An Anniversary

Just over a year ago my grandmother passed away.  

We had known for nearly two weeks that the end was near and had held vigil at her bedside 24 hours a day.  We sang songs with her, listened to opera, watched baseball, we talked to her and shared memories with her.  There were countless kisses and hugs given to her.  

We said I love you as often as possible.  My mother even prayed the Rosary for her every day -- I had never seen my mother pray before those two weeks.  And even though my grandmother's room was full more than it was empty during those days, she left us while only my mom and dad were with her.  

You think you're ready when you're given time to process the inevitable.  

I read {although reluctantly} the pamphlet given to our family by hospice.  

I had had my time alone with my grams and said goodbye to her every time I left her side.  

I had forgiven her of the ugliness we had in our past and I asked her to forgive me.  

Thanked her for the love and devotion she had given to me over my lifetime.  

The care she gave me when nobody else could.  

But what I learned when I answered my phone and heard the news of her passing, 

was that no amount of preparation will alleviate or minimize the heartbreak that comes from the loss of a loved one.

Sunday marked one year.  

It was a difficult day for me, and if I'm being honest, it had been a hard 

2 weeks leading up to the anniversary.  

I miss her so much, I think of her every day and my heart aches, still, in a way I've never known.

Hugs,

Carrie

House of fifty

I'm sure you all have heard that the 2nd issue of the House of Fifty e-zine is live.  

I have just scanned through the first few pages

{do you do that? Scan first and read second when you get a magazine?} 

anyway, I had to take a break to share how fabulous it is. 

You must go here and look at the prettiness

Hugs,

Carrie

I've been neglecting my blog

I feel so badly about not paying enough attention to my little blog ~ and my few followers.  It's been a little hectic at our house lately, and it doesn't seem like the end is anywhere near.  So, I wanted to pop in and give a quick update about my 

life over the last couple of weeks..

During my last post I talked about the possibility I might have a chance at getting a bib for the ever popular Nike Women's {half} Marathon.....Well, I got in!  

I'm not sure if that exclamation point represents fear or excitment.  

Either way, I have very little time to prep for 13.1 miles and I still have not started.  

I hate me

Our numero uno son {as in first born, not favorite} is playing his 2nd year of high school football {which I LOVE}.  And this year we're hosting the team/family 

dinner at our house ~ tomorrow.  And that means we've spent a 

considerable amount of time fluffing and sprucing things up around our house.  

You know how a party forces you to get your act together!  

I think we're pretty well set....if the dog gone rental company would show up already!!

On Sunday, we are leaving for our summer vacation.  Nothing big and fancy this year, but we are all looking forward to it.  Everybody say it with me "ROAD TRIP!!!"

We are headed down the California Coast and spending time in Santa Barbara, 

San Luis Obispo and Carmel.  We're traveling with dear friends and their kids, 

and we always have a great time together.  

This will be no exception. 

When we get home both kids will have 2 separate orientations on 2 different days, school shopping, football practice, and making time to visit the fair 

before the kids head back to school on 8/17.  

Can you believe it?!?  

It's here....the start of school....just. like. that.

I promise to recap the party, our trip and my {half} marathon training as soon as I can.  

In the mean time, I hope you'll be enjoying the last dog days of Summer 

like I know we will be.

Love and hugs,

Carrie

Marathon?

Last year some friends of mine participated in the Nike Women's {half} Marathon.  They asked me to join them, but I politely declined {it went something like "Are you effin' craZy?}.  Then I learned that you receive a silver Tiffany Necklace upon completion of the event ~ and my friends necklace was so cute {they can't be bought...must be earned.  Yada Yada} that I thought I would try and run the race this year.

Here's the deal ~ the Nike Women's {half} Marathon is super duper popular thus, 

difficult to enter.  So there's a random drawing in April and my name wasn't drawn. :-(

Whaaaaaahhhh 

{said like Snooki from Jersey Shore.  Not that I watch that trash}  

Two dear friends did get in and have been forcing encouraging me 

to continue to try and somehow get into the race. 

Which leads me to today....

Our local running store has been given a few bibs by Nike 

and they're raffling them off.  

In order to "win" a spot, you have to enter the raffle daily for a week 

and at the end of the week, they'll draw names for each bib they have available to the.  Another drawing!  

The last one wasn't really in my favor and I'm not confident this one will be either.  

So, I went into the store today and completed my raffle form.  

I haven't totally decided if I'm hoping to get in or not.  

October 16th is right around the corner and let's face it, 

I haven't started training which means I have a LOT of work to do.  

Oh, and by the way ~ I'm not a runner.  

The farthest I've run is a 10k and I wanted strangle my "friends" at the end.  

Everything was going fine until I saw mile marker 2 which was especially disappointing because I thought I was nearly finished with the race.  

It wasn't pretty.

I'll keep you posted on my entry status...

Hugs!

Carrie

Weekend WhirlWind

We had a jam packed weekend full of friends, laughs and a lotta wine!

Great friends, who live in Southern California, planned a weekend trip to 

San Francisco to celebrate her birthday.  

Because we don't get to see them very often {and we were invited :-)} we decided to join them for dinner on Friday night.  And rather than driving home from the City late, 

the hubs and I took the opportunity to book a room and spend the night!  

{read: Yippee! A night away!!!}

Brief back story -- in middle school I was part of a big clique.  

I know, cliques are B.A.D, but this one wasn't horrible.  

Oddly, the clique has stayed somewhat connected over the years.  

We all sort of knew what was going on in each other's lives because one person would talk to another and share information that would be passed on to yet another member 

of the former group.  Anyway ~ a principle member was married in Mexico last year which brought all of us back together again.  

So, the hubs and I shared a house in Mexico with 2 other former members 

of the clique and their spouses.  Which is when I met Shelly, who married Reed 

{former middle school clique mate}.  

We hit it off!  I absolutely LOVE her.  She is funny and funky, has great style and we share similar interests.  

The weekend trip to San Francisco was for Shelly's birthday.

We went to dinner at Asia SF, which is a restaurant staffed by transgendered servers who perform dance numbers throughout the meal.  

Food is so-so, but the staff is great!  

Very friendly {not like that} and so impressive.  It's really amazing how 

beautiful these ladies are.  

Shelly and I were feeling a bit insecure by the end of the night!!

{Me, Shelly and the hubs.   Not sure why I'm so shiny in this picture, 

hoping it was the flash}

After dinner we went to a few bars where a dance off may have been initiated, 

there might have been some karaoke singing and it's possible we saw a pirate.  

Because there is no photographic evidence it's hard to prove any of it.

The next day we said goodbye to Shelly and Reed, then popped into a dear friends Bridal Salon to say a quick congratulations on her 6th anniversary and race home 

just in time to change and get ready for an engagement party ~ 

which turned into a surprise wedding!

We danced the night away in celebration of this great couple and the commitment they made to each other in our presence.  As we get older, we are invited to fewer weddings....mostly because all our friends are married!  

{I imagine that will change once our kids begin getting married}

It's so nice to attend a wedding, it always reminds me of the vows I made to my hubs, 

and the importance they hold in our life.

Sunday we had a lazy morning and then started working ~ I was busy with office tasks and Jon was running around from house to house readying things for the upcoming week.

It was a Wonderful WhirlWind Weekend!  But it Wore me out!

Hugs,

Carrie

Ten {10} Followers! (And a life lesson)

Oh my goodness!  

I was so shocked and thrilled when I logged into blogger today ~ my follower count had GROWN!  I know, I know....a successful blog has hundreds or thousands 

of followers {not 10} but for me it's an exponential increase and I'm excited!!  

You've made my day.

Thank You!

Onto the Life Lesson portion of this post....

We had a very FULL weekend, which I promise to detail soon.  But, because our weekend was so busy and the hubs and I were in a mad rush to leave the house on Friday, we tasked our oldest son with ordering pizza for dinner that night.  The hubs gave our #1 the phone, the phone number and his credit card and explained that after ordering the pizza, #1 would need to give the pizza guy our credit card number to pay for the pizza.  

Seems simple enough...

Well, I was racing around my room trying to finish getting ready when #1 strolled in holding the phone in one hand a credit card in the other.  

Here's how the convo went:

#1 - "Mom, I need to give them the credit card number."

Me - "Ok, go ahead."

#1 - "I need the number."

Me - "You have the number, it's on the card."

#1 - "I know, but which number do I give them?"

Me - "The whole string of digits on the front of the card IS the number!"

#1 - Leaned toward me trying to pass off the phone and credit card.

Me - "Uh-Uh!  Go ahead, you can do it.  Start at the beginning and move through to the end."

He managed to accurately give the number because the pizza was delivered 

and my kids ate dinner that night.

Oy!  At least it's now official....our oldest son {who will be 15 soon} can order a pizza for delivery and pay with a credit card over the phone.  

A life skill I'm certain will come in handy while he's in college.

Hugs!

Carrie

Summer Snaps 4 {3 for me}

I believe I missed last week, which means this is week 3 for me 

whereas it's 4 for everyone else.

It was a great week....It seems like it flew by so quickly.  

I'm sure that's because we filled with lot's of FUN! 

{Or maybe it's because all the weeks blend together in the summer time}

1. I went shopping with a dear friend and we started the day with a Bloody Mary. 

{Clothes look better after a bloody mary}

2. My oldest son is a sandwich arteest.  He made this yummy dagwood.

3. This is how your wine looks right now...

4. A house near ours has about 10 goats and they're too cute for words.

5. I found a new dress to wear to a party this Saturday night.

6. A gorgeous rose I stopped to smell while on a walk with my littlest.  

Believe it or not, it's bright red in real life.

7. We decided to go to the Giants game at 3p on Sunday.  

First pitch was at 5:05.  We're spontaneous!

8. The hubs and a Panda fan-da.

9. Radishes we bought at the farmer's market.  Pretty sure I ate them all...

so yummy with a little lime.

10. Lou Seal stopped by our seats during the game.  He freaked out our little guy.

We've got a few fun things planned for this weekend 

and hopefully I'll remember to take pictures.

Hugs!

Carrie