tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38784829505053061432024-03-08T09:36:58.127-05:00At the Front of My MindBarbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460955775654927270noreply@blogger.comBlogger74125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878482950505306143.post-9182195782247940282009-07-23T11:24:00.003-04:002009-07-23T11:49:41.586-04:00Party FavorMy daughter Leah went to a birthday party last week. It was a swim party at the Y. They rented out the pool for the night and had about 15 girls, as well as friends of the older sister which included Steph. It was a pretty cool evening and had rained most of the day so I wondered if they would cancel the party and have it on the rain date but it cleared so the party went on.Leah and Steph both Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460955775654927270noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878482950505306143.post-56173508033960362562009-06-04T14:36:00.003-04:002009-06-04T14:52:41.632-04:00Back InThe tennis season is upon me. I have played one USTA match so far and lost at line 1 singles. (6-3, 7-5) I didn't feel to bad about it because the girl I played was better than me and at least I was able to keep it close. I play another match this Saturday, again singles (rats!) I am a much better doubles player but I am a team player and said I would play wherever they need me. Wish me luck.My Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460955775654927270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878482950505306143.post-54140028806816959942009-05-29T11:52:00.002-04:002009-05-29T13:42:18.655-04:00New York CityMy husband and I went to NYC for a long week-end. New York is such a wonderful city to visit. We both have been there a number of times but not for quite a few years. Mark had 2 free tickets that he received from being "bumped" from a flight that had to be used by June. He also had enough hotel points to get us 3 free nights. But even with all that it wasn't an inexpensive trip. Here is theBarbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460955775654927270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878482950505306143.post-27823576862769019872009-03-03T13:05:00.003-05:002009-03-03T13:26:48.345-05:00The Hunger GamesAs many of you know I was enthralled with the Twilight books, rereading them many times. I finally broke it off by reading "Pride and Prejudice." I then read nothing for about a week when I received a call from the library that a book I had requested came in. I hadn't even remembered what I requested, it had been such a long time ago. When I picked the book up it was "The Hunger Games" by SuzanneBarbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460955775654927270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878482950505306143.post-88269405106969362752009-02-24T13:35:00.004-05:002009-02-24T14:15:00.105-05:00M.I.A.Grocery shopping is a task that I don't usually mind except when it is really cold or raining and then I would rather avoid the long walk to and fro the store. I sometimes use a list which is really helpful, but other times I think I will remember what we need without the list and end up forgetting something or getting back home and realize I should have gotten something I didn't know we needed. Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460955775654927270noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878482950505306143.post-84772562560957089652008-12-30T10:57:00.003-05:002008-12-30T11:39:29.858-05:00EnthralledI read a lot and usually have several books waiting for me at any given time. I have at least four or five sitting there now and a couple from the library that I have already renewed twice. It's not that I haven't been reading it is just that the Twilight series has captivated me so much that I haven't been able to pick up anything else. I have read each of the books several times and can't wait Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460955775654927270noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878482950505306143.post-89671375818643864492008-12-23T12:06:00.002-05:002008-12-23T12:35:51.117-05:00InactivityWe had Verizon Fios installed yesterday. Mark thought it would be good since it would save us some money, especially on our phone bill. I didn't really care too much but he told me that we would have the Tennis Channel for a trial 3 months so I was all for it and saving money is a good thing too, right? Mark agreed to work from home for the day while the installer was there. I was very glad Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460955775654927270noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878482950505306143.post-86677167600310118252008-11-25T10:57:00.003-05:002008-11-25T11:23:03.210-05:00ChampionsBethel Park's football team won the WPIAL championship. This is a big deal because it is the first time they have achieved this goal. They beat Gateway 10-6. Mark and I actually watched some of the game. The end to be completely accurate since we went to the theater and arrived home for the last 5 minutes of the game. I was very impressed with Bethel's defense. To keep a team that had been Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460955775654927270noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878482950505306143.post-82895039436023798672008-11-18T12:49:00.004-05:002008-11-18T13:25:58.678-05:00A Religious Week-endSteph had an interesting week-end. She was invited to a Bat Mitzvah of a school friend. We didn't even know that she was Jewish. I really wanted to go to the ceremony but Leah didn't want to attend and Mark is out of town so I didn't get the chance. Kind of a bummer but that happens. After the ceremony they had a big event at a restaurant with a d.j. and games. The girls all seemed to have a Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460955775654927270noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878482950505306143.post-67669152389564262612008-11-06T13:45:00.002-05:002008-11-06T14:05:22.856-05:00B-dayMy birthday was Monday the 3rd. It was a beautiful day weather-wise which is rather unusual. Typically by November 3rd the leaves are all off the trees and the temperature is cold. This year however the temperatures the last few days have been practically balmy and there are still some beautiful trees around. I know it won't last for long but I am enjoying this last bit of Fall weather while Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460955775654927270noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878482950505306143.post-60138583067383750262008-10-21T10:05:00.002-04:002008-10-21T11:44:24.880-04:00MSUWe went to Michigan to visit Laurel this past week-end. It was really great to see her. We spent most of the time eating out and shopping. So needless to say it wasn't a cheap visit. One of the interesting things for me was that it was the week-end for a home football game against Ohio State. I have never seen anything like it. The campus was crazy with tailgate parties everywhere. The Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460955775654927270noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878482950505306143.post-86268912216316136982008-10-07T13:01:00.002-04:002008-10-07T13:53:47.506-04:00CollegeI am sure many of you are a little curious how I am faring with my eldest daughter in college. It has it's ups and downs. The up side is that she seems to be handling herself really well, attending classes regularly, keeping up with her work and making friends. The down side is that she is so darned far away. When she had a tumultuous break-up with her boyfriend it would have been nice to Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460955775654927270noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878482950505306143.post-63251477985144615842008-09-08T11:46:00.002-04:002008-09-08T13:06:19.348-04:00Amuse MeI have been watching sports every day and night for the past 4 weeks. I love the Olympics and then the U.S. Open tennis started. I will be going into serious withdrawal tomorrow.In between my sports watching my family went to several amusement parks. We were in Southern California and visited Sea World, Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure park and then went to Kennywood for Mark's Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460955775654927270noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878482950505306143.post-11570433718609262572008-08-23T17:25:00.003-04:002008-08-23T17:45:50.128-04:00New JobI have a new job as part-time secretary for Peters Creek Presbyterian church. My sister goes to that church and found out that the person who had the job wasn't working out so they were looking to hire someone. She was interested in the job but not full-time so asked if I would like to share the position with her. Since I was getting so few hours at the Loft I thought it would be a good idea. We Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460955775654927270noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878482950505306143.post-12782113143091150832008-06-18T09:25:00.002-04:002008-06-18T09:51:46.289-04:00GraduationLaurel is officially graduated from High School. I told her that she was gradulicious, which she thought was a pretty funny way to describe her accomplishment. I don't think of High School graduation as that big of a deal really. I mean it is a milestone in ones life but everyone can do it. The ceremony was held indoors because of the rain. I have never attended a graduation outside, so it Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460955775654927270noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878482950505306143.post-28675102051034859882008-05-20T10:45:00.003-04:002008-05-20T11:22:15.066-04:00UpdateI know that all of you have been anxious to find out how my singles match went on Saturday. (except those of you who already know) My team carpooled to the Pittsburgh Golf Club which is near Squirrel Hill. I joked with the girls how I was hoping for a very old opponent that was really slow. Of course, that was not the case my opponent was young (in her 30's I'm guessing) and pretty quick. Her Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460955775654927270noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878482950505306143.post-62558999791179362652008-05-15T09:21:00.003-04:002008-05-15T09:51:49.930-04:00Work and TennisI have had many people ask me about my job and how I like it so far. I really do enjoy the work. I have always loved helping people with outfits and it is very gratifying when they take my suggestions. After just one 4 1/2 hour day I've come to a few conclusions:1) I need more comfortable shoes.2) I should never calculate how much I will be payed because it sounds so paltry.3) This job will be Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460955775654927270noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878482950505306143.post-52426297493097190912008-05-05T14:07:00.004-04:002008-05-05T15:31:17.503-04:00JobI have been thinking of getting a job for quite a while now. Last year when Leah was in first grade I was contemplating it. One of my tennis friends said, "you should give it a year." So, I gave it a year but still felt like I needed something new to do. It really is a transition going from having small children that require a lot of attention to having "big girls" that are independent in many Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460955775654927270noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878482950505306143.post-75446685338151771982008-04-23T11:46:00.002-04:002008-04-23T12:10:57.178-04:00GlassesYesterday the little girls and I picked up our new glasses. This is the first pair for both Steph and Leah. They were told that they really only needed them for school. They both look pretty cute in them. My glasses don't look all that different although they are silver and a little more substantial than my last pair. Leah was with me when I picked them out and approved of them saying that I Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460955775654927270noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878482950505306143.post-58940044824132512132008-04-21T12:42:00.003-04:002008-04-21T15:01:12.636-04:00Rabbit HoleMark and I went to see the Pittsburgh Public Theaters production of the play 'Rabbit Hole' on Saturday night. 'Rabbit Hole' was written by playwright David Lindsay-Abaire. I had not heard of him before but he has received 5 Tony Award nominations and is currently working on the book and lyrics for the Broadway-bound musical 'Shrek'. He is also wrote the screenplay for the upcoming movie 'InkheartBarbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460955775654927270noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878482950505306143.post-84144849156875835532008-04-07T14:02:00.002-04:002008-04-07T14:40:04.903-04:00Catch UpI have been very neglectful of this blog. I know that you all have been wondering and wondering what I have ben doing. So, I will try to catch you all up on what has been happening to me. After the Mississippi trip the following Wednesday was the start of Laurel's musical. This year they performed 'Fiddler on the Roof' and it was a tremendous success as usual. I am always amazed at how Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460955775654927270noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878482950505306143.post-43217548914744883252008-03-11T12:25:00.002-04:002008-03-11T14:04:49.603-04:00MississippiI travelled with 10 other people from my church to do some rebuilding in the Biloxi area. This was my third trip to assist and I noticed a lot of changes. The first year there was a huge amount of debris everywhere and we spent most of the week helping people clear it. We also helped with 2 roofs and one drywalling project. Last year we had two crews, one that painted and the other helped Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460955775654927270noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878482950505306143.post-82968177318492640102008-03-01T09:20:00.002-05:002008-03-01T09:51:49.572-05:00HandsLast Wednesday I noticed a strange sensation in my left hand. My little finger felt numb and my hand didn't feel very strong. I thought that was weird but did not think too much about it at the time because I was playing tennis. After several days of no improvement I asked the older ladies that I play tennis with on Monday what they thought (they have had every ache and pain in the book). Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460955775654927270noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878482950505306143.post-81470545096274161482008-02-13T15:51:00.003-05:002008-02-13T16:04:19.995-05:00Snow DaysI remember when I was in school how I looked forward to a surprise day off because of too much snow. I grew up in Girard PA. and we had a lot of snow but not so many days off. It had to be almost a blizzard for them to even consider a day off and I don't remember having 2 hour delays, but maybe we had them.My daughters have loved staying home the past two days. Actually Laurel had school today Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460955775654927270noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3878482950505306143.post-33053815744841936002008-02-11T11:13:00.000-05:002008-02-11T12:13:38.288-05:00Weekend FunMark and I travelled to Lake Latonka (off the Mercer exit of 79) for a retreat this weekend. The team of people that are going on the mission trip to Mississippi gathered for some fun, camaraderie and worship. We arrived on Friday evening and were taken a little back by how fabulous the accomadations were. I was told we were going to be staying at a cabin but this was definetly a huge house Barbarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460955775654927270noreply@blogger.com2