If there's one thing I have a hard time learning, it's to STOP setting expectations!!!! URGG!!
I had plans of getting up a little earlier to go to the 9am service at church (usually go at 11am). Well, those Bloody Mary's knocked me out a little too much, I woke up at 8:59am! So! I made the best of it and while ALL the boys were still sleeping, I snuck out to the pool side and laid in a chair and read my chapter for the day. Love Is Responsible. My dare was to take time to pray through my areas of wrongdoing. ask for God's forgiveness, then humble myself enough to admit it to my spouse. Then, I'm suppose to ask for his forgiveness, no matter how he reacts. The fact that I'm an open book, and that Alex doesn't like to hear about anything to do with my life before him, this poses to be either an extreme challenge or an unnecessary dare. The good thing is that I have nothing that I have done "wrong" in my relationship with Alex, that deems forgiveness. Of course I've done things that aren't necessarily "right", but NEVER anything WRONG!!!!
So, it is Mother's Day today! Funny, we started out a few weeks ago, Alex asking me if we wanted to take off for a couple of days and go to Arizona for Mother's Day. Sounded good to me! Then I thought about the kids and how difficult it would be to go that far in the car, since our movie player in the car is broke! Ick! Then we said maybe we'd go to Catalina! That would be fun! Rent the golf cart, cruise around the island! Well, Alex checked the boat times and knowing US, wasn't going to happen! (left too early!) So, he tells me we should do Newport Beach/Balboa Island. Okay, that sounds fine. I just wanted to relax at a beach, didn't really care where. So, we invited my sister Lauren, whose girls were out of town, picked her up around noon and headed to the OC. We were cruising down the freeway until Corona where the traffic STOPPED! UGGGG!!! The kids hate traffic, I hate traffic and traffic takes SO MUCH TIME!!!.
1 and 1/2 hours later, we arrived on the Toll Road headed toward the beach. Alex decided we'd cut short our Newport drive and do Laguna for lunch. Good idea, until we got to the 2 lane road to Laguna. MORE TRAFFICE! WAAAAA!!! Oh well, we finally arrived, went to an okay restaurant that did have a nice patio. Had a funny European lunch because everyone sitting around us was from Europe!! Lots of "where are you from" conversation! :)
After lunch we all went to get caramel apples!! yummmy!!! We sat on the grass and enjoyed!
Then Alex said, "let's go to Newport now"... that would have sounded good, except I couldn't bare the thought of MORE TRAFFIC!! Driving to Newport wasn't THAT bad, but it was another drive!!!! Oh well... the family is together and that's all that matters... right? NOT that it's Mother's day and I haven't done 1 thing I want or enjoy yet? I guess a true mother is unselfish and does what her husband and kids want to do, right? Still smiling, we headed to Newport. Next question, do I still want to go to Balboa or just to the beach? I said just to the beach! After all, it was already 430 and we'd done nothing but eat and drive. Well, that didn't quite happen either. All of a sudden, there we were, in line for the Balboa Island Ferry! Okay, fun for the kids, but the LINE!!! Next thing I know, Alex takes the boys out and leaves me and Lauren to wait in the line for the Ferry! 6 ferries later, we finally boarded!! We made it across and he almost turned into the fun park when I spoke up, "You guys can go, but I'd like to be dropped at the beach please". So, we all went to the beach at 5pm while the sun was setting and the wind was BLOWING!!! Stayed until a lovely 630 and then decided to get dinner before heading home. I spotted a cool looking Japanese restaurant overlooking the marina. Reluctantly, Alex pulled in and let me have my way. The place was amazing. 2 story restaurant with modern atmosphere, but beach casual. Turns out the food was amazing, even Alex attested!! YAY! I got to end on a "ME" note! ;) Drive home was fine and got a great night sleep! Next year, I'll look forward to NOTHING, then I will be so excited to do what ever Alex feels to do! :) Is that a brat of me? Okay, Love Dare, I forgive him and love him and realize he had a day off with his family, so he wanted to do something that he'd enjoy! I hope he did! :) xoxo
Monday, May 11, 2009
Saturday night...
Saturday I got so much and nothing done! Have you ever had that feeling? It was a great lazy day but I did get several things done. The bulk of my efforts were the later part of the afternoon, but I have to admit. The first part of the day, I lost working on this darn computer! How time flys when you're on the computer doesn't it? I don't understand it. One minute I look down and the computer clock says 11:30am and the next time POOF! 3 hours has gone by and it's 2:30pm!! I have to pat myself on the back, okay, well, I guess it's all how you see it... my boys were home but I almost forgot for that 3 hours because they didn't come to me once, nor did they make a peep! Now some would wonder what they were getting into that whole time. Nothing... the babysitter/Wii had their attention for 3 hours!! Batman is for ages 10 and up, my kids are almost 4 and 6 and a 1/2! They have mastered this game like nobody's business! It's crazy to me, their ability to figure it out! That's the other side of it, you may say, no pat on the back! Your kids were glued to a video game for 3 hours... I call this empowering them to entertain themselves. When my head finally got out of the computer trap and I went out to see them, they were eating cereal but there were Tuna remains on the table. When asked, they acted like I was silly, "Mom! Can't you tell, we ate Tuna!" Totally fed themselves, entertained themselves and didn't argue... I SAY BIG PAT ON THE BACK!!! :) Hahaha! Well, I was proud of them anyways.
But, it was time for me to shut down the computer, put my wheels on and boogie through the house! Alex can't come home and think I did NOTHING all day!!! Although, sometimes I feel like "WHO CARES IF I DO NOTHING" sometimes!!! Guess my guilt comes from the fact that he never gets to do "NOTHING", so I feel I shouldn't either! Hmmmm, gotta get over that, hu? ;)
At about 4 o'clock, I was pretty well done with my clean up around the house... thank goodness cuz my hubby walked in! We all hung for a bit and then I had to get ready for work! We both did, actually. So we did, both get ready and the babysitter arrived just in time for us to leave.
Work was not very busy. First night back for Gina, so that was fun! We planned to go to Gourmet after work and have a drink and relax with the guys. We got to head over earlier then we planned and that was nice! I called my sister Lauren to meet up with us and she decided she would. I was glad, hadn't hung with her in a while! So, she showed up after a bit and then coinsidently, our friends Jamey and Tammy showed up! Actually, we think they were out for a date, but we changed those plans quickly, cuz we all joined them at a table! It was a fun, relaxing, social night. Alex was "on" which is always great! Bloody Mary's for me, wine for the rest of em... great food and awesome people! The perfect night!
Later in the night, a gal shows up with her sax. She had played at Thorton earlier and offered to join Randy and the Associates and play a little for us... she is a young, attractive, hispanic girl who you would never guess would blow your socks off! She was amazing!!! We were all floored by her ability and "coolness"!! We enjoyed her for a while and then, the night slowly ended. It was lovely and perfect! Headed home, 3 Bloody Mary's later and slept like a baby!!!
But, it was time for me to shut down the computer, put my wheels on and boogie through the house! Alex can't come home and think I did NOTHING all day!!! Although, sometimes I feel like "WHO CARES IF I DO NOTHING" sometimes!!! Guess my guilt comes from the fact that he never gets to do "NOTHING", so I feel I shouldn't either! Hmmmm, gotta get over that, hu? ;)
At about 4 o'clock, I was pretty well done with my clean up around the house... thank goodness cuz my hubby walked in! We all hung for a bit and then I had to get ready for work! We both did, actually. So we did, both get ready and the babysitter arrived just in time for us to leave.
Work was not very busy. First night back for Gina, so that was fun! We planned to go to Gourmet after work and have a drink and relax with the guys. We got to head over earlier then we planned and that was nice! I called my sister Lauren to meet up with us and she decided she would. I was glad, hadn't hung with her in a while! So, she showed up after a bit and then coinsidently, our friends Jamey and Tammy showed up! Actually, we think they were out for a date, but we changed those plans quickly, cuz we all joined them at a table! It was a fun, relaxing, social night. Alex was "on" which is always great! Bloody Mary's for me, wine for the rest of em... great food and awesome people! The perfect night!
Later in the night, a gal shows up with her sax. She had played at Thorton earlier and offered to join Randy and the Associates and play a little for us... she is a young, attractive, hispanic girl who you would never guess would blow your socks off! She was amazing!!! We were all floored by her ability and "coolness"!! We enjoyed her for a while and then, the night slowly ended. It was lovely and perfect! Headed home, 3 Bloody Mary's later and slept like a baby!!!
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Love vs. Lust
Today was a busy but good day! I had my Mother's Day Tea at Luca's school at 9:30am and they had muffins and juice for us. They had 3 poems that were really sweet and they made us a card, each with their own words. Luca is so sensitive and sweet. His said that I was a nice and beautiful mom and he loved me. With their finger tips, they made petals to a flower on a piece of tile that said I love you Mom, Luca, 09. It has a ribbon for me to hang it and Luca suggested I hang it in my bedroom, perfect idea! After Luca's tea, Logan and I jetted to his school for the same thing. Logan invited me into the class with a rose and walked me to a chair. With his entire hand in his mouth from embarrassment, I watched him gather his courage to begin singing the songs he had been practicing. Keeping his eyes on the classmates right next to him, he followed their lead as they did the hand motions to the song. When they got to "M-O-M-M-Y", he was good! He had that down pat! Then he offered me my cookie and tea and a great big hug and kiss! What a great morning for a MOM!
After the special Mom moments, off to work I went. Tammi and Alex were there to greet me and Tammi had me rolling because she was there at 11, while Alex, who was "opening" for me got there 15 minutes late. Tammi jumped right into the server roll as a table of 3 sat and began to ask her a ton of questions she had no clue about. After all, she's our PR gal, early to meet with me, not a server at the Spuntino. She is a trooper though! She covers like a pro! She actually likes "working" there! I took over, a not too busy lunch and was able to do a little on the computer while helping the couple tables I had. Breanna showed up and took over the tables and Tammi kept my attention focused on getting the last little things we needed done for our PR packets. At 330 she left, I went to pick up Luca and came back. I blogged a bit then Vanessa showed up with Logan to take Luca. I was going to a benefit for All About Kids put on by Luca's next year teacher and friends of mine, Rob and Trish Shea. Michelle met me at Spuntino and when we got in the car to leave, I decided I needed hairspray to complete my "freshening up". With CVS right there, we stopped and got me spray and Michelle body spray. Now, we were ready to roll!
The event was nice, there were a lot of people from the school. There were about 50 baskets in the silent auction to bid on. I bid on 3: a photography session with Prema, a TECHNO KIT and a Dog House with stuff. I usually do one bid on each thing I like and don't look again. If i win something, great, if I'm outbid, good for the organization! This time for some reason, after we ate, I went out to check. I'm outbid on Prema, then I go to the Techno Kit, outbid. Then to the Dog Stuff, and of course, NOT OUTBID! Oh great! $90 on Dog Stuff that I don't need because it's only enough for 1 dog and I have 3!!! I placed another bid on the Techno stuff because I saw what was in it... Microsoft Office, Vista, 2 flash drives, 120GB external memory, wireless mouse and some HP wear. The value was $963.37 and my second bid was $200. I was going to buy Office and the price was almost $300!!! This, my friends, was a great deal!! I kept watching the dog stuff and NO ONE was outbidding me! Oh great! I get home and tell Alex I spent $300 and it included DOG STUFF??? NOT GONNA FLY!!! What was I thinking???? Sometimes I JUST DON'T!! The speaker calls 2 minutes left for the silent auction... no one, no one, oh no!!!! My Techno is safe too... that's great, but so many people do that last minute OUTBID... hope it happens on the dog stuff, but not my PROGRAMS!!! I turn away for a second and the call is made.... "bids are now closed"! So I go over to check my bids, Techno is MINE!! Yay!! And low and behold... a last minute save! OUTBID on the dog stuff!!! Fhew!!! That was a close one!
The more I realized what I got for my $200, the more others did too!! I don't believe people really understood what was in this basket!!! I know Alex will be proud!
We stayed a bit, watching everyone dance. It was fun, but for some reason, I wasn't all over the dancing. I love to dance, just wasn't in the mood I guess. I kept an eye on the time, not to push it with Alex. He is supportive until I carry things out MUCH longer then necessary and he has to feel like I'd rather stay where I am then come see him. Perfect timing! I arrived at Gourmet and he was happy to see me, asked me about the event, was happy for my purchase and we all WON! :)
OOOOOHHHHH.... this chapter's goooooood.....
Here's my notes from this chapter....
There's a gentle progression of infidelity and it goes like this... eyes, heart, action. BEWARE!
"We have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either" Having the basic food and clothing, we should be "content". yet, we aren't if we don't have God. We have emptiness that we don't understand so we try to fill it with things that don't work such as pornography, money, "things". Pornographic images are designed to FEEL like a real person. (They are not) Have you ever told your child or yourself that a movie isn't real? Same.
Lust is the opposition to love. It means to set your heart and passions on something forbidden. To expose lust is to see it for what it really is - a misguided thirst for satisfaction that only God can fulfill!
Lust is the best the world has to offer, but LOVE offers you the best life in the WORLD! AMEN!
Dare: End it now, identify every object of lust in your life and remove it. Destroy your object of LUST and fill it with God's perfect LOVE!
I'm all over this one! :)
After the special Mom moments, off to work I went. Tammi and Alex were there to greet me and Tammi had me rolling because she was there at 11, while Alex, who was "opening" for me got there 15 minutes late. Tammi jumped right into the server roll as a table of 3 sat and began to ask her a ton of questions she had no clue about. After all, she's our PR gal, early to meet with me, not a server at the Spuntino. She is a trooper though! She covers like a pro! She actually likes "working" there! I took over, a not too busy lunch and was able to do a little on the computer while helping the couple tables I had. Breanna showed up and took over the tables and Tammi kept my attention focused on getting the last little things we needed done for our PR packets. At 330 she left, I went to pick up Luca and came back. I blogged a bit then Vanessa showed up with Logan to take Luca. I was going to a benefit for All About Kids put on by Luca's next year teacher and friends of mine, Rob and Trish Shea. Michelle met me at Spuntino and when we got in the car to leave, I decided I needed hairspray to complete my "freshening up". With CVS right there, we stopped and got me spray and Michelle body spray. Now, we were ready to roll!
The event was nice, there were a lot of people from the school. There were about 50 baskets in the silent auction to bid on. I bid on 3: a photography session with Prema, a TECHNO KIT and a Dog House with stuff. I usually do one bid on each thing I like and don't look again. If i win something, great, if I'm outbid, good for the organization! This time for some reason, after we ate, I went out to check. I'm outbid on Prema, then I go to the Techno Kit, outbid. Then to the Dog Stuff, and of course, NOT OUTBID! Oh great! $90 on Dog Stuff that I don't need because it's only enough for 1 dog and I have 3!!! I placed another bid on the Techno stuff because I saw what was in it... Microsoft Office, Vista, 2 flash drives, 120GB external memory, wireless mouse and some HP wear. The value was $963.37 and my second bid was $200. I was going to buy Office and the price was almost $300!!! This, my friends, was a great deal!! I kept watching the dog stuff and NO ONE was outbidding me! Oh great! I get home and tell Alex I spent $300 and it included DOG STUFF??? NOT GONNA FLY!!! What was I thinking???? Sometimes I JUST DON'T!! The speaker calls 2 minutes left for the silent auction... no one, no one, oh no!!!! My Techno is safe too... that's great, but so many people do that last minute OUTBID... hope it happens on the dog stuff, but not my PROGRAMS!!! I turn away for a second and the call is made.... "bids are now closed"! So I go over to check my bids, Techno is MINE!! Yay!! And low and behold... a last minute save! OUTBID on the dog stuff!!! Fhew!!! That was a close one!
The more I realized what I got for my $200, the more others did too!! I don't believe people really understood what was in this basket!!! I know Alex will be proud!
We stayed a bit, watching everyone dance. It was fun, but for some reason, I wasn't all over the dancing. I love to dance, just wasn't in the mood I guess. I kept an eye on the time, not to push it with Alex. He is supportive until I carry things out MUCH longer then necessary and he has to feel like I'd rather stay where I am then come see him. Perfect timing! I arrived at Gourmet and he was happy to see me, asked me about the event, was happy for my purchase and we all WON! :)
OOOOOHHHHH.... this chapter's goooooood.....
Here's my notes from this chapter....
There's a gentle progression of infidelity and it goes like this... eyes, heart, action. BEWARE!
"We have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either" Having the basic food and clothing, we should be "content". yet, we aren't if we don't have God. We have emptiness that we don't understand so we try to fill it with things that don't work such as pornography, money, "things". Pornographic images are designed to FEEL like a real person. (They are not) Have you ever told your child or yourself that a movie isn't real? Same.
Lust is the opposition to love. It means to set your heart and passions on something forbidden. To expose lust is to see it for what it really is - a misguided thirst for satisfaction that only God can fulfill!
Lust is the best the world has to offer, but LOVE offers you the best life in the WORLD! AMEN!
Dare: End it now, identify every object of lust in your life and remove it. Destroy your object of LUST and fill it with God's perfect LOVE!
I'm all over this one! :)
Somehow I got mixed up...
I am doing this Love Dare daily, but I must have missed one previously! Sorry, Anyhow, I'll catch you up now...
DAY 23
Love Always Protects
The sentences I underlined in this chapter:
Your mate and your marriage need your constant protection from things like:
Harmful Influences - work schedules that keep you separated from each other for unhealthy amounts of time.
Unhealthy relationships - be on guard at all times from allowing opposite-sex relationships at work, the gym, or even the church to draw you emotionally away from the one to whom you've already given your heart.
Shame - protect your wife or husbands vulnerability by never speaking negatively about them in public.
My dare: Remove anything that is hindering your relationship, any addiction or influence that's stealing your affections and turning your heart away from your spouse.
I need to think about what that might be for me... not sure at this time, but it could be my desire to "play" or "party"... not heavy but I love to go out and Alex doesn't or has to work... I need to think about what is okay and what I should pass on...
DAY 23
Love Always Protects
The sentences I underlined in this chapter:
Your mate and your marriage need your constant protection from things like:
Harmful Influences - work schedules that keep you separated from each other for unhealthy amounts of time.
Unhealthy relationships - be on guard at all times from allowing opposite-sex relationships at work, the gym, or even the church to draw you emotionally away from the one to whom you've already given your heart.
Shame - protect your wife or husbands vulnerability by never speaking negatively about them in public.
My dare: Remove anything that is hindering your relationship, any addiction or influence that's stealing your affections and turning your heart away from your spouse.
I need to think about what that might be for me... not sure at this time, but it could be my desire to "play" or "party"... not heavy but I love to go out and Alex doesn't or has to work... I need to think about what is okay and what I should pass on...
Thursday's Dare....
Sorry, I forgot the title of the dare yesterday! Okay, It was Love is Faithful! I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know the Lord. --Hosea 2:20.
Here's what the Dare says:
"Love is a choice, not a feeling.
It is an initiated action, not a kneww-jerk reaction. Choose today to be committed to love even if your spouse has lost most of their interest in recieveing it. Say to them today in workds similar to these, "I love you. Period. I chosse to love you even if you don't love me in return.""
Without saying these exact words, I showed with my reaction. I showed Alex, when he didn't consider how he was acting towards me, because of circumstances unrelated to me, that even though he made the wrong choice in his treatment, I loved him. Wouldn't you know I got an, "I'm sorry and thank you" because of how I handled it! This book teaches us to be unselfish, think unselfish and love unselfish. It is an amazing tool for your life, if you are ready and willing!
Here's what the Dare says:
"Love is a choice, not a feeling.
It is an initiated action, not a kneww-jerk reaction. Choose today to be committed to love even if your spouse has lost most of their interest in recieveing it. Say to them today in workds similar to these, "I love you. Period. I chosse to love you even if you don't love me in return.""
Without saying these exact words, I showed with my reaction. I showed Alex, when he didn't consider how he was acting towards me, because of circumstances unrelated to me, that even though he made the wrong choice in his treatment, I loved him. Wouldn't you know I got an, "I'm sorry and thank you" because of how I handled it! This book teaches us to be unselfish, think unselfish and love unselfish. It is an amazing tool for your life, if you are ready and willing!
Friday, May 8, 2009
As the list grows...
I decided to make a list of all things that had to be done... in the near future... I think I thought it would help me to feel more organized and be able to get things done quickly and efficiantly. Well, let's just say that it in turn, overwhelmed me even more!!!
My staff is a little "short" right now at the pizzeria, so I get to work ALL DAY!!!! Good stuff goin on!
Not to eventful for you, since I just worked all day, but I did get to see my Gina! She didn't get the message that I had someone to come in for her (although i NEVER expected her to come in, she had a pre op for her DNC at 230!), so she showed up in uniform... no makeup from the tears she was crying. We gave eachother a big hug and we talked more about what the doc told her. Surgery set for tomorrow 1230. She hadn't had her "first" glass of wine yet, so I offered her one as our little "at least she can drink again" toast! ;) She didn't drink much, she helped out a couple customers and then her relief came in, so she left. It was great to be able to see her and hug her. You feel so helpless when a friend is going through something that you can't relate to, nor do anything about. I'm usually the "uplifting" friend, the one who makes you laugh in the eye of the storm, but it's difficult at times to know if that's what is needed more the ability to ball your eyes out. For me, laughter is the best medicene and I can't help but carry that over in how I deal with others. I also try to look at the bright side of everything, but death is a toughy cuz obviously it's much harder to find things to laugh about.
My dear friend, if you read this, know that you are an amazing mother and that the love that your 2 girls share will be only theirs forever now. You have 2 arms to hold each of them tightly, like only you can do... and think about the gifts you've sent to God this past year... 2 little angels, one to watch over each of your girls until the days you all meet again in Heaven! I love you....
I'll get back to you all on my Love Dare... can't remember the title and don't want to guess...
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Wednesday... different work day!
Today was a day of work, just a different kind. House work, computer work and so on! I looked forward to today, getting things done around the house and on the computer. I got my solution to my Internet problem! Verizon sent me a new wireless devise, but then I had to call and get it activated properly. Oh how these things take SOOOOO much time!! Got that done, did some laundry, picked up the house, then got a text from my friend Kim, reminding me that I agreed to go to Rotary with her today. It was 11am and Rotary was at noon. I jumped in the shower and rushed to Wilson Creek to meet Kim. Not knowing what to expect, I walked in and out of about 80 people I probably knew 65! It was a typical "meeting" and not too exciting, except when Kim and I had to stand while she introduced me as, "Charity Prestifilippo of Charity for Charity, Gourmet Italia, Spuntino Pizzeria and a Rotary Renegade (from the basketball game). It was very sweet of her to acknowledge me and invite me. It was a nice time and an opportunity to get to hang with her which I haven't got to do much. I had to jet early because Luca had modified day, getting out at 120. I grabbed him and we headed home. I got more laundry done and worked on a Sicilian wine list with map for Gourmet. It came out nice... but needs it's final approval... the big boss... we'll see!
Speaking of the big boss, he called me from a 5 hour deposition to tell me he wouldn't be back to work in time to relieve Nora, the server, so to work it out for him. I had to go down to get Logan anyways, so I went down to be the in between. In my sun dress and flip flops, there's never any customer at that time. I figured I could play on Alex's computer and Luca could goof off. I walked in to a table with a lady by herself... okay, I can do that. I will just explain to her why I was dressed that way. Well, they kept coming in... uh oh! Now what???? Good thing, Alex showed up before I got too deep! He came in singing, so I handed the tables off to him. Well, from the outside, he seemed fine. I should have known after 5 hours of grilling deposition, having to come right in to 3 tables without getting a break for lunch, cigarette or to pee, he would have been a little put off. That wasn't the only upsetting stuff for him, there was no tomatoes for sauce and I had a "sun dress" on looking like life was so easy for me. Well, he should be happy for me, but it's hard. It's the natural reaction to feel jealous on top of frustrated about the prior incidences. Not right, but natural... he acted out on me for no apparent reason. I left feeling irritated, unjust, angry and resentful. I attempted to call a friend to talk me through and then I stopped to pray. I needed to handle this the way I had learned in this first 20 days of the Love Dare. God gave me the ability to think straight, about how he would love through this and I was able to get a grip, forgive and then I texted him a simple message, "I'm sorry for your frustration, if I could take your place sometimes, I would". Then I texted that I would wait up for him and try to help relieve some stress when he got home. My response from him was, "I'm sorry and thank you". There you go.... thank you Love Dare, thank you GOD!
Today is Love Always Protects. The dare is to remove anything that is hindering our relationship, any addiction or influence that's stealing my attention. This will take some time to think through because my first response is work because that steals the most of our together time... but is that possible when you own your own business? Intending to sell is our attempt to eliminate this distraction and get more time together... we need to continue to pray for this to happen!
Speaking of the big boss, he called me from a 5 hour deposition to tell me he wouldn't be back to work in time to relieve Nora, the server, so to work it out for him. I had to go down to get Logan anyways, so I went down to be the in between. In my sun dress and flip flops, there's never any customer at that time. I figured I could play on Alex's computer and Luca could goof off. I walked in to a table with a lady by herself... okay, I can do that. I will just explain to her why I was dressed that way. Well, they kept coming in... uh oh! Now what???? Good thing, Alex showed up before I got too deep! He came in singing, so I handed the tables off to him. Well, from the outside, he seemed fine. I should have known after 5 hours of grilling deposition, having to come right in to 3 tables without getting a break for lunch, cigarette or to pee, he would have been a little put off. That wasn't the only upsetting stuff for him, there was no tomatoes for sauce and I had a "sun dress" on looking like life was so easy for me. Well, he should be happy for me, but it's hard. It's the natural reaction to feel jealous on top of frustrated about the prior incidences. Not right, but natural... he acted out on me for no apparent reason. I left feeling irritated, unjust, angry and resentful. I attempted to call a friend to talk me through and then I stopped to pray. I needed to handle this the way I had learned in this first 20 days of the Love Dare. God gave me the ability to think straight, about how he would love through this and I was able to get a grip, forgive and then I texted him a simple message, "I'm sorry for your frustration, if I could take your place sometimes, I would". Then I texted that I would wait up for him and try to help relieve some stress when he got home. My response from him was, "I'm sorry and thank you". There you go.... thank you Love Dare, thank you GOD!
Today is Love Always Protects. The dare is to remove anything that is hindering our relationship, any addiction or influence that's stealing my attention. This will take some time to think through because my first response is work because that steals the most of our together time... but is that possible when you own your own business? Intending to sell is our attempt to eliminate this distraction and get more time together... we need to continue to pray for this to happen!
Tuesday is Totally Tough!
Tuesday's are usually great! It's my first day of the week that I work with my girl, Gina! This Tuesday, I had some things to do at home and then I had to go to North to cut some checks with Logan in tow. After that, we had to get to Gourmet Italia for a meeting about The Escape with the staff, Tammi and Alex. Alex picked up Luca after promising in the morning. Vanessa met us at the restaurant and took the kids from the boring setting away to home where they'd play Wii into the eve!
I, of course, had a meeting to attend to, but sitting at Starbucks, I saw my Uncle Chuck, so I went over to talk to him. While I was talking to him, Tammi showed up and came to say hi. She hadn't seen him in years! Then, Gina's Dad comes walking up! So funny! Said hi to Gil and then, all of a sudden, my phone rings... Gina is calling! I answer the phone, "I just gave a hug to your DAD!" before she could say a word. She then says, "really? oh, well..." and went on to tell me that she had just gotten back from the Doctors and they told her she miscarried. You could imagine how I wished I could rewind 5 seconds and just say, Hello. She proceeded to tell me that she would be in to work regardless. Of course I told her no way, but she wouldn't take no for an answer. She said, "I'll see you tonight and I love you" then she hung up.
Frazled, I wrapped the conversation with Uncle and headed into Gourmet. It wasn't setting right with me that Gina thought she was going to come in, but I wasn't sure where she was coming from... you just never know how people will handle things, even one of your best friends. Not being able to let it go, I texted her hubby, Pat. He called immediately and explained that she didn't want to let me down or leave me in a binde. She obviously wasn't thinking straight because I'm not just her boss, I'm her best friend. Even if I was just an employer, I would think NOTHING of a person in her position to take the night off... BUT because we are friends, she felt more obligation to me. Touching, but rediculous! So Pat ensured me she would not come in... now I could enjoy my meeting! Well, "ENJOYing" a meeting is a silly thing to say, isn't it? Well, you know what I mean, I could carry in with peace of mind. The meeting was good, covered a lot of ground and got assigned more work! Yay! Hahah!
Tammi was already planning on coming to Spuntino after the meeting to work on more PR stuff, so she said she would help me if it got busy. Crash course in order taking and the rest is comman sense for a mature young lady! ;)
When we arrived, Marissa informed me that she maybe had 8 tables all day. She was able to clean, organize, stock and anything else she could possibly think of, then she left. Tammi and I had a couple to go orders, then a table! Before you knew it it was 730 and we had 3 tables. And then I realized it was Cinco De Mayo! EVERYONE was at the mexican restaurants! Guess it was the perfect night for Gina to miss! Marija, Mark and the kids came in for American Idol, so Tammi and I sat and joined them as we critiqued and/or praised the Idols for their performances! Our favorite is Danny, then Kris, then Allison and Adam TOTALLY bugs us all!
Good luck Idols, but we voted for Danny and Kris! All the way boys!
My Love Dare today is Love Is Faithful and my dare is to love even if my spouse has stopped. Fortunately, I know he hasn't stopped loving me, but sometimes he forgets that he does! That's a tall order, but without argument a TRUE LOVE committment! I'm committed!
I, of course, had a meeting to attend to, but sitting at Starbucks, I saw my Uncle Chuck, so I went over to talk to him. While I was talking to him, Tammi showed up and came to say hi. She hadn't seen him in years! Then, Gina's Dad comes walking up! So funny! Said hi to Gil and then, all of a sudden, my phone rings... Gina is calling! I answer the phone, "I just gave a hug to your DAD!" before she could say a word. She then says, "really? oh, well..." and went on to tell me that she had just gotten back from the Doctors and they told her she miscarried. You could imagine how I wished I could rewind 5 seconds and just say, Hello. She proceeded to tell me that she would be in to work regardless. Of course I told her no way, but she wouldn't take no for an answer. She said, "I'll see you tonight and I love you" then she hung up.
Frazled, I wrapped the conversation with Uncle and headed into Gourmet. It wasn't setting right with me that Gina thought she was going to come in, but I wasn't sure where she was coming from... you just never know how people will handle things, even one of your best friends. Not being able to let it go, I texted her hubby, Pat. He called immediately and explained that she didn't want to let me down or leave me in a binde. She obviously wasn't thinking straight because I'm not just her boss, I'm her best friend. Even if I was just an employer, I would think NOTHING of a person in her position to take the night off... BUT because we are friends, she felt more obligation to me. Touching, but rediculous! So Pat ensured me she would not come in... now I could enjoy my meeting! Well, "ENJOYing" a meeting is a silly thing to say, isn't it? Well, you know what I mean, I could carry in with peace of mind. The meeting was good, covered a lot of ground and got assigned more work! Yay! Hahah!
Tammi was already planning on coming to Spuntino after the meeting to work on more PR stuff, so she said she would help me if it got busy. Crash course in order taking and the rest is comman sense for a mature young lady! ;)
When we arrived, Marissa informed me that she maybe had 8 tables all day. She was able to clean, organize, stock and anything else she could possibly think of, then she left. Tammi and I had a couple to go orders, then a table! Before you knew it it was 730 and we had 3 tables. And then I realized it was Cinco De Mayo! EVERYONE was at the mexican restaurants! Guess it was the perfect night for Gina to miss! Marija, Mark and the kids came in for American Idol, so Tammi and I sat and joined them as we critiqued and/or praised the Idols for their performances! Our favorite is Danny, then Kris, then Allison and Adam TOTALLY bugs us all!
Good luck Idols, but we voted for Danny and Kris! All the way boys!
My Love Dare today is Love Is Faithful and my dare is to love even if my spouse has stopped. Fortunately, I know he hasn't stopped loving me, but sometimes he forgets that he does! That's a tall order, but without argument a TRUE LOVE committment! I'm committed!
Mamma Mia Mondays!
Mamma Mia Mondays is our new special for Mondays at Spuntino! We sell all pizza for the Margarita pizza prices!! It's a great deal, I just need to promote it more... so I'm going to do that after this post! ;)
I had to unlock the store for our new neighbors electricians (yogurt place) at 9am, so I called a meeting with my staff. It was overdue and very effective! I have an amazing staff and they just need to get in "check" once in a while!
After the meeting, Tammi met me for our PR work. Staples for copies, then my house for organization... we got a lot done and we are almost ready to kick off "The Escape" Happy Hour at Gourmet Italia! After our work was done, I picked up Luca and Logan, went to the mall and used my Brighton Gift Certificate on a hot pair of sunglasses! Thank you Angela! :)
After the mall, we were off to Luca's baseball game! Alex got to be at this one... only his 3rd one out of maybe 20 because they are mostly on Tues, Wed or Thurs and he works those nights! We were happy he could make this one! He is the best cheerleader for Luca and Luca LOVES when he's there! Coach Mark is great about letting Luca play positions with the most action when Daddy shows up! After the game, Daddy let Luca pick where we'd go to eat... that is always 1 of 3 choices for Luca... 1st, Shogun... not tonight, 2nd Chili's... daddy's tummy can't deal, 3rd Oishi Sushi... BINGO!!! The Family favorite! Our friends Max, Erika and others I don't know their names, are so great to us! We enjoy our experience there everytime!
Bedtime comes soon when we're out... the boys get cranky and tired... so we headed home and Alex and I enjoy some TV time before we fall fast to sleep.
My Love Dare is Love is Satisfied in God. My Dare is to pray and read the bible every day. Believe it or not i have a hard time making time in my day to commit to these 2 things. I do pray throughout my day, but I never read my bible. I am challenged to make a specific time everyday for this priority. I will make a point to do this... let you know how it goes!
I had to unlock the store for our new neighbors electricians (yogurt place) at 9am, so I called a meeting with my staff. It was overdue and very effective! I have an amazing staff and they just need to get in "check" once in a while!
After the meeting, Tammi met me for our PR work. Staples for copies, then my house for organization... we got a lot done and we are almost ready to kick off "The Escape" Happy Hour at Gourmet Italia! After our work was done, I picked up Luca and Logan, went to the mall and used my Brighton Gift Certificate on a hot pair of sunglasses! Thank you Angela! :)
After the mall, we were off to Luca's baseball game! Alex got to be at this one... only his 3rd one out of maybe 20 because they are mostly on Tues, Wed or Thurs and he works those nights! We were happy he could make this one! He is the best cheerleader for Luca and Luca LOVES when he's there! Coach Mark is great about letting Luca play positions with the most action when Daddy shows up! After the game, Daddy let Luca pick where we'd go to eat... that is always 1 of 3 choices for Luca... 1st, Shogun... not tonight, 2nd Chili's... daddy's tummy can't deal, 3rd Oishi Sushi... BINGO!!! The Family favorite! Our friends Max, Erika and others I don't know their names, are so great to us! We enjoy our experience there everytime!
Bedtime comes soon when we're out... the boys get cranky and tired... so we headed home and Alex and I enjoy some TV time before we fall fast to sleep.
My Love Dare is Love is Satisfied in God. My Dare is to pray and read the bible every day. Believe it or not i have a hard time making time in my day to commit to these 2 things. I do pray throughout my day, but I never read my bible. I am challenged to make a specific time everyday for this priority. I will make a point to do this... let you know how it goes!
Sunday Family Birthday
The boys stayed the night at my moms Saturday night and wouldn't you think it would be the PERFECT opportunity for Alex and I to sleep in and enjoy our quiet morning?!?!? ya, well, so did we! The phone rang at 650am! Unfortunately it was bad news.... NOT a death, fortunately, but it was our alarm company calling to tell us we were broken into at Spuntino! Alex had to jump out of bed and race down. He told me to sleep in, so sweet! so i did for another couple hours. When I woke up it was 830 and Alex was calling me to bring the drill so he could drill in plywood in place of the window. The "crooks" didn't get anything except a few bucks that the servers had left for the cooks. What they did get as well was our peace of mind! It's so frustrating that there are people that have no feelings for the individuals behind the "store front". We are people struggling to stay strong in business especially during this difficult time. Now, with this being the second break in, we are seriously trying to figure out what to do to prevent the 3rd and so on... Any suggestions outside of alarm, camera's and maybe a sign on the window saying NO MONEY IS KEPT HERE!!!!???
Well, that was "time together" i guess. Alex and I were cleaning up, just the 2 of us... how sweet! ;) I had to take off though, had to go to mom's to get the kids. He decided to stay until the first employee showed up. I went home, got ready and headed to the OC.
My Aunt and Uncle were at my mom's overnight as well. It's great to me, that the boys get to hang with them all. My lil sister Kels had a musical she was in over the weekend called "Thoroughly Modern Mille". I had to get to mom's to "watch" my boys while they all went to the play. I was pretty tired from the night before, so I was mellow, working on the computer for the restaurants and catching up on my blog. The boys played a bunch of different things inside and out. After of 3 hours of alone time at mom's, the gang returned and we sat down to my mom's delicious Chicken Soup! One of my favorites! It was a great family dinner and then... oh! The good stuff!!!! PRESENTS!! :) Cards and presents and then, my favorite... cheesecake with a THICK graham cracker crust!!! I'm so blessed to be celebrated so many times!!!
My Love Dare today is Love Is Jesus Christ! I say, AMEN to this! I have been a born again Christian since I was in Junior High. I was born into Christianity, but acknowledged my personal belief and faith in the Lord in middle school. Having my faith has brought me through so many challenges in my life. For some, it's difficult to have faith. For me, it is something that, with a lot of facts and the proof of God's living spirit in my lives and many lives surrounding me... it's simply undeniable! There's a foundation that is so strong that no matter what life brings me, I can get through it because of God's grace, love and promise. When I started the Love Dare, I believed in it because it was based on teaching me/us how to love the way it was designed by God. No matter what you argue against Christianity or God, there is no evil associated. That is because God is love, so to understand love, you should understand God. Without God, I wouldn't have the strength, courage or preserverence to deal with life's curve balls and I've had/got a few!!! I will get into those sometime!! I say it again... AMEN! Jesus Christ IS Love!
Well, that was "time together" i guess. Alex and I were cleaning up, just the 2 of us... how sweet! ;) I had to take off though, had to go to mom's to get the kids. He decided to stay until the first employee showed up. I went home, got ready and headed to the OC.
My Aunt and Uncle were at my mom's overnight as well. It's great to me, that the boys get to hang with them all. My lil sister Kels had a musical she was in over the weekend called "Thoroughly Modern Mille". I had to get to mom's to "watch" my boys while they all went to the play. I was pretty tired from the night before, so I was mellow, working on the computer for the restaurants and catching up on my blog. The boys played a bunch of different things inside and out. After of 3 hours of alone time at mom's, the gang returned and we sat down to my mom's delicious Chicken Soup! One of my favorites! It was a great family dinner and then... oh! The good stuff!!!! PRESENTS!! :) Cards and presents and then, my favorite... cheesecake with a THICK graham cracker crust!!! I'm so blessed to be celebrated so many times!!!
My Love Dare today is Love Is Jesus Christ! I say, AMEN to this! I have been a born again Christian since I was in Junior High. I was born into Christianity, but acknowledged my personal belief and faith in the Lord in middle school. Having my faith has brought me through so many challenges in my life. For some, it's difficult to have faith. For me, it is something that, with a lot of facts and the proof of God's living spirit in my lives and many lives surrounding me... it's simply undeniable! There's a foundation that is so strong that no matter what life brings me, I can get through it because of God's grace, love and promise. When I started the Love Dare, I believed in it because it was based on teaching me/us how to love the way it was designed by God. No matter what you argue against Christianity or God, there is no evil associated. That is because God is love, so to understand love, you should understand God. Without God, I wouldn't have the strength, courage or preserverence to deal with life's curve balls and I've had/got a few!!! I will get into those sometime!! I say it again... AMEN! Jesus Christ IS Love!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
What an amazing, fantastic birthday celebration!
The day after...
This birthday is definitely chalked up to one of the top 5 EVER!!!
The morning was great, not sure if I mentioned, but my little guy set the table for breakfast. We ate as a fam and then Alex cleaned up. For some people that doesn't seem like a big deal, but for me it was HUGE. My husband is Italian, from Italy, where Mommy does EVERYTHING for the men of the family. He eats and gets up from the table leaving everything for me to do. So the fact that he pleasantly did it with a serving heart for my birthday was very special! Then, we kinna had to hurry to Luca's game. With some small challenges of getting out on time, we were 20 minutes late to the game. Sorry Coach Mark! Luca had a good game, I stayed until the last 15 minutes. Wes, my cousin came to take the boys after the game for about 4 hours until my Aunt and Uncle brought them to my Mom's so she could watch them until today.
At 1215 I headed over to Spuntino parking lot where a beautiful motorhome awaited! My friends Dave and Christin Powers had offered to drive everyone up in their motorhome to Ladera where we were going to Taste Of Ladera, but to see one of my favorite bands, Sugar Ray. I was the first one to arrive and I entered the motorhome... Dave and Christin had it all decorated for me!!!! How sweet is that?!?!?! We had some last minute things to get such as snacks, ice, cups, cocktails, etc... so I went to CVS and shopped... $100 later!! Hahah! We had enough stuff for a weeks worth of camping... so we thought! Everyone started showing up and we were all pumped for the big day! 14 of us loaded in the motorhome, my husband arriving as one of the last, but arms full of a dozen roses, balloons and a singing card "Aint no mountain high enough..". How special! :)
So we departed around 130... only an hour past my goal. Not bad for 14 people hu? We started a little mellow, everyone having a drink and MOWING on cheese, meat and bread. This great deli called Spuntino provided it. ;) As we got closer, we were coordinating picking up Tiffny and meeting up with Leza and Kris. All who started over in Orange County. We found Tif at Beachfire, which was where the shuttle pick up for the event was. We had a little challenge trying to find a place to park the "big daddy" so we ended up parking about a block from Bran's house. We were a bit of an eye sore 15 ROCKIN people from the TV in the OC!!
We entered and found Bran, went to the VIP area and found our home base. We were all starvin so we spread out to conquer the FOOD COURT! Me, Michelle and Gina detoured to meet Brandi's new boss and watch a demo of her Boogie Box exercise gig. Bran rocks, of course... it's so perfect for her and her body has totally come around... she's back to her fit gymnast bod! After, we got our Persian food and sushi and enjoyed it at home base. Then the music got our feet a tappin and our hips a swinging! Out to the front of the stage we all went! Danced our little booty's off! It was so much fun! There was a dual piano show promoting a new restaurant in Ladera. We took a break to take a picture in a picture booth... when I get my hands on it I'll post a copy! It they were the funnest photos!
And finally... the main event... the hottie patottie, SUGAR RAY (Mark Macgrath)!!
(These pictures were taken by Angela with her camera and emailed to me today!)
EVERYONE else joined us in the front of the main stage, including the unlikely, my hubby!!!! He was so much fun, so engaging and so supportive of my fun! This is HUGE for us! Thank you to the Love Dare!!! We all jumped, sang, danced and hollered for the BABE on stage!!! Despite a close call (Brenda had a bit to drink so her tolerance was low and she almost fought a girl that was pushing her! Alex intervened), everyone had a total BLAST!!! After the show, we gathered everyone up and headed to the motorhome! The "trip" back was a trip! The shuttle line was totally long, so we decided we'd walk. Then we saw a shuttle pull up and we snuck to the door, neverminding the LONG line. We loaded on and thought we were slick, until we found out that we loaded THE WRONG SHUTTLE!! Ya, see what happens when you try to CHEAT????
Well, we loaded the motorhome and realized that a few of us needed to pee pee and the motorhome was NOT our first choice! With Brandi's house just a block away, we decided to walk there and use the toilets! 4 of us, plus Pat who cut his arm when a bottle of Vodka fell and broke on it, marched down to Bran's. We snuck in and all parted to all parts of the house to all 4 bathrooms! After, we snuck around and gave kisses to my neices excepts, when I went to kiss the little one, Molly, her eyes popped open and she stared with a blank face. If you know Bran, I just gave a KISS OF DEATH! You just DON't MESS with Bran's kids sleep or schedule!!! I tried to put her back to sleep, but it didn't work. Good thing Bran and Dan were outside because she started SCREAMING. So I picked her up and asked her what she wanted and she wanted to go downstairs and get milk. I got her milk, sat her on the chair in the dark and told her I'd go out and get her mommy. I was so afraid to tell Bran, but good thing she had a few drinks and was in a light and happy mood, cuz the worst I got was "now what am i supposed to do?" I said goodnight and I love you and took off! Hahah!
The ride home was fun, but I was sober along with "Prego Gina" and it was interesting and at times funny being entertained by the "happy" people.
GOOD TIMES, GOOD TIMES!!
We got home around 11 and then I went with Alex to Gourmet to see what was going on there. All the girls were off and dressed to go out. They asked me, but I think I was actually alseep while I was sitting there talking to them!
I'm pretty sure when I got into bed, I fell off to sleep because I don't remember a thing after getting under the covers!
The end of a fabulous day and the beginning of a wonderful year of being 36!!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
I'm gonna party like it's MY BIRTHDAY!!! cuz it is! :)
I woke up this morning at 6:57am!! Why in the WORLD do I wake up early on the days I could totally sleep in???? Oh well, I must be excited for today! I've been getting texts and calls all morning... so special to be surrounded by love!! My step-daughter was the first to call from Sicily. She never forgets!! I just adore her!
My sister Nic called from Santa Barbara and always has such sweet words. Daddy called from Rhode Island... he forgot to call last year and I gave him a really hard time about it, so this year I told him that he better be one of the first one's I hear from! :) He had such sweet words, remember me as a baby, remembering when I was about 3 all dressed up singing Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head. He said the day I was born was one of the happiest days of his life and that he loved me so much. I got all teary eyed and was sad, again, that he was there and not here!
Brandi and the girls called and sang/scrame for me! So cute!! My little niece just turned 3 and I was at her party last weekend. She made sure to tell me, "Auntie, I'm 3 now". I just love childrens newness of everything! Jennifer Wilson, Kara, Michelle, Jennifer Hughes, Gina, Angela, Dan Atwood, Mariah and Christin are all friends I received texts from! Good Stuff! :) Well, I'm off to shower and then to Luca's baseball game at 11. At 12 we'll all meet at Spuntino and Dave and Christin so sweetly offered to take us to Ladera in their Motorhome! Along with them and us, Gina and Pat, Brenda and Luis, Pat and Robin, Angela, Michelle, Beth and Lauren and going in the motorhome and Tiffny and Duane and Leza and Kris are meeting us there! Can't wait! I'll tell you all about it tomorrow!
My Love Dare today is Love is Impossible! the dare is to look back over the previous dares and see if the one's I thought were impossible are now possible thanks to prayer and understanding! I do believe that many are much more possible then I would have thought! I am a BIG believer in this plan of Loving the way God intended and only good can come from it... I'm seeing the results little by little! Tomorrow is my 1/2 way through! Pretty cool!! Until tomorrow! Have a great day... I'm planning to! ;)
My sister Nic called from Santa Barbara and always has such sweet words. Daddy called from Rhode Island... he forgot to call last year and I gave him a really hard time about it, so this year I told him that he better be one of the first one's I hear from! :) He had such sweet words, remember me as a baby, remembering when I was about 3 all dressed up singing Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head. He said the day I was born was one of the happiest days of his life and that he loved me so much. I got all teary eyed and was sad, again, that he was there and not here!
Brandi and the girls called and sang/scrame for me! So cute!! My little niece just turned 3 and I was at her party last weekend. She made sure to tell me, "Auntie, I'm 3 now". I just love childrens newness of everything! Jennifer Wilson, Kara, Michelle, Jennifer Hughes, Gina, Angela, Dan Atwood, Mariah and Christin are all friends I received texts from! Good Stuff! :) Well, I'm off to shower and then to Luca's baseball game at 11. At 12 we'll all meet at Spuntino and Dave and Christin so sweetly offered to take us to Ladera in their Motorhome! Along with them and us, Gina and Pat, Brenda and Luis, Pat and Robin, Angela, Michelle, Beth and Lauren and going in the motorhome and Tiffny and Duane and Leza and Kris are meeting us there! Can't wait! I'll tell you all about it tomorrow!
My Love Dare today is Love is Impossible! the dare is to look back over the previous dares and see if the one's I thought were impossible are now possible thanks to prayer and understanding! I do believe that many are much more possible then I would have thought! I am a BIG believer in this plan of Loving the way God intended and only good can come from it... I'm seeing the results little by little! Tomorrow is my 1/2 way through! Pretty cool!! Until tomorrow! Have a great day... I'm planning to! ;)
The day before my BIRTHDAY!!
I'm starting today with the Love Dare Chapter because I like it so much! It's Love Seeks To Understand! How well do you really know your spouse. Not just their personality, their family, their upbringing, but them, their inner most everything!? what is their hopes, dreams, desires? It makes sense that if you know them from the inside out, you have a better understanding of how they operate, right? What drives them up and what brings them down? Like I got a taste of yesterday, it's not always US! I want to get to know Alex more and in order to do this, I have to go back and do more of the previous chapters. Take the time to spend with him alone. Ask him questions about him. Let him know he can trust me with his thoughts, secrets, dreams. I look forward to this "project" and I can't wait to find what I find! :)
Today was pretty neat. I met with Tammi to go over our PR stuff. She needed to "vent" about something and we got to utilize our friendship as well as our working relationship! Her husband and I share the same birthday, so we can never spend it together, but she remembered and bought me the most perfect, touching card about old friends. We have been friends since 2nd grade and have always had a friendship that has no problem catching up where it left off! After our heart to heart, we were hungry, so we ordered a sandwich. Then Alex showed up and he entertained us for a bit. Then Mike Montelone showed up and I introduced Tammi to him. Turns out he was one of her dad's best buds and since her dad passed away 5 years ago, they had some special reminiscing to do! By the time we actually started to work, it was 2 hourse later and we had to rush because we both had kids to pick up! So we rushed to Staples to get some things for our PR packets and RUSHED back! I picked up Luca and then Logan and headed home.
At home I got the opportunity to sit and relax for about 20 minutes!! I sat and watched Ellen's 1000 episode and painted my toenails! They are a hot pink, almost looks like candy! :)
Then I got ready for work... freshened up my hair and face and headed out again!
Malinda, my girlfriend, turned 50 today! She is having a Barbie party TOMORROW! :( I'm so sad I have to miss it!! I'll have to tell you more about it tomorrow! (point will be made as to why tomorrow then). Well, Malinda was setting up for the party today, and ordered pizza's for the crew. I told her I would deliver them before I went in to work, so I thought I'd also get her flowers since I'd be missing the party! Delivered pizza and flowers at 6 then headed into work. It was filling up when I arrived! Another great night for us!! We continued to be SUPER busy... rockin all night! Halfway through the night, Gina's hubby and girls showed up with balloons and cupcakes for my birthday!!! Gina wanted to celebrate at work even though my birthday isn't until tomorrow! So sweet! Then, my sister Lauren and my neices showed up! Hadn't seen Lau for 4 weeks! They sat with Pat and the girls, but we had no time to sit! We rocked until around 9 o'clock when I finally sat down! Jen showed up with gifts in hand... I LOVE when my birthday isn't just a DAY but a few!!! :) :) ;) Jen's gifts were so great! She got me a bottle of wine in a wine bag that was black and white with a C on it, lined with hot pink! Loved the colors!! Then, in the same color scheme but cuter then I can explain, she got me an apron with a C on it too! I'm going to wear it at work! Come see it!! :) Finally Gina was able to sit and we scarfed down some buffalo wings and calamari! Brenda called, she was waiting for us at the mall to go to see the movie I wanted to see Ghosts of Girlfriends Past! So, we wrapped up at the pizzeria and headed to the mall. Well, we were passing The Wine Company and I saw Dan's truck, so I pulled a U turn and the caravan followed! We barged in and Dan graciously gave us a bottle of his Syrah and we took 1/2 to go! Plastic glasses and a half bottle for the MOVIES!!!! Thank you Dan! We were running out of time for the movie starting so we jetted out and rushed over to the movies! Brenda was waiting for us out front and the 4 of us headed in! :) I felt like a teenager sneaking the "alcohol" into the movies! :) We were in the front row too! It was a small challenge hiding it, but Gina poured with ease! It must have been hard for her though, since she LOVES wine and she couldn't drink it (she's preg-o). The movie ended at midnight and I headed over to Gourmet where my hubby awaited. We hung out there for a bit then headed home at 1am! It wasn't ending there... we were finally alone and awake at the same time!!!! ;) After the "alone time" we kept the lights off and lit candles around the bath, sat and relaxed in the bath and talked in peace and quiet. It was a beautiful moment, one that was a great start to a great birthday!!! Went to sleep at 3am!!! nighty night!
Today was pretty neat. I met with Tammi to go over our PR stuff. She needed to "vent" about something and we got to utilize our friendship as well as our working relationship! Her husband and I share the same birthday, so we can never spend it together, but she remembered and bought me the most perfect, touching card about old friends. We have been friends since 2nd grade and have always had a friendship that has no problem catching up where it left off! After our heart to heart, we were hungry, so we ordered a sandwich. Then Alex showed up and he entertained us for a bit. Then Mike Montelone showed up and I introduced Tammi to him. Turns out he was one of her dad's best buds and since her dad passed away 5 years ago, they had some special reminiscing to do! By the time we actually started to work, it was 2 hourse later and we had to rush because we both had kids to pick up! So we rushed to Staples to get some things for our PR packets and RUSHED back! I picked up Luca and then Logan and headed home.
At home I got the opportunity to sit and relax for about 20 minutes!! I sat and watched Ellen's 1000 episode and painted my toenails! They are a hot pink, almost looks like candy! :)
Then I got ready for work... freshened up my hair and face and headed out again!
Malinda, my girlfriend, turned 50 today! She is having a Barbie party TOMORROW! :( I'm so sad I have to miss it!! I'll have to tell you more about it tomorrow! (point will be made as to why tomorrow then). Well, Malinda was setting up for the party today, and ordered pizza's for the crew. I told her I would deliver them before I went in to work, so I thought I'd also get her flowers since I'd be missing the party! Delivered pizza and flowers at 6 then headed into work. It was filling up when I arrived! Another great night for us!! We continued to be SUPER busy... rockin all night! Halfway through the night, Gina's hubby and girls showed up with balloons and cupcakes for my birthday!!! Gina wanted to celebrate at work even though my birthday isn't until tomorrow! So sweet! Then, my sister Lauren and my neices showed up! Hadn't seen Lau for 4 weeks! They sat with Pat and the girls, but we had no time to sit! We rocked until around 9 o'clock when I finally sat down! Jen showed up with gifts in hand... I LOVE when my birthday isn't just a DAY but a few!!! :) :) ;) Jen's gifts were so great! She got me a bottle of wine in a wine bag that was black and white with a C on it, lined with hot pink! Loved the colors!! Then, in the same color scheme but cuter then I can explain, she got me an apron with a C on it too! I'm going to wear it at work! Come see it!! :) Finally Gina was able to sit and we scarfed down some buffalo wings and calamari! Brenda called, she was waiting for us at the mall to go to see the movie I wanted to see Ghosts of Girlfriends Past! So, we wrapped up at the pizzeria and headed to the mall. Well, we were passing The Wine Company and I saw Dan's truck, so I pulled a U turn and the caravan followed! We barged in and Dan graciously gave us a bottle of his Syrah and we took 1/2 to go! Plastic glasses and a half bottle for the MOVIES!!!! Thank you Dan! We were running out of time for the movie starting so we jetted out and rushed over to the movies! Brenda was waiting for us out front and the 4 of us headed in! :) I felt like a teenager sneaking the "alcohol" into the movies! :) We were in the front row too! It was a small challenge hiding it, but Gina poured with ease! It must have been hard for her though, since she LOVES wine and she couldn't drink it (she's preg-o). The movie ended at midnight and I headed over to Gourmet where my hubby awaited. We hung out there for a bit then headed home at 1am! It wasn't ending there... we were finally alone and awake at the same time!!!! ;) After the "alone time" we kept the lights off and lit candles around the bath, sat and relaxed in the bath and talked in peace and quiet. It was a beautiful moment, one that was a great start to a great birthday!!! Went to sleep at 3am!!! nighty night!
Where does the time go??
I know I agreed to blog every day, and I do intend to, but my darn USB Verizon wireless dealy corrupted so now I have to use dial up at my house or drag my computer around (which I do) and try to find a "hot spot" as well as the time while I'm out!!! Bare with me as I attempt to solve this irritating problem! :)
Okay, so, we left off after the game!?!? Wednesday was my last blog... so, let's take Thursday and start from there to catch up!
Thursday I scheduled myself to work the day shift since Luca had Open House that night (or as Logan calls it, "house keeping"). I don't typically work Thursday day since Logan doesn't go to preschool on Tuesdays or Thursdays. So he was with me at work. That little angel! I set up this "Internet Challenged" computer for him to play one of his favorite games, Charlie Churchmouse! Dad bought the computer game for the boys for Christmas. Logan loves it because it's a game he can actually get into and do by himself. He must have sat quiet and still for 3 hours! I had planned to work until 3, then meet up with Michelle to go shopping WITH the kids, to find something to wear for my MOST FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR... May 2nd... my birthday! What were we thinking??? Taking her 1 daughter and my 2 sons under 7 to the mall to shop for clothes for US???? Ya, I thought what your thinking right now! HECK NO! Good thing I have my little ANGEL, better known as Nanny Vanessa! Actually, no, I think she IS better known as MY ANGEL!!! She's 21 and has been with us since Logan was about 4 months old! He's 2 months shy of 4 YEARS old now!!!! She is the next best thing to me for the boys! Loves them, cares for them, teaches them, disciplines them and takes care of the house and their laundry too!!! I know, I am eternally grateful for her! Oh! And even better, she will come almost EVERYTIME I call!!! She has her regular days, but in my life, there are no "regular" days, so she has to be flexible, becoming my assistant at times!
So, my wonderful idea came when I thought to have her come to the mall with us! For me, it was PERFECT... she took the boys to the play area and I didn't see them the entire time I was searching for SOMETHING to wear! Michelle, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky! She brought her older son whose 11, but her daughter wouldn't leave her side! After 2 hours and 4 stores later, neither of us found A THING!! I had to jet since open house was starting while I was still shopping. So I bailed on Michelle, she stayed and continued to search despite her daughters dire exhaustion and her thinning patience.
In perfect time, I arrived at Open House after the part where you're supposed to sit still and pay attention. For some reason, I'm just NOT GOOD AT THAT! There were opportunity baskets that all the classes put together and they were selling tickets. 20 dollars for 40 tickets (i think) anyways, it was A TON of tickets and what you don't know BEFORE you buy at this "GREAT DEAL" is that you have to write your name and phone number on EVERY TICKET before entering them into the basket of choice! Fortunately Vanessa stayed with me so she helped... of course I didn't win A THING after all of that!!! Oh well, good cause! ;)
I forgot to mention, when we got there, Vanessa spotted Brenda, one of my girlfriends (for those of you who don't know). Well, you say, what's the point of that? Her kids don't even go to this school!!!! hahah! Her 2 older girls did a couple years ago and she is bringing her little one's back next year, but it was kinna random and funny cuz she didn't mention when we talked earlier that she'd be there. So we hung, visiting not only Luca's class, but the classroom of our friend, the popular, MR SHEA! Between Luca's class and Mr. Shea's, we ran into Marija and Mark. We quickly said hello, confirmed plans of going to pizza at Spuntino's after and parted. When we were walking down the hall, I realized Luca was missing. Fortunately, we were at his school and he knows his way around, but still, I should have known if he wanted to take off with the Maxfields which is what I figured he did. So, upon arrival to Shea's classroom and seeing Luca didn't beat us there, nor was he behind us, I called Marija. No answer... I send Vanessa to look for Marija to see if Luca was with her... she came back empty handed and Marija hadn't seen him. Now I'm starting to worry! I rushed through the halls asking passers by if they'd seen him. That should have been thought out better, because when I finally did find him, everyone was searching for him! I felt like the LAMEST mom, loosing my child at Open House!!!
So, we left there, Brenda and her little one too, headed over to Spuntino where Bren's hubby awaited and Gina and Marissa were slaving away! I arrived and the place was PACKED! Gina and Marissa had the look like they were going to kill me! Marissa had worked from 3 til then and it was pretty much busy that whole time... not to mention, Gina and I work together alone Tuesday and Thursday and there's this undeniable chemistry that we have that we can ROCK the entire place, no matter how busy it gets! Well, it was like a Friday night, so instead of going and enjoying dinner with some friends, I was diffusing issues, cleaning tables and taking orders. Then Alex called in a panic, needing someone to rush him over the Spumante. The Love Dare in me got me to do it myself despite his extremely demanding tone over the phone. Since my Love Dare I thought, "I would LOVE to stay and not miss out on dinner with my friends, but he needs me and I need to neglect that desire of mine to tend to his needs". So I sucked it up and did it. Come to find out, his demanding tone was due to a restaurant FULL and only him serving! He didn't have time to listen to my thoughts or discussion on the best scenario for getting the wine to him, he just needed it and needed to get off the phone! Funny what you realize when you get into the "others" world!
My Love Dare Chapter today was "Love Promotes Intimacy". This chapter got a few underlines from me too. 2 lines that stand out are "The atmosphere in your marriage should be one of freedom." and the other "Loving them well should be your life's work". I'm learning what it means to "Love Well" and I believe the results will be forever changing for us! :) The dare is a difficult one because it's "determine to guard your mates secrets and pray for them". Alex doesn't really have secrets (not that I'm aware of). He tells me things straight up and he has no life outside of work to create secrets. But if he did tell me something, I would for sure hold his secret sacred.
Okay, so, we left off after the game!?!? Wednesday was my last blog... so, let's take Thursday and start from there to catch up!
Thursday I scheduled myself to work the day shift since Luca had Open House that night (or as Logan calls it, "house keeping"). I don't typically work Thursday day since Logan doesn't go to preschool on Tuesdays or Thursdays. So he was with me at work. That little angel! I set up this "Internet Challenged" computer for him to play one of his favorite games, Charlie Churchmouse! Dad bought the computer game for the boys for Christmas. Logan loves it because it's a game he can actually get into and do by himself. He must have sat quiet and still for 3 hours! I had planned to work until 3, then meet up with Michelle to go shopping WITH the kids, to find something to wear for my MOST FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR... May 2nd... my birthday! What were we thinking??? Taking her 1 daughter and my 2 sons under 7 to the mall to shop for clothes for US???? Ya, I thought what your thinking right now! HECK NO! Good thing I have my little ANGEL, better known as Nanny Vanessa! Actually, no, I think she IS better known as MY ANGEL!!! She's 21 and has been with us since Logan was about 4 months old! He's 2 months shy of 4 YEARS old now!!!! She is the next best thing to me for the boys! Loves them, cares for them, teaches them, disciplines them and takes care of the house and their laundry too!!! I know, I am eternally grateful for her! Oh! And even better, she will come almost EVERYTIME I call!!! She has her regular days, but in my life, there are no "regular" days, so she has to be flexible, becoming my assistant at times!
So, my wonderful idea came when I thought to have her come to the mall with us! For me, it was PERFECT... she took the boys to the play area and I didn't see them the entire time I was searching for SOMETHING to wear! Michelle, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky! She brought her older son whose 11, but her daughter wouldn't leave her side! After 2 hours and 4 stores later, neither of us found A THING!! I had to jet since open house was starting while I was still shopping. So I bailed on Michelle, she stayed and continued to search despite her daughters dire exhaustion and her thinning patience.
In perfect time, I arrived at Open House after the part where you're supposed to sit still and pay attention. For some reason, I'm just NOT GOOD AT THAT! There were opportunity baskets that all the classes put together and they were selling tickets. 20 dollars for 40 tickets (i think) anyways, it was A TON of tickets and what you don't know BEFORE you buy at this "GREAT DEAL" is that you have to write your name and phone number on EVERY TICKET before entering them into the basket of choice! Fortunately Vanessa stayed with me so she helped... of course I didn't win A THING after all of that!!! Oh well, good cause! ;)
I forgot to mention, when we got there, Vanessa spotted Brenda, one of my girlfriends (for those of you who don't know). Well, you say, what's the point of that? Her kids don't even go to this school!!!! hahah! Her 2 older girls did a couple years ago and she is bringing her little one's back next year, but it was kinna random and funny cuz she didn't mention when we talked earlier that she'd be there. So we hung, visiting not only Luca's class, but the classroom of our friend, the popular, MR SHEA! Between Luca's class and Mr. Shea's, we ran into Marija and Mark. We quickly said hello, confirmed plans of going to pizza at Spuntino's after and parted. When we were walking down the hall, I realized Luca was missing. Fortunately, we were at his school and he knows his way around, but still, I should have known if he wanted to take off with the Maxfields which is what I figured he did. So, upon arrival to Shea's classroom and seeing Luca didn't beat us there, nor was he behind us, I called Marija. No answer... I send Vanessa to look for Marija to see if Luca was with her... she came back empty handed and Marija hadn't seen him. Now I'm starting to worry! I rushed through the halls asking passers by if they'd seen him. That should have been thought out better, because when I finally did find him, everyone was searching for him! I felt like the LAMEST mom, loosing my child at Open House!!!
So, we left there, Brenda and her little one too, headed over to Spuntino where Bren's hubby awaited and Gina and Marissa were slaving away! I arrived and the place was PACKED! Gina and Marissa had the look like they were going to kill me! Marissa had worked from 3 til then and it was pretty much busy that whole time... not to mention, Gina and I work together alone Tuesday and Thursday and there's this undeniable chemistry that we have that we can ROCK the entire place, no matter how busy it gets! Well, it was like a Friday night, so instead of going and enjoying dinner with some friends, I was diffusing issues, cleaning tables and taking orders. Then Alex called in a panic, needing someone to rush him over the Spumante. The Love Dare in me got me to do it myself despite his extremely demanding tone over the phone. Since my Love Dare I thought, "I would LOVE to stay and not miss out on dinner with my friends, but he needs me and I need to neglect that desire of mine to tend to his needs". So I sucked it up and did it. Come to find out, his demanding tone was due to a restaurant FULL and only him serving! He didn't have time to listen to my thoughts or discussion on the best scenario for getting the wine to him, he just needed it and needed to get off the phone! Funny what you realize when you get into the "others" world!
My Love Dare Chapter today was "Love Promotes Intimacy". This chapter got a few underlines from me too. 2 lines that stand out are "The atmosphere in your marriage should be one of freedom." and the other "Loving them well should be your life's work". I'm learning what it means to "Love Well" and I believe the results will be forever changing for us! :) The dare is a difficult one because it's "determine to guard your mates secrets and pray for them". Alex doesn't really have secrets (not that I'm aware of). He tells me things straight up and he has no life outside of work to create secrets. But if he did tell me something, I would for sure hold his secret sacred.
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