Concert

As you can see, I've uploaded some videos to Youtube. Alex and the band Synergy had their concert on the 2nd of December. Video doesn't do them justice. They did a fantastic job especially since it was their first concert. Maybe he's got something there...what do you think?

Hilton Head Island

If anybody is looking for a nice rental in Hilton Head, contact me. We rented a 1 bedroom, 1 bath condo 535 steps from the beach. It was quiet and the beach was private. Washer and dryer, full kitchen, pull out couch to sleep two more but a bit of room for extras on the floor if you can share the bathroom!! You can rent bicycles for the week at a very good rate and everything is pretty close.

Beautiful surf, close to Savannah, golfing, fishing, eating....just about everything to do!! It is a great family vacation spot! Months of January and February are booked so don't wait!

Winter Wonderland

Rick and I went for a walk in the woods on Monday, took Jasper too. Jasper decided to swim, and sure enough, he was lame that night. But I guess it was worth it, he really enjoyed himself. At the end, I was still taking pictures and he was barking at me to move my butt because he was VERY cold and ready to go home.



Saturday night was the Christmas Ball at CH and Alex took his girlfriend Tiffany, or should I say Tiffany took Alex (she is the one with the license). Anyway, they had a nice time and I am hopeful for a picture from the dance- until then, enjoy these.

Note to Annette...started another blog, for just pictures as you inspired me so!!! I REALLY want to take some classes too....
http://cantyoujustpictureit.blogspot.com/

I LOVED this song when it came out in 1985...Of course PIGGIES hello!!! Well, come to find out, Fogerty wrote it about a former boss at his CCR record label who sued him over some bologna. Guys name was Zants and when he heard "Zants Kant Danz" he threatened to sue Fogerty again so Fogerty changed it to "vanz kant danz" ...Anyway, enjoy the song!

Pizza Anyone?

Come on over and we'll whip up a custom pizza!! How about a bacon-chicken-ranch with hand tossed crust? Or a loaded one with extra cheese?? We love pizza here but in this area they make them very thin and xtra crispy, we like hand tossed with a nice edge and soft, browned bottom.
I like to try new stuff, this one below is a BBQ Chicken which the kids and mom really liked, I thought it was different- not a pizza flavor but pretty good just the same.


I am going to try a buffalo chicken one next- with some blue cheese and mozzarella. Any ideas are greatly appreciated. I think pizza is kind of an "anything goes" sort of thing. Does anybody out there from UMM remember "Itza Pizza"? I would love that crust recipe- THAT was good!!
Can you smell this pizzas with onions, peppers, pepperoni, & mushrooms? This one was breakfast for the boys...they REALLY love mom's pizza!

II Chronicles 7:14."

A faithful mother annotated this verse in her Bible with these words, "A most wonderful verse for the healing of a nation." It would be years before her son laid his hand that Bible as he took the presidential oath of office...is it not still appropriate today?


14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

12 Degrees

It is a cold-cold morning here in PA this November. Kids have just gone out the door to wait for the bus with hats and coats buttoned up tight. I have to take advantage of this weather and start in on some ice buckets for Christmas- don't know if they will last but I will try. Rick is in GA this week, the last travel week for the year (I hope), then the holidays begin! Guess we will be heading to the Bills for our Turkey day this year. It is always an adventure with the likes of her extended family, never know what will happen. But they are very much like family to us here in PA. We have been here for 13 years now and it doesn't look like much will be changing any time soon.

Rick and I joined Direct Buy last weekend, getting ready to put a new kitchen in. Looks like we will save about 30% on our cabinets and more on the granite counter tops. We already saved roughly $500.00 on a new washer dryer set, our dryer died last week and hanging out clothes in this weather is for the birds. The 73 inch Tv they had on display would look pretty nice in our living room! Maybe next year.

Today is grand-daughter Savannah's 4th birthday...Happy Birthday Silly P!!!

1 Thessalonians 5:8-13

Heard this passage today in church- read it and read it again. How beautiful a thing to be in the light of God! To accept the light of God and to radiate it for all the world to see! To accept that gift so fully and freely given- how awesome! To feel it in your heart and radiate the light to the world around you...I hope that i can feel that at all times....I hope that you can too!

8But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. 9For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, 10Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. 11Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.
12And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you;
13And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves

Thought I would up-load this pic of boys from our day out in October. They are both really photogenic and it was a great time for all of us. I have so many more to share but I have to wait until I decide which pics I will be sending out for Christmas. As soon as I do that, I will share the link with all of you and you can see them all.

Kind of wanted to do something with the whole black and white thing, as you can see by the pic below, it washed out a bit so I figured I would try this. You can click on it to make it larger. I am no photographer but I really have some beautiful subjects to shoot, wouldn't you agree. Rick gave me a wonderful camera for Christmas last year and I have yet to really learn how to run it. Maybe my New Year's resolution this year, how about that? Our two year old Jasper weighs in at about 160 pounds. He was 150# last time at the vet but he has really thickened out in the last few months...He is such a sweetie!! Enjoy!!

Report cards came home!!!!

Matthew brought his report card home and he has made the honor roll!!!! First time ever and we are so very proud of him!! He has been working hard at it (still needs to watch his science class!) and it has finally paid off. This is a first for our family, though both boys with a bit more effort could easily make it ever marking period...Boys!! Alex's gpa was an 88.9 and we are happy with that too! He also needs to watch his science and math- put more time into it but we are so proud of him too!

Both boys have begun hockey at the local rink. They are having a great time, working hard and learning the game. Of course, I have always wanted to be a hockey mom- LOVE the game! Two former ECHL players from the Johnstown Chiefs (remember the movie Slap shot?? that's OUR team!!) have helped the team in their practices- that is exciting for the boys, to learn from local celebrities. Check out our Chiefs at http://www.johnstownchiefs.com/ Will put some pics up when we get some!

God Bless America

Democrat, Republican, Conservative, Libertarian, Independent, Liberal....God Bless America and all that she stands for!!!

Book Review

If you haven't already read the book- might I recommend "The Shack" by William Paul Young. it is out in paperback now and available everywhere. It truly is one of the most moving and inspirational books that I have ever read. An easy and entertaining read, it is less than 300 pages of insightful and thought provoking pros. Anyone who has lost a child may truly have a difficult time (God bless you) with the reading but it is still worth it. I believe that the good Lord puts situations, people, (blogs:-) ), and even books out there to remind us to come to Him for all our needs. I am still walking on a cloud after reading it and am inspired to pursue His word and His plan for me more and more every day. "In this world NOT of this world" If you immediately open to page 100 (how easy is that to remember) and read to about 102, you will have a deeper understanding of Jesus in those simple passages (I hope:-) I had to share it with our Bible study class and ended up buying two more copies to give away. Pastor Mary had read it about the same time that I had and was also moved. She is now thinking of creating a bible study surrounding the read. I think it would be REALLY cool to have Mr. Young speak at our church- who knows!!! It was an Ah ha book for me and I hope for you too! Enjoy!!

A bit of a quandry

So I was at WW last night- gained .2 pounds...UGH! So, first thing that I did when I sat down to wait for the meeting to start was say a prayer..."Please Lord, be with me as I struggle through this next week of weight loss....." I NEVER struggle (d) through my alcoholic recovery! I truly put my faith in the good Lord above... Been almost 15 years now. I NEVER-EVER struggled with my smoking cessation- NEVER! He said quit one night and I got up the next morning and said, "okay God, I'm ready....what now?" and NEVER touched another cigarette and NEVER had a withdrawal symptom or desire to ever do it again: As if I had NEVER smoked! I put myself in the Lord's hands. So, when did I stop believing that He is in control? When did I stop "Let Go and Let God"? People do this weight loss thing all the time, they do! What people DON'T do is get up one morning and stop smoking three packs of cigarettes a day after 22 years. They also DON'T up and stop drinking after almost 10 years of uncontrolled binge drinking and NEVER look back! He was there for both of these occasions- He is there each and every day as I haven't ONE THOUGHT about picking up a smoke or drinking myself numb to chase away the hardship of the day. I think I know how to ASK! I don't know how to accept help for this healthy living! Why?? Why am I so lazy about planning, exercising, waiting....asking for help????? There is my struggle and I guess FERVENT prayers will be on the menu for the week (s). Just my thoughts this morning....

Our 12th Anniversary October 12, 2008

Hold onto me, and I will hold on to you through anything and everything life brings our way.

Bring me your worries and I'll listen with my heart.

Tell me what you need, and I'll do my best to give it to you.

Love Me even when it isn't easy, and I promise to do the same for you...

After all, isn't that what love, True Love, is all about?

Happy Anniversary.

Love Rick

To Brighten your day!

Nothing better to do but add this awesome commercial from the 70s. Does anyone else remember this? Through the years the song has stuck with me. When I feel low I click on it for a laugh. Enjoy!

trying again

This may be a short blog as I am having trouble with sign in and conflicting accounts with picasweb for slide shows. Suffice to say that these pics are from the first day of school over three weeks ago. The boys were less than thrilled to be heading back on that August 25, turned out to be a beautiful day! A new year for them- a new start....Hoping that Alex gets his sh*% together and gets some better grades this year...say a prayer!


I don't know if any of you realize how large an Amish community we have here in northern cambria county. There are many farms in the area that have been bought up by the Amish as they mix up their gene pool with the western PA Amish and the Ohio Amish. I can remember how exciting it was to see them 10 years ago...now it is just commonplace and a bit of a burst bubble as they go into the local convenience store for Mountain Dew and gas!!!



This Amish couple was in quite a rush where ever they were going...that horse was up to a full canter going by the local watering hole

Fireman's Jubilee 2008

In Carrolltown we have a parade for most every occasion, Halloween, the fourth, memorial and things like the fireman's jubilee. They hold a big event every summer to raise money for their volunteer fire company. So this year was Matthew's first time riding in the parade (s) and not only a regular parade on Sunday but a "Tractor Parade" on Saturday! He rode Gimme on Saturday and 'Tater the Blind Wonder Horse" on Sunday. It was so very exciting to see him dressed so nice and up there with Trish, Andy and the gang. After the parade on Saturday, we ended up at the stables where Matthew and Mom tried out every horse, including a "Paso Fino" horse which Mom THOROUGHLY enjoyed because of his smooth gait and which Matthew kept trying to coax into a full out gallop, not usual for this kind of horse. Trish and Andy have been so great to Matthew and I am thrilled to have him be a part of Monastery Stables! Thank you Trish!!

It was a memorable day. Alex again marched with the band (nice pic of Alex AND Fina) and Jasper and I helped with poop detail.

Mother's return

Mom finally came home today!! I couldn't wait to have here home again. Bawled like a baby when I hugged her and kept sputtering and telling her how much I missed her. She is really a wonderful mom to put up with all my crap and God knows that I am hard on her but I TOTALLY adore her! Her trip to DE didn't go too well so I am again glad she has returned....Only to find that we have yet another kitty!!!


This is Smokey Joanna, she is a barn cat we got from Monastery stables, and as you can see by the pics, she is in pretty rough shape at about 7 weeks. Took her to vet today, she has a upper resp. thing going on, round worms, an open sore, mites and fleas. She is the sweetest most lovey kitty, even more so than Stache!! Matthew talked us into it, and we just saw a bitty kitty that needed some attention. Well, Mom and all of us love her to pieces. She will be staying with Mom for a week or so until we can clear up the respiratory congestion- very contagious. After her first dose of worm meds she lost some of her "fat belly" and will continue to over the course of the next few weeks. We will just keep a good eye on her and try to build her up and give her lots of loving! Oh yea, I found a couple of female newfies in the area for sale too.....Uh oh! I may eliminate all my friends as our zoo continues to grow :-)

Happy Birthday Matthew and Alex

Can you believe that the boys are now 13 and 16? Per usual, too busy to do much of anything and friends all out of town so just us! We still owe Alex a cake but we will wait for Gram to come home cuz we know how much she likes DQ cake.

And here are the boys with their new toys!!!!!
Yes, Dad sprung for three new dirt bikes to bring the family together and REALLY give mom more gray hair! They have been enjoying them immensely- ALL the boys!

Mom's gardens

Mom's gardens are so beautiful:

And the latest class at Seymour's.....I LOVE my Santa!!!!

Last day...NOT ready to go home *sniff*

What can I say- it has been a great week and we have enjoyed ourselves and each other immensely! We really like it here and I totally recommend this area- just lovely! I am tired, cleaned, packed and ready to roll so just check these out:

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Get your own

Day 5 - deep sea fishing; the beach and putt putt

The boys had yet another full day with a trip out to the deep blue sea. Nary a nibble for Rick but Alex caught a baby shark and Matthew caught a small black sea bass. The seas were a bit rough (6-8 foot swells) as they headed out but thankfully the dramamine worked. Capt. took them to a several places but the fish just weren't biting. They watched as the south side of the island disappeared into a storm cloud and hoped that it would miss them but that was not to be- they got drenched, but kept right on fishing!! They met a regular on the fishing trip by the name of "Chopper" a beautiful dolphin who gave them the once over (several times) by greeting the boat as it was coming ashore. After 5 plus hours on the boat they returned to the villa for supper. (Matthew passed out on the couch immediately) A family meeting decided a trip to the putt putt golf was in order for the evenings events. Off we went, on our bikes at 7:30pm! We played the difficult course and let's just say I am my mother's daughter: any place there was water- I was in it! A couple of hours later- in the darkness (and a prayer) we made the 3.5 mile trek back to the condo...Scary as the paths are NOT lighted at night, didn't faze the kids at all of course. Seems the week is going much too fast- heck I still have a half a book to read! I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at the beach- I think I could make a life just doing that! The people are so nice here as well and true southern charm and manners. They are expecting rain these next two days so we don't know how things will unfold- maybe a trip to Savannah or the Art Center?? Kids want me to go along to the skate park in the morning so rest assured that I will have some video of that. Good night! Love Ya Ma!! xo

...and then out for some fireworks

but just a few fireworks and they shut 'em down due to the rain (if you can really call it that!) But that is okay- still a nice evening with a gentle breeze. I look a bit psycho in this pic as I was coaxing Matthew to "take the picture already" but there you have it- Rick and ME!