Happy Birthday Brian

Happy Birthday to my BIG Brother, "Brian Owen Owix", whom I love very much. Thank you for always being such a great big brother and always looking out for me.

Love,
your little sis, "Karen"

Believe it!!!!!!!!!

Supposedly New Kids on the Block are reuniting. They must be out of money. Yes, I was a HUGE fan and even met a young Mark Wahlberg, when a bunch of us silly girls attempted to get a piece of the action at the hotel they were staying at. We must have been out of our minds.

OH...the memories of youth....and call me crazy, I would go if there was a chance I could round up Jessica, Natalie, Leslie, Becky, Meredith, Megan, Kelly...are any of you still out there???

January Isn't All That Bad

I feel a little bit stuck, a tiny bit trapped...because its January, which for us Midwesterners means cold, and snow, or better yet that nasty "Old Man Winter" staunchly guarding our front door. I neglected to get Massimo a pair of boots or snow pants. He's not walking yet, so what's the point?? (FYI - he's soooo almost there - keep reading).

So as I stare blankly out the window in to the oh so quiet snow-filled street, I begin to brainstorm about the things I actually like about a month I so rightly hate.

Hmmmmm......it took me awhile.

Snuggling under the covers is one of my all-time favs. Massimo is FINALLY sleeping through the night, but the new morning ritual is him cuddling up between mom and dad in the early morning hours. Its quiet, its warm, and there is peace. January is actually....peaceful.

I also love a hot cup of java too. I have this "warming" theme going on here.

No walks, no running (unless I can sneak off to my mom's for an hour on the treadmill which just isn't the same), so I've decided to fall in love with YOGA again. FitTV has a 22 minute program that varies every other day. Running will always be my first love, but YOGA is defintely my center for January.

As I spend many hours of the day with Massimo, practicing his steps, between his naps, laundry, phone calls, and my office duties, I sneak in sunny daydreams about the coming months. How nice spring will be, going to the pool in the early mornings sounds heavenly, and the elusive "out-of-state" trip we are working on gets my blood pumping...oh yeah, and the YOGA gets my blood pumping too.

I promise myself ahead of time to appreciate every summer day - as far off as that may be.


At least there's American Idol!! Oh - and LOST starts next week. Gotta love the tube!!!!

My 2 Grandmas

Word of the Day
nonagenarian \non-uh-juh-NAIR-ee-uhn; no-nuh-\, noun:

A ninety year old person; someone whose age is in the nineties

Happy "that its a" New Year

Happy New Year everyone. I finally feel like I'm catching up on everything. The decorations have been put away, the returns made, the cookies eaten (mostly by ME). I'm finally catching up on the end of the year Paint Boss work. Dominic had a phenomenal year - his first completely on his own. He is living his dream of being his own boss and he is certainly good at it. I am no doubt his biggest supporter and #1 Fan (not to mention his trusted partner and sounding board). We took a really big chance last year and we made the right decision.

The kids are growing up before our eyes. Lizzy is halfway through her freshman year of highschool and heading off to Disneyworld next weekend to sing with chorus and DJ is that much closer to junior high with an itch for football (we really hope he decides to play this year). Its hard to believe that when I met them, Lizzy was in 2nd grade, and DJ was just out of diapers. Speaking of diapers, our little man, Massimo had a great first year. It started out a little rough when he was born with jaundis and a hernia that required emergency surgery, but the rest of 2007 sailed by in a flash. He is toying with the idea of walking, still a little unsure with the steps, but afraid of nothing, which is not always a good thing. His vocabulary grows a little bit more everyday since he will repeat (as best he can) ANY word you say. We call him our "little daredevil" or more appropriately, "punk!".

As for me, being a stay-at-home mom and managing The Paint Boss deems no special medal. I do it because I love it, I most certainly enjoy being at home and being Mrs. Paint Boss. Right now I am in the process of completeing the RICA program at St. Mary's Church here in Des Plaines. I will make my communion and confirmation the Saturday evening before Easter. I spend one day a week at church for a few hours with a group of really great people. My faith has truly grown. I do miss working out of the house sometimes, but plan to take a few educational courses this year to put myself back on the map of teaching. I also completed two 5K runs - one in June and another in October, improving my time by about 4 minutes in the latter race.

Does this sound like a letter that should have been in your Christmas card??? Probably, I just didn't have the time to write until now.

I wish everyone a 2008 filled with JOY!!

Love,
Erin