later!

rainy day wishes

Wow! 

Will it ever stop?

So here are my wishes:

1. clear-up by the weekend for all those graduations and weddings.

2.That no one is hurt drinking and driving or driving in this bad weather.

3.That all this rain makes it better for studying for the final exams :)

4. That the rain makes my lawn and gardens AMAZING!

NJ Housewives- they are among us!

Sounds like a horror flick, right?

But in reality, as in reality TV, I do live near the NJ housewives. They live in Franklin lakes, NJ.

And, of course know people who know them, play tennis with, go to church with, blah, blah, blah.

But today... I was at Bloomingdale's with my Mom and daughter going through the racks of dresses when I realize that the infamous Danielle was also, right along side of me. 

She was there with her daughters and an assistant or nanny.

And, both of us were trying to help our daughters find something great to wear for an event.

Ok, so what if their event was on a red carpet in NYC.

Either way, we were in the same boat, just a different destination.

Observations:

Danielle is WAY too skinny. Girl needs to get some meat on her bones. She actually looks older than her 45 years because she is so skinny.

She was very nice and polite to saleswomen fawning over her.

She was really sweet with her daughters

They all were obviously VERY excited about whatever event they had to go to.

Her voice is very distinct, HEAVY Joisey accent. Does NOT represent the area that we live in, REALLY!

Her eldest daughter is stunning! She looks like she is 17 and she must be 5'10. She has definitely grown and matured since filming. I predict we will know more about her in the future. She was the one I noticed first as she was dressed beautifully and really had a presence.

I am left wondering what happened.

Reason?

Well, they left to get their hair done and were coming back to get their clothes for the evening,

 ( See, a lot of people are last minute like me!)

However, there were freaky, torrential downpour storms in our area, traffic was backed up for hours.

I really doubt that they made it to their event on time.

Guaranteed she was late, hours late and will receive bad press for being a diva.

When I know ( and now you do) that it was the god awful weather.

So, that was my Joisey inside story!

Critters AND seersucker? Summer shorts extraordinaire!

When I start seeing critters on shorts and seersucker I know summer is here. 

But, TOGETHER?

Even better. 

The boys shorts at J. crew rock!
The women's shorts at Vineyard Vines have a great cut, flattering for most figures.
Even the most conservative guy could not say no to these lobster shorts from Vineyard Vines!

Lacrosse trend alert! (tourney observation)

According to my college player... short socks, crew style, the darker the better, have been a college style for some time.

But, I am just noticing that the older girls are wearing these, that means the little ones will soon follow.

And I have to say, I'm pretty sure this trend is coming from Long Island as I notice most of those girls are wearing them.

Just thought you needed to know that. 

I'm back!

Yes, I am home.

The weather didn't really cooperate, but I still did OK. It was fun spending time with Michaela and we met a lot of very nice people, as usual. ( Lacrosse tournaments are chock full of great folks.)

In fact, we met the parents of an incoming freshman lacrosse player on Michaela's team!

That was nice and we will be sure to greet them when we see them at fall ball.

I have a bit of a lull until the next lax tournament, although I have a sale with a friend who will selling CAbi clothing at her home. The weather will not affect that sale!

I hope the rain stays away for a couple of weeks. I am sick and tired of it AND I feel bad for all the graduation parties and weddings. 

Actually I just returned from my niece Alissa's graduation party!

Congrats Alissa, we love you!

Blue Lily photo shoot, NYC

Blue Lily photography

I told you they were good!

Unfortunately, our family had to bow out of our scheduled shoot because Ryan was still in New Orleans, couldn't have a family photo session without him!

These photos are of my sister and her family. 

Aren't they awesome?

These were shot in Central Park. Our location would have been in Soho.

Wendy of Blue Lily was kind enough to give us a credit and we will definitely schedule time when she comes back to NYC, ( she is out of California.)

Check out her web site here.

If she is coming near your area, I recommend her. She and her husband Tyler are delightful and enthusiastic ( Read their blog!) and they have a fresh approach to family portraiture. 

Random thoughts...

Why do I always rely on my husband to jump start a dead battery... when he is in Chicago... and won't be home for a few days?

I really DO need 8 hours of sleep EVERY night.

Real housewives of NJ is not as good as I thought it would be.

How come the extra weight I'm packing has settled in my midsection? 

Am I really a peri-menopause cliche?

I've been thinking about Nie Nie from the blog, the nie nie dialogues.

I wish I could freeze my children at the ages they are at this point in time, it is a wonderful time in our family life right now. Everyone is still young, yet independent. Still tied to our home and family, yet beginning to spread their wings.

I am suddenly obsessed with cleaning all the door handles, drawer pulls, and light switches. I wonder if this has anything to do with the FACT that Kevin just told me that the little girl who sits next to him in math and is two lockers away has swine FLU!!!!???

I am counting down the days until school gets out. read that however you want.

Dance party!

The scene:

Dreary, rainy evening. 

Me, making dinner. 

They, dancing and singing.

Me, happy.

In the weeds

 There is an old restaurant saying, that we would use during the busiest time of our shift,

"I"M IN THE WEEDS!"

It means I am so buried or bogged down that I can't see over "the weeds."

So, I am a bit distracted. Business is crazed. I have a fundraiser I provided vendors for and that I am vending at on Wednesday night and then a boutique next Wednesday... Not counting a HUGE lacrosse tournament this weekend. The rest of the month is the same, which isn't the norm for me at this time of year.

It's all good.

Tennis and paddle are both going on and with all the graduation parties, neighborhood get-togethers, and now with my parents coming to visit...

June is going to be action packed and lots of fun! And I may be in "the weeds."

Lacrosse AND Scout Bags?

What Do Lacrosse and scout bags have in common?

My favorite things!

Both preppy AND sporty.

I was a selling machine down in Ocean City this past weekend.

The big seller?

Scout bags of course! The Deano Bag in particular.

Oh and my Angela Moore"ish" sports bracelets.

The big surprise?

Tennis racquet covers!

I happened to bring them along, decided to put them out and ended up selling most of them.

All in all it was a beautiful weekend. I did well. I was able to spend A LOT of time with my daughter (she works for me) and I was in my favorite environment- Lacrosse!

Revisited

I was showing my daughter this photo and she had a fit!

And as only a big sister can be, critical and loving at the same time, she said,

"Mom!!! Boy Scouts AND band? How could you let him?"

I said, "What are you talking about?"

She said, "DOUBLE NERD!!!"

As most of us know, that is so wrong. ( Pink Martini, I know you get it!)

When I see that picture I see very confident, well rounded, happy boys.

The best part?

If she were to say that to him?

He would laugh and it wouldn't bother him a bit.

Crazy eight Tag!

Thank you Tami from,  The Miller Family Blog

I wasn't sure what I was going to write about today, ( recap the weekend later today) 

So, this was a good way to get myself going!

8 things I am looking forward to:
1. My parents visiting from Utah
2. My sister visiting from Germany (hopefully!)
3. Paddle starting up again
4. 4th of July parties
5.  Time at the beach this summer
6. Summer sports events (baseball and lacrosse)
7. Summer night walks
8. Summer's slower pace

8 things I did yesterday:
1. Drove for five hours
2. Woke up at 5am
3. took down a tent
4. packed a truck
5. sold a lot of scout beach bags!
6. ate chinese food at 9pm
7. saw a lot of the Delaware countryside (detours)
8. watched Benjamin Buttons ( What was Brad Pitt thinking?)

8 things I wish I could do:
1. Sing
2. Be more nurturing
3. win the lottery
4. be more sensitive
5. blow out my hair better ( wouldn't have to pay someone)
6. Lose a few...
7. Fly (really!)
8. Have a live-in housekeeper

8 shows I watch:
1. Lost
2. True Blood
3. Real Housewives
4. Heros
5. CNN
6. Millionaire Matchmaker
7. Entourage
8. law and order

Ok, that was a good way to get me writing. Thanks again Tami!

Now, everybody!

JUMP IN THE POOL!!!

Road trip!

Ocean City, Maryland here we come...

Michaela and I have the truck all packed up and will be leaving early today (to beat the traffic.)

This is my first event of the season and I love it!

Why?

1. Tim Gilbert the tournament director is awesome and runs a great tourney.

2. All my vendor buddies will be there and it is fun to catch up.

3. All my customers are fresh and haven't seen me in awhile- they are VERY enthusiastic    buyers!

4. Ocean City is a fun place and a great venue for this type event.

5. The first tournament is a great place to test market my new items.

6. Get to spend a lot of time with Michaela, love working with her.

7. Have I mentioned that Maryland's seafood is the best!!!!!

Old fashioned travel protection

How about wearing a St. Christopher medal?

Memorial Day Band, conflicted?

A friend just sent me this pic of my saboteur and friends on Memorial Day and it is funny to me.

Why?

Well in our little town's parade EVERY group marches. 

We like to joke that there are more people IN the parade than there are people WATCHING the parade.

So, there are bound to be conflicts. I love how these boys chose to resolve their conflict.

They wore their boy scout uniforms while marching in the band! 

Two birds with one stone:)

beach tunic cont.

 For those of you that professed your love for the Beach tunics, here is more info:

So I know these swatches are tiny and I am sorry.   When I am at events they retail for $50. I can sell them here for $40 with $2.50 shipping. Total-$42.50

If you are interested email me :)