Wordless Wednesday

Just a couple of more proofs

These are some of my favorite..

Sigh, I love my camera

So have I told you how in love I am with my camera? I really got to play and have a ball last Thursday. I also got to smell a newborn and play with his brothers. It was the best things all at once.

So here is a taste of what I did. I am still working on the photos but I am liking what I have so far. So Amber, here is a preview for you.

Ok yeah, the baby looks squished but the faces on the boys are priceless.



A great one of Mom and baby.



So that is what I have been doing along with having fun with the family this weekend.

Wordless Wednesday

I guess it did not take the first time. I guess it was REALLY wordless.

The Biggest Loser

I am watching now and let me tell you I was ok UNTIL I saw the pink team from DALLAS. The Los Angeles team did not bug me but the Dallas team did. Stacy and I really worked on the audition tape for this season. It was all good until they decided to make it a family show. Some of you are like what, audition for The Biggest Loser? I did not tell a ton of people in real life. The internet friends knew about it and supported us the entire way.

I will probably be really pissed by the time it is over and then go kick some butt. I was kinda bugged all day and could not put my finger on it then tonight I did.

I am disappointed. I need my butt kicked. I wanted it bad.

I will be ok, but dang.

By the way, 35 pounds gone.

2 different practices at one time

Princess Girly Girl wants to be a goalie for her soccer team. Princess Seriously needs to practice her water polo throws. What happens when you combine the two? PS throwing balls at PGG and screaming and running for her life. PGG got the hang of catching the balls, otherwise I think we would be at the emergency room.

Just what PS always wanted, a reason to throw stuff at her little sister.

I could not get pictures because I am sure that they would have stopped, but with the window open I was getting the play by play and laughing my butt off.

Eventful

The last few days have been eventful. Nothing HUGE but just stuff going on.

I drove up the mountain yesterday, yep a real mountain, to go book a retreat house for a retreat I am planning next year. I stopped and took a few pictures along the way but have not had time to get them off the camera. I booked the place, took a tour and then started the drive back down. I love mountain driving. I think yesterdays turn around was a bit to fat. You drive up to 7000 evaluation and then back down within 3 hours and see how you feel. I was just kinda off for the rest of the day.

Then it was PGG's soccer practice. Then Costco. There was a almost desperate need for Toilet Paper. That could be bad...

Today, more just getting to where I need to go. Work, Water Polo and then the usual.

Just stuff....

Carrie Blagburn - I Remember

I never had the chance to meet Carrie. I wish I would have. She sounds like a wonderful women, wife, mom and friend. Carrie's life was cut short. Too short. She should have had more time. I have thought a lot about Carrie since I was given her name to blog about. I wondered what went through her mind. I have prayed for peace, peace for her husband, Leo and her children.

Everything I researched and read about Carrie, tells me she is wonderful fun loving person. Let me tell you a little about her.

Carrie Blagburn lived in Temple Hills, Maryland. Carrie was married to Leo, her dear sweet husband for 23 years. They went on trips, where I hope they took lots of pictures, dance clubs, and were active in church. Together they had 2 children, Deanna who was 16 in 2001 and DeAndre who was 22. I personally ache for their children and for Leo. Carrie was also a grandmother. A sweet grandmother who I am sure doted on her grandchildren. Deanna was a help to her father after the days of September 11th. She fielded phone calls and I am sure she was a great source of comfort to him. DeAndre was in Saudi Arabia on September 11th. Carrie's life was cut short when Flight 77 hit the side of the Pentagon. Carrie worked for the government for most her life. Carrie was a budget analyst for the Army. Carrie loved to sew, she made clothes and the drapes in her living room. She also made wedding dresses. Carrie also enjoy doing other people hair. Brenda, a coworker and dear friend loved for Carrie to do her hair. Brenda sadly passed with Carrie. My hope is that they were together. Can you imagine them laughing and having a good time together in Heaven? I am sure they everyones hair looks perfect thanks to Carrie. Carrie also loved to bowl. She averaged a 145 in her Tuesday night bowling league at Boland Air Force Base.

When researching Carrie I came across this comment on a memorial page for Carrie. From: Daughter Date: 05/19/2005Message: Mom I miss you so much I love you. My life has changed and it will never be the same without you. Oh I miss you so much.

Deanna, I know you miss your Mom. I really hope that as September 11th approaches, you have been able to find joy and love in your life. I know that you mother sees you and sends you her love often. Know that you are in so many peoples prayers.

Her son DeAndre, he shared thought with the Washington Post: "She'd come down the street in her black Honda Accord about the same time each day, and you'd hear the garage door and know Ma's home," he said. "She'd come in and get ready and start making dinner. Before I went to Saudi Arabia, I'd come by several times a week for dinner. I loved her pork chops, her fried chicken. Everything she cooked was good. Nobody cooks like her." DeAndre was sent home from Saudi Arabia after 9/11.

Leo her husband loved her. "The best," he said. "A good mother. A good wife. A good friend. I miss her."

Carrie my thoughts and prayers are with you and your dear family as the 6th anniversary arrives. I ask that if you read this please leave comments and if you know her family please direct them her. Please everyone remember Carrie.

I had to come back and say more. I feel like there is so much more I could say. After a little more research I have found more comments from friends. Carrie was so loved.

Carrie: I'll never forget you. It still seem like yesterday. I had known you for 16 years and we were like and still are sisters. Your were and still is my twin. I see you every time I look in the mirror. I find myself still talking to you asking for your advice about certain aspects of my life. I can hear you so clearly telling me the right thing to do no matter how much I might want to do the opposite. I guess by now you've met my Mother, Father, Brother and Significant Other. God always take those "special" ones from us. I pray that one day I'll understand and see you once again @ those pearly white gates. Miss you my sister, my confidante, my pal. I'll continue to pray for your family. Georgia I love you ma. *** Posted by Anonymous on 2003-10-02 ***

Carrie YOU ARE SORELY MISSED may God bless Leo and the family crystal (forestville, MD )

To the family of Carrie Blagburn,I wish to express my deepest sympathy to your family, I have been and longtime working colleage of Carrie, her sister Althea, her mother Ms. Payne and also her sister-in-law Denise, when we were all employed at the Navy Annex in Arlington, VA. This is a hard a trying time, but trust in the lord and every thing will be just fine. Moanick Fenner (Suitland, MD )

Carrie you are NOT forgotten. You are very much remembered and loved.

Thank you to http://www.unitedinmemory.net/ for permission to post Carrie's Block.

Other Tributes Available

Robert Sutcliff - We Remember

Robert Sutcliffe Jr.at 39 nine years old was a young man. He went by Bob. Bob was a HUGE Packers fan from what I gathered and that MIGHT be an understatment!
Bobby as his cousin, Susan writes, was a HUGE packers fan. On Sept. 30, the father and son were supposed to be in Charlotte, N.C., as the Packers played the Carolina Panthers. But Bob Sutcliffe Jr., 39, a broker from Huntington and soon-to-be father of twins, had been attending a breakfast meeting Sept. 11 at Windows on the World in the World Trade Center. He never made it home.
Robert was an only child to Robert Sr and his mother Patricia. Bob was married to his wife Margaret and they had a daughter Kara. Kara was 4 years old at the time. What Bob never learned is that Margaret was carrying twin boys. He knew they were carrying twins, but twin boys was found out later.
At 6 feet tall and 220 pounds, Bobby Sutcliffe was a big man with a great appetite for life. He had advanced from clerk to floor broker after 18 years in the firm of Harvey, Young, Yurman Inc. He spent each day buying and selling millions of shares on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. He often gathered up the leftover deli sandwiches after a day on the stock exchange and handed them out to homeless men while he walked to catch the train back to Long Island. Sutcliffe's firm didn't have offices in the World Trade Center, but its floor brokers met there most Tuesday mornings. They would eat breakfast and talk strategy at Windows on the World - the WTC's well-known restaurant with the breathtaking view of New York.
At her home, Margaret Sutcliffe watched the second plane crash live on television. Like most of America, she felt dazed. She watched the TV coverage for nearly 30minutes before she realized what day of the week it was. "And then I knew," she says. "I said, 'Oh my God. It's Tuesday. Bobby's there.'"
Bobby and his Dad has tickets for the season opener for the Packers. his dad could not bear to go without Bobby. The Sutcliffes' pair of tickets will be used today by another father and son who care deeply about football, and about each other.
The son is a 12-year-old boy named Jamie Arnette. Jamie is a seventh-grader who loves the Panthers, particularly tight end Wesley Walls. The father is Ron Arnette, a local auto mechanic for 29 years. They live in Harrisburg. Jamie has a brain tumor. Everyone hopes and prays it has been treated successfully, although no one knows. The tumor has affected Jamie's growth and his vision, but it hasn't stopped him from playing nose guard on his Pop Warner football team.
I prayer for Margaret his wife, their children and Bobby's parents. He sounds like such a wonderful man. I am sure that he watches over his family daily.
Bobby you are not forgotten.
sources: Newsday and his cousin Susan.

Seven years

Tomorrow will be seven years.

I still remember where excatly I was. What I was doing and what I did for the next 24 hours.

Two years ago I participated in the Project 2996. After doing all the research I did to commemorate Carrie, I was asked to commemorate Robert to make sure everyone was remembered. I have re-run their tributes every year since then.

Maybe one day, Carrie's family or Robert's will post on their behalf in the comments section or even better, I will have the opportunity to meet them and hear more in person about them.

I remember. I will NEVER forget. Prayers for all on this day.

Wordless Wednesday

Fall is coming!

I would love to stay and chat but

I am brain fried, with the new job. I am on week 2 and loving it, much better then retail.

Tomorrow is an EARLY before the butt crack of dawn day, so I am so outta here. Also in my effort to get past the 40 pound mark before October 15th, I am walking between the time I get Princess Seriously and waking up the other Princess. I should be n a GREAT mood in the evening. I am sure I will want a cheese burger. LOL

Wish my luck and pray, pray for the family. They will need it.

Crap! That is gonna hurt!

Since it was Saturday, we could be found on the soccer field. Surprised? No, I did not think so. Princess Girly Girl had a game and Princess Seriously had to referee a game right after that. Princess Girly Girls team is not the best, but she is dang cute. I take the time to do her hair to keep it out of her face and this week every picture I took, I discovered that she runs just like me. In other words with her tongue sticking out. Poor thing.

An attempted artsy shot.



Then see my tongue sticking out, it helps me get the ball better.



The crap the ball is going to be passed to me and I am still sticking my tongue out to help me shot.


See, she is cute and bright red, yest another wonderful thing inherited from her mother.

Then after that it was Princess Seriously's turn. I had to be mama bear cause she was center ref and it seemed that since it was so warm, the coached from both teams had short tempers today. She was yelled at by both coaches. Well, it was her first time being center ref and she did not have the best assistant ref's. But can I tell you that she did a great job! She took it in stride and even put one of the coaches in his place. The other coach came and apologized, so she was impressed. They yelled at her assistant refs she she was right there, "Coach, DO NOT yell at my AR's, Coach, control you temper" and more. It was everything I had to NOT be all in the coaches faces cause she handled it fine.

OH and what is going to hurt? Seems since I wore capri's the bottom half of my legs are nice and fried. Crap, it hurts.

Just one of the guys.

Princess Seriously and a few other of the girls water polo team have been practicing with the boys team conditioning until the girls seasons starts. She decided to do that instead of going to swim team because there was so much she needed to learn. Well she has been too almost every practice. Including early morning. Remember I am dying from getting up so early. She has learned a ton and can keep up. In swimming, swimming, not to be confused with water polo swimming, she can kick almost any ones butt. She has earned some respect for working so hard. I am still sleep deprived but hey, I am old so that is ok, right?

The only thing that she has to do different is use the girls water polo ball cause the guys one is just too big for her hand. can I just brag for one moment? This is is getting to be so ripped it is not even funny. Her legs have always been strong but dang, the tummy is disappearing and her arms, dang there is big time definition to them.

Anyway, today they handed out the guys suits and caps. A couple guys came up and said hey PS where is your stuff? She looked at them, um hello, I am a GIRL. She said one of them laughed and said, oh we forget, you are here all the time and keep up just fine.

She was tickled! It was an honor to just be one of the guys.

Meanwhile, I am still tired.

Sleep, sleep would be nice.

I am finding the life of a water polo polo mom means that your are up at dark thirty am. OH my heck, why is that not in the instruction manual? Princess Seriously need to be at school at 5:30 for early morning water polo practice a couple of days a week. Being the worry wart mom I am, I am usually up making sure she is eating something so she has some sort of energy. Today was earth shattering, a piece of peanut butter toast and milk. Yeah, did I tell you it was at a 5:15? It is to early to think.

Then I come home, crawl back into to bed and sleep for 30 more minutes and then get up and make a little better breakfast for her, her lunch, gather her water, Gatorade and snacks for after school water polo practice and go get her and her her off to seminary, which translates into early morning Bible study. That all happens by 6:30 am. Oh by the way, after practice it was grilled cheese and a huge glass of orange juice. It is still too early to think about that to make and it must be portable.

There are some mornings that we just go to Seminary and it does not seem so bad, but the dark thirty mornings seem crazy.

I should be in bed by 8 pm tonight. Do not call after 8 pm, it will go straight to voice mail.

One more side note, I do not take her every morning, DH does a great job at getting her there most mornings, but I still do breakfast and lunch for her. I have to give him some credit. lol

Wordless Wednesday - Nascar baby!

Since I was asked for an update

About my weight loss, I am actually going to update.

I am down 33 pounds. WOO HOO! I am at a slow and steady pace but it is working. The inches are what amazes me. I need to take them again because it is time and once I do that I will update.

I am down 4 pants sizes and thanks to the old navy sale I even have stuff waiting for me.

SO there you have it.

Woo Hoo! What a weekend!

Friday, I packed up and headed down to San Diego to the scrapbook expo going on! I was scheduled for classes and to work with a vendor down there. I love working with the vendors. Pam was completely awesome. I had met her before and we spend time on the same message board. I had a blast doing all sorts of make and takes and classes. We headed to the crop as vendors. I was also asked to judge a centerpiece contest and that was a blast!!! Pam and I headed out to a late dinner and then crashed to get up and do it again on Saturday! I was a successful booth for her and we packed up and headed put of there at a decent time.

Sunday, Dh and I headed out the the Nascar race! Now that was a last minute decision based on how hot it was going to be. It was PERFECT! The race was fun and it was much needed time for DH and I. We also decided to pick up tickets for another race later this year! WOO HOO.

Monday, we had friends over for swimming and hot dog fest. It was how many different ways can you make a hot dog. What a blast! The kids swam and it was just nice and relaxing.

Now Labor Day traditional is the end of summer but we are lucky to have a few more weeks of warmer weather. Lucky us. But can you BELIEVE it is SEPTEMBER? Where has the year gone?

Tomorrow, the new job starts!