(no subject)
Looking back over my journal, it seems I haven't had a REAL update in months. I mean, I have posted pics of finished craft projects and an occassional book review but nothing really about what's going on in my life. So I figured that I could fix that while I wait for Rob to finish playing Portal.
Things here have been busy but good. The biggest things around here have been my b-day (which was yesterday but more on that later) and the fact that we got my car back up and running.... FINALLY. I have been without a car for over three years and I cannot tell you how much of a difference it makes to my mental health and independence to have my own transportation.
And just as I got my car back things really started to pick up.
Our newest niece, Julianna, was baptized a while back.
Then we had Rob's birthday. To celebrate, we went out to the Long Island Maritime Museum and flew kites with the nieces and nephews. It was a little too windy and we had a couple of kites tear away and attempt escape but with the exception of my dad's kite, we managed to recover them all. When it got too chilly to fly kites, the kids explored the museum's outer exhibits with all sorts of boats. Then we went to Friendly's for ice cream and to sing Happy B-Day. Everyone seemed to have a good time, especially Emma and KC who were really enamoured with Kite Flying.
(I should mention that Kourtney took that shot of Rob and his kite).
Rob and I also went to the Huntington Sheep to Shawl Festival. It was a cute festival, with sheep and goats and llamas to visit with and demonstrators from all sorts of fiber crafts and even some historic reenactors.
And then Kourtney and I went to Mustang Day at the Holtsville Ecology Center. There were visiting wild mustangs from out west but we mostly focused on the dogs that were there. We spent a lot of time learning about guide dogs and therapy dogs. I let Kourtney have my camera and record what we saw that day. She took a lot of flower pics as well as pics of the dogs. She is getting really good for her age and I am very proud of her. These shots are hers:
My cousin / BFF, Nikki, was coming down to visit this weekend for my b-day and I hadn't given her anything for her b-day yet. She loves Dr. Who so I made her Tardis Socks and she also got a Jayne hat from Firefly. It was a very yarny, very geeky b-day for Nikki.
I've spent a lot of time hanging with Nik and Katrina and other members of the family. Nik, Rob and I took the girls to the beach to fly kites and play on the playground one evening and there has also been a ton of board games being played.
And then there was yesterday. As many of you know, my b-day is a big thing for me. I have a lot of issues about how it is celebrated and for the past couple of years, it has been completely skipped, which hurt my feelings big time. This year, I really wanted a celebration and Rob stepped up. We planned a big tea party at Planting Fields Arboretum and asked everyone to dress up so we could take pictures while we had the arboretum as a background.
The planning process was a bit harrowing. The caterer that we had to deal with if we wanted to have the party there was a bit of a pain to deal with. The woman who was in charge of planning our party wasn't all that great at getting back to us in a timely manner and had a little bit of an attitude. We were also worried about the weather as the forecast mentioned thunderstorms.
But it all worked out. The food was INCREDIBLE - (really, really good cheesecake and strawberries with cream) so the hassle of dealing with that woman was well worth it. The weather was lovely and we got some great pics.
This is me and Nikki. Even though we have been BFF's our entire lives, there hasn't ever really been a good pic of us together so I am REALLY happy to have this one.
This is me and my youngest nephew, KC. He is such a sweetie and I love how he was waving so hard at the camera that we got this motion blur.
He complete fell in love with my goddaughter, Katrina.
and it seems like it was mutual since Katrina (much later that evening) told us all that when KC grows up, he is going to be very handsome - just like her daddy and her Uncle Robert.
I got a couple of great shots of my dad (this one is one of my favorites)
And my mom
And even my sisters very graciously allowed me to snap a few shots of them.
We had tea
and played with bubbles
And Chrissy broke out her hula hoop:
After the party, Nikki, Rob, Katrina and I went out for dinner and then later met up with some friends for fondue at the Melting Pot. We got to hang out with my friends, James and Brad which was a lot of fun. By the time we were done with all this, I was all partied out and ready to rest. I guess that is what happens when you get old like me.
Anyway, that's what I have been up to. How bout you guys?
Things here have been busy but good. The biggest things around here have been my b-day (which was yesterday but more on that later) and the fact that we got my car back up and running.... FINALLY. I have been without a car for over three years and I cannot tell you how much of a difference it makes to my mental health and independence to have my own transportation.
And just as I got my car back things really started to pick up.
Our newest niece, Julianna, was baptized a while back.
Then we had Rob's birthday. To celebrate, we went out to the Long Island Maritime Museum and flew kites with the nieces and nephews. It was a little too windy and we had a couple of kites tear away and attempt escape but with the exception of my dad's kite, we managed to recover them all. When it got too chilly to fly kites, the kids explored the museum's outer exhibits with all sorts of boats. Then we went to Friendly's for ice cream and to sing Happy B-Day. Everyone seemed to have a good time, especially Emma and KC who were really enamoured with Kite Flying.
(I should mention that Kourtney took that shot of Rob and his kite).
Rob and I also went to the Huntington Sheep to Shawl Festival. It was a cute festival, with sheep and goats and llamas to visit with and demonstrators from all sorts of fiber crafts and even some historic reenactors.
And then Kourtney and I went to Mustang Day at the Holtsville Ecology Center. There were visiting wild mustangs from out west but we mostly focused on the dogs that were there. We spent a lot of time learning about guide dogs and therapy dogs. I let Kourtney have my camera and record what we saw that day. She took a lot of flower pics as well as pics of the dogs. She is getting really good for her age and I am very proud of her. These shots are hers:
My cousin / BFF, Nikki, was coming down to visit this weekend for my b-day and I hadn't given her anything for her b-day yet. She loves Dr. Who so I made her Tardis Socks and she also got a Jayne hat from Firefly. It was a very yarny, very geeky b-day for Nikki.
I've spent a lot of time hanging with Nik and Katrina and other members of the family. Nik, Rob and I took the girls to the beach to fly kites and play on the playground one evening and there has also been a ton of board games being played.
And then there was yesterday. As many of you know, my b-day is a big thing for me. I have a lot of issues about how it is celebrated and for the past couple of years, it has been completely skipped, which hurt my feelings big time. This year, I really wanted a celebration and Rob stepped up. We planned a big tea party at Planting Fields Arboretum and asked everyone to dress up so we could take pictures while we had the arboretum as a background.
The planning process was a bit harrowing. The caterer that we had to deal with if we wanted to have the party there was a bit of a pain to deal with. The woman who was in charge of planning our party wasn't all that great at getting back to us in a timely manner and had a little bit of an attitude. We were also worried about the weather as the forecast mentioned thunderstorms.
But it all worked out. The food was INCREDIBLE - (really, really good cheesecake and strawberries with cream) so the hassle of dealing with that woman was well worth it. The weather was lovely and we got some great pics.
This is me and Nikki. Even though we have been BFF's our entire lives, there hasn't ever really been a good pic of us together so I am REALLY happy to have this one.
This is me and my youngest nephew, KC. He is such a sweetie and I love how he was waving so hard at the camera that we got this motion blur.
He complete fell in love with my goddaughter, Katrina.
and it seems like it was mutual since Katrina (much later that evening) told us all that when KC grows up, he is going to be very handsome - just like her daddy and her Uncle Robert.
I got a couple of great shots of my dad (this one is one of my favorites)
And my mom
And even my sisters very graciously allowed me to snap a few shots of them.
We had tea
and played with bubbles
And Chrissy broke out her hula hoop:
After the party, Nikki, Rob, Katrina and I went out for dinner and then later met up with some friends for fondue at the Melting Pot. We got to hang out with my friends, James and Brad which was a lot of fun. By the time we were done with all this, I was all partied out and ready to rest. I guess that is what happens when you get old like me.
Anyway, that's what I have been up to. How bout you guys?