Hugs with so much meaning

I love hugging and being hugged.  On the first day of our trip to California, we arrived just in time to pick up my niece who is in the 3rd grade.  We went to her school as the children were being dismissed.  She was walking with her back pack. When she saw us, she ran and gave me the biggest hug.  I could see it in her face and could feel it in her hug, how happy she was to see us.

Today, I felt many different types of hugs.  As my sister was returning to work after a four day hiatus, she gave me the longest heartfelt hug.  I will admit, at one point I was about to pull out of our hug, but could feel that she wasn't ready to let go.  The hug ended with tears in our eyes.  Though we will see each other here and there as we live across the united states.  The miles that separate us from seeing each other on a whim is so great that it is hard to say goodbye.  Her son gave me the ol' boys hug. pat pat, yeah, yeah, ok, goodbye.

The other hug was from her daughter as we brought her to school.  As she was going into the building she gave me that "lovey" hug that young girls give unconditionally.

Take the time today to give someone/something a hug with meaning in it and share that hug with me in the comment section.

Raffle Drawing Winner

On February 1st, I started my first "A New Beginning" Raffle Contest.  The raffle prize was   a Valentine Bead Set, includes 56 words, 12 accent beads and 10 feet of cord.  I am happy to announce that the Winner is Heather.   Heather has been contacted and the Valentine beads have been mailed.   Thank you to everyone that commented and joined to follow this blog.  






Roses are Red, 
Violets are Blue, 
Sugar is sweet 
and so are you.  

My first Paraffin and I'm hooked!

My girlfriend had given me a gift certificate to Elizabeth Grady Salon for a paraffin and manicure, in 2007.  With three boys and activities galore, I found it hard to take time for myself.  Fast forward three years later, I realized that I had not cashed in on my gift certificate, so I made an appointment and today I went in to have a manicure and paraffin.  It was my first paraffin and I'm hooked.

When you enter Elizabeth Grady, you are immediately transported into a zen environment with soft music humming in the background.  The walls are pristine and lined with a few of the Elizabeth Grady products. 

My manicurist brought me to a private room.  She began by soaking one of my hands in a warm soapy bowl of water and on the other hand, she filed and buffed my nails. After drying my hands, she applied a hand cream and massaged my lower arms, hands and fingers.  I could feel the tension slowly dissipating from my fingers with each massage.  Next came the paraffin.  She had two warm bags of paraffin, a warm melted thick wax. As she placed my hands' into the paraffin bags, she continued to massage the warm wax into my hands and wrists.  Each hand was then placed in a terry cloth mitt, and I was allowed to sit and relax.  When she took the paraffin off, I could not believe how moisturized my hands looked and felt.  

I chose to have my nails painted with a light soft pink nail polish.  She painted one clear bottom coat enriched with vitamins, 2 layers of light pink nail polish and one layer of fast drying top coat.  I was then allowed to sit and relax as my nail polish set.  The hardest part of my afternoon, was putting on my coat and taking the keys out of my pocket.  I didn't want to smudge my newly painted nails.  The whole process took an hour of my day and was well worth it.  Note: Elizabeth Grady Salon caters to both men and women.

I highly recommend taking the time to pamper yourself, especially during this Valentine month.  Look what I just did, I stretched a celebration day into a month.  If it's not with a manicure, then I would suggest a bubble bath with a good book and a hot cup of tea.  Another idea is to drive to an Audubon area and take a walk or just sit and reflect. 

 Do you have an ideas on how to pamper yourself? 

My Dad had heart

I entered a contest at Ice.com.  My entry is "My Dad had heart".  please click here and go over and vote for my submission. you have to be logged into facebook to vote.  I appreciate all of the support.

Loving Valentine's Day

For as long as I can remember, I have always loved Valentine's Day.  I get giddy when I see pink, red, hearts, and roses.  


When I was younger, my dad would buy his four daughters these red heart jelly chewy candy from a local candy shop, Mrs. Nelson's, located in Chelmsford, Mass.   When I go into Mrs. Nelson's to buy my boys their Valentine candies, I get a tinge of nostalgia and miss my dad and his sweet ways.


When my boys were growing up, I would decorate the kitchen with red hearts.  On Valentine's morning, I would make cinnamon rolls and serve them on these adorable ceramic heart conversation plates.  I would make a big red heart card made of construction paper.  And like their christmas ornament collection, I started a heart collection for them.  Each year, I would find a heart product that I just wanted them to have.  They have paper weights, pillows, and other heart trinkets. 


For many years, I hosted a valentine's card making party.  It was a brunch with a variety of paper products for everyone to share.  We would all make two cards during this brunch.  One to keep and the other to put into our "yankee valentines card swap".   I have a collection of cards that I've made and a set of those that other friends have made.  


What do you do to celebrate Valentine's Day?    Comment below by 2/8/10, for your chance to win a Valentine raffle.  The raffle prize will be a Valentine Bead Set, includes 56 words, 12 accent beads and 10 feet of cord.

Celebrating A New Beginning

When I started this blog, I had expectations that I would be able to blog every day.  As it is, I have many ideas or topics to blog about, but there are days that keep me away from the computer.  I have come to realize that this is not a bad thing in my life.  Everything needs a time and place.  Projects need to be prioritized.  The more that I am away from the computer; the more that I am doing something to experience life.   


Scheduled appoints are easy to keep. They have set parameters.  When you're an at home mom, each day is different.  When I choose to do one thing, often other things will slide.


Do you have a list of things that you want to accomplish each day?  do you set specific times for those tasks?  Feel free to let me know.


~~ Celebrating A New Beginning.  I placed the 15 names that  follow this blog, as of today, into a hat and pulled one name.  Marsha is the winner of a new journal.  

Thank you to all of you for being so kind to follow my blog.  I appreciate it.  Please tell your friends to follow as I will be raffling a  $25.00 American Express Gift Card when I have 100 followers.