The Story of My Life

We returned from our week in The Rockies last night! All I can say is WOW! Breathtaking, fun and relaxing. I have hundreds of pictures and many, many stories and place and restaurant reviews to come..... I am taking the children to the beach today.....for the next week, so check back often as I add tales of the summer adventures....

Fashion-and-style expert Charla Krupp is not one to beat around the bush.... "Aging sucks," she declares in her bestselling new book, How Not to Look Old: Fast and Effortless Ways to Look 10 Years Younger, 10 Pounds Lighter, 10 Times Better. Her book is like 10 issues of Glamour all wrapped up in hardback copy- which the author used to work for, by the way. Her favorite quote in the book is from designer,Isaac Mizrahi: "Do you want to look 70? Get a facelift." "People think, I'll just go under the knife and I'll look younger. That's not the answer, because if you have a bad facelift and you look like you had a facelift and your skin is tight and you look like a frozen monkey, you're going to look old! You're going to look old enough to have a facelift, because young people don't look like that. So we have to find the perfect balance of doing something to get rid of our wrinkles and lines and sagginess — but we can't go overboard, be

My friend Doc had a cool program and when we were on Webcam, he was able to do lots of crazy and cool effects. I had to have it and found out there was a free full trial version. It is called You Cam by Cyberlink and is great for hours of useless timewasting and enjoyment. You can also capture screen shots and save videoclips- even direct upload to You Tube. So, although I can not believe I am sharing these with you...... Here I am in all my glory on my You Cam. Guess which one I called "my new Double J's", "the mullet", and "I don't feel so well today......" Go here. Download You Cam 2 and Install it....- and share your hideous and hilarious pictures with your blogging friends. It is free for 30 days. You can creat special effects, make avatars that talk, comic book like words above your head..... I did a video but had on no makeup and looked more "unpresentable" than the morphings.... so I will do one soon.....very cool effects and to b

In response to Dullbert's post concerning the retro-Starbucks logo that someone is protesting..... Here is the sign/logo/tshirt design of my favorite little dive in Ozona, Florida..... one of my FAVORITE little towns..... Let's email it to those easily offended.

For 115 years, the Manitou and Pike's Peak Railway (the world's highest cog train, the highest Colorado train AND the highest train in the United States) has taken passengers to the 14,110 foot summit of Pikes Peak. I was all excited about this part of a Colorado family trip--until I started reading more on the website.... The Pikes Peak Cog Railway is 8.9 miles long. The round trip lasts 3 hours and 10 minutes. The first third of our trip is along Ruxton Creek in Englemann Canyon. Here the steep track follows a cascading stream through dense stands of Englemann spruce, Colorado blue spruce as well as Ponderosa pine trees. The track is built next to the stream and there are boulder fields on both sides of the train. Conductors like to point out the various "faces" and shapes which, with a bit of imagination, can be seen in the giant boulders. Right near the Minnehaha switch (where the down coming trains pass the up going train on many trips) is Minnehaha Fall

Last week my favorite spot Friday was Honeymoon Island Beach. I included Caladesi Island since we always went to Honeymoon and took a ferry to Caladesi. Dr. Beach released his 2008 top beach picks and....... Caladesi is the #1 ranked beach in America !! "Caladesi Island State Park takes the number one spot in the 18th Annual Top 10 Beaches ranking produced by coastal expert Dr. Stephen Leatherman, Director of Florida International University’s Laboratory for Coastal Research. Caladesi is a pristine getaway beach in the Clearwater/St. Petersburg area, only 20 miles west of bustling downtown Tampa. Traveling to this island is an experience itself as it is reached by pedestrian ferry, complete with old salts telling interesting tales, or by private boat. The bayshore is a mangrove forest interlaced with kayak trails and is a bird lover’s paradise. The only mode of transportation on this lovely island, dominated by palm trees, is by foot over the super fine white sand. There is a grea

My DVR cut off so I missed this ending and found it online this morning...... All I have to say is that I am really glad David Cook won American Idol. Althought I also have to say, as I watched the last performances, I was, for the first time, impressed and enjoying david's performances and was a little scared that he had not out-shined Cook in the end. When he performed with One Republic last night, he did show some non-theme park star quality in small glimmers. He is a nice kid and do wish him well- but really wanted my rocker David to win!!! Last night's Finale was exciting and I also, like my friend Leigh, was teary-eyed in the end. It started when George Michael performed Praying for Time- such a timly song- and ended when David Cook was so gracious and thrilled. My baby girl kept saying all night long that she was for David Cook. When he won, SHE cried as well, because apparently, she thought the other david was David Cook and was an Archie fan the whole time and I didn&#

The Wild Honeysuckle Fair flower, that dost so comely grow, Hid in this silent, dull retreat, Untouched thy homed blossoms blow, Unseen thy little branches greet No roving foot shall crush thee here, No busy hand provoke a tear. By Nature's self in white arrayed, She bade thee shun the vulgar eye, And planted here the guardian shade, And sent soft waters murmuring by; Thus quietly thy summer goes, Thy days declining to repose. Smit with those charms, that must decay, I grieve to see your future doom; They died--nor were those flowers more gay, The flowers that did in Eden bloom; Unpitying frosts, and Autumn's power, Shall leave no vestige of this flower. From morning suns and evening dews At first thy little being came; If nothing once, you nothing lose, For when you die you are the same; The space between is but an hour, The frail duration of a flower. - Philip Freneau's poem: The Wild Honeysuckle

I love the last week in May, always have. The end of the school year is so exciting. The weather is beautiful. The earth is showing it's blooming colors and beauty! Anticipation of summer fun is electric. Baseball is winding down- with my son's team playing in a tournament this week- and the league championship is at stake. We have had a great year with a great group of parents and kids. Apart from the coach (my husband) having a little argument with the umpires, it has been a wonderful season. Our boys have improved so much that it is remarkable. The lost their first game 16-1, and returned to be tied for the league champs with only 3 losses! I have always enjoyed watching my little man play, but this year has been so exciting. My two neighbors' sons are on the team as well, which has made it a fun, exciting and entertaining thing to go to the ballgames. Although the games last almost 2 hours, and that may just consist of 2 or 3 innings, it is still excitement. I have been

To participate in Mute Monday and see all the other posts, go to The Troll's site....he hosts the FUN !

Sundays at Tiffany's is a new book by James Patterson & Gabrielle Charbonnet released April 28th. Although I was not invited to the book party at Tiffany's with the author, I did receive a copy from Hatchette Books as a wonderful Mother's day present. This book is a love story- not a mystery like I usually expect from Patterson. This love story is unique and intriguing from page one. Jane is the 8 year old daughter of Vivienne Margaux, a famous movie producer- a strong, dominating mother who is seemingly too busy to be bothered by motherhood. Sunday afternoons are a special time for Jane- time with her mother. They have dessert at a fancy hotel, the St. Regis, and then shop for diamonds at Tiffany's each and every Sunday afternoon. Jane sits with Michael as her mother sits with whomever is more important than Jane on that given Sunday. Michael is Jane's best friend- a handsome, comforting male presence in her life. They play games, people watch and laugh togeth

Jon Bon Jovi on 60 MINUTES: Tune in this Sunday, May 18, at 7 p.m. ET/PT! (article from CBS- photo by ME!) (((I know- I was a huge fan before, but since the concert, have been ....well....a bit....obsessed......... The photo is one of mine from the Atlanta show on May 1st. You can read all about my experience by searching the blog for Bon Jovi...... and email me if you wanna see my 200 pictures!))) Critics just couldn't see past the big hair he sported when his was one of the hit "hair bands" that broke out in the 1980s and they still can't, says Jon Bon Jovi. That's okay the rocker tells 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft. He gets his respect from family, fans and a phenomenal success that's still going strong after 26 years. Bon Jovi's interview will be broadcast this Sunday, May 18, at 7 p.m. ET/PT. "There are critic's darlings. That I won't be. I got that…We've had to suffer the hangover of…the '80s decade," says Bon Jovi.

The pioneers called it Hog Island, but it became Honeymoon Isle in 1939 when a New York developer built 50 palm - thatched bungalows for honeymooners. Honeymoon sounds much nicer than Hog, I must admit. Today, visitors can drive across Dunedin Causeway to enjoy the sun - drenched Gulf beaches, mangrove swamps, and tidal flats. Nature lovers will find osprey nests, a wide variety of shorebirds, and one of the few remaining virgin slash pine forests in South Florida. The park boasts several nature trails and bird observation areas. Visitors can swim, fish, and snorkel in the warm waters of the Gulf or picnic while they enjoy the beautiful scenery. Shelling is particularly good here, as the Gulf currents deposit an incredible variety of seashells on the shore. Showers are available and the park´s concession has a gift shop and snack bar- which has good food and great drinks! You can't take alcohol onto the beach, but can drink on the porch of the snack bar area. Located at the extrem