Entering a New World...

He did it! My first child is now entering a new world, a new beginning. And, yes, I cried. He's the one, front and center with the bow tie...looking as if he's saying, "now what?"

Congratulations to my first born. Choose your path wisely and learn along the way. You will make a difference in this world even in small ways and in ways you'll never even know.

A short film

My oldest is graduating next week. Not from preschool or elementary school or high school. He's graduating from college.
How? How does this happen? He was just a little boy who I was chasing around the playground. It's scary. How fast time goes.

He's graduating with a BA in Communications with a concentration in film. So, allow me to share his final film (in college, that is) called Spotless. It's a short film (about 7 minutes), but it's pretty cool.
Click here to view: Spotless

And, play with your kids. Chase them around the playground. Spend time with them. It's one thing I will never regret. Still, I miss the little boy, but love the man he's become.

It's May Day! May Baskets Galore...

One custom I love, love, love about Annapolis is the May Day basket displays throughout the town. Businesses and homes participate and some are so creative (especially the businesses)! Here are a few I thought I would share. These photos were taken by a friend of mine, Bridget Borel Avila. Let's take a stroll, shall we...

 Restaurant with a bicycle (cute!)

 I love the colors on this one:

 Running store:

 Local restaurant:

 More bikes!

 Another local restaurant:

 Alpaca store:

 A little boutique called The Pink Crab:

 Local bar where small concerts are held (I like this idea, but for some reason it reminds me of a funeral--maybe the colors or the arrangement...I don't know...)

 Courthouse:

Another bicycle:

Hope you enjoyed the May day tour of Annapolis. I'm headed down there myself tomorrow for a nice walk through the city...maybe I'll snap some more photos while I'm out!

Tough Road Ahead...

Sorry I've been out of the loop. I wish I could say it was good news, but it's not. My middle son was just diagnosed with chronic lyme disease. We don't know how long he's had it, but symptoms started getting really bad last summer and got progressively worse. We were clueless. He was bitten by ticks several times over the course of his life (we live in a tick-prone area and we do a lot of hiking). He never developed the telltale signs like a rash, so ...
Anyway, he has to be on a long course of different antibiotics, which will probably make him sicker. There are so many different symptoms that it's tough to know what you are dealing with. We only saw 3 or 4 doctors before we actually visited a lyme-literate doctor. (Some people actually go to 10 to 30 doctors before they are diagnosed.) Very scary disease so please keep him in your prayers.

I've attached a link to a video so you can find out more about this silent epidemic -- warning it's over an hour long and it's a little scary.
http://www.hulu.com/watch/268761

Quack!

We have a sweet pair of pets that we acquired when I returned home from skiing. You see, my middle son decided he wanted two ducks and bought them. Without asking. We weren't quite sure we were keeping them, but we all fell in love with them. So...here they are (I call them Quack and Jack):

They quack me up..hee! hee!

Scenes from the Barn Sale

Went to the Barn Sale today with a friend. Loved everything (as usual). Didn't buy anything, but dreamed a lot about buying things. Here are some of my favs...

Did go to a consignment sale for clothing and bought a huge bagful of clothes, which means I will have to get rid of some things. My new motto: "if things come in, things go out." For $27. 65 I got: a mid-length spring raincoat from the Gap; a fun, hand-painted pair of sandals; leather clogs (hardly worn); two adorable tee shirts; a jacket and a very sweet Sweet Pea shirt. So, I averaged about $3 per item..pretty good deal, don't you agree? I love bargains!!!
By the way, what ever happened to 40 bags in 40 days, you may ask? I ended up with 26 bags for donation, consignment or trash (not too shabby and I beat last year's record). Some day I will make it to 40 bags...

Mountain Air

 Miss me? Well, I've been away again. We drove up to Massachusetts to watch my son play lacrosse and then headed up to Maine to ski at Sugarloaf over Easter. We attended a beautiful summit/slope side service on Easter morning, watching the sunrise above the mountains and then skiing the first tracks on the pristine snow. Then we did a bit of hiking in Massachusetts on the way home. A wonderful family time and great exercise, too.

Should be posting a little more frequently now that my travels are over. Hard to be back.