Goodnight sweetheart, well..it's time to go....

Though I'm not happy about it - not one bit.
I'm really quite sad.
To quote Dustin Pedroia - "heartbroken" over the fact that the Skipper felt it's time to leave the Nation.

I wish that he could just take a few weeks off to cool down, rethink things and maybe change his mind; but it doesn't look like that's going to happen.

He didn't want to leave the door open.

Maybe he's heartbroken - in a different way.

Like I said - the club has become more reminiscent of the Yankees team that I'd write about over the last few years. Little to no team - just a bunch of overpaid players who believe their own press clippings.

Are they all like that? Of course not.
But is there a group that are? Hell yeah - and they made it abunduntly clear over the past season. The heart and soul that has always been the Red Sox was just not there this year.

And that is so very sad...on so many levels.
And it's trickling from the top down, with the departure of probably their best Manager in a long, long time.

Another one bites the dust....

So I went to bed at the rain delay and we were up by 1.
I figured "eh, worse case scenario - it's a tie breaker tomorrow". I mean really now - the Yankees were up by 7.
Imagine my surprise when we awoke this morning to hear that the summer had ended for the Nation.

Well, it ended like it started.
Miserably.

Here's the issue as I see it. For one - we were paper tigers. That's not to say the talent wasn't there - because it was. But for the team to have been hailed as the second coming before the season even started was foolish. Between injuries and attitudes, one never knows what will happen to a team.

Secondly - there wasn't as much of a cohesion on this collection of players as there has been in the past. You could see it on the bench, you could hear it in the interviews - you could sense it in the lack of urgency in some of the players.

This year's Red Sox was the Yankees of a few years past.

But who's to blame?
This girl doesn't feel it's the Manager's fault. Not even a little. Sure - he's a player's advocate but he's got the job of dealing with the hand he was dealt: injured players, lack of back up, underachieving superstars and some serious personalities.

I think it falls square on the ownership and scouting management. This is just my humble opinion, but even I knew that they needed stronger pitching staff. At the end of last season we knew there was a need for starters because let's face it, Beckett has been hurt alot and Dice K is well, Dice K. And the best they could get us was Lackey? (I will not go on a rant about him because truly, 'tis not worth my time.... Buh, Bye.)

Why all the money on a left fielder, that's a question I'd like to know. I don't know who's "crush" Crawford was - but I do know that most of Theo's "crushes" are duds. Drew, DiceK, Renteiria - must I go on? And expensive ones at that. How's about that nice increase Crawford gets next year. It really doesn't matter that he didn't make that throw after all....

All day I was contemplating whether I thought anyone should "go" so to speak from the organization, players aside. Truthfully - the answer is no. I think it's a sin to look at Tito in a negative light, and not the right direction. And as far as Theo goes, well.... as someone else pointed out today -sure that might be the right person to point the finger to, but is there anyone better out there to replace him?

Heard station surfing this morning....

On Oldies 103.3 (which, by the way - now it's quite sad that the songs they play are "oldies". This used to be the 50's and 60's station, the real oldies! Not late 70's and 80's!! But I digress...) "Love isn't always on time" - Toto

On Kiss 108 - "Mr Know it All". (Which I love, by the way....it sounds very reminiscent of her third album, stylistically. Must buy this cd...)

On Country KLB 102.5 - "Take another little piece of my heart" - Faith Hill. ( Not my favorite version of this song, truth be told. I'm a Janis kinda gal...)

On Kiss 108 again - "Someone like you". (Needs no explanation. After hearing it, I had to turn to my CD player to play it not once, but twice afterwards.)

And of course, in between it all - WEEI sports talk which truthfully, I don't remember what they were discussing - I think it was a very confused phone caller.

Things that make me go "hmmm?"

1. If you can dish it out - you've got to be able to take it back in. That's something I never quite understand. If a person tends to be harsh on others, why do they get all sensitive when someone gives them an attitude in return? I mean come on - how much should a person take before defending themselves or getting pissy about it? Where exactly is the acceptable line for retaliation? Just a little something to think about.

2. Spitting is not an Olympic competition. Okay, so last week I went to a portfolio tasting at the Seaport Hotel in Boston, and let me tell you - there were some people there who clearly felt that they were either a.) superior wine samplers or b.) reliving their childhood days. They weren't merely sipping and spitting...oh, no no. They were sipping, swirling like mouthwash and then standing waaay back from the spitoon (ugh, what an ugly word) and hurling their disgusting swill from almost 6 inches away!! There was this one guy who unfortunately was always seemingly ahead of us at the first few tables and not only did he think he was "the man" (ugh, he almost looked proud afterwards..I think I'm nauseous just reliving it for the purpose of this post...) seriously, I had to ask him if he could stop for a minute so I could dump out my glass. (I don't spit, I don't care - it's not lady like. I dump the remainder...) Listen guys, maybe you miss being 12 when spitting was "cool" - but at a wine tasting, no one is impressed. Oh, and the dribble of red wine on your chin that you didn't notice -- priceless.

3. Facebook -- what the hell are you doing? Okay, I'm not a fan of the website as it is - but their latest changes are absolutely insane. Not only is there little to no ease of navigation, it's not incredibly intuituive - but really, I'm all set with seeing status updates of people I don't know via people I do know. And stop asking me if I want to be friends with different people because, no - I don't. I've been on this site for three years now, really - I'd like to dilute my list, not add to it! Truly if it wasn't for my family - I'd disable my account entirely. But I like the connectivity I have to my family out of state, and my cousins who I've reconnected with via the tool. I just wish it would stop trying to take over the world! No, I don't want you as my home page. No, I don't want you to constantly change my privacy settings - I don't want creepy people seeing my children and personal information. And no, I don't want you selling my data. I do want you to go back to what you were initially: a fun, website where family and friends can reconnect without any strings, security issues or privacy breaches. My personal page is locked down - if you don't know me - you can't see it. And I like it that way!

Hey there, hi there, ho there -you're as welcome as can be...

Today the people who are buying our house have their home inspection.

It should go well - there's really nothing wrong with the house outside of it definitely needing a paint job this coming Spring. So hopefully, after 4pm today we can breathe easy and start focusing on November 28th which is our scheduled closing day.

Moving on......

So, not sure if anyone's noticed but I've been less than gaga over my boy Jason these days.
(Well, he still makes my heart pitter patter. I mean, you have eyes - just look at him.)

But....

His fiance and I are acquaintances of sorts via social media - and truthfully - I think she's adorable. Though I do sometimes feel that she can be "out there" a bit - he loves her, and what's wrong with that? She's certainly beautiful, and does lots of charity work and seems to be very kind - and she does make me laugh. She's pretty funny.

So because I like her, it gave my gushing over him that sort of weird feeling -- as if I had a crush on a friend's husband and UGH - who would do that?!?!? Not this girl! That would just be wrong.

So now... the crush, sadly - is over.
I just don't feel the same about him anymore. (No, it's not you...it's me.)

Behind these hazel eyes...

Tonight I watched the Biography on Brad Pitt.
My goodness, is he an amazingly beautiful looking person.
And a fabulous actor, might I add.
And while he tends to be consistent and true to himself, and I do really like him - I still have so much issue with how he ended his marriage to my girl Jennifer Aniston.

A brief sidenote about his current amour. Not only has he not done any films with a female co-star since "Mr & Mrs Smith" (he's hooked up with every female costar that he's had, is it any wonder why he hasn't done one since? Just sayin'...) but I don't care how much she donates, how many children she adopts, or how many "save the world" trips she goes on - she is not a good person inside. Such a sin, for someone so beautiful on the outside, to clearly have a streak of ugly running through her. Guess that "sensitivity chip" isn't lost on just dear Brad.

Okay, so..now I'm excited.

We had our home inspection -- and we love the house even more now than we did before. There's just so much space, and functionality - more than we'd ever imagined. We were so very lucky to come upon this house, the timing was everything.

Today, I did some shopping for some of the decor things we're changing - little things that will make so much of a difference. I LOVE the light fixtures, and the new glass knobs for the kitchen cabinets (OMG, 65 knobs!) and the contrasting cups for the island. The fabulous pot rack to go over the island - and even the simplest of ceiling fans that will change the feel of each room. The dining room changelier is gorgeous - I love it. But we're changing the lampshades on it to something more...well, me. And the foyer chandelier is being changed as well to something again, much more my taste - more french country - and truly, better suited for the house as it is now, let alone once we're done decorating.

The bedrooms - so pretty. The biggest change we're making to the house is to the master bath; for some reason it's carpeted (ugh, seriously - whatever were they thinking?!?) so we're putting in new tile & a new vanity. But other than that - really, there's nothing to do but paint.

G is beyond excited with all the little projects we'll have in the spring, and how much we can really enjoy the living space. His favorite room is the family room, and when I share pictures, you'll totally understand why. He's easy, he doesn't care much about decor - all he wants is his large screen and his recliner. Not tough to accomodate - and truly, this is the happiest I've seen him be about any house we've ever seen. And trust me, we've seen alot...

Happy Birthday to me.....

And as a special gift.....we got an offer on our house today.
With potentially another one coming in tomorrow morning.
And one - maybe two more showings tomorrow as well.

And now... I can fully enjoy that we're moving.

And maybe sooner than initially planned!

Just breathe....

Well, I'd breathe if I could.

A cold has come on full force - and I swear to God few things irritate me more than not being able to breathe through my nose. Especially when I'm baking oatmeal butterscotch cookies or peanutbutter cookies for the kiddies.

It hit me out of the blue and yup, it's a good one.....

What's going on....hey, what's going on....

So, we put an offer on a house.....and it was accepted.

On, or before 30 November - we will be moving. And this is so much more of a house than we had ever imagined we'd be in.
Good things come to those who wait? I'd like to think so.

It's not in the town we live in...and surprisingly enough, the kids are not disappointed about moving to another town and school system. My son even volunteered to switch schools which to me - was a shock. I'd planned on keeping it very low key and commuting them, but now....life will be much easier on all of us. And they are so excited too - they went to the open house with us, and they loved the house as well.

It's exactly 6.2 miles from my present house; the other house in the same town that we looked at on Friday night, interestingly enough - was 6.3 miles from my present house.

Funny how it's almost the same distance apart, which truly makes the move seem that much less significant, in terms of keeping in touch with the kids' existing friends.

Today we did a little shopping for furniture, and my head was spinning. I don't think we're going to have enough furniture to fill the place..... !

You just never know, and if you believe - there just may be angels watching over us....

So, it's been a relatively stressful week.

We found a house we love. I mean love.....
And just as we were ready to put an offer on it --- another house became available for possibility. A house that we'd been hoping to get into and see but for whatever reason, we weren't able to make happen.

And just as we were about to put an offer in on the house we love - the not so available one, well - became available.

But they didn't make it easy for us to actually just look at it. We had to jump through a few hoops - and hoops that were necessary anyway, if we were to put an offer on any house, truthfully. We just didn't know we'd need that quite so soon. But, it's all good.

We're hopeful that the house we love accepts our offer - even though it will be a big transition for the family since it will be in a different town.

But the good news is -- we now have a back up if they decline!

And I didn't see the week quite ending this way, since it definitely was rather stressful getting to this point.

Funny...when I was getting ready for work this morning, I was looking for a bracelet to match my outfit. I came across a Chakra bracelet my mother made for me a few years back. I haven't worn it, truthfully - since she passed away. I used to wear it for luck; when we competed for our liquor license, when she went for her PTScan diagnosis, her funeral, etc..

This morning, I decided to wear it. It's pretty, it's got 7 different colored crystals to represent each Chakra (Root, Sacral, Solar Plexus, Heart, Throat, Third Eye, & Crown), along with two little charms that read: Love & Believe.

Maybe...just maybe....that has something to do with why my week ended up the way it did. Maybe it was my Mother's connection to that bracelet that truly brought me "luck".

Or maybe it didn't.

But either way, I'm glad that if nothing else - I had a piece of her with me today - and that in that small connection, she may have felt my energy and shared in the course of emotions I had today.

It's been one of those days..um, weeks.

There's a chill in the air....

I'm sitting outside on my deck enjoying a cup of coffee - and I'll tell you, it's pretty darn cool outside. But funny enough, there isn't that crisp smell of fall in the air just yet. It's still got a summerish smell, and unless you're a New Englander - you just may not understand what I'm describing. But trust me, I'm not crazy.

It's Labor Day weekend, officially the end of summer as it would be - so the change of the morning feel isn't really that out of line anyway. When it happens in August, that's one thing - but it seems like the weather patterns are becoming more of what I remember from when I was a child: snowier winters, rainier springs, really warm summers that last right until the first week of school which used to be after Labor Day - though here in the 'burbs, they start in August.

I'd never really given much thought to what Labor Day was about. After doing a little Wikipedia research, it seems that there was a battle and some untimely deaths of laborers during a strike - and so to honor them, a federal holiday was declared in which we should honor those who labor for a living.

And yet ironically enough, the holiday has become one of such that the only people who continue to work on those days are -- laborers. Maybe not manual laborers, but people who aren't in office jobs. Retail staff, Wait Staff/Cooks, Hotel Staff, etc.

It's interesting how holidays have changed and become so far removed from what they were supposed to be about in the first place. But I digress.....

So the rack and stack of the weekend goes like this: Signing the kiddies up at the Y for swimming and basketball - and then off to peach picking we are going to go. Then tomorrow, we have a family BBQ and birthday parties; both my sister in law and my nephew are born on the same day so...celebrate we will do.

Good times. Good times....

I've got a crush on you.....

I have a new polish crush.
Forget OPI.
And even forget Essie -- which I do love.

Hello Zoya.
The colors, are insane. Off the hook fabulous - even their sheers & pale colors have a vibrance to them that you just don't see anywhere.

I'm wearing the shade Rihana - and I'm rough on my hands. Really rough because think about it - I'm constantly opening boxes of wine & beer - stocking, cleaning, etc. I got my nails done on Monday and not even a chip or fade has taken place yet. Unheard of!!

Their colors are so fantastic, that I'm even drawn to wearing colors that I would never in a million years typically consider because you know - I'm a grown up, and a business woman to boot - so funky isn't exactly my cup of tea. But just for funsies, I'd love love love to try some of these on for size:

Phoebe Laney or Adina.

I may just have to live vicariously through Princess Petunia....