The Trip Continues...finally

The second morning in RI was even nicer than the first. The sun was shining and the wind was not blowing quite as hard. A quick trip to Double D, then back to sit on the beach before I had to check out. I sat and sipped on my coffee and soaked in the warmth of the sun, the sounds of the ocean and watched the seagulls. After an hour or so I really needed to check out and head into the city. I was meeting some friends in Providence for lunch. My best friend Katie and 2 great friends, Tracy and Wendy I knew from Cumberland Company. Several years ago downtown Providence got a face lift and it really looks nice. We met at a restaurant in the mall. The food was fine, but the company was great.


The reunions kept going all week long! That evening it was time to catch up with another friend from high school at a pizza place we worked at when we were seniors. Angelo's Pizza Palace was a great place to work, I ate lots of pizza and not only worked with Tracy, but Katie as well. Several years ago they renovated Angelo's to a full service restaurant. It is still owned by the same wonderful woman...Christine! I was fortunate to be able to see her on this trip too....like I said, the reunions kept going. After dinner Katie, Tracy and I went to a bar to watch the Red Sox (of course) and catch up. By the end of the night my stomach hurt from laughing!

Saturday morning was another beautiful day. I was going to meet my friend Beth...she and I were very close in junior high. She was in eight grade and I was in seventh and I believe we met while walking home from school. We both attended Goff in Pawtucket and we lived on the same street. We were pretty much inseparable for the remainder of the school year. Of course we reunited thanks to facebook....she has been through a rough divorce and her ex husband is being a jerk...I would use another word, but you never know who is reading this. I decided to take a tour of homes that afternoon. I thought it would be fun to take pictures of a few of the houses I had lived in. There was Home Ave. in Cumberland, Archer Street in Pawtucket, and Houtman Street in Cumberland. There are other houses I lived in, some I do not remember. I had reserved a room in Providence for the next 3 nights....that would take me to the end of my trip. So after my tour of past domiciles I headed to downtown Providence...I got a great deal on Priceline! I had about an hour before I could check in so I walked across the street (actually under a bridge) to India Point Park. I put on some good tunes on my iPod and enjoyed. The next reunion was just a couple hours...and I couldn't wait. The kind of annual, semi annual, bi annual...whatever you want to call it..Cumberland Company for the Performing Arts reunion! Folks came from various parts of RI, NH and of course I was in from Georgia. Someone asked if I came all the way to RI because of the reunion...No, I explained, we were having the reunion because I was in RI. It was so great to see so many friends and meet new ones. We danced and sang, laughed and joked....even the fire department came! Never a dull moment! The party was a huge success and we all vowed to do it again next year! I am already looking forward to it!

My next reunion was with family. Because I live in Georgia and most of my cousins live up north we are not able to spend much time together. So it was important that I try to see some family while I was there. My cousins Peggy and Cathy and I met for brunch at a cute place called Brickway on Wickenden. It was small but the food was good and the conversation was great. I really enjoyed chatting with my cousins and hope to do it again next time I am there. After brunch I headed to Katie's mom's to watch the New England Patriots game. We had a great dinner...turkey and mashed potatoes and dressing. It was great to see Kate's mom...I have known her since I was 4...called her mom most of my life. She was such a huge part of my childhood.

The game was over and the dishes were done it was time to say good night. I was so close to the beach I had to stop by one more time. I made my way back to Scarborough beach, I wanted to hear the ocean one more time...my trip was quickly coming to an end, I only had one day left.

Monday morning was a very chill day. I had been going non stop since I landed and it was catching up to me. I spent part of the day reading..and watching the weather channel. I was enjoying the wonderful New England weather while my family back in Georgia was dealing with an unbelievable amount of rain. It had been raining for days, they canceled school and parts of Atlanta were underwater.

One last reunion for the trip. I planned on meeting up with the Durkins, a family I used to live across the street from and babysit for, but Mrs. Durkin was dealing with a toothache and had to get it taken care of. So I met with their daughter Jessica instead. Jessica and I are not that far apart in age, but I used to watch her. We were able to eat dinner outside because the temperature was still so mild. It was great to talk to her....I think we both got a lot out of our meeting...it is amazing when you talk to people you realize how much you have in common. I have talked to her several times since....we have started a friendship that was a long time coming.

Back to the hotel and a quick stop at the bar to have a beer and watch the rest of the Red Sox game. Wow, I was heading home tomorrow...bitter sweet. I missed my family, but I would miss everyone here too....Until next year!

And one last thought...if you ever head to RI sometime between Memorial Day and the beginning of October, be sure to find a Del's....you won't be disappointed.

Lame!

I just wanted to say I am such a lame blogger...in fact I downright suck at it. I cannot believe it has been a month since I have returned from Rhode Island and I still only have part one posted. Like I said..LAME!

I have a goal...finish blogging my trip on Sunday...so I can move on...and be lame about other parts of my life.

The Trip! part one

I have been home for 5 days...and I am ready to head back up north. As usual it was a great trip filled with catching up with friends and family...seeing the ocean, meeting new people and spending some quality time in my mind. After 2 uneventful flights I was in Rhode Island checking into my hotel across the street from Scarborough Beach. I have stayed in the same hotel for the past several years and it serves its purpose well. It is relatively inexpensive for being so close to the ocean. I was as unpacked as I planned on for my two night stay...freshened up and headed out. I was very excited that I would be able to watch the Red Sox every night I was in town. So Charlie O's was my watering hole of choice. About a 3 minute drive from my hotel with decent crab cakes and calamari...I rooted for my team and enjoyed the food. It was a chilly but clear night and the Milky Way was out in full force...I have to go to the beach to hear the waves up close and see all the stars that are not hidden by city lights....it was breezy but worth it. That night I slept with my window opened and the heat on....I needed to listen to my favorite sounds as I fell asleep.

The next morning I woke up to beautiful sunshine and a wind that wouldn't quit. I braved the elements and made my way to Double D (aka Dunkin Donuts) for a large cup of hot coffee with cream and sugar. I took my morning motivation and sat on the Sea Wall in Narragansett...although the wind was whipping the sites were beautiful! When I was a freshmen in high school, part of that year we lived within walking distance from the Sea Wall (until that house burned down). I would put on my walkman and head to the wall, I would sit and watch the waves crash onto the rocks. As I sat on the wall I realized that there was absolutely no graffiti. I would like to think that even the punk kids respect the beauty enough not to ruin it.

It was time to head out of the beach area and take my very sweet 80 year old cousin out to lunch. When I arrived to pick her up she took one look at me and exclaimed..."You look just like your mother!" I know this fact about myself. Since I let my hair go white I do indeed look just like her...and that's ok with me. She was a beautiful, smart, funny, loving person. I digress... Back to the trip...after lunch I drove to my best friends house. Katie and I have been best friends since we were 4 years old...that's almost 35 years...that is a VERY long time to maintain a friendship. It is always wonderful to see her and her family. She has 4 kids 7th grade, 5th grade, 2nd grade and a 2 year old...what a woman!!! She juggles the kids activities, a job and a role in the PTA. I did not see her husband much this trip because he too was juggling hockey practice and work etc. But I will see him next year..it may be in passing again...but then there will be the next year...etc.

I did not stay away from the beach too long...the waves were calling me and I needed to heed their call. Galilee is a quaint little harbor town that is home to George's...a good seafood restaurant and the Block Island ferry. There is a jetty which is a great place to sit and watch the boats go in and out of the harbor and where fishermen set up shop.
My stomach made me aware that it had been quite awhile since I had anything to eat and I wanted to go have some awesome Chinese at Chen's in Wakefield. This is a restaurant that has been around for a very long time. We would eat there frequently when we lived in Narragansett, after we moved away and would visit my sister at URI...and whenever we are in RI. The amount of food on my plate was obnoxious..and it didn't even look like I had eaten anything by the time I was full. But there was no time to waste....the sun was about to set and I did not want to miss it...back to Galilee I went and just in time. Sunset and the ocean are two of my favorite things....but a sunset by the ocean...it's hard for me to describe.

The sun was down and the air was getting cool...it was time to head back to Charlie O's to cheer on the Red Sox. There were a couple ladies sitting at the bar...one was a local and one used to be..she now resides in Florida, but comes to visit her friends that still live in RI. Sounds familiar and I smiled with the thought that I too would still be taking my annual journeys to the Kingdom (as one of my friend refers to RI). My first full day was coming to an end...it was time to head back to the hotel..open my window so I could hear the waves. What a great day it was!

Leaving on a Jet Plane!

So here it is...the eve of my trip. I successfully wished the summer away, though I didn't really mean to. My suitcase is packed, my flight confirmed, the rental car....rented. Now I wait. I always look forward to my ventures up north, but this year is going to be special. With the help of facebook I will be very busy catching up with friends I have not seen in 2 decades! So much to talk about...so many strolls to take down memory lane!

I am looking forward to seeing the ocean and I hope it is not through rain drops. But last time I checked I was not made out of sugar so the possibility of me melting is pretty nil. There is something special about New England beaches....it is one of those things that you can't explain, you just have to experience it.

For the next week I plan on watching the Red Sox games on tv and not have to rely on updates from websites. I may find myself in a different bar every night to accomplish this, but that's a'right!

So as the evening goes on the excitement increases....patience.....

Tomorrow starts the 3rd week of school and 2nd week of dance for the girls. August is quickly coming to a close, and I can feel the weather is slowly beginning to change. Not that the days aren't still hot, but....ooohh...the nights are nice and cool! It was so nice to sleep with the windows open last night! It was almost nostalgic....remembering growing up in Rhode Island where central AC was not the norm and every window in the house was open trying to keep the temperature bearable. And if you were lucky you had a fan in your window.




On Monday August 17th I went to go see the Gwinnett Braves take on the Pawtucket Red Sox. Another feeling of nostalgia. Growing up in RI you were never very far from anything and this included McCoy Stadium, home of the Pawtucket Red Sox. Our school always had promotional nights and the tickets were $3.oo.
Although I was at the Braves home field, I was still pulling for Red Sox. But by the end of the game I was cheering for both sides. I really didn't care who won...it was great being at a ballpark again.



Now tomorrow should prove to be an interesting day. I love to cook and I love the Food Network. So after I drop Emily off at school, I am heading to downtown Atlanta to the W hotel to throw my hat into the ring to become the Next Food Network Star. There is an open cast call and I figured what the heck! I filled out my 11 page application...I have my 2 recent pictures of myself...and there I go. I lack culinary training, and gourmet chef I am not...but I still love to cook and think it would be a blast to be on TV. I figured I would get as far as handing the folks my application and never hear from them again. But at least I can say I tried! Life is too short not to go for what you want!

Sunday morning

So here it is...the last morning before school starts. As I sip my coffee and enjoy the peace and quiet I am mentally preparing for the changes in schedule that are about to come. One week after school starts, dance begins again. Who needs to be where when? I need to sit and create a schedule to ensure that no one will be left behind at the studio.

As crazy as it will be...it will be good to get back into a routine; it may take awhile to figure out that routine, but it's all good.

What an incredible time we had on our vacation. On July 18th, Rusty and I packed up the girls and drove them down to Florida to spend some time with their papa, cousins and aunts. After visiting for a day or so we (Rusty and I) drove to Hilton Head Island, SC for our own vacation. My sister in laws family has a house there and let us borrow it for the week! If you have never been to Hilton Head (HH), I highly recommend it! Although New England beaches will always be my favorite, HH is a very close 2nd.


My dad...feeling much better, thank you very much, drove the girls to HH on Saturday July 25. He spent the night then headed back home.

We spent 3 more days as a family +1, Kailie had invited her friend to come along.

Emily and I spent the better part of one day at the beach. This is the day I learned that I am not allergic to Jelly Fish...OUCH!!! Emily was a little freaked out because of how quickly I got out of the water...she thought a shark bit my foot off.

Rusty and I took several walks on the beach before the girls arrival. I was on the look out for sharks' teeth, unfortunately I did not find any. Kailie on the other hand found 4. I searched for almost a week, and she looked for 20 minutes.



We were very fortunate to have had the opportunity to stay in Hilton Head. But at some point vacations have to end. July 29 marked the end of a fantastic vacation. After 10 wonderful days in HH, we packed up and headed home. That night Rusty said, "It must have been a wonderful vacation, nobody said that it was good to be home." Not that I am not happy to be home, I really enjoyed our time away.

I had to work the day after we got home, it was as good a day as one could have at work. Today is Rusty's first day back...I need to call him soon to make sure he remembered how to get to work. The girls head back to school 1 week from today....summer is almost over.

Growing up Labor Day always marked the end of summer vacation...not any more. Now, I am looking forward to my next trip. On September 16th I head to Rhode Island. I am really looking forward to seeing friends and family. September is such a pretty time of year in New England. I am excited about seeing the ocean again, I miss it already!

Can't Wait!!!

I find it very funny how I am almost complaining about how quickly summer is going by, yet I have some fun things coming up and I can't wait for them to get here! Rusty and I will be spending a week in Hilton Head...by ourselves! There is not too much planned for August....oh yeah, the first day of school is August 10th.

In September I am making my annual trek to RI. Thanks to facebook I will be spending lots of time reuniting with old friends! I am really excited about it!

Summer...aaahhh!

Fourth of July has come and gone, we spent the weekend up at our cabin on Lake Hartwell...minus a few little issues a good time was had by all.
I think the girls have enjoyed their summer so far...Kailie might argue a little since she has been taking 2 summer classes....but she still finds time to hang out with her friends, go to the mall, the water park, birthday parties etc. Emily is going to Six Flags today with her daycare. She said she did not want to be in the big kid group because some of the roller coasters scare her. I can't wait to hear all about it this evening.

We are heading down to Florida on July 18th to drop the girls off at my sister's house. Kailie will be bringing a friend and Emily has her cousins to play with. Rusty and I are heading to Hilton Head for a week...just the two of us! I am really looking forward to it.

What? June is almost over?

I am relaxing in my living room multi-tasking! Watching the Braves who are beating the Yankees...4-0 in the 9th inning...life is good...not so much that the Braves are winning...but the Yankees are losing!

Kailie, my 15 year old got her learner's permit today. WOW! It amazes me sometimes how fast life goes by. It truly feels like she was just born, that Rusty and I were beginning our parenting adventure. I was almost 24 when Kailie was born...just a child myself. (I can say that now since I am quickly approaching the 40 yr mark...but not for another year and 5 months)

Summer vacation is going by quickly. Since we took our unplanned trip to Florida to visit dad, who at this time is doing well, June is almost over. July will be busy with our vacation...then school restarts August 10.

I am very fortunate because I will be taking my annual trip up north this year! On September 16th I will be boarding a plane and heading to Rhode Island. I will try not to wish the summer away...but I am really looking forward to this trip.

Florida Day #2

The girls and I arrived at my dad's house Tuesday afternoon. We made a quick stop in Orlando to visit my niece at Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital. She was doing great and should be home tomorrow. (Friday)

I am enjoying my visit with dad. He looks good, but is very tired. This last go 'round with his heart has really been tough.

Emily is spending as much time in the pool as possible and Kailie is still keeping up with her summer school work. Emily has cousins her age to play with, but unfortunately Kailie doesn't. I am planning on taking Kailie to the mall later for a little while to get her out of the house. She is bummed because her friends back home have made some plans to go see a concert and she will not be able to attend since we are out of town...not that I was going to let her go anyway. Oh Well. It's tough being 15 I guess...I just don't remember, it was a very long time ago!

Another Crazy Day!

As I sip on cup of coffee #3, the monkey bread is in the oven, Rusty and Kailie are still sleeping and Emily is watching some highly educational show on TV (yeah, right!) I am getting myself psyched up for another day spent at Brenau University in Gainseville, Ga. After months of instructions, days of rehearsing....it is show time. Kailie is in 2 shows today and 1 tomorrow...Emily is in 1 show today. Me being the crazy person I am volunteered for 2 of the shows. I will be outside, in the Georgia heat, and probably a thunderstorm or two, selling T-shirts or refreshments. What was I thinking?

At this time, my father is still in the hospital. He is doing better and hopes to be out of there today. We were thinking that he would have been discharged on Friday, but his heart had other plans. So we transfer the hopes on to today! Only time will tell.

I feel guilty when I wish time away...but I wish it was Tuesday. The girls and I will be heading down to spend some time with him. The drive is long and tedious...but it will be worth it.

Not that I think my friend Mari will read this...but just in case she does, I wanted to tell her "THANK YOU!" I appreciate you helping me figure out my schedule so I can go see my dad! I work with the best bunch of nurses and doctors anyone could ever ask for!

Well, the monkey bread is done. Time to go wake up the rest of the family so we can have breakfast together! Then it's off to the recital!

It's a God Thing.

If you ever wondered if God exists...the answer is YES!!
My father was supposed to be visiting us in Georgia this week to attend the girls' dance recital, but he had to cancel the trip for health reasons. He called the other evening to let me know that he needed to change his plans. He needed to have one of his carotid arteries cleaned. (he had one side done 4 years ago) He sounded disappointed, but of course we understood. Dad was scheduled to have a CT yesterday to determine how they would handle the issue with his carotid...cut out the blockage, or put in a stint. I touched base with my sister Colleen via text message to see if they had decided anything yet, and at that time they were still waiting for the results. This was about 5 pm. Approximately one hour later Colleen called to say that Dad was on his way to the hospital in an ambulance and Karen (my other sister) was right behind them.


My father has a VERY long history of cardiovascular disease...he had his first major heart attack when he was a whopping 38 years old so he knows when things are not right. He was experiencing chest pain and called 911, then Karen to let her know. The ambulance was there by the time Karen arrived...which is pretty fast considering she only lives 1 street over.


He spent last night in the hospital and his labs were too goofy this morning to let him go home...instead they brought him to the cath lab....and that is where he is at this moment. Karen actually works at the cath lab so I can call at anytime to get an update and not worry about HIPPA...thank you very much.


Why is this a God thing? He was supposed to drive to my house yesterday which is a 9 hour drive. Had he actually been on the road he may have ignored his pain and kept on driving. Instead, because he needed to have his carotid taken care of, sooner rather than later, he was home close to his doctors that know him.

Let the Games Begin

Today starts the beginning of recital weekend....yes a 5 day weekend. Starting today I get to drive the girls back and forth to Brenau University in Gainseville, Ga for recital rehearsal....the schedule is as follows: Kailie: rehearsal Wed. 5:30 pm (and it will only last about 30 min.) Tomorrow Kailie has rehearsal from 2:45-6:30....did I mention summer school starts today? So in between running back and forth for rehearsals, Kailie needs to log onto summer school...(yes, it is online) She will complete a semester's worth of work in 23 days! (for 2 classes)

But let's not forget that I will need to bring Emily for her rehearsal on Friday @ 2:30pm and then she and Kailie both have finale rehearsal until 7ish.

The shows are Saturday 2:30pm, 6:30pm the Sunday 2:30 pm. It is a little stressful at the moment, but once the music begins and I get to watch my girls dance...All the craziness of running around is worth it.

So off I go....

What the heck am I doing?

OK, so I really want to write a book...but I figured this is a good place to start. Babbling about random things that are important to me may help me improve my writing skills.
I have never been known for my grammatical expertise, just ask my husband that willingly helped proof read ALL my papers for nursing school.

I have become a facebook fanatic over the past 10 months. I have caught up with people that were so important to me decades ago, people I swore I would always stay in touch with. These rekindled relationships has brought back floods of memories from days gone by....and the scary thought of how old I was when I met these friends...what we were doing. These thoughts are scary because I now have a 15 year old daughter.....YIKES!
Those folks were such an integral part of my life then and helped me to become the person I am now.
However, I do have to confess that the yearbook from my senior year is not too far away...most names are familiar, but profile pictures of classmates are not, granted, I graduated from high school over 20 years ago and much like myself, people have changed.

About 6 months ago while sitting at T.F. Green airport in Rhode Island with my father and sister waiting for my flight back to Georgia, I said to my father, "I never asked mom how old she was when she stopped coloring her hair." "Late 30's." was his reply. I AM THERE!!! No more extraordinarily expensive trips to the hair salon! No more "chats" with Miss Clairol. This 38 year old mother of 2 was going natural! Shortly after that trip up north, which was unfortunately for my Aunt Maureen's funeral, I cut my hair very short and stopped coloring it. It took about 4 months for all the unnatural color to grow out and the all natural white/silver to come in.

What I find to be most amusing about this chapter of my life is this.....
My mom had beautiful hair. It was bright white and looked wonderful with her skin. So often she would come home from wherever she had been and say "I got another compliment on my hair." My sisters and I would roll our eyes. But I must admit that since I have let my hair turn white, I too get complimented on it. Much more frequently than I ever did with the long frizzy Miss Clairol, part red, part orange, part kind of pink (because what color do you get when you mix white with red) hair. When I told my sisters about all the compliments I get, they laugh.

One day in April I was at my daughter's dance class and had to walk across the studio floor to get something from her teacher. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror that made up the front wall, and for a brief moment, I thought my mom was in the room. Of course the thought only lasted a second, but it was odd. My mom passed away January 31, 2007 after battling lung cancer for 11 months. That was my one worry about letting my hair go natural; looking at myself everyday in the mirror and seeing my mom stare back at me. Not that I would not love to see my mom again, but I was afraid that seeing my reflection would be a daily reminder of the fact that I can't see her again. At least not for awhile.

Well, I think I have rambled on enough for my first post....until next time when random thoughts pop into my head.