Yes, I was born in 1964

All this talk about President Obama and his birth certificate made me laugh. Although I have never questioned the authenticity, apparently some people think that it could be fake. Do they really think that over 50 years Obama's parents started planned this trickery? Wow, I'm all for planning a good trick but man, but that one really took forever to pull off.

I started to think, I suppose I could fake where I was born but I could not fake the time frame I was born in. Here are a few of the things I remember as a kid growing up on 50 acres in Central New York.

When I was a kid, our station wagon’s rear seat faced backwards AND had wood paneling on the side it. Also, seat belts were for sissys, we slept in the back part and rode in the back of pick up trucks.
I grew up on Tang and Koolaid - all full of artificial colors and sweeteners.
If I wanted to drink some water, I went to the sink and poured a glass.
I remember the song, “Convoy.”
CB's were the in thing - I actually had "call name and numbers". Mine was Rosebud KABY1518
When using an 8 track tape player, a book of matches would prop up the tape in the player - PERFECTLY.
I had big hair at one point in my life - now I hardly have any hair.
I remember “The Spirit of 76!” - actually my sister Kelley graduated that year.
I had clackers before they were pulled off the market due to eye injuries.
Stores sold candy cigarettes that I could blow into and “smoke” would come out.
I was of legal drinking age when I turned 18, then in December it turned to 19 so I couldn't drink. Then I turned 19 and the law changed to 21.
My gym class wore uniforms made of polyester which sucked because they would not allow me to sweat - but lucky for the other kids on our "late bus", our school locker rooms had showers.
After breakfast my cousin's and I went outside and didn't come back until dinner, except perhaps for a lunch break-IF we were lucky.
I remember the first Rubix cube and although I could never do it, I remember the occasional nerd who could. I thought they were freaks of nature - actually I still think they are freaks.
Our pool floaties involved old tire tubes. The tube had to be placed perfectly in order to not dive into and receive a 10" scrape from the stem.
Dinner was at exactly 5 pm and then my parents would read the local paper, comment on who died and then they watched the news at 6:00 for more sad news.
My first record player was a blue Mickey Mouse one, the needle was his arm and it had two speeds.
The 45 record was exactly $1.00 (.96 plus $.04 tax)
Two words - Clogs and Dr. Scholl.
I owned a Jellybean Jacket which was blue, I so wish I had it today.
I owned a bubble umbrella and most recently bought my daughter one at Target.
I had a banana seat on my bike and some bad ass handle bars - only motorcycles required helmets.
There was no such thing as pizza delivery but I had my milk delivered to my door in glass bottles. I begged for chocolate milk.
My parents had 3 children to rotate who had to get up and change the channel. This was of course after waiting 10 minutes for the TV to warm up.
I owned a pet rock and slime with worms.
Our kitchen counter was not granite but orange.
My parents saved S&H Greenstamps.
I had a Christmas Club at our local bank.

Its a wonder I survived at all.

The Golden Rule - doesn't always apply to everyone

One of life's lessons was learned today by my daughter..
She can't control other people's lives...
Rachael moved into her own apartment about 6 months ago much to my dismay.. I didn't want her to move out but she was convinced that it was a grand idea. She had a couple of friends that promised were all in agreement to get an apartment together. It was to be a grand experience, after all, they were the best of friends..
I think the quickest way to lose a best friend is to move into with one.
After 2 months, one of her roommates decided that she didn't have didn't want to be out on her own so she moved back home. Now apparently its not her old roommate's portion of the rent isn't her problem but Rachael's problem.
The ex-roommate isn't going to continue to pay her share of rent and she doesn't really care if it ever gets paid, she doesn't have any money and she is "sorry".
Hearing my daughter in tears say that its not "fair" and for me to not have any words that help her just sucks. I've always taught my children to do what they know is right. I guess part I forgot to let her know that not everyone teaches their children the same moral code.
I just want to ask the ex roommate's parents how they could have possibly forgotten to do that.

Maybe I should just let it go?

Facebook friend invite - Sue from Colorado

Many years ago when I was in middle school I dated a boy. Ok thats a far fetch... I kissed my cousin's cousin.. there was no dating, my gosh I was 12. Hey - don't judge me with the cousin's cousin relationship, it was a small town so this was actually an acceptable distance for kissing.

Anyway, I told Jennifer my best friend 2 faced friend about my boy toy fling, she promptly told her friend, that person told her friend.. well you get the jist.

I was teased beyond belief, called many bad names and I am pretty sure that at some point, I lost my cool and threw someone into the side of a locker. The teasing seemed to go on forever, even after 7th grade. I thought that the incident didn't affect my life.. I'm thinking it may have subconsiously.

After 7th grade, I resented Sue....she was a short, big mouth, mean spirited girl. I stayed away from her and her circle of friends. Limited my contact and tried to forget how she made me feel.

Maybe I should let it go? I mean its been over 30 years since that altercation with her. I mean she was mature enough to request my friendship, maybe I should reciprocate and move on? We can all get along right? Remember, it was over 30 years ago - I should move on and forgive. I really should but sadly, its not my style. Maybe she doesn't remember what she did to me, maybe she was horrible to so many people she can't keep track of who she tormented?

DENIED.... screw you.

I think I may still hold a grudge..

Christmas 2010

We had a great 2010 in Oceanside, had some great visitors and some nice laughs. Most of the laughs were at my family’s expense but once in a while we were able to gang up on other innocent bystanders. I love to laugh through life.

We were very lucky this year. As we (Chuck, Rachael, Carly and myself) were able to go back to NY twice in 2010, once in February and again in July. Nick couldn’t go as he decided to go to Mexico for the summer to save Sea Turtles and collect their eggs for research. The turtles had other plans and never showed up in the 6 weeks he was there. Non the less, Nick was able to survive in grand old Mexico and learned the fine art of ignoring people while he was there.

Rachael is in her 2nd year of college working on her goal of becoming a nurse. She still works at the YMCA as a lifeguard and also nanny sits for a lady a couple times a week. She decided to get her own apartment with all her new found money. Easy come, easy go.

Carly is now 13 and is in 8th grade. She and I went white water rafting in May with her Girl Scout troop. It really was pretty amazing and we hope to be able to do it again next year.

We finally had some family pictures taken after Rachael complained we did not have any. A friend of mine took them on December 5, 2010 while most of you were buried enjoying the winterwonderland. For the record, nobody cried.

As always we hope you have a wonderful Merry Christmas filled with Hope, Faith and Love.

Chuck, Kandee, Nick, Rachael and Carly

Why we don't take many Family photos

As you all know, I am cheap frugal. I ordered some Christmas cards, ran out of them, ran out of stamps and decided that this whole "internet" thing might work to my advantage. So I refusal to spend my, I mean our money on more stamps as I had already sent cards to most of the important people on my Christmas list.

About 8 months ago, Rachael asked me how come we never had any family photos taken of us? I shot her a glare and said "are you serious"? Believe me, I tried, tried to get my spawns lovely children to take a nice picture together... This is what I ended up with last year before someone (me) ended up crying.

I warned the spawns I was going to upload these pictures anyway so - there you have it... Why we don't have family pictures taken!

We all suffer as one....

My friend Stacey and I have been walking.. Well, we mostly talk but we do manage to put one foot in front of the other. Walking and talking - we decided it might not be safe to try and chew gum at the same time so for now, we just walk and talk. Its free, cheap therapy.

Here in O'side, they have a the "Turkey Trot". Its a quick 5K walk/run/trot around the town on Thanksgiving Day. Last year, I thought about it on Thanksgiving Day and decided that I should sign up for it. It can't be that hard right? I'm pretty sure I can do a darn good waddle..

So, I signed my whole family up witout their knowledge.. They received a notice via e-mail that they were registered. Yup, figured that a family that suffers together stays together...

Dear First, Middle and Baby

My parents had four children, my sister Kelley, my brother Stephen (whom died when he was a baby), my brother John and myself. After my parents died 19 weeks apart, it was time to clean out the house for the new habitants, my brother John his family.

The following article was cut out of the newspaper sometime in the 1970's. It was in my room under the glass on top of my dresser ever since I can remember. I looked at it daily while getting my clothes out of the drawers always thinking that we were all so special. The article is now yellowed and torn, but now that I have three children of my own, I realize that the story pretty much remains the same.....

Dear First Born:
I've always loved you best because you were our first miracle. You were the genesis of a marriage and the fullfillment of our young love.
You substained us through the hamburger years, the first apartment (furnished in Early Poverty), our first mode of transportation (a beaten up station wagon) and a 7-inch TV we paid on for 36 months.
You were new, had unused grandparents and enough clothes for a set of triplets. You were the original model for a mom and dad who were trying to work the bugs out. You got the strained lamb, the open safety pins and the three hour naps.
You were the beginning...

Dear Middle child:
I've always loved you best because you drew a tough spot in the family and it made you stronger for it.
You cried less, had more patience, wore faded hand-me-downs and never in your life did anything first. But it only made you more special. You were the one we relaxed with and realized a dog could kiss you and you wouldn't get sick. You could cross the street by yourself long before you were old enough to get married and you helped us understand the world would not collapse if you went to bed with dirty feet.
You were the child of our busy ambitious years. Without you we would never survived the job changes and the tedium routine that is marriage.

Dear The Baby;
I've always loved you best because while endings are generally sad, you are such a joy. You readily accepted the milk-stained bibs, the lower bunk, the cracked baseball bat, the baby book that had nothing written on it except a recipe for graham cracker pie crust that someone had jammed between the pages.
You are the one we held on to so tightly, You are the link with our past, a reason for tomorrow. You darkened our hair, quicken our steps, square our shoulders, restore our vision and give us the sense of humor that security, maturity and durability can't provide.
When your hairline takes on the shape of Lake Erie and your own children tower over you, you will still be our baby. - A Mother

Up until the time my mother died (I was 38), when she introduced me to someone new she always referred to me as her "baby".

I love you Mom, wish we could have grown old together.

Lovin' the Sea Turtles

My son Nick has always been a tree hugger. He has always been interested in the sea and nature so much that we've had to tape the spine of one of his nature books once or twice due to constant viewing.
Next week he leaves for a two month trip to the beaches of Mexico. He will be an internship at the Sea Turtle at San Cristobal Beach. Apparently the beach is 12 kilomiles north of Cabo San Lucas. He has to "work" at night, collecting the eggs and tagging Olive Ridley and Leatherback turtles.
Nick is excited and I of course am nervous. Everyone has heard the stories of Mexico and the druglord issues but there really is not to much I can do other than lock him in a room and never let him spread his wings. Nick is doing what he has always wanted to do.. I'm proud of him and love that he will be doing what he has always dreamed of.

And the clock strikes 12

When the microwave oven first came out many, many years ago, my father would watch the clock tick backwards while waiting for the clock to stop
10, 9, 8, 7 ,6, 5, 4, 3, 2..........1
Then he would say he just wasted x amount of minutes of his life that he would never get back.
My mom on the other hand had a clock on the oven that she put a piece of tape over that said.
"Time stands still for no one".
After she died, I inherited her jewerely box. In the box was a cheapo digital watch that was still working. I kept it in the box and would pull it out once in a while, breath a sigh of relief that it was in fact still working.
I remember the day the watch stopped, it was a very sad day for me. I still have the watch but I could not bear to put a new battery in it.

Phew, I need a vacation from their vacation.

Finally I can find my sanity - ok well that is a lie, I haven't had my sanity in a very long time but I can now enjoy the normalicy of my insane life.
Nancy, Fast Eddie, Melissa, Rod, Kaleb and Gavin left over the weekend.
The gang started arriving on the 17th and stayed through the 24th. We packed alot of fun into their vacation. We all sat poolside with our Margarita glasses on Sunday. Lucky for us Adam and Julie were able to come in from Denver for the day.

Monday was beach day here in Oceanside


Tuesday was a trip up to Disneyland where although it was a gloomy day, we had an amazing time One thing I learned about Disney in the rain is that you don't have to wait long for the rides. The longest we waited was 10 minutes for any of the rides including Space Mountain which I overwhelming enjoyed which made me want to hurl, next was the Star Wars trip where I sat on the aisle seat, lowered my sunglasses and closed my eyes due to the Space Mountain ride). Check out the driver Gavin's eyes.

Wednesday was Tidepool day in LaJolla


Thursday we took in a baseball game at Angel Stadium. The game turned from baseball to hockey due to a fight in the stands in the 8th innning. . Friday was our day of rest where Rod hunted lizards to throw in our bearded dragon's cage. Rod thought the dragon would eat the small lizards but they ended up laying on top of each other soaking up the sun. Gavin who is 8 decided he should top his vacation off with a tramp stamp to match mine.

I personally think that we all had a great time, although everyone has their own version. Who knows, maybe by the time they left they were all thinking that the plane could not get off the runway soon enough for them to get back to NY. Everyone has "their side" to the story...

Who knew a bunny could be so spoiled?

When I was young, I always had pets. We grew up on 50 acres so there was never a shortage of animals running around the place. I had my share of chickens (50 of them - 4H project which is a totally different post), mice (10 at once, individual cages - thanks Aunt Chris), guinea pigs, horses, cows, snakes, hawks, salamanders - you name it we had it. One of my favorite pets when I was about 10 was my bunny named Nadine.
Now that I'm a mom and have our land isn't so "spacious", my kids don't have quite as many animals but we do have a variety of them. Our menagerie consists of Stella the 100lb black lab, Mallory our cat, Eloise our hedgehog, the Bearded Dragon (nameless) and our rabbit Yankee. Yankee is about a year old now and he definitely has quite the personality. Generally he gets let out everyday to run in the backyard as we have a 6' fence that he can not get out of. He has the whole backyard to hang loose in and that's pretty much what he does all day long.

The cage we had Yankee in was not to shabby, just a basic cage that was left over from our Guinea Pigs - Nester and Thunder Thighs.


The other day, I mentioned we should build Yankee a cage for outside since I was tired of moving his cage around and the shavings were pretty much a disaster in the house. Chuck is a Union Carpenter so I knew it would not be a problem for him to whip something up. This is what the man came up with. The cage is huge, about 5' high, 4 foot long, a hutch to the left and the bottom has a ramp extending up to the top "floor" that he bolts upstairs without skipping a beat.






My son Nick is ready for a car, I told him to tell his dad that Yankee needed a car and we would see what see what Yankee ended up with.

Dream big Nick and we will see what Yankee ends up driving.

April 1 - why do you only come once a year?

Why not laugh, smile, pull a prank or tell a funny joke every day? My daily goal in life is to laugh - laugh through life. I’d rather laugh than cry besides, I’m pretty ugly when I cry.

We've all heard the cliché "laughter is the best medicine". When I was sick it was easier for me to laugh than take my crappy chemo but I did both. Since then, I have not stopped laughing. The only problem is now that I am getting older, sometimes I pee my pants. That too, makes me laugh.

A few years ago when I moved to California and was friendless, I had to make an effort to find friends. I needed cool/fun/exciting friends like Wacko Judy and Crazy Ange who I had to leave in NY. I thought I was pretty cool but apparently not everyone was willing to take that risk. After ruling out a few Stepford Wives in the area I took a chance and became friends with Carly's Girl Scout leaders.

The "leaders" had a "Bunko" group and soon enough I weaseled my way into their hearts and was able to secure an invite. Another friend was also invited to the open enrollment Bunko session. At the end of the night I had made the cut, she was sent packing - just like American Idol (well, that’s a stretch but she definitely did not get a second invite).

Actually, that was my first and ONLY Bunko experience as the group soon disbanded. After all the scheming, how could it be that our little group was so f*ck9d up, we could not even commit to bunko once a month? Was I going to let this new found friendship faultier? Heck no, I worked hard to infiltrate the click, I knew I had to take action. Thus the name changed from Bunko and became "Funko" (inserted the “f”) and times we even change that “f” to a "d" for Drunko. On Tuesday, it was Drunko night for me at Funko.

One of the ladies offered to drive and pick us up for the Happy Hour festivities, I quickly accepted. Generally, I am the designated driver so this was such a treat for me. We went to happy hour and had $5 Margaritas while playing lots and lots of pool. Of course the real pool sharks got a bit torched but honestly we did not even care. I'm not sure I even heard any of their grumblings over the whoohooo that projected several times from my mouth.

The night was filled with laughing, smiling and bitching. We’ve learned to laugh at our problems because we know everyone else is.

Maybe Billy Joel had a point....."I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints........the sinners are much more fun”?

One thing about my Bunko/Funko/Drunko friends is I can bitch at them, steal their food and then make them go to the bathroom with me. To others in bar they may all look like a bunch of bitches but they are my bitches.

Oh crap, we have visitors coming...

Nothing like a e-mail from a family member with the phrase "we are coming to visit" to get some work around the house done. I've never been one to have a "hunny-do" list but I on my fridge is one with about 10 items on it.
It seems absolutely crazy to feel the need to get things ready for guests. I mean if they really like us, who the heck cares what the house looks like right? WRONG.
Secretly I love when people come to visit because a timeline is set. Things that I want to do around my house get actually done before the clock strikes Nothing like a deadline to make me stop procrastinating and get in gear.
Honestly I do better with a list, I should make one for everyday. I feel so empowered when I can cross one of my list.
When we lived in NY, nothing ever got done on time because no one ever wanted to come visit us. Seriously, what does Western NY have to offer in February other than cold and snow? Now that we have sunshine every day, I can bribe guests to come.
When should I pencil you in for a visit? I need my bathroom remodeled....

Girl Scouts....

I am getting ready to go camping tomorrow with my daughter Carly and her Girl Scout troop. I've packed all that I can as we are sleeping on the dirt (not ground, not grass but DIRT due to construction), in a tent. You are envious - seriously I know. Its going to be such a fucking horrible good time..

I'm not much of a camper... I mean I grew up on 50 acres across the street from the lake, we had cows, horses, chickens. I basically grew up on a camp.

We had to travel at least 45 minutes for a good supermarket but for the most part, the milk delivery guy came up our driveway, dropped off glass milk 1/2 gallons, we had chickens for eggs and my uncles farm for beef. We raised those adorable little calves and chicks from birth only to eat them. Do you know how hard it is to go down in the cellar and get Chip the Chicken out of the freezer and eat him for dinner?

My mom would kick me and my cousins out of the house after breakfast and we basically could not come back until it was lunch time or dinner time. We were not allowed to dare turn on the TV until after supper. There were no electronic gadgets or gizmos. We made our own fun!

I know it sounds like I am complaining about my childhood, actually I loved my childhood!

Now that I'm an old fat kid adult... I just don't want to relive my childhood by camping - its too much work! Get the sleeping bags, tent, clothing, lanterns, dishes, food etc. I pack enough crap for a month even if it is a 2.5 day trip. When we get home, EVERYTHING is dirty whether we wore it or not. It smells like smoke, the items are damp or just all out soaked, it generally rains/snows. Then I get stuck putting everything away and washing clothing for days.

So now I am going with the Girl Scouts this weekend. I'm lucky, there are only 10 preteens that I have to deal with. Only 10 whining, crying, complaining, hormonal bitchy 12 year olds Girl Scouts. It won't be that bad right?

Honestly once I get there, I will have a blast. I won't have to worry about cleaning, shopping, or anything.. I will know that there is nothing better in the world I could possibly be doing except hanging with my daughter.

Its just the prep work. Kinda like the colonoscopy I had a couple years ago. The prep was horrible, the procedure was pretty uneventful.

Oh and by the way, if you are looking for a good time on Friday go here ---->

Only the Good Fridays

I almost waivered...

Today was Wednesday.. Hump day...
So it was almost a given I would go on a date with my husband... Also, Wednesday are my day off from work so double bonus...

We decided to go to up to watch the Anaheim Angels game as they were playing the Yankees!

I thought to myself does it really matter who wins? I mean I live in California now maybe I should support the "home team"... I thought maybe I should bring my Angels Jersey just "in case" it goes the other way...

No, heck now... I'm still a Yankee girl.

Good thing because they won!

Where oh where.....

Where have you been? When will you update your blog?
I was asked those questions the other day and I immediately felt guilt. One more thing on my “to do” list that I have failed miserably at “doing”.
I mean, its not like its that hard, I can type 90+ words a minute. The whole entry might take 5 minutes, 10 if I search for a picture to put up too.
I’ve no excuse… I mean I do but do they really count?
Carly’s birthday
Graduation
Rachael’s birthday
Kid with a tattoo
Kid with a pierced tongue
Yankee Game
NY Trip
Vacation
Meet with old college buddies
Plant garden
Kids off for the summer (no explanation needed)
Not paying attention… another kid with a tattoo
My Birthday (yah, I get another one )
Work
Wedding in Denver
Rachael College
Nick College
Carly back to school
Float and Fick party
Ah…. Normalicy…..
When I ask - do those excuses “count”?
I mean, they really don’t as everyone has a busy life but some (most) manage to do a lot more than I do plus BLOG.

I made myself a 10 year plan, a 5 year plan, 1 year plan and 90 day plan about 8 months ago. So far I am on track for the 5 & 10 year goal. The 1 year and 90 day has been pushed out the window. I did accomplish some of the 90 day goals (tiled the downstairs, put in a garden) but all in all I really did not make a dent in the list. I think I need a new list. Or, maybe I need to make an executive decision and say that those excuses “count”.
Yup, that’s it… those excuses are hereby approved and seconded (by my puppy Stella) and therefore it is written, stamped and passed. NEXT!
This corporation I’m running has to streamline it’s (my) agenda. No more guilt, validation has been made. Starting tomorrow I will be getting a 100% raise (hmm.. 100% raise of $0 is $0) but hopefully my sanity benefits will kick in before 90 days.

I turn my back for one second...

He said.... "Mom, I'm going with Tori to look for a surfboard" and I figure, no harm right?

I mean, he's got 5 boards already so I figured he wasn't in the market for a new board and it would be ok if he went...

I swear, it was just a short time that lost contact with him... maybe four hours.

LOOK what this rotton son/kid did....

Once they start earning their own money, they think they need to spend it on himself when he should be saving their money so he can take care of me when I'm old.

I told him I think it says "Dumbass" or "My Momma's a Hottie"... I think it might say both.

All I do know is my "baby" is so grounded....

Never a dull moment

Apparently all the rules are off now that Rachael is 18.

Yesterday's adventure was off to get her tounge pierced.

Today's adventure is off to the tattoo parlor.

Gosh this girl keeps me crazy...

I guess there are worse things.

Happy Birthday Rachael

Go June! No really go away.

Good thing June only comes once a year as it has been insane.
June involved me getting laid off from my part time job to which I replied ... seriously???? Only to be rehired within 5 minutes...... Then we moved Nick home from college (he is such a slob), next was awards for Carly's school, followed by 6th grade Olympics at the Junior High, Carly's 12 year old birthday, Chuck's sister Nancy and Fast Eddie coming out from NY, Rachael passing her driver's test (yikes), Rachael's HS graduation of only 681 kids, an Angel's baseball game (Padres so suck) and finally last night - Rachael's graduation party.

“Mom, I'm only inviting 50 (200) of my closest friends” pleaded my lovely daughter. If you have ever lived in a Cali subdivision (think Weeds on Showtime), you will know that the lots here are pretty small. Throw in a 30x26' pool and they are even smaller.

The kids for the most part were great, very polite, very respectful, and even initiated conversations when I went out for my "patrols". The party involved about 8 "dance off" sessions on the lawn, a lot of pictures being taken, a cleverly hidden Tequila bottles and I'm pretty sure there was something being smoked (evident by the homemade Aquafina water bottle bong found in the trashcan at clean up this morning). All in all , the kids were pretty well behaved all 50 (200) off them. Now as in any situation, there is always at least one exception.

A girl named Kylie (not one of the 50 invited ) never even made it to the actual backyard party, just decided to come to our house and promptly vomit all over the bathroom. It was about 11:30 pm and midnight was the cut off for the party anyway so I decided the best thing to do was to call her mom (hello Kylie's mom, I realize you don't know me but could you come and pick up your 3.9 honor student? Kylie had numerous friends willing to take her home but I thought no - not a good idea. Her mom was very embarrassed adding that her daughter had just come off "restriction" and that this was her first night “out”. Apparently restriction just gave Kylie 2 months to “recharge”.

In the commotion, the Po Po arrived, come on admit it, it’s not a good party until the police show up. It’s amazing how fast a party clears out when the police arrive.... Those kids can scurry like rats when badges walk in. We talked with the police for a few moments then they left and Chuck and I had the house mopped and the yard cleaned up by 12:30 AM. Our patrol/cleaning lady shift ended much earlier than I had anticipated. I figured if I said the party ended midnight, I would still be kicking kids out at 1 AM.

After all was said and done I headed to the freezer in the garage and to my surprise I found two extremely cold Rolling Rock bottles that SOMEONE kindly placed in there. Its like someone put those two beers in there just for Chuck and I. I am sure if I asked if they belonged to someone, no one would have fessed up so I didn’t even bother. I just cracked the top and enjoyed.

I have plans started for July – we are off to NY again for a Yankees game and time with family at the cottage but there are still 10 days in June, 1/3 of the month and I don’t have a thing to do… any ideas?