Susquehanna Style

The Susquehanna Style Magazine article featuring Tony and me (and even the dog, Pebbles) is finally on newstands.As soon as I get a copy for myself I'll scan it here. The article is called "If Walls Could Talk" - actually if they could, they'd say we were nuts. www.susquehannastyle.com

What a week!!

One heck of a week it's been!On Tuesday it finally happened.... Whit moved out and we helped her move in at College. I cannot tell you the sadness that overwhelmed me when it was time to go. As I was swimming in denial (all day) I knew the time would come that I'd have to say good bye but I kept packing those feelings down. She said good bye to her Pop first.... and I thought I was ok until she turned to me and I saw that she was crying. UGH... I couldn't pack the feeling down any longer and Niagra Falls needed out. G' Lawd, I couldn't stop crying and my son (God love him) had never saw me cry like that and he must have thought I lost my mind. I could tell he was nervous and I was making him anxious. On the way home I couldn't turn the faucet off (or like Tony says "put the onion away"). I felt bad for Whit's friend that was riding home with us b/c I couldn't stop crying let alone speak. When we got to Ephrata, off of the PA turnpike, I thought; "Ok, I can keep it together now" but all of a sudden another wave came over me and I sobbed harder than I did when I left her. Of course this all surprised me - as it did Tony - we were expecting Tony to do all of the crying. My excuse was I even cried when I sent my kids off to Kindergarten. Wednesday I was emotionally drained. The public doesn't need to know this when you are working for yourself.... sooooo .... on goes the Emmy Nominated personality and you keep your emotions in check.... ALL DAY LONG. Thursday.... Good Lawd, Thursday. I prepare myself to have my Mother-In-Law come over for dinner. This is an all day process - emotionally. If anyone knows me, they know that my Thursdays are Market Day. Our town's Market House is open and I really look forward to going to Market if for nothing else, seeing townsfolk. At any rate, I never made it to market. Instead, I go to run errands and come home and start cooking. When my MIL gets here she wasn't feeling well and really didn't want to talk.... hmmm. Ok. Long story short? We have dinner (that was too spicy for her) and she starts having a nicotine fit - she thinks Tony doesn't know that she smokes - that's another story - she starts getting anxious and wants to go home. We're going down my steps and the cigarettes must have been calling her name b/c she starts to really go down those steps. I look down just in time to see the bottom of her feet in mid air and she slams her head on the last step. I think she misjudged how many steps there were and thought she was on the landing. I scream at the top of my lungs.... I mean scream. I could have been a sound over for a Friday the 13th movie - I couldn't believe the sound came from me! I run down the steps and she is clearly not focused. My son comes running.... and we are all hovering over the MIL. We head off to the ER (it's 7:30pm) clearly knowing that that bump on her head meant something since she shook the whole staircase. But she kept complaining about her leg and how much it hurt - she never hit her leg! At the ER there's not a soul in the waiting room - thank God, I think - and they take us back right away. The Dr. who is appointed to her comes in and asks "how long have you had that cough" but then the Dr. starts hacking worse than MIL's smoker's cough. They send her back to radiology. In comes the Sister in Law.... NOT a good thing since her and me grew up together and we find humor in the simplest of things. She asks me "how'd she fall down the steps" - with a smirk on her face... I tell her the grave story. Tony starts chiming in about how MIL was running down the steps and wouldn't let him help her down.... the giggling starts....I see a childhood friend and go over to extend my sympathies over a dieing family member and she gets up and hugs me soooo hard that my back cracks from my shoulders the whole way up to the cranium! I think "she cured my neck kinks". I go tell Tony and SIL ... more giggling... and it didn't stop for 3 more hours. They roll my MIL in and her daughter dutifully talks to her mother. My MIL is 4' 8"... I put her shoes in her purse and they fit like 2 little cell phones.... when my SIL asked where her shoes were I opened the purse and showed her and she about had a coronary trying not to laugh. We were just delirious. It was approaching 1 am. The Dr. comes in an announces that the CT scan of MIL's head is fine but she broke her leg. SHE BROKE HER LEG!! UGH... of all flippin' people. I can go on and on about the night.... my MIL was hating the 3 of us... we just couldn't stop laughing. We all were up that morning at about 8 am and we were there until 2:30 - clearly we were all sleep deprived and we had the sleepy laughs. We got home at 3:30 am - it was one long night. I announced to Tony "I'm going to sleep like a rock"... especially since I knew I wouldn't have a kink in my neck the next morning.... Friday my phone starts ringing at 8am... I'm on deadline for the Knot Party.... "PASS THE COFFEE" I demand and start answering phones.

Moron?

I've been trying to post for weeks.... seems like I'm a moron. I thought the site was down but it wasn't. I was using my email address instead of my user name. UGH! Looks like we're in the homestretch of construction.... what joy it brings me to say that. I've never loved picking out toilets so much in my life. I'm dieing to be done. We should be painting by weeks end. Ahhh!

FYI: I've been working on a deal in Columbia with an officiant to help coordinate weddings nearby. I'm so looking forward to this. He's been a real life saver as far as town politics go and I think we're panning out some of the bigger details and should know something by week's end. This way, he can officiate the ceremony nearby and we can have receptions here. Life is good... stay tuned!

4 wks away!

Today is literally 4 wks away from the Knot's party. The Coffee, Cocktails and a Cabana theme is well on its way. It should be a success - all the vendors I spoke with are very excited - not as much as me!

Wife swapping

So the makers of "The Wife Swap" called me today. Again, I thought it was a hoax. They too, saw me in Special Events Magazine. Seems like they want to do a show on ungrateful kids - I thought all of the shows were of ungrateful kids. At any rate, he wanted to know if I knew of anyone who was throwing a huge elaborate party for a kid that wasn't really wanting the party. Of course they were going to find another family that they could potentially switch moms with.No, I tell them. Don't have any of those clients. Thank God! I took his name and number anyway. Never can tell! - he says. On another note, 3/4 of the ballroom is now covered in drywall. Love small miracles.

I thought I was patient!

Seems like the contractor was here and left.... he forgot his keys... do they still give you life for killing someone? C'mon!!!So I call the contractor. He says the dry wall hangers were here and left b/c they forgot the keys and couldn't get in. What's wrong with ringing the bell? I have a canine with huge ears - she would have heard them! I say - they have to come back. He calls them and tells me that they are down the road and won't come back. UGH!! AAARRGG!! I can't explain my frustration. I'm told they will be back tomorrow.... what the hang! I just lost a day of work b/c I live in a large warehouse and couldn't hear the light tapping on the front doors. If they wanted to work bad enough I think they could have read the sign that says "RING THE BELL!!!" Do me a favor.... in the future... ring the honking bell!!! Again, I ask.... do they still give you life for killing someone? - I stole that phrase from my mom.... I heard that maybe once a week as a teenager.

75% is a whole lot!

Ok, so I tell Tony that I'm going out to buy a red purse. Over the weekend I felt like I just couldn't live another day without a red purse. I call my sister to come with me - probably not the smartest thing I ever done. She tells me that the Bon-Ton is having their annual 75% off sale... whoa! Not only did I buy the infamous red purse (love it!), I ended up buying 2 Jones of New York bags - both well over $150 - and, of course, a pair of black shoes - and all under $70. When I got home the conversation went something like this:Why did you buy 2 bags when you were only going out for one? Well, because this bag is originally priced at $158 and it cost me $30. Besides that I needed a winter bag. But Dase, it's not saving money if you're spending money on things you don't need. True.... but I would have bought it for $158 in the winter. I'm just saving the money now. He looked at me like I had 5 heads. Men just don't understand.... BTW.... The Bon-Ton is marking everything down today to 80%!!! My sister was already there and has already called me... I think I need a new suit to go with those new shoes!

The "Show"

You think I should send out an email blast about my excitement - who would care?.... One of the large "morning shows" called me this morning to do a live show with them... ummm...I thought it was one of my kids' friends, one of my nieces or nephews pulling a prank and thank the Almighty God in Heaven I didn't say "Whatever!!" and hang up. Lawd knows my mouth gets me in trouble more than it should. I said (more cheery than I should have) "Good Morning, Hi!!"At any rate, this woman from "THE SHOW" - she asked that I not mention which.... ??? .... well she wanted to know about Whit's Quince since she saw me in Special Events Magazine. They're doing a live segment but wanted to film an actual party going on this week end or next - and then move into the live segment and ask why, as parents, we're crazy enough to spend time, money and energy into these lavish parties. DANG!! I don't have one.... so they're no longer interested in me. It doesn't take much, does it? I guess, she's moving on to the next Event and Wedding Planner on the list. UGH! I did tell her I would post the question on the Wedding Coordinator's web site that I belong to. Their life is probably more exciting - they live all over the world in Italy, UK, Virgin Islands - never know. In reality, it probably doesn't matter, though... I was so nervous just talking to her - I'm not sure why.... I kept thinking ... I won't be able to speak on camera, I'll make a fool out of myself, what will I wear, should I get my hair cut... I can't Iris is in the Carribean! .....and ....many more things I probably shouldn't mention here. So much for my 20 minutes of fame. I'll stick to the word of mouth recognition....

Artistic rendering

I've had lots of people call me looking for the picture of my reception facility. I thought I'd bump it up so you don't have to spend a whole lot of time sifting through sensless chatter.

I should have thought of it first!!

Because I get tired of hearing Tony say "when are you getting rid of that junk?" a gazillion times a year, I decided to rent a storage facility.Mind you, it's not junk. It's stuff that I've gathered, over the many child rearing years, proving that my kids may want it for their kids. It's stuff like old teddy bears. Whit's dress up clothes. Baby dolls - mine included. About 1,000 match box cars. An old Chemistry set - how can I get rid of it since this spurred my son to be a Chemist?? Now that I have the sympathy of all mothers out there I have to ask.... why didn't I think about building a storage facility instead of a reception hall?? Have you ever even been to one of those things? I never had to; at my last house I had a basement and attic where I sufficiently stored all things that were out of Tony's sight. In a warehouse you don't have those privileges! UGH. Back to the storage... here is a large piece of land with rows of garages and garages. I'm sure not much spent on upkeep. Hand them a lease, say "buy a lock" and collect rent! How ingenious. I should have thought of that! BTW.... before we drove off (after the second trip of two van fulls - you know, the kids stuff in the back and the party stuff in the front of the storage!) Tony looks at me and says "don't come sneaking over here after a shopping spree with your sister from Target -either!" I gasped and said "I'm offended!" - in honesty... I never thought of it. Thanks for the heads up.

Right in the thick of it...

Well, wedding season is in full force. I haven't had time to get on and express how fast these last weeks have gone. All of my weddings have gone on without a hitch. I cried at some of my weddings - ok, almost all of them. I have had some very moving experiences. Like the time during one of my weddings when the Pastor asked "who gives this woman..." and the father couldn't compose himself to say "I do" - whew! that was something - it still stirs me. With Whit getting ready to leave us and Tony acting up and getting teary eyed everytime I turn around, this wedding touched me to my soul.During this time of year I gauge my life by weddings so I can't believe we are almost into July! I can't complain... life has been good. When you surround yourself with so much joy, love and laughing there's nothing to complain about. My reception hall is coming along. The Knot ad has generated a lot of interest. I've been getting a lot of calls about it. I just can't wait until we're through! Speaking of the Knot. I was chosen (and humbled) by the Knot to coordinate their yearly Vendor Party/Celebration. It has been a huge undertaking but I'm honored. I am putting together a very distinct and exciting party for them. I'm really looking forward to it. I'll keep you posted. Well.... Pebbles keeps barking because of all of the pounding that's going on. Maybe I should put her on some Prozac until construction is finished. What do you think?

Whit's Quince isn't over....

Well, the long awaited article in this month's Special Events Magazine is finally here. It took 5 yrs to put Whit's Quince together and one month for SEM to run their segment.... ;0) It's been a really interesting experience - having to relive that party. All the drama, heartache and a few close calls with me losing my mind over it all. It seems like that was a lifetime ago and yet it was only 3 yrs ago. Take a peek. I think Natasha Garber did a fab job on the article - Kudos, Natasha! http://specialevents.com/childrens/events_family_ties_20060503/

Now, can I have my pictures back, please? ;0)

Am I there yet?

Did you ever have one of those days where you thought "I should really go back to bed and try this all over"? Well, today was that day for me. How frustrating. Nothing went right. I was sooo busy today I didn't have a chance to catch my breath. The contractors got here at 7am. I wanted to get down there and talk to them, take them coffee, take them some of the awesome corn bread my fabulous neighbor made me for mother's day. At any rate, none of that happened. I could go on for the next two hours about how everything was off today..... I'll spare you. I finally get downstairs at 1:30pm to say hi to the contractors..... they were just cleaning up..... if I won't be dog-goned.... they were almost done and they had the wrong blue prints!!! I would have been renting out bathrooms had I not went down. I think they knew by the size of my eyes that something was wrong. I took the steps two-by-two...found my prints and went downstairs. If they weren't plain clothes Mennonites he'd of cursed. I could see it. Poor devil. I left him with the prints and told him to call into the company. Mind you, (in their defense) I changed the plans maybe 7 times.... but I knew I wasn't in for renting bathroom space. It was just wrong. He knocked on my office door - 25 minutes later with a technical question. To top it all off... he was very nice to me... and I didn't want him to be.... I was having a bad day and misery LOVES company. He could of yelled at me and said "well, why the heck weren't you down here at 7" but he didn't. I asked what happened and he shrugged and said "they told me to fix it..... it was our bad" ;0)In the end - as I just had a revelation - maybe the working foreman was the one who had a bad day. Maybe he's home telling his wife what a type A I was all day and didn't come down to check on them. Isn't it funny how we put things into perspective? Sure hope tomorrow's a better day....... because Lord knows, I'll be here waiting for my FedEx package that should have been here last Thursday!!

The Knot

Just wanted to post my knot ad. Look for it this fall in the Knot Magazine. Thanks to everyone who helped with my ad design!

50th Birthday Bash

It's been a week since the 50th Birthday Bash. I hadn't written about it before because I wanted to do justice to this awesome affair and my schedule didn't allow for it. Well.... I have time now!Can I tell you how fabulous that Family was? The whole family seemed to be from Perfectville. They all seemed to genuinely love each other and care for one another. I understand that they go on vacation together for a week every year. I was green with envy by the time they left. One of the brothers-in-law brought this gargantuan slushy machine. If anyone knows anything about me it's that I love, love, love slushies! The BIL was making strawberry daiquiris and Pina Coladas. I'm not a Pina gal so I didn't try that one. I did, however, have 4 strawberry drinks. I can tell you that they were out of this world. The machine the BIL brought was an industrial Island Oasis machine that they keep in restaurants and bars. When he was cleaning it at the end of the night he let out all of the remaining ice shavings and Tony and I made snowballs - it was that fine of snow. At any rate, .... I don't necessarily drink. Never have. On Sunday morning when Tony and I were cleaning up Tony told me how much Bacardi goes into those drinks. One shot per mixed drink. WEEEELLLLLL NO WONDER I was laughing so much!! I kept saying (all night) "I have never laughed so much with perfect strangers" - it IS true, the Hostess's sister is VERY funny and her laugh is throaty and contagious but I think the Bacardi helped a little. But Bacardi or not, you've gotta love the story about the sister putting the little sister into the dryer when they were children. I still laugh thinking about this. They were just really funny people. They cracked me up all night. I may have had just as much fun as the Host of Honor.... sorry, I love my job!

My baby is all grown up....

Yesterday I had the huge honor to have Whitney's teacher nominate her for student of the month. This isn't any ol' student of the month. Here in Columbia they make a huge to-do out of this. They present the award before the school board ( I can't believe you guys sit through that every month - it's from Kindergarten to 12 grade!) and they have a large gathering of folks that come for other school business. The Columbia Ledger is there and they take pictures of the student with their parents and Principal and post it in the paper (picture to come). At any rate, you must have perfect attendance for that marking period - Whitney didn't. Instead her Phototech teacher nominated Whit for the student of the month award on her academic abilities. For those of you who don't know - Whitney is going to Photography School in August. Anyway, I wasn't prepared for all of the hoopla and it made me swell with pride. Whit is very reserved, kind, grounded and polite - minus hormones - and it feels good that someone else, other than us, see that. So thank you, Columbia and many more thanks to Mr. Hill!

Still trying to create the perfect setting....

Ok, it seems like this is dragging on forever.... what was supposed to take "3 months ma'am" has been over 2 years. No fault of my contractors... just life. The floor is done...... well, the subfloor at least is. The electrical work is done... well at least it's roughed in... Ok the artistic rendering is done! Really. Awesome picture by Ryan Hoch.