The Wedding is a Comin'

Wow! Three weeks from yesterday until Maddie gets married! On Friday, we went to meet with the decorator and finalized details about the set up and decor. It'll be soooo cute! I can't wait to see the final look. Linda with Express Yourself is one of the best party decorators I know and she has such attention to detail. The reception has a garden theme and she has a painted 13' x 36' mural that will be used as a backdrop for the receiving line. Friday afternoon we met with Nancy from Love & Garlic who is doing the food and went over the menu. Her food is delicious and her display is extraordinary. Saturday morning we met with Amy to go over the flowers and, oh sigh!, I just love fresh cut flowers. The shower is coming up this week. Let the festivities begin!

Spencer

I sent this picture of Spencer out in his graduation announcements. I thought it was such a cute picture. He looks really good in blue. I can't believe my baby is 18 and has graduated from high school. Milestones are happening left and right in our family.

Spencer's High School Graduation

Spencer graduated from Bullard this last week. Oh my! My last child to complete high school. It is a definate possibility that within three months Randy & I could be, gasp!, empty nesters. And you know what? I'm really looking forward to it! No kids coming home at midnight or later. No kids leaving dishes out or forgetting to wash their pots and pans. No kids asking for money (I hope). I'll just be hanging out with my man having a grand old time! Yep, I'm good with this stage in my life :)

What a Mess!

I'm sitting at my desk trying to get some work done and I look around, realizing the mess my desk has gotten into, yet again. What is it about me that I cannot keep my area neat? Maybe I don't throw stuff away quick enough and it piles all around me waiting for me to wade through the stuff and determine what I need to keep, throw away or file. Sigh, I really think my desk will look like this when I'm 95. I just don't see it changing anytime soon. So sad.

New Author to Check Out - Karen Chance

This is an author you should know about...Karen Chance. She has four books in her series so far that feature Cassie Palmer, a clairvoyant, who unwillingly fights the bad guys and helps to save the good against all odds. A supernatural thriller with some romance tossed in and a heroine who does her best to do the right thing...my favorite kind of book!

Chance does a cool thing in her fifth book, Midnight's Daughter. Instead of featuring Cassie Palmer, it features Dory Basarab, who is half vampire/half human as the heroine, but puts her in the same setting/world as the Cassie Palmer books. You get to see some of the characters you know from Cassie viewpoint in a different light. I don't know of any other books that have that feature and I found it intriguing. I wanted to tell Dory about the other side of someone she was having a hard time dealing with. I thought it was an interesting angle.

I realized in looking at my book count that I am close to 50 books being read so far this year. I've decided to make a goal of reading 100 books in 2009. Half way there!

New York! New York!

Randy and I, along with my mom, dad and step-mom, went to New York this past week to attend Madison's graduation ceremony from Columbia University. She has earned a Master's degree in Social Work.

On Sunday, we had brunch at Tavern on the Green before heading to Connecticut for a bbq.

Monday & Tuesday we spent touring on Grey Line tour buses. Upper, Mid and Lower Manhattan were covered as was Brooklyn and a night tour. The harbor tour to Liberty Island and Ellis Island came later in the week.

The beginning of the week was freezing and we were bundled up.

Graduation was on Wednesday and it turned out to be a very warm day.

It was so exciting to see Madison in the sea of Columbia blue and watch her graduate.

Proud mom and dad!
We did so much in one week! It's already beginning to blur as to what we did on each day.

We had pizza at Grimaldi's Pizza in Brooklyn and walked across the Brooklyn Bridge back to Manhattan.
We went to the Metropolitan Museum on Thursday and walked and walked and walked! There was so MUCH to see!

Attended my first professional baseball game - The New York Yankees! They play the Baltimore Orioles and won, of course. I called Brandy to let her know where I was, but since it wasn't a Mets game, she didn't care. My sunglasses broke, so I got a new pair from a street vendor. I think they're a little big on me.
We saw the Statue of Liberty on the harbor cruise. It is so amazing to see it in person. Just beautiful.

I left New York with a remembrance around my wrist from Tiffany's, a girl's favorite store.

Keith Urban is Coming to Fresno!

Keith Urban is coming back to Fresno and I want to go! I was told his concert last year was one of the best and this year he's bringing Sugarland with him. If you would like to go, would you please let me know ASAP?