A "hot" meme

First, a shout out to Sheri: I blatently took this little meme from her; but, since she took it from someone else, I don't feel too guilty. LOL So, here's my stolen survey of info about me: The ABC's of Me A is for age: 34 B is for booze of choice: Frozen Mudslide C is for career: former teacher, current SAHM and freelance writer D is for your dad's name: Peter (who passed away in 1994) and George (who is my stepdad, but I call him dad) E is for essential items to bring to a party: Chocolate of some sort F is for favorite song at the moment: um....too many to mention. I'll come back to this one. (Ok, I'm back for this one--right now, the Oklahoma soundtrack is still playing in my head, even though it's been a week since the show closed. G is for favorite game: Enjoying playing Dungeons and Dragons on the Xbox H is for hometown: Born in the Bronx, NY, but consider both Yonkers, NY and Wells, VT my hometowns (since I lived in both places while growing up) I is for instruments you play: officially, none, but I dabble in percussion and piano once in a while. J is for jam or jelly you like: toss up between strawberry jelly and orange marmalade K is for kids: 2--Cailyn (age 7) and Erin (age 3), and of course, there's my "eldest child", my DH Jon. LOL L is for living arrangements: Jon, me, the two girls and 4 fish in our Maine M is for mom's name: Jacqueline (but she goes by Jackie) N is for name of your crush: oh, my too many to mention in my past, but if I had to choose one: Joey. O is for overnight hospital stays: Only twice: when I gave birth to my children P is for phobias: spiders, flying (although that one is getting better), death Q is for quotes you like: "This is bad on so many levels" R is for relationship that lasted the longest: Will be celebrating my 10th wedding anniversary to Jon in 2006, but we've been together for a little over 11 years now. T is for time you wake up: generally, around 7 on weekdays, weekends it depends on the girls. U is for underwear: Hanes Her Way or Just My Size for big butts V is for vegetable you love: Corn on the cob W is for weekend plans: put up and decorate Xmas tree, get organized for the holidays X is for x-rays you've had: left wrist (broken), lungs (testing for pneumonia), teeth Y is for yummy food you make: According to Jon, I make a mean thanksgiving feast, but I also do things up on the grill pretty nicely, too. Z is for zodiac sign: Pisces

Giving Thanks

As with most holidays, it seems a shame that it takes a designated day on the calendar to take a moment to reflect on the good things in life. I suppose it's just easier to latch onto the everyday stresses and problems that come up. So, in the interest of keeping up with traditions that date back to 1620 and a group of pilgrims who, compartively speaking, had a lot less to be thankful for than I have now, I'd like to offer my heartfelt gratitude for a number of things:

• I'm incredibly thankful for my husband, Jon. He's probably the one aspect/person in my life that I take for granted the most. His support is unwavering, his love surpasses all things rational. Somehow, he's managed to stick with me through 11 years of this relationship and still finds ways to make me smile and recognize my self-worth after all that time. He's truly the best thing that's happened in my life.
• I'm thankful for my two beautiful girls. Cailyn and Erin continue to astound and amaze me (in both good and puzzling ways), and they teach me more about life than two people under the age of 10 should be able.
• I'm thankful for the family and friends that I have, both near and far, who add so much joy and compassion to my life.
• I'm thankful that I'm taking steps to make my life better--accepting responsibility for my own well-being isn't easy, but it'll be worth it.
• I'm thankful that I have an opportunity to write--and I've resolved that I'm not going to continue to squander that chance.

There are tons of other things, but I think I've made my point. On this Thanksgiving Day, remember the little things in life that make it whole...that make it full. It's those little things that make the big things possible, and what round out a complete and happy life.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

I have returned!

Ever notice how a week goes by so quickly during vacation, while a week at home in the "rat race" drags on forever? It sucks. Still, we have returned from Sunny Orlando. It was an incredible, whirlwind trip, and I'll post more over the coming days. Took over 200 pictures (some good, some eh), have lots of experiences to share and memories to cherish. You can be sure to find some funny stories here as I recap Disney Adventure 2005. Here's a sneak peek, though:
A typical day at the Magic Kingdom during our stay. Lovely! The girls were captivated by the castle, meeting the princesses and other characters. As for me, I am always blown away at the imagination that has gone into these parks. But, more on that in later posts!
I did a lot of thinking while I was gone--well, it really started before I left, but continued during our trip. I think I'm at another reevaluation point in my life. My plate is just too full right now. After getting through the show this week, I want to try to get on track and start feeling better about what I'm accomplishing both in work, at home and myself. In the meantime, I need to try to get things back to normal here. More tomorrow. M.

Zip-ah-dee-doo-dah, Zip-ah-dee-ay...

My, oh my, I never thought I'd see this day! In about two hours, we start for our drive to Boston, where the Four Rossiters will sleep together in one room (I'm shuddering at the thought) and start our first BIG family vacation. I'm hoping the strategy of all of us going to bed at the same time will work (I do have my doubts--but, the little ones have to pas out eventually, right??). Then, it's off to Logan Airport in the morning for our direct flight to Orlando! The kids are psyched, the grandparents are psyched and I'm pretty excited. The start of vacations are always a stressful time for me. I don't care for flying; I tolerate it. Once I'm there, I'm ok. This is Erin's first flight--the girls first flight together (Cailyn is a regular plane vet, being a total of 3 or 4 times now. LOL). Jon, of course, the business world traveller sees it as no big deal. My prayer is that we survive the three-hour flight without any major meltdowns from the kids or a panic attack from me. The good news is that our airline has NICKELODEON for the kids to watch!!!! THANK YOU GOD!!! That should help. My folks are flying in from Vermont tomorrow as well and will arrive only a few minutes before we do. We're meeting up, getting our rental mini-van and beginning our week of insanity. I'll make sure to take lots of pictures. I thought of bringing the laptop and blogging our trip. Instead, I think I'll just bring along a notebook and jot down the finer points. Should make some laughable stories to share upon my return. Pray for some relaxation for me, would you? I really need it right now.... Ok, off to load the car and fill her with gas before I go pick up the girls from school. To close on an appropriate Disney note, as Tigger says: TTFN (Ta-Ta for now!) See you all on Veteren's Day evening! M.