Happy Birthday J!

J was one of our hosts when we lived in Belgium earlier this year. He (along with his wife C) was so helpful and made our stay there fun. He gave us so much help with anything we needed from directions to language lessons to grocery shopping to making sure we had tried at least half of the hundreds of beer varieties available in Belgium. J knows how to have fun and make sure other people have fun too. Happy Birthday J!

Happy Holidays!

Happy Birthday A!

A is part of our Belgian family and while I'm a bit late posting about her birthday (ah the magic of post options) I think of her and her family every day. When we first arrived, she brought over many of her daughter's toys to share with Z which was so thoughtful and made our stay there more like home. A couple of weeks before we left, Buttons fell and cut herself behid her ear on a radiator and required stitches so A came over and took us to the hospital and helped us navigate our way through three stitches. So, happy birthday A!

A few things I've done...

I saw this list over at Stephanie's Written Word and decided to give it a whirl.

The things I have done are in black.

1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightening at sea
14. Taught myself art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing (indoor)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted (does Cedar Point count?)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (not the top)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (if fish counts)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Rode an elephant

Wanna play along? Leave a comment and we'll read yours too!

NYC!

Life has been busy here. The show went well and is now behind me and I'm trying to catch up on housework and the business of Christmas. However, yesterday Hubby took the day off and we stole away to NYC.

We took the train in and Buttons was in heaven.
She loved the fact that there were no seat belts.

We went to Radio City Music Hall.

We visited the tree in Rockefeller center and the minute we turned the corner and saw it, the sky sent down the largest snowflakes I've ever seen.

Yes, we went to THE Christmas Spectacular. And yes, it was indeed spectacular. My favorite part was when the Rockettes were dressed as toy soldiers and did an amazing domino type of fall. I think Buttons enjoyed it, but it was also quite loud.

Hubby and I have been to NYC a few times, but it was Buttons first time ever and she enjoyed it. We even stopped by Macy's hoping to get her on Santa's lap, but yeah, no deal. So, we went home singing Christmas songs and truly enjoying our first taste of Radio City Music Hall. However, we tasted roasted chestnuts for the first time and didn't like those at all.

Ok, back to housework and Christmas mayhem. How are your holidays? Are you stressed? Are you ready? Are you sane and keeping away from all of this crazy hubbub?

NaBloPoMo is Over!

This is tech week for our show, so I'm glad Nablah blah is over. I'm going to take a wee bit of a break this week.

Whew.