Bach To Reality

Am I the only one that misses Christmas "Newsletters"? I LOVE Christmas Cards.  Don't get me wrong. But I love reading about what is going on with your family!  Ooohhh, you should start a blog! Anyway, Didn't I just do this ? How does a year pass by so quickly?  Maybe when a year is filled with love, laughter, learning (vacations, wedding planning and 1/2 marathon training) it just flies by! So besides some fairly obvious events - what have we been up to? Eleanor I can not believe Eleanor is going to be 5 this Christmas.  She is spending a second year at her preschool/daycare and is just loving it.  She's busy learning to recognize and write her upper and lower case letters - and just brought home two "sight" word books. She can now read "My" and "At".  I know...I know...It's just amazing! ;-)  But seriously, when did my kid get old enough to learn to read? She's busy with swim lessons and continues to have no f...

 Look what I did!! I really wanted to roast my own turkey. And I did. Sorry, Friend... Removing the neck was the GROSSEST thing I have every done!  I screamed Andy's name - He asked what he should do...I said, Grab the camera! :)  I couldn't find the liver...until I finally understood "second body cavity".  Ew. Rubbing with olive oil for that nice golden brown look. My bird - dressed and ready to go!  Yup.  We bungee corded our oven.  We needed to head to the NB Christmas parade and didn't want to take any chances with dog wonder! All done!  And not a minute too soon - look at how stuffed that oven got! Happy Thanksgiving - From our family to yours!  And - the bird was DELICIOUS!  Moist and juicy!  I was pretty excited to do something with the bones and carcass, but realized time was not my friend, and gave it to my dad to who has been simmering it all day to make all natural turkey broth for us...

It seems a little too obvious, doesn't it?  To write a post on Thanksgiving?  A post about the things I'm thankful for? About how lucky I am?  But I am lucky.  And I am blessed.  And I do have SO much to be thankful for.  It's been a crazy little adventure - this journey called life. But I have an amazing family - health - and everything else a girl could ask for.  And I have a guardian angel. A bittersweet blessing.  And on this, our second Thanksgiving as a family, I started to see little things pop up...little things that, on year two, can be considered traditions.  I think the best way to start Thanksgiving is with a nice run. And since Thanksgiving is such a family holiday, it's even better to run as a family, with family.  And we certainly would consider these two family.  Andy and I both love them both as brothers. Brothers neither one of us had.  And Eleanor loves them as Uncles.  And I certai...

Fr. Don shared this poem with us today.  It's honestly the first time I had heard it. And it struck an inner chord with me. I want to remember it. And mostly, I want it to resonate with Eleanor. I want Eleanor to remember it. To live by it. And, I want you to remember it.  And to live by it.  And...at least...in this moment - enjoy it. Mother Teresa's Anyway Poem People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered; Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; Succeed anyway. If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; Be honest and frank anyway. What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; Build anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; Be happy anyway. The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; Do good anyway. Give the world ...

I'm slow to posting here...sorry! So most of you have probably already seen this on Facebook.  However, out of my 5 or so blog readers, I'm sure ONE of you don't have Facebook!  And if that's the case, then you haven't seen it! THE WEDDING HIGHLIGHT !  4 minutes and 4 seconds....so even if you have seen it...watch it again!  Did you hear how this all happened?  I didn't plan on having a videographer.  However, our friends Candi and Scott were married in May and their wedding highlight video was posted just weeks after the wedding. I sat in my office and teared up at the video. It was so amazing - the perfect length - and received so quickly after their big day.  The video was through Best Man Media .  I picked up the phone, called Zach and said, "I need a wedding video!"  Lucky for me, Zach didn't hang up on me, and 4 short months later, he was filming our wedding.  I didn't tell Andy.  I gave it to him as a wedding prese...

  Another fabulous weekend.  And you know what made it even better?  It was Halloween! I have always loved Halloween and have long since said, if Halloween meant family, the way Thanksgiving and Christmas mean family, Halloween would be the superior holiday!   Lucky for me...this Halloween DID mean family!  (As, actually, most of them have turned out to mean!)   Friday night we went to my sister's and celebrated Halloween with her family and my parents.   My sister and I celebrated by eating a caramel apple a piece.  The kids ran around.  It was fabulous.    Saturday morning I got up and ran my last "long race" of the "season".  A few short hours later, I committed to running a marathon relay with a friend.  I'm a sick, sick person!  Oh well.  Maybe, at least, I can still take a small hiatus from running in December!   Then Saturday afternoon my nephew came over and the 4 of us heade...

Say what you want about Christmas - which, is wonderful, don't get me wrong...but I love to argue that October and Halloween is the most wonderful time of the year!  And, I mean, in the very least, it's the beginning of the most wonderful time of the year - the beauty of the fall color, which gives way to the intricate, soft, quiet snowflakes.  Frost etched on windows.  Halloween candy, which gives way to turkey and stuffing, which gives way to Christmas deliciousness!  2 weekends ago we made our "annual" trip to the pumpkin patch and last weekend we carved them. And by "we" I mean Andy and I.  Eleanor didn't want to touch the "yucky insides"...crap....I really am raising a priss - aren't I?  Anywho - we made her keep us company while we gutted and then she painted while we carved. We are ready for Halloween weekend!    She did NOT appreciate me taking her picture.  It's OK - I told her she'd appreciate the picture w...