Mojo A-flowin'

I started this yesterday.
It's pre-digital pics.
I like it.

Etsy Love

I have discovered Etsy.
What is Etsy?
It's a place to buy and sell all things handmade.
I found these, which I love!



*I had to remove those horrible pictures of me.
They were scaring me.

I bought them from
LingGlass.
She's in Singapore and ships very fast.

I also found this camera bag. Paul ordered it
for me for Christmas. I'll take real pics once
I get it.

You can see more here: Tracy Joy .

And just in case you didn't get enough
dopey pics of me taking pics
of myself, here is one more fabulous shot.
Enjoy.

Last day of 2007

Happy New Year's Eve!
What are your plans to ring in the new year?
My friend Milissa was going to come up to NY
and go to Times Square. I told her she was nuts.
Not only are you at risk of being crushed, but
once you're there, you can't leave to go to the
bathroom. For me, that would be a fate worse than
death.

We have a New Year's Eve tradition in my house.
We stay home, have a lobster dinner and try to
stay up with Dylan while he watches the ball drop.
Wish us luck.

A Very Bose Christmas

Music is a big part of our family life.
Music pays the bills.
I'm married to a musician.
I'm the mother of a musician.
Paul and Dylan can actually have conversations
about sharps, flats, tone etc.
My take on music is a little less "intense".
I love it.
I appreciate it.
Heck, I won a karaoke contest once!
I usually listen to iTunes on my computer and
it makes Paul nuts because the sound quality stinks.
Didn't bother me.
I was too busy singing my 80's tunes to notice.
Well - all that has changed.
We had a Very Bose Christmas.
I gave Paul these:

Those are Quite Comfort Noise Canceling Headphones.
Dylan received his own set of Bose Headphones and has not removed them since.

And I got this!!!

A Bose Sound Dock form my iPod!!
I put it in the kitchen so I can sing my favorite high school songs while making dinner!
The sound quality is amazing.
LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

Christmas Eve Day

1 - eye doctor (what the hell was I thinking making an appointment for today???)
2- run to the Gap for last minute gift
3 - run to the grocery store
4 - last minute gift cards
5 - run to the butcher
6 - make a baked ziti and meatballs and sauce
7 - wrap the rest of the gifts
8 - try to organize the mess under the tree
9 - laundry
10 - laundry
11 - LAUNDRY

That's my plan for today.
Let's see how it pans out.

*UPDATE:
-before the eye doc, I ran to CVS for $200 worth of gift cards
-while waiting in doc's office, I look at gc receipt
-GIFT CARDS WERE NOT ACTIVATED!
(yeah, yeah, my fault for not looking at the receipt in store)
-eyes ok, need reading glasses
-run to post office to get Etsy stuff I ordered from Singapore
-NO FREAKIN' PARKING even after 2 go-rounds -screw it
-run back to CVS to activate gcs.
-run to grocery store
-NO FREAKIN' PARKING
-try THREE go-rounds for a spot, nothing - screw it
-bagel store
-bagel and coffee
-I'll try for a parking spot later.

The Tree

Every year we say,"We should have gotten
a bigger tree."
Well, this year we did.
We went to Home Depot and don't start telling me
that I should have gone to the guy in town who sells
trees. They're too expensive and dry - so there.
We took the first tree we saw.
It was big.
Big and expensive, but it was big and that's what we wanted.
We got it into the house, no problem.
Then it relaxed and really opened up.
We have no idea how we're going to get this thing out.
We'll have to chop it up.
Here, take a look.
Keep in mind that Paul is 6 feet tall.
Also, I had to lighten the pics a little so, yes, they look weird.



It's the Ridiculous Tree.

Finally!

I am FINALLY starting to feel better!
I'm so sick of being sick.
I guess the two weeks of antibiotics
actually did something.
Now that I'm back on track I'll post
some pics of what's been going on.
Until then, I leave you with an actual
conversation between a few 3rd
graders:

Kid 1
"My dad is getting an operation on his shoulder."

Kid 2
"My dad had an operation on his shoulder AND
his neck."

Kid 3
"My dad is going bald."

Kid 4
"My dad has lice!"


I love my job.

Hi - I'm here, I'm here!

Yes, I'm here, I'm okay.
Thank you for all the e-mails.
All is fine.
You guys are the best.

Guess what...I'M SICK......AGAIN!
Actually, it's not again, it's still.
I have a cough.
I have THE cough.
No, not TB.
It's something I've had before.
A lot of pilgrims died from this, but I
think I'll pull though.
The antibiotics are killing me though.
Blech.

Enjoying work today.
Listening to Christmas music, making
wrapping paper with the kids.
It's like Santa's Workshop.
I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR!

Monday

Funeral.
Dad's eulogy rocked.
Applause....in church!
Dylan.
Ave Maria.
Perfection.
So Proud.
Grandma at Rest.
Life goes on.

Dylan and Grandma, May 2007

Mending

I've been sad.

You are good people.
Not only have I gotten so many good wishes
on my blog, but I've also gotten a lot of
emails wishing me well. Thank you so much.

The family is here, my grandmother
had 8 children and we had to wait for
everyone to get here.
Today is the wake.
It's snowing. The roads
are bad so it will probably just
be our family. That's good, we can
tell Grandma stories and laugh, that's
how we are.

My faher asked if Dylan would play
Ave Maria at the funeral. Dylan was very
upset when I told him about Grandma, so
when I asked him if he wanted to play I told
him he didn't have to - he doesn't even know the song,
would have to learn it in a couple of days.
He said he WANTS to do it.
Great kid.

My Grandmother

My Grandmother died last night.
Peaceful.
94.
Good life.

Note to self.......

Remember Kerry, the lipliner is for your lips...
NOT your eyes.
(how many times????!!!!)

Getting There

I'm slowly, but surely getting my house together.
You see, I have a terrible disease called....
DECORAPHOBIA -fear of making a mistake decorating
so you do nothing.
I took a terrific leap of faith by buying curtains and
nothing bad happened so I went ahead and 'gulp'
had an old chair reupholstered. I actually chose fabric
and everything. Here is how it turned out:

I love it, love it, love it!
So, now, a YEAR later, I took another leap and decided to get
some more furniture fixed.
Here are my chaise lounge and another favorite chair.


The fabric is flocked and the cushions are down - so comfy!
That pillow on the chair, I had that, it lives there.
And yeah, I know...wicker in the house....what do you want from me?
I'm going with the shabby chic look I guess.
Now this chair came out so well, I can't believe it.


It's a very old chair, it was dark brown with horrible pleather like stuff covering it.
Now look how beautiful it is!!! It's perfect in our bedroom.
Look at the terrific work the man did.
Wow, my pics are terrible, I have to learn how to use my camera.
Any suggestions? (canon rebel)

Today is MY day.

I'm tired.
I'm exhausted.
Paul was away for the past 2 weeks.
Dylan has been sick.
I've been sick.
We had Thanksgiving here.
We went into the city yesterday for a reunion.
I'M TIRED!
So I'm taking a day today.
I'm not doing anything today.
I'll shower and put my hair up
(it takes a long time to get these curls looking natural)
I'll put sweats on, or maybe I'll just put another
pair of pajamas on.
I'll sit on the sofa and watch old movies.
I have a crafty thing I want to make, maybe
I'll toy with that.
Today I'm doing what I WANT TO DO and
that's it!
I'm not even going to answer the phone so don't call me.
(but I'll be online so you can email me)

....add to the list.....

Ok, we've all put things through the wash
that we wish we hadn't, and I'm not talking about
the occasional tissue, or dollar bill.
I started out with a red lipstick, which I did
not discover until I started folding the clothes,
Crimson Red, baked right in to everything.

I then graduated to the kitchen phone.
Yes, you read correctly - the kitchen phone.
I was carrying the portable phone around in
the laundry basket waiting for a call.
Apparently I forgot and as I dumped the clothes
into the wash, the phone went with them.
Didn't realize it until the load was finished.
Yeah, that baby was fried.

Earlier this year I sent Dylan's iPod through
the wash. That one wasn't my fault. He left
it in the pocket of his jeans. The good news is
that it worked perfectly after it dried out.

Well, today I get to add to the list.
I'm trying to catch up on laundry.
I just went to throw the wet load into the dryer and was
looking for the dryer sheets, I have a brand new box.
I know they were here.
Hmmmm.
Whatever.
I open the washer and start pulling the clothes out and with
them come dozens of drier sheets.
Yup, the ENTIRE BOX including THE BOX went in the wash.
And you know what....I can't find the box.
I think it disintegrated.
I HOPE it disintegrated.

I Am Thankful For.....

With Thanksgiving only 3 days away,
I thought it wise to take a moment to think
about what I am truly thankful for.

I am thankful for caller ID.
-When my relative who is "fond of the sauce" calls to
complain about the family, I can now tell ahead of time
and just not answer instead of pretending I can't hear
her as I drive through a tunnel..... while on the house phone.

I am thankful that my 7-11 is right next to my Starbucks
-so that when I'm getting into my car with my $1.75 cup
of joe, I can see those jerks who just spent $5 on bitter
crapopla and laugh at them as I drive away.

I am thankful for those little lift up things in the seat part
of the grocery cart...
-so that when I put my $1.75 cup of joe on the seat of the
cart while I go through every apple just to get 5 good ones
and then start to move the cart and forget that my coffee is there,
that little plastic lift up thing is there to catch the coffee instead
of letting it fall through the leg space in the seat. It took me a while
to figure that out, but I am thankful that I did.

I am thankful for that woman who parked next to me
at the grocery store.
-as she got out of her H2, I noticed she had about 10
reuseable canvas bags to carry her groceries.
I'm thankful she's going that extra mile for the environment.

I am thankful for all the things that make my life a little easier:
-catalogs
-ebay
-Tide to Go
-microwaves
-long yellow lights
-Purell

Now if someone could just come up with something to
empty the dishwasher for me...........

So Great.

I caught this on VH1.
John Lennon and Cheap Trick.
So great!

Saturday

Feeling much better - thank God, too much to do.
It's Dylan who isn't feeling well.
He was sick Tuesday with a fever
and swollen glands. He had giant marbles
on the side of his neck, so weird.
Took him to the MD, no strep.
By Wednesday night he feels better, no fever.
Thursdy he wakes up crying because his
sides, under his arms, really hurt.
No fever.
I give him Tylenol and off we go to school.
Under arms hurt all day and he's very tired.
Falls asleep in the car which is
SO NOT LIKE DYLAN!
He hasn't taken a nap since he was 2!
Stop at mom's house, she's a nurse.
She thinks he as a virus, keep him home.
Friday, he wakes up crying again, sides
really hurt, but he wants to go to school for
a presentation they're putting on.
Ok, tylenol and off we go.
Right after presentation he's at the nurse.
Off we go to the doctor.
Again, he falls asleep in the car.
I'm thinking maybe it's mono.
Doc says it's a virus.
What virus - who knows?
Motrin every 6 hours.
If it still hurts in a few days,
go back to the Doc.
It still hurt this morning, but not enough
to keep him home from a birthday party at
Yankee Stadium.
Hope he doesn't fall asleep there!

Just can't win.

Up since 2:30.
Sore throat.
Stuffy nose.
Didn't I just go through this???
crap.

Thanksgiving Approacheth

Yes, Thanksgiving is upon us, although
you'd never know it if you visited the stores
lately. You'd think Christmas was tomorrow.

I like to have Thanksgiving here.
It's better than Christmas - it's a one day
thing, no presents, great food, go home.
Perfect holiday.

Sheila, my awesome step-mother, asked if
I'd be brining the bird again this year.
No freakin' way.
I shall share with you the Great Brine Disaster of '06.
Yes, I decided to brine the bird.
I had an enormous zip lock bag which came with the brining herbs.
I put tons of liquid in the bag.
All looked good.
I put the briny bird on the bottom shelf of the fridge.
I didn't like the way it looked, so I tried to move it a bit.
In order to get a better grasp, I sat down on the floor in front of the bird.
I pushed the enormous bag full of bird and liquid.
Apparently the enormous bag didn't like that I pushed it.
I OPENED and all that brine had to go somewhere.
That somewhere was ALL OVER ME!
There will be no more brining in this house I tell ya!

Love the people I work with.

Dylan is selling Christmas Wreaths for Boy Scouts.
I made an announcement at our morning meeting.
Didn't think I'd sell any.
Quite often there are things in the teacher's lounge, asking
for sponsorship for a walk-a-thon, or cookies for sale, etc.
Never much response.
Sold 16 wreaths in one day.
As the admissions director was handing me her check for
2 wreaths, I told her I was overwhelmed by the response.
She said "It's because we love you."
Tears.
Love the people I work with.

The Best Shoes

These are my new favorite shoes.
They are Dansko Glennas.
LOVE
THEM
I have them in this color.
Aren't they me??!!!
I'm going to get them in grape too.
Love 'em.
They don't seem to want to kill me like my old
Danskos wanted to.

Good and Bad

Well, apparently something I sent to
Gift Maker Mag which was to be published in their
June issue, has gone missing.
Bummer.
I told them I could whip up another right away.
We'll see what happens.
*note: all is fine! They apologized profusely for loosing it
and asked if I could make another. No prob.)

On a good note -
I'm the December guest designer over at
My Scrapbook Nook.

Makin' Stuff

These are my Lil Notes.
I love them. I've already used a couple:
1 - as a tag on a present
2 - as a little thank you for someone
They were part of my design team entry for
Worldwin Papers. I did not make the new
design team. I'm a little perplexed, I got quite
a few things published for them - 7, but I guess
I'm not what they're looking for this time around.
That's ok. I'm looking forward to getting away from
"cardstock only" creations and playing with the 5 kits
I have sitting here from Serendipity Kits.
Milissa has the best kits!

The Big Costume Decision

I want to thank all of you for your
costume suggestions for the party we
were SUPPOSED to go to this past Saturday.
Here's what we decided on:
Ever see the movie Castaway, with Tom Hanks?
Well, Paul was going to be Tom Hanks
and I was going to be Wilson the volleyball.
Thank you, thank you, all my idea.
Well, guess what....
I was still sick on Saturday so we
skipped the party!
Paul was a little "miffed".
"I grew this beard for 3 weeks and now
we're not even going????"
Oh well, there's always next year, right?
And just think how the beard will look then!!!
Perfect.

iPod Commercial

Dylan went to his first school dance last night!
It was a costume dance.
Here he is.
He won most original costume.

Question:

What I want to know is....
With all the hand washing I do....
HOW
THE
HELL
CAN
I
BE
SICK?

A Star is Born

How do you get to Carnegie Hall?
Well, you could follow my son when
he plays there in November!
Yup, Dylan will be playing with a small
group from his violin school.
Rob Reiner is hosting the evening.
Also on the bill are:
Marvin Hamlisch
Natalie Cole.
Can't wait!
I'm so proud of him!!!

Zoom Zoom!

I've discovered something wonderful at my local 7-11.
They have THE BEST iced coffee!
Now, I like my coffee to taste like coffee so I only add
a splash of milk, (1/2 & 1/2 if I'm feeling saucy)
NO SUGAR! It ruins the taste of the coffee.
Anyway, this 7-11 stuff comes from a dispenser.
It has a nutty sort of taste. Almost like a very faint
caramel but not sweet. LOVE IT!
-and it gives me a boost!
Try it!

Global Warming is My Fault

How can they say there is no such thing
as Global Warming??
It is the 3rd week in October and it's
going to be 80 degrees in NY tomorrow.
HELLO???!!!
Anyone see a problem here?
It should be cold and dry now, not tropical.
Dylan says the weather is my fault.
Here is his proof:

That's the calendar in the kitchen.
So, I haven't had a chance to change it, that's all.

Too tired.

10:00pm
TEN PM!!!
Way too late.
"GO TO BED!!"
"Ok, ok, I'm getting washed."
mumbled - Oh my god, I am so tired.
-I kiss him goodnight.
-he climbs up into his loft
-I hold his hand while he says his prayers
"Night Mom"
"Night D."
"Can you get me a drink of water?"
"OMG, just go to sleep!!"
"I'm thirsty!"
"You had HOURS and HOURS to get a drink. Why now?"
"I'm thirsty."
-ugh.

I'm so freakin' tired.
That's what 3rd graders and clay will do to you.

Halloween

Paul and I are invited to a Halloween party.
The party has a theme;
come as your favorite movie character, like
you just stepped out of the movie.

Any ideas for me???

The Boy's Got Game

(is that apostrophe where it belongs?)
First soccer game.
They won 5-2.

WORLDWIN Papers

There are 3 contests over on the WORLDWIN PAPER Blog.
1 - WHAT IN THE WORLD CAN YOU DO WITH WORLDWIN PAPERS
2 - The CRAFTY CREATIONS GIVE AWAY
3 - The 2008 DESIGN TEAM SEARCH
Now, I'm on the current Design Team. Great company
to work for. Their paper is fantastic and I get all a girl
could want....and more!
Well, I'm re-applying for the 2008 dt.
I've been hard at work today, trying to create a masterpiece....
and I think I may have succeeded. Well, it's cute, how's that?
I wish I could post it here for some feedback, but I have to
keep it under wraps.
Are any of you thinking of applying for the dt???
Let me know!
If not, just get over there and try for some of the stuff
they're giving away!

Another First Grade Story

First grader drawing a picture of his
Mommy and Daddy.

Me: "Wow, your Daddy is really tall!"
1st: "Yeah, he's fat too, but I couldn't draw
him fat because then I wouldn't have room on
the page for my mommy."

I love my job.

So great.

Conversation between two first graders:

"What do you call people who live in Japan?"
-"Japanians."

I love my job.

Creating

Here are a few things I made this week.


Those were made with the Crafty Creations line from WorldWin Papers. Love it! Craft paper in all sorts of shapes.







Big Contest News over at the WORLDWIN PAPER Blog
Check it out!!

This Week.....

reading:

listening to:

wearing:

watching:

MORE MORE MORE!

I think I am slowly becoming addicted to ebay.
It's now a verb - I ebay....I'm ebaying.
I'm totally into ebaying.
I don't sell anything, no, none of that.
I'm a buyer.
I buy.
I buy crap that other people don't want and for
some reason I'd rather do it on line than in
someone's driveway on a Saturday morning.
That's all it is. A cyberspace garage sale.
Each day, I log on and check my favorite
items, the recently listed ones so I can get a jump
on the bidding, and also the "ending soonest" just in case
I missed something fabulous.
I get ebay email each day alerting me to new items listed under....
ooooh, you thought I was going to tell you didn't you?
Well, no way sucka!
I don't want to be out bid.
Truth be told, I only bid on stuff I can get in a store THAT day.
It's only NWT (that's New With Tags) and NIB (New In Box).
For some reason, I'd rather play a game with internet strangers.
I place my bid......... is it enough???
How long will my bid last?
Have I already been outbid?
I guess it's the thril of the chase that gets me.
I'm a wild woman!

Crash and Burn

So you wanna know what happens after a
fantastic manic episode?
You CRASH AND BURN, that's what you do,
you crash and burn.
I was still going strong last night at 12:30.
Decided I had to go to bed, still awake by 2:30.
Up for the day by 5:00.
And you know what greeted me?
No, not the gentle coo of Morning Doves.
A freakin' migraine.
Not a knock down, drag out headache.
Just enough to make me hate my life.
I was a bitch today, and a cranky one at that.
Well, there's always tomorrow.
Tomorrow and Xanax.

MANIC

There is an up side to living life as a depressed person.
Yes, I suffer from depression and have since I was a kid.
No, not the -
-"stay in bed all day thinking of how to kill myself"
kind of depression.
But the -
- "I'm sad and anxious but my friends would never know it"
kind of depression.
It's just a chemical imbalance that is not my fault.
Just lucky I guess. I know how to deal with it and I do.
Anyway, there is an upside. It's called MANIA!
I think I've had 3 manic episodes in my life and they weren't
Lifetime Movie manic episodes. Just big bursts of energy lasting
the whole day. Frankly, I'd love to have more of them.
Well, today was a manic day and I LOVED IT!
I cleaned my house. Really cleaned it. A big clean.
I folded laundry.
Made 3 entries on my blog.
Took pics.
I made Spanikopita (see below)
I worked on a scrapbook project.
I ran to the grocery store.
I then made a fabulous new dinner.
This is Chicken Marbella:

It's chicken with....get this.......
-prunes
-olives
-capers
-brown sugar
-cilantro
I know. Who the hell would think of throwing those things together??
I saw this in the Silver Palate Cookbook years ago and just ran across it recently.
Thought I'd give it a try AND invite my folks over to try this new dish.
I told them I'd keep the pizza place # close by just in case, but it wasn't necessary.
This was so delicious!
Here is a close up.

Hmmmm, the close up doesn't look all that appetizing, does it?
Well, trust me, this is so great! Very savory.
If anyone is interested in the recipe, let me know and I'll send it to you.
So, it is now almost 10pm, I'm not the least bit tired, sitting at
my work space ready to finish my project.
Wonder how I'll feel tomorrow.

Just call me Kerryopolis!

I am so impressed with myself!
I just made Spanikopita.
(Greek Spinach Pie)
I got the recipe from Jen, my art teacher.
It's her husband's family recipe and I cannot
share it or they will hunt me down and kill me.
Check this out:

I took it upon myself to cut the recipe in half because
it looked like a huge undertaking. Now that I've done it,
I'll make the whole recipe next time.
As you can see, it could use more filling in there.

This was also the first time I'd ever worked with phyllo dough.
I need more olive oil next time as it's very "crunchy" and I
also have to tuck the sides in when I'm finished.

but you know what...it was really good!!

Smile!

I have a fantastic camera.
I have a Rebel.

Isn't it beautiful?
I also have an additional super duper lens and
if I wasn't on my first cup of joe, I'd know what
kind it was or at least get up and take a look.
All I can tell you is that it's very phallic looking
and takes great close up shots.
Anyway - I have this terrific equipment and guess what?
I NEVER take pics anymore.
I used to take so many that Dylan wouldn't even smile.
I have all these scrapbooking plans for mini albums
but NO PICS to put in them.
What is wrong with me???!!!!
I think....that from now on....I'm going to carry
my camera around with me and make a point of taking
interesting shots, with or without people.
Maybe I'll have Photo Thursday on here, where I'll
post a shot each Thursday.
(you know I'll never do that, right?)
Ok, I can dream,lol.