M.I.A.

Howdy! I know I have been Missing In Action lately and I apologize. To say that I have been busy is a gross understatement. I have had a co-worker go on leave which means instead of having 24 facilities/prisons to oversee I have double that!!! I've also had to travel for business which has deducted even more free time. I keep telling myself to be grateful for the job security. But sheesh, I am T.I.R.E.D. !!!

I have surgery coming up on Thursday and have frankly been too busy to think about it much if at all. I guess that could be a good thing. If I don't get back to leave a post prior to surgery please say a prayer for me and the surgeons.

I'll see ya on the flipside...

Photo Friday

Congratulations to Laurie and Rex Flynn!



Married May 23, 2009 in San Angelo, Texas

The picture below is of Rex and Laurie and her picture perfect kiddos.

Braden, Zachary and Emily



Best Wishes for a joy-filled life together. You all deserve the 'happily ever after.'

What nickel allergy??

Well, after going to the allergist, count them, 3 times this week, I can officially declare that I do NOT have a nickel allergy! Woo Hoo! It stinks I had to go through weeks of waiting to get to this point but such is life.

Now, I can have the least invasive surgeries (is there such a thing?) on June 25 and recover in a week to 10 days.

Onward and upward...

G-Free Becomes a Little More Mainstream

For years, Elisabeth Hasselbeck couldn't figure out what was making her sick. She asked doctors and consulted nutritionists, but no one seemed to have any answers. It wasn't until spending time in the Australian Outback, living off the land on the grueling Survivor TV show, that, ironically, her symptoms vanished. Returning home, she pinpointed the food that made her sick -- gluten, the binding element in wheat. By simply eliminating it from her diet, she was able to enjoy a completely normal, healthy life. But that wasn't all. Hasselbeck discovered the myriad benefits that anyone can enjoy from a gluten-free diet: from weight loss and increased energy to even the alleviation of the conditions of autism.

In this all-inclusive book, Hasselbeck shares her hard-earned wisdom on living life without gluten and loving it. She gives you everything you need to know to start living a gluten-free life, from defining gluten - where to find it, how to read food labels - to targeting gluten-free products, creating G-Free shopping lists, sharing recipes, and managing G-Free living with family and friends.

Photo Friday

John took Liam about 2 weeks ago to get his haircut. John has always managed to avoid this task but he had no choice that Saturday! When John returned with Liam all I could do was stare at my child's haircut. My first thought, and I know this makes me a terrible mother, is that Liam looked like Lloyd (Jim Carrey's character) from "Dumb and Dumber." Needless to say, John is banned from taking Liam to the salon in the future.

P.S. Keep in mind these pictures are 10 days AFTER the haircut. Poor baby!

Let the Weddings Begin!

Last weekend was the start of the summer wedding season. The pics in this blog are of John's cousin, Jonathan's wedding. He and his girlfriend, Corrie were married in Poughkeepsie, NY this past weekend.

Jonathan is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in NY. (The same school that Cat Cora graduated from!) He is the executive chef of the Decoy Bar and Grill in Bend, Oregon. Corrie is an aesthetician in the area and is gorgeous as you can see. They are a precious couple and we wish them many blessings in their future together.

I promise I would've married John if only for his family. I love them--truly. They are the sweetest and most kind-hearted and generous folks around. They put the 'yankee' stereotypes to shame. However, trust me, they do have some of the yankee traits; they love to eat good food (esp. Italian and seafood), drink good wine, have 'loud discussions' and family always comes first. What do you expect from people of deep Irish and German roots?

This is John's 95 year old grandmother, Isabel. She is a pistol, adorable and STILL living on her own.



The picture below is of my father-in-law John, aka Jersey John and his sister, Eileen. Jersey John is a blessing. How many ladies can say they get a Mother's Day card in the mail every year from their father-in-law?? Eileen is an angel. She has become just as much an aunt to me as she is to my husband. She is wonderful!!



The last picture is of Grandma Isabel and my sister-in-law, Liz. She is terrific. I just wish Liz and my two nephews (James & Collin) didn't live so far away in BOSTON! Ugh.

Jonathan + 24 soccer games = TIRED

My oldest son, Jonathan, was a starter on the Hillsboro HS soccer team this season. This was quite an achievement because he was a sophomore and sat out his freshman year. He ended up working his tail off for several months even before the first soccer game with conditioning and indoor soccer. Scrimmages and workouts begin again in less than a week. Wow. I'm very proud of his efforts and the entire team's. They are in a very tough district where two of the top ten teams in state play. I thought you would all enjoy seeing some pretty fantastic shots of Jonathan at work.