Happy Fall, 2011

 

Linking up to another Link Party:

http://blog.addicted2decorating.com/2011/09/addicts-not-so-anonymous-link-party-no_30.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+addicted2decor+%28Addicted+2+Decorating%29

I am linking up to the Fall Mantel Party over at A2Z Home.  Check it out here - http://www.homestoriesatoz.com/2011/09/tutorials-tips-link-party-29.html

Well it is time to decorate for fall.  I love the fall.  It is like the New Year for me.  Not so crazy about Halloween though.  Here are a few pictures of our Fall decorations....

We have the Mantel...

I thought of taking the family picture down and replacing it with a wreath, but I really love that picture, so it stays.

I love the witch!  Thought she was so cute sitting on the shelf in Home Goods.  I needed to bring her home with me.

Some fresh flowers always make me feel good.  I had bought them for a brunch that we had on Sunday.

Foyer

Welcome!  I can't believe I stood right in front of the door to take this picture!

Thanks so much for visiting!  Please stop back again.

Susan

Children are a gift from God......

When my husband and I were married he decided to become Lutheran.  He was raised Catholic, but there were some things he just didn't agree with, and since I was Lutheran, it was an obvious change.  Now 37 years later and 4 grown children, the three that are married, married into the Catholic faith because their partners were Catholic.   It is not a problem in any way for us, as long as they are Christians, go to church and raise their children with a belief in the grace of God.  I love my son in law and daughters in laws to death.  I couldn't have picked better mates for our children, actually they are young adults.

We celebrated our youngest grand child's Baptism a few weeks ago, (Christening).  It was a wonderful celebration.  I just wish one thing, that they would teach pasters, any religion mind you, how to speak in public.  How to make a sermon interesting, hold your attention, and motivate you to be a better person.  When someone speaks in a low quiet monotone, it isn't good.  And now I am going to be a better person and talk about it again!  And now some pictures....

 Daughter, Son in law, God father ( # 4 son ) and God mother, his wife.

                                                       The Baptism, God bless Ryan!

Daughter, son in law and our three grand kids.  Megan was a little disappointed that Ryan was a boy.  She said to me one time, "Nonna, I don't know how I am going to handle it with 2 brothers."  Pretty funny, now she just loves him to death!  Connor of course loves having a little brother.

The hubby, me and the family!

Son in law and his parents.

Party time!  Hubby, daughter in law with # 4 son & # 3 son.

Son in law's family, and one of their little ones.

Daughter, niece, Ryan, # 1 son's girlfriend and # 3 son's wife.

More family, sister in laws & niece.

Brother in laws and niece.

Who are all these crazy people?

It was a wonderful day spending time with family!

Susan

Hello~

Just wanted to check in and say Hello.  We are down the shore this weekend.  A little break. 
I'll be back soon.

Susan

Lightroom or Picasa?

Well, I know I haven't been around much, but I have been trying to teach myself Lightroom.  I will tell you, it is not as user friendly as Picasa.  My son put it on my laptop for me and gave me a tutorial on it, and I am having a really difficult time with it.  I am loosing pictures, don't know where they went, and can't find them for the life of me.  I think it is time for me to go back to Picasa!  Which one do you use?  Advice?

Anyway I just wanted to check in and say Hello!  Hope you all have a wonderful weekend, hopefully it won't rain for my grand son's baptism tomorrow.

Best Regards,

Susan

Seasons 52

We went out to dinner tonight with some friends.  We tried a new restaurant (to me) Seasons 52

The Seasons 52 menu is seasonally-inspired with the fresh appeal of the farmer’s market. It represents a unique blend of art and science, with creative offerings designed to excite and surprise the palate.
They feature dining choices that are thoughtfully prepared and in appropriate portion sizes. So their
guests feel the freedom to indulge in a complete dining experience, including their custom flatbreads and signature mini-indulgence desserts, while still feeling good about themselves and their dining choices.

They use natural cooking techniques such as wood-fire grilling, brick-oven cooking and caramelizing vegetables to let the natural flavors shine through. And they execute precision with seasoning, and oil with control and care to ensure just the right amount is used to bring out the great flavor profiles. An added benefit to this style is that our menu items are naturally lower in calories. In fact, they make a promise that nothing on their menu is over 475 calories. The result is great tasting, highly satisfying food that just so happens to be good for you!  And then you can even indulge in these mini desserts!  Just enough for your sweet tooth.  Blueberry Cheesecake and Oren Cookie Mouse and many more that I can't even remember, but they all are served just like this.

I had a wonderful Tiger Shrimp Penne Pasta and market vegetables sautéed in a lemon-basil sauce with Parmesan cheese.  Delicious!

My husband had Fieldale Farms All-Natural BBQ Chicken with Yukon Gold garlic mashed potatoes and fresh roasted corn saladOur friends had Wood-Roasted Pork Tenderloin with herb polenta, broccoli, cremini mushrooms and shallot-Dijon glaze.

Well I thought the whole dining experience was excellent.  The staff was engaging and friendly, and couldn't do enough.
I think they have restaurants in other areas.  I recommend you try them if you ever get the chance.




Well my husband just left for his sleep study.  He has sleep apnea, and tonight they are going to try this breathing machine on him.  He never feels rested when he gets up in the morning and this machine will help him get a good nights sleep.  Sleep Apnea is not good for your heart.  I just hope he can get use to this machine on his nose!

Ok, I think I need to get some work done!  Have an awesome day.

Susan

Good Bye Summer, Hello Fall!

Happy Saturday everyone!  This is the weekend that represents the end of summer.  You can feel the temperature dip in the evenings and early mornings.  It usually warms up during the day, but it is still different from a few weeks ago.  I love the fall.  I think it is like my New Year.



(pic we Heart it)

It seems as though the wind brings fresh air and new beginnings.  It was always fun getting the kids ready for school.  There was an air of excitement, they were nervous and excited at the same time.  They wondered what teachers they were getting, and who was going to be in their classes.

(pic. We Heart it)

( pic. We Heart it)

And then they started College, we had to buy towels, bedding and every other thing a new College kid needed.  The boys were easy, they were happy throwing everything in a plastic bag, but our daughter seemed to be much more organized.  Plastic containers, suitcases and everything had to match.  Girls have so much more STUFF!  Did I ever tell you how much I missed her when she went off?  Well with 3 boys and 1 girl, you can understand that, right?  Her first year away, I was looking forward to her coming home this one weekend.  Well it just so happens that we were going to have a snow storm.  I was devastated!  My husband must have know how upset I was, because he took off work that day and we drove up to Penn State to pick her up!  Don't get me wrong, I love my boys dearly, but they don't call as

much as your daughter does, just to chat.

Penn State.

.

(pic. We Heart it)

# 3 & Wife M., Husband B & daughter, #4, graduate, me & hubby, # 1.

Number 4 ( the last one) and his then girlfriend K.  Now his wife.

Now they all have graduated and left home, 3 are married, we have 3 grand kids, and I don't know where all that time went!

So now here we are in the new Fall season and we don't have to move anyone up to school anymore.  I love it and hate it at the same time.  We don't go up to school anymore just to see the kids and go to the football games, it is just different.  Although  now we can enjoy helping our grand kids get ready for school, and the excitement is back again.  We can watch our 5 year old grandson play football, I can't believe they start them that young now.  We can watch our grand daughter in her cheer leading outfit, cheer for the teams.  I am also delighted to say that I am watching the youngest, 3 months old, while our daughter goes back to work.  I am so glad that I can finally help her out now that I am not working anymore.

 
Megan

Connor

I know this is a soccer game, I don't have a football picture yet.

Ryan

So this is how my Fall season is starting this year.  How has your season been going?

Getting kids off to school?

Enjoy the last weekend of Summer!  Say hello to Fall~

Susan