Visit with Chrystal

This past weekend, I drove to Uniontown, Ohio to visit my friend from childhood, Chrystal Selvey Rutigliano. Uniontown is a suburb of Canton which was a 4 hour drive one way, so originally I wasn't sure if I would make it due to my back issues. But I decided to just do it and drive there.

Thank goodness I thought to buy a few audio books to help time pass! I started the drive at 10am and got there about 2pm. It was so nice to see Chrystal.  She hasn't changed much at all! Her friend, Vivian just moved to her area so she is staying with them and she is a fun woman as well (in the gray).

Dave, Chrystal's brother was there as well, and when us girls went to dinner we took along Yvette, Dave's girlfriend (far right). 

It is hard to believe that 20 years has passed since I was in Chrystal's wedding. Chrystal scrapbooks so we looked at her wedding album-man I look so young in it! It was a nice blast from the past!

RIP Peppi

Wow, it's been a long time since I posted anything. That was mainly due to the fact that they changed the blog format and I was too lazy to learn it!

Today, my sister, Erika's dog, Peppi, died of a brain tumor. It is so sad for their whole family. Rebecca took it the hardest-she is the most sensitive when it comes to that. Of course, some of the kids haven't had the sad feelings set in just yet.  Erika told me that Rebecca wrote a letter to Peppi that told him that he'll be singing puppy praises in heaven. I was tearing up when Erika told me that. Pets are such a blessing in our lives and it especially hurts because they are part of the family.

St. Louis to Cadiz

Monday of President's Day Andrea and I drove down to Cadiz. We got to meet Leiah Joy, Erika and Brian's 5th child! Here's Andrea with her:Erika with her baby girl:Me with Leiah Joy:Andrea's kids had put a few bins together with toys they are too old for and Erika's kids love them!
Kaylen and Rebecca playing with the toys:
I stayed the week in Cadiz while Andrea drove back. She picked me up the next week. While I was there, I went to the basketball games the three older kids were involved in. Here I am with Kaylen, obviously an unhappy camper:
Scotti was also visiting. Scotti is Brian's mom. Here they are sitting in the stands.
Rebecca and I before her basketball game:
Sebastian playing defense in his game (left of center in red jersey). He actually made a basket at the end of the game: very exciting!
Sebastian again:
I was so proud of Rebecca and those other girls. They stopped during play to help a girl up! True sportsmanship:Rebecca during the game:Lauren coming out to cheer for one of the teams:

President's Day in St. Louis

I drove to Radcliff, KY to meet up with my sister, Andrea. We then drove her minivan to St. Louis. When I got there, her son, Garrett, gave me a Valentine's card. It was so sweet! I came to St. Louis to help Andrea and her family organize. Here are the donation boxes after several days of work.

We had the kids clean their room and then one of the days we went into the basement and took out all recyclable materials. It is amazing how much original packaging is a space sucker!

Here's my niece, Talia (16) at the end of the weekend.

To celebrate, Andrea took me and two of her girls out to dinner. We went to Stir Crazy, a stir fry restaurant. Here's the guy frying up my dish:

Here's Olivia (15), Andrea, and Marina (13) at the restaurant:
All of us at our table:

After dinner the four of us went to see the movie, The Vow. I thought it was pretty good. :)

Super Bowl Party

For the Super Bowl, John and I went to Don and Corinne Kidd's with John's community group. It was a potluck like most events here so there is always variety!

Before the game started, John rode the rocking horse he made for Daniel, Don and Corinne's 2 year old son. It is such a well-made gift! I sat on it briefly and it is really sturdy. This is John's favorite pose (side view looking off in the distance):

Sorry I don't have more pictures from this event. I was bummed the Patriots didn't win. :(

New Home in West Chester, Ohio!

Saturday, January 21st, I made my last leg of the trip-from Cadiz, KY to West Chester, Ohio. It was only 300 miles...about 5 hours. I was told that Ohio is much colder than Kentucky and boy is that right! As I drove over the state line, the grass went from green to white! There was just an ice storm the other night.

John met up with me as I was going through the final paperwork with the Landings of Beckettridge staff. She also gave us the tour (pointing out any little blemishes) and after I signed the papers, it became my new apartment!

Once we were alone, John went out to his car and brought me this bouquet to say "Welcome to Ohio!"

The Landings at Beckett Ridge staff gave me this welcome package-isn't that nice?
Here is the kitchen from the dining room:

The stove with a dish towel my sister, Tanya, made from retro tablecloths:

My new bathroom:

Nice linen closet in the bathroom:

Living room and dining room from the front door:

We didn't have any furniture so John fashioned a table out of a box I had brought up from my car. We toasted my new place with a glass of Virgil's Black Cherry Creme Soda. It was really sweet.

We (well I) had to go shopping so we headed to Kroger and I stocked up. Then we cashed in on a free pizza at Donato's which I got in my welcome folder. :) It wasn't half bad. All in all, it was a great first day in Ohio.

A few days in Cadiz

I drove from Sunday to Wednesday, over 2,150 miles so I was looking forward to a few days rest from driving.

While I was there, I had offered to make an old family recipe-made rights for Erika and her family. Made Rights are a type of sloppy joe, but not as spicy. Here is the ground beef and onions while I was cooking:To go with Made Rights, I made my mom's macaroni salad, although we couldn't find salad macaroni (small pasta) so we settled for a combination of shells and elbow macaroni. I'm a big red onion fan, so I added a bit too much for the kid's tastes but overall they liked it. :)