Happy New Year!

Wishing you all a happy new year! We had a fun time....bowling...yes I said bowling. The bowling alley had a New Years Eve Party and every lane was full. We had a wonderful time. We bowled two regular games and then decided to bowl one game with "fun frames". One frame was bowling "granny" style (using both hands to roll the bowl), the next frame was bowl like Fred Flinestone (on our tippy toes), the next frame was to bowl with your opposite hand, then we "kicked" - really pushed with our foot - the ball down the lane; there's more, then we stood at the foul line backwards and rolled the ball through our legs; then we did slow motion bowling. The funniest frame was when Pat and Paul started on one lane and criss-crossed to the others lane....funny! As you can imagine, our scores were not that high that game.

Here are some photo's from the night.



Here is Kerry Ann and Jessica doing the backward, through the legs shot.



I will start making cards again soon. Secret Sister is starting up as well as my monthly swap.

Survived the hike...

We met at 9:30 a.m. and it was cold and windy. Seven of us hiked the beautiful state park called Lovers' Leap. It was a nice morning. When the hike was almost done we enjoyed some bagels. I would definately do it again.


Lovers' Leap is a beautiful state park and like most Lovers' Leaps across the U.S. (and there are many) there is Legend. According to local legend, this was the spot where a young Native American girl, distraught over love, threw herself in o the rushing water below

Here's some photo's of the scenery.






Now going shopping! Enjoy the weekend everyone.

Diane

The year is flying by....

Can you believe I am already working on Halloween swaps? Where did the year go. This is for a 3x3 Trick or Treat Swap I signed up for on SCS. I just love the 3x3 cards.



I saw Hairspray over the weekend. Was a fun movie, both my mom and I enjoyed it!

Today is a rainy day and tonight is the last night of bowling. Will be enjoying a nice pre-bowling dinner with the team (Mines in the Gutter).

More cards to come!

Where am I?

I will never get lost again. I purchased a Magellen Maestro GPS for the car. I have used it once so far to get to an unfamiliar office location and it was wonderful. Definately stressfree driving with a nice lady telling to to turn left or turn right or take the next exit. What a great gadget. Also, it's portable so it can be used in any car. The one time i used it, I found it to be very accurate. Looking forward to driving anyplace now with out holding mapquest directions in one hand and the steering wheel in the other.

I made a few gift cards (3x3). I have never made 3x3 cards before but I think I will make some more. They are quick, easy and very cute.



Updates and Upcoming Events:

Our bowling team, "Mines in the Gutter" is still in 2nd place (she says laughing). Next week is our last night of bowling in the summer league.

Rhinestones and Ritas at Julies tomorrow

Book Club next Wednesday (got a start that book)

Meatloaf concert on the 27th (as well as Fair Days)

I know it's been a while....

but things have been hectic. I have made some cards but just didn't have time to post.

Here is a card I made for my brother-in-law and sister-in-law who are celebrating their 25th Anniversary this month.
I hope they like it.



The winner of my last blog contest never contacted me. Jeanna, are you out there? If I don't hear from her by Tuesday, May 8th, I will pick a new winner. I hope to hear from Jeanna. Check back in case you win the second drawing.

What have I been doing since I last posted you ask? One fun thing is that I went with a group of Book/Club and Woman's club members on a day trip into NYC to see WICKED. It was excellent and we had a wonderful time. Some of us went to Carmine's for lunch before the show. Lunch was very good and it was great to finally get to Carmines which is well known in NYC.

Other than that I spend my days working and my nights taking Kerry to dance classes.

I'll post the card for my May Card swap tomorrow.

2nd Rachael Ray Episode Airs Monday, February 12th

The second episode of the Rachael Ray Talk show (of which I am in the audience) airs on Monday, February 12th. The show features First Lady Laura Bush who discusses heart disease in women. I am not sure if I will be on air at all (like my now famous close-up on the Katharine McPhee episode) but you never know. Check it out, maybe you will see me or one of my friends.

It feels like I'm playing Where's Waldo, scanning the audience for my face and that of my friends.

Oh, and it's only 2 days till my birthday!

I Was On TV!

Did you catch the Rachael Ray Show today? My friends and I all made it on TV. Brenda, Pat and I were on several times. I even had a close-up at the end of the show. I was very busy at work today and actually forgot the show was airing today. I received an email in the afternoon from a woman I worked with many years ago, she said she was watching Rachael Ray and there was a woman who looked just like me in the audience. I suddenly remembered today was the day and ran up to watch the show (I recorded it on DVR...I love DVR!) It was funny to watch the show and notice that there were two audiences. One audience for the first half of the show and another (the one I was in) for the second half of the show. I bet you didn't notice there were two different audiences.

Oh, and just a reminder, only 3 days till my birthday.

Katharine McPhee on Rachael Ray Tomorrow!

Just wanted to let you know that the Katharine McPhee episode of Rachael Ray is on tomorrow, Tuesday, February 6th. This is one of the show's I attended. See if you can spot me in the audience! I have not seen the Laura Bush episode listed yet. Maybe next week for that show.

BTW, only 4 days till my birthday!

The Sweetheart Ball

What a great night! The Woman's Club of our small town hosts an annual Sweetheart Ball every year. It's our biggest fundraiser of the year. All the money raised stays in the community and helps the members of our community in many ways. In the past money has gone to libraries, parks and rec, breast cancer awareness, senior programs, thanksgiving baskets, the santa fund and many more. In addition to helping members of our community the Ball is also a night to dress up and have a great night on the town. The night started with a cocktail hour, followed by dinner and dancing. All through the night were door prizes, silent auctions and raffles. There were a lot of great prizes. Here's some pictures from the night.

Patrick & Diane



Cindy & Gary



Rory & Patty


Belinda & Dave

Looking forward to next year!

I Will Never Clap Again...

Actually I will clap again someday, but I really do need to recover from 4 hours of clapping. I think if I ever go again, I will go without rings...that might help. Read on to see what the heck I am talking about.

What a great day! Did you ever have one of those days where everything just worked out the way you planned? Yesterday, I attended the Rachael Ray Show in NYC with friends. The day started out great and continued all day. Pat, Brenda and I met at 9:00 in the morning for the 1/2 hour ride to the train station. Traffic was light and we made it to the station AND found parking with plenty of time to get the 10:07 train into Grand Central Station. Arriving in NYC around 11:30 a.m. we took the short walk to the Rachael Ray Studio on 44th street between 2nd and 3rd. No one was in line for the show so we walked to a small coffee shop up the street and had lunch. After lunch we got in line and happily, there was only one group of four in front of us. It didn't take long for the line to be all the way up the street. The group of four ladies from Rockland behind us were a lot of fun and made the time pass quickly. We had a lot of laughs in line. Here is a picture of us waiting in line.
Antoniette, thanks for taking and sending me the picture! In the photo is Brenda on the left, me in the middle and Pat on the right.They finally let us in the door at 2:30 and things moved pretty quickly and efficiently through security and into the studio.

Once seated we were entertained by the audience warm-up guy, RC Smith. We were there practicing clapping (we literally clapped for 4 hours) and playing games for over an hour before the first segment even began. I was selected to do a little dance in the aisle and won a season DVD of the old late 80's / early 90's TV show ANYTHING BUT LOVE starring Jamie Leigh Curtis. Other prizes they gave away were cookie jars, boxes of Stacy Pita chips and bags of Redkin products.

We were there for segments from two shows. First of all there are really no bad seats. The audience seats are also on a "lazy susan" of sort that turns to a different section of the studio depending of what Rachel is doing. There is a kitchen section, a performing section, an interview area, etc. During the first show our seats were in the second to last row and the seats elevated as you went back. We had a good view. During the second show we had third row seats which were lower. We actually preferred being further back where the seats were elevated.

It is amazing how the show works. You don't actually see a whole show, you are in the audience for "segments" of the show. They must do a lot of editing and without audience taping to put the whole show together. I am really looking forward to seeing the whole show. Also, there were cameras and people EVERYWHERE! One boom camera came nose to nose to me, I was afraid to move.

We soon found out why we had to wait so long before the first segment started. Our first guest was First Lady Laura Bush. Apparently, due to security, getting her in and out of the building caused delays. She looked beautiful and was very elegant. She talked about heart disease in women.

The next guest was Lara Spencer from the INSIDER. She talked about skin care. She was very pretty and personable.

We were then moved back to the BLUE room (the audience room) while they set up for the next show. The room was packed (120 guests) and they served us sandwiches, chips and waters while we waited.

Brought back into the studio for the second show, we were seated in the third row. Our guest for the second show was American Idol Katharine McPhee. She was adorable and had a wonderful voice. She sang two songs and made a quick meal with Rachel.

Our Snack of the day was almonds. Each guest got 3 tins of almonds. Every member of the audience also received Rachael's latest cookbook, 2-4-6-8!

We didn't get out of the studio until 7:30. We headed back to Grand Central Station and had a great dinner at restaurant outside the station called Naples 45. We took the 9:54 back to Brewster and I walked in my door a little after midnight.

We were all exhausted and we think it was from clapping. We clapped and smiled for 4 hours. One woman sitting in front of us, said next time she was going to wear oven mitts. I called Meghan from the train and she told me she was on her way home from snowboarding and was exhausted and sore. She hadn't snowboarded in a while and fell a lot. I didn't tell her I was sore and exhausted from smiling and clapping for four hours...didn't seem to compare.

Go to www.rachaelrayshow.com for programming info. Hopefully, the shows we attended will air next week. Check the schedule for days when Laura Bush and Katharine McPhee are the guests.