Planes, Trains, Automobiles...

Good movie, but I could have made money of a remake Thursday. 

I rode 

a car, 

a bus, 

a plane, 

a car, 

a train, 

a taxi, 

a train 

and ended my 19 hour day in a car that led to a very comfy bed (for 4 1/2 hours), then it was back to the car,

the train, 

the taxi......

Purse Shmursh

I almost killed K today.

Nope, not with my own bare hands, but with my indecision. If it's any consolation, she did it to me first.

We had a spare 2 hours to hit the mall today. I was looking for a camera bag and/or a purse and a sparkly top. Yes, my things all had to do with Chicago and that "special seminar weekend" that I am trying not to talk about every day.

To make K happy we went to Pac Sun first (ok, after not finding anything colorful in Ritz camera. Do camera bags ALL have to be black?) The music was blaring some repetitive phrase like "buy me and you'll have all the boys at your feet" or "skinny jeans are rad" or "blah, blah, blah". I know. I am officially old. I saw a shirt that I liked and wondered if I could fit in it, would it be weird for me to wear something from PacSun? K was looking around. Finally, she came back over to me and I said (praying), "All set?" I got the sigh and the "I guess so" which I know means NO!!!!! See, I have learned something! So we look some more and she tries on hot pink extreme skinny jeans in a size 00. My pinky does not fit into these jeans. As a 9lb 7 ounce baby, I couldn't have fit in these jeans.

She needs a belt to wear them.

She bought them with her own money and I bought her 2 shirts. I actually got the better deal, but she is the one who has been working this summer at the farm.

Then I drag her to Macys. She likes purses and there are quite a few tables of 50% off original price so I am thinking she will enjoy this little escapade to find Mommy a grown up purse. Grown up wasn't the word I was looking for, sophisticated was the word and K helped me out with it. Smart girl. I was immediately drawn to the patterned Le Sportsac bags that I have loved since I was about 14. They didn't seem very "sophisticated" though. I walked around with multiple black bags on my shoulders testing them out. K tried getting me to pick the most "decorated" (see bling and tassles here) ones so that I would use it for the weekend and then give it to her after. 20 minutes later, which seemed like an eternity for her, and she was on her knees begging me to "just pick one!!!!" I think I saw a tear in her eye as she gasped her next to last breath when I basically closed my eyes and said, "this one".

It will fit my camera and a butt load of bling and probably a lamp post. I may come home with major scoliosis, but the fact that it will remind me of the day I bonded with my first born, I will be smiling.

Oh and ps: we were not up for looking for a sparkly shirt, although I did threaten buying a bedazzler and fixing one up on my own. Yup, I got an eye roll from her for that idea!

CBI or bust!

2 years ago, a friend of mine and I, won 2 nights at the most luxurious hotel on the Cape: Chatham Bars Inn. We wanted to make sure we could take advantage of the outside bar, I mean pool, so that our kids could enjoy the life of the rich and famous. We were having a horrible time figuring out a time between our busy lives that wasn't in the summer (they didn't want us there then). However, the one good thing that has come out of the economy tanking, is that there were rooms available during this summer, so we jumped at the chance!! I took the first night, Faith took the second night and we spent mucho time in the pool every day!

The girls decided that they had to get spiffed up to walk around the grounds. My parents came too, because everyone wants to get a look at luxury! 

The Inn overlooks the Chatham Fish Pier. 

Our room was beautiful and the beds......ooooohhhhh sooooo comfy!!!! As K kept saying, 'look at the complimentary robe I have and the complimentary slippers'. (I am sure they would have only been about $150 if they had found their way into our suitcase.)

B in "her" robe.
K with Thumper and Lambie. (They were the chosen ones who got to join us for our night of elegance!)

My sister tried to horn in on the overnight. Actually, we begged her to stay and she declined, but not after spooning with B for awhile.
Happy girls in a comfy bed.

We finally hauled our asses out of those beds on Friday to get to the pool. This is where a cute man laid out our towels on our cushioned loungers. My mom was so hot, she even went in the pool. Here's proof...
This is a once every 10 year type of thing (the girls didn't even think she could swim). They had cabanas that you could rent if you were actually rich, not pretending to be. They were separated by cute sea life. 

All in all, a fabulous experience! Well worth the 2 year wait! Of course, we are trying to secure a few more days there....all we need is a sugar daddy....or a winning lottery ticket....or a spare key....

Blogher 09

I am going to Blogher next week.

Some of you may say "what is blogher?" or "big deal" or "lucky" or "have fun meeting a bunch of internet pedophiles". Ok, the last one is what my family said when I announced at Christmas time that I was going to a blog convention.

I am truly excited to have this opportunity to meet a bunch of bloggers in a beautiful city (Chicago) and become more blog savvy.

I was not really nervous about it until I started reading a ton of posts about Blogher and who is going to be there and all the parties that I have to sign up for before I even get there and WHAT TO WEAR.

I live on Cape Cod. The dress is CASUAL. If I happen to go to a cocktail party or dinner, I wear a cotton sundress. If I go to the beach with people I wear a bathingsuit that I can swim in, not some resort wear suit with a matching sarong. I go to the grocery store in shorts and a tshirt (ok, once and awhile pjs, but I usually throw a sweatshirt on too). Blogher, however, is a different story for the sole reason of I am going to a C-I-T-Y.

I have found that cute, cotton sundresses with fish on them do not work so well away from a beach area. I tend to kick it up a notch if I have to go "inland". Kicking it up a notch does not mean stilletos and short skirts. It just means more conservative dressing. Then I find out that 2 fashionistas, Tim Gunn and Carson Kresley, are going to be at Blogher. This has thrown me into a panic. They may as well add Stacey and Clinton into the mix.

My blog buddy, Melisa, has assured me she is going casual. What if her casual is one step short of a prom gown? I have looked at some bloggers' posts that show (with pictures) what they are going to wear. I entertained the thought of photographing my clothes to post on here to get people's opinions. Good grief! Am I in junior high again? I have decided to go with what I am comfortable in. And yes, even though I am most comfortable in my pjs, I will not embarrass my family name by wearing them to the glitzy parties. I have scoured my closet and only have gone out to buy a pair of white capris and a strapless bra at TJMaxx. Yup, I have gone all out!

So, if you see my at Blogher and want to meet me, I will be thrilled! I am who I am and I am not going to pretend to be someone else just to impress people. What I really wish is that it did not take me 42 years to figure that out!

WWoW's Fun..draiser!

Hallie is having a fundraiser and it's all about F-U-N!! I mean fun is all about winning great prizes right? She has a bundle of them! She has been working hard at raising money for organ donation and is about $600 short of her goal of $5000. 

You could win one of these 3 pictures that I donated to the pool of goodies. Her dad had a heart transplant, so I thought these pictures of heart rocks that we found in Maine last year were appropriate.

So what are you still doing here? Get on her site and qualify for some fun!!!!

Wrapping up Galveston?

The town/island of Galveston really put out the red carpet for the jump ropers. Here are 2 signs alone welcoming them!

Here are the kids from our team that qualified and made the trip.
Here they are a little more relaxed after the last day of competition.
I was so proud of the whole team, but especially my nephew J who came in 2nd, 7th, and 4th in 3 of his 8 events! Br came in 9th and even the coach captured a 1st and a 2nd!

Elvis is staying at the Krugers in Galveston. Who knew?
I know I put in pictures of the damage yesterday, so I thought I would show you some of the beauty. We stayed in a sweet hotel, the Hotel Galvez (it was like a castle!).
The beaches seemed to go on forever....
This is B's hand after picking up a handful of shells in the water.
The Strand is the historic district of the island (it is also where you could see the water line tape), but they are working very hard at restoring it. It was beautiful!

Here is B on the second floor balcony of the convention center. Can you see the sweat dripping off her forehead? It was about 100 degrees out and I dragged her out of the air conditioning to take this.
Galveston is also a big port for cruise ships. B had never seen one up close. Needless to say she was amazed by how large it was!
The trip overall was very fun! We are pretty sure Nationals will be held there again next year so we are already psyching the kids up to learn new tricks and fundraising to allow us to enjoy the life of luxury like we did this year!

Oh and if you are looking for the wild west of Texas; Galveston is definitely not it. We were actually calling it Flexas by the end of the week. (Florida/Texas) All K wanted me to bring her home were cowboy boots. I could not find a pair on the island, so instead she got an orange summer cowboy hat (with shells on it, naturally!). Yee-haw!!!

More on Galveston

Ok, it's been awhile. Sometimes life gets busy. Perhaps you can understand? My 4th of July post will be later this week, but I will continue with Galveston because that is a story that needs to be finished first.

More on the jumpers and the real reason why we were there tomorrow. 

Galveston was devestated by hurricane Ike last September. The people of Galveston were very happy to host the jump rope nationals because if brought people back to the island. Many parts of the island have made a comeback, but there are still lots of reminders of the hurricane. 

Here are some pictures of the damage that remains...




These girls are 5 feet tall!


Tomorrow, more on the jumpers and the fun, beautiful parts of the island!