'Tis the Season...

...to be "Mary".."well, that's my name". Ahh...Gotta love it. Christmas Vacation - the movie, that is - on TBS and every other cable movie channel at any time of day. It is one of those movies that makes me laugh hysterically, quote lines for two hours straight and feel confident that my family is not high on the dysfunctional chart. I watched it on Saturday night with my dad as we helped my mom wrap presents. It's a beaut, Clark.

...to be chubby. HELLO COOKIES! My waist line is succumbing to the never-ending pile of cookies that seem to procreate during the night on top of my stove. I have them in baggies, in tins, on plates & in tubs. I have gone to THREE cookie bakes in the last week & a half. All fun - don't get me wrong - girlfriends & cookie dough = one heck of a time. HOWEVER, my will power is getting less & less as the days continue. I was finally able to fill baggies for my favorite gals at work and my amazing neighbors. God bless them for taking them out of my hands - literally!

...to be grateful. I have SO MUCH. An AMAZING family. Such wonderful friends. A GREAT job with loyal & kind co-workers. And the most thoughtful and sensitive boyfriend a girl could dream of. This time of year is hard for me...I often reflect on those that aren't alive to share the beautiful holiday with me and it makes me sad. THIS YEAR, I am trying to be THANKFUL...making conscious efforts daily. So, thank YOU. Thank you for your support & love.

...to be at peace. On Christmas Day, it will be one full year since I lost my sweet little man, Spencer. It's been one heck of a year, to say the least. But I made it. For my family & friends that have supported me through the most difficult time in my entire life, I cannot thank you enough. Your kindness will forever be deeply imbedded in my heart with appreciation.

I wish you all a very "Mary", Chubby, Grateful and Peaceful Christmas. Sending love to each of you & your families. See you in the NEW year! I think it's going to be a good one!

I didn't keep my promise...

I'm sorry! :)

However, today, I felt like throwing a few lines down.

I found this pic today - from when John & I were in Belize this summer. How gorgeous is that view? And the man isn't too shabby either!! :)
It's re-dic out. Seriously. I almost fell over from a gust of wind this morning. And if wind can knock ME over, I really feel for all of those mothers that are pushing strollers in Target parking lot as they try to finish their Christmas shopping today. People - STAY INSIDE. Get cozy. Get some hot chocolate & your snuggie. DO IT!

December is FLYING by and that's fine by me. Lots of parties and fun cookie bakes are filling up my planner. That just means that Christmas will be here before we know it. Anyone doing anything super duper fun this year? I'm looking forward to doing the splitsville holiday 24 hour scramble from John's family to my family and back to John's family. It gets hectic but so worth it & lots of fun. His family is great and I couldn't be more blessed with everyone that we are going to be seeing this year.

Hoping December is treating you right. It's already a third gone. Soak it up! Santa's sleigh is probably getting it's final rinse as we speak. YAY!

I am a loser blogger. 'nuff said. I haven't been on here for decades, it seems. But, I will try harder to get on here & post my recent doings more frequently!

The summer was good to me. Lots of travel for work in June & July but it ended with August & September at home...and I really enjoyed that. Of course, many many weddings were attended & enjoyed by all. Here's a recent pic from my friend Pat's wedding. He's a happy groom with his gal pals from Millikin.

There were quite a few of us from MU that night. I love my old friends from college. I couldn't have asked for a more loyal group of friends.

Cardinals baseball has now ended, sadly, but John & I went to quite a few games. We even took my p's to a game, for their first game at the new Busch Stadium. My dad agreed with me that it's one of the happiest places on earth...everyone smiling, wearing red and cheering for the Cards with a beer in one hand and a 5 lb. nacho supreme in the other. HEAVEN!

I had dinner at Bar Italia in the Central West End with my wonderful MU friend, Brad on Sunday night. He got to meet John and our friends from college, Michelle & LeAnn also were able to make it. Brad is living in China right now so it was SO GREAT to see him & catch up with him. Here's a pic of us at din...

The fall is officially here. Time for soup making and cookie baking. LOVE IT! The holidays are upon us, including the November birthdays. There are so many! Maya is going to be 10 this year!!! I cannot believe it. She was born my freshman year in college --- it doesn't seem like that long ago but I guess so... I will have to post some family pics soon. Hoping all is well & that everyone is enjoying the turn of the season.

Jazzfest 2009

Well, it's been a few days since I got back from New Orleans but thought I'd post a couple pics from my trip to Jazzfest.
My dear friends, Steph & Lindsey, accompanied me last Thursday down to the Big Easy for the 40th year of celebrating the Jazz & Heritage Festival. This is the third year in a row that Steph & I had been down to Jazzfest so we were already fans of the festival - but this year --- our favorite - Dave Matthews Band --- was headlining the weekend we were going. BONUS! We were so excited for the sunny weather, delicious food, flowing daquiris and the music!!
Last Thursday & Friday were spent tooling around the Quarter and of course, hitting up Bourbon - The Famous Door became our favorite spot rather quickly.
Saturday was spent walking around the festival and in the evening, we saw James Taylor & Wilco. Sunday was dedicated soley to our boyfriend, Dave Matthews. :) We got up early, got in line for the first bus departure out to the festival grounds and secured a righteous spot not too far from the stage. Better Than Ezra performed right before DMB and they were fantastic! I had no idea how much I would enjoy their show. Dave came on and was A-MAZ-ING. I think I burned a couple hundred calories dancing & jumping around (sorry people sitting in chairs behind me...). His show is always awesome and I suggest that anyone who hasn't seen him live yet, please do so before you make any judgment about him...(my soapbox ends now)...
Anyway - it was a great trip with my girls and I'm so glad we went again this year. Hoping to make it trip #4 next year! I'm trying to post some pics but my computer isn't cooperating. I will post them when I can!

Baseball is here!

My favorite day of the year. Opening Day. The happiest day in St. Louis. SNOW? Seriously!?!? Yes, I'm afraid. Not only snow but 30 degree weather...maybe even in the 20's...maybe not, but it felt like it. Scratch that - it felt like 20 below. But Dang! it was worth it! :) John & I layered up & headed down to the stadium. We didn't have tickets but the intentions to go belly up to one of the bars outside of the stadium. But when we got down there, John thought we could scalp some tix...hmm...I'm not really what you'd describe as "risky"...which, the act of scalping seriously seems to be exactly that. I don't know...I'm just not comfortable with doing something like that...illegal, isn't it? Apparently, it is but the po-po don't seem to mind down at the ballpark. So......I witnessed his scalping skills...some good...some, well, I will get to that.... We got these $37 tix for 20 bones. I thought, "SCORE"! but after we got in the stadium & bought our first brewskie, we realized that YES, they were in the same section, but NO, they weren't together. HUH?? WHAT FOOLS! We totally got schnookered by that scalper guy! So...we decided to just stand with the standing room section & walk around. That was definitely the better idea than sitting & turning into an ice cube in our seats (not together). John even signed up for a credit card to get me a free blanket. What a trooper! Although it was cold and the Cards lost in the 9th inning to the Pirates, we had a great time. We have tix for the game on Friday night. I hear it's supposed to be in the 60's. That's what I'm talking about! GO CARDS!

Hello! Here I am!!

Hello to all of you out there!
After chatting with my two wonderful coworkers & fellow bloggers (I'm hoping they will add their blogs on here so you can check out how pro's do it!), I decided to start a little page so that I can keep in touch with my friends & family spread high & low.

Some days my life seems pretty boring & other days I think my head is going to spin off!! I take tons & tons of pics that I am so far behind in sending out, so I'm hoping I can get a few on here to keep you all in the loop on my latest & greatest adventures.

I have two new very wonderful men in my life. The first is my beautiful Godson & nephew, Michael Jay Marcacci II. Isn't he gorgeous?! I took this pic last weekend. He is 3 and 1/2 months old and just the sweetest little buddy.

So...........that leads me to the second ---- my new beau, John! He's darling too! I think so ;) Here's a pic of us at the Blues game a couple of weeks ago. It's been an exciting season and we have gone to two games in the past two weeks...we're hoping for Playoffs!! Anyway, he found me at the keg at a Christmas party (surprised? nah...didn't think so!) and we've been together since. I hope you all get to meet him soon!!

STL has had a few nice days lately. Just enough to make you want to beg & plead to the weather Gods for warm spring air. I made my first round at Home Depot's garden section on Tuesday. I planted some flowers & herbs and am REALLY looking forward to cooking with my basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary & cilantro. I'm hoping to get some SERIOUS house projects done this spring/summer ---- landscaping, renovate my kitchen & refinish my hardwood floors. Woo hoo! We'll see how far I get. More to come! Take care & sending all hugs & love.