HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Halloween is one of my 3 most favorite holidays...I guess it just depends on the year and those who i'm with that really makes the day something special. True, it was great when you got to dress up and go house to house taking candy from strangers, visiting grandparents and parading around school in your Pee Wee Herman costume (I still have the costume from 2nd grade), but it takes a little more effort these days.

My mom and her friends invented a clever Halloween event which they called "Spooking." It consists of a few friends dressing up, stuffing pillows here and there, changing your body shape, posture and voice, and totally covering all your skin so that people don't know who you are. Then you hop in an unidentifyable vehicle and head out to friends' houses.

The best thing about spooking is that you're not polite. Usually while trick or treating you ring the doorbell, wait for the people to come to the door, have a conversation and be on your way. Not so with Spooking. You just walk right in, unannounced, and do whatever is necessary to scare the pants off of people you know. That tradition has been passed down to me and my friends.

Ah the times where we can sit around some halloweens and think of all the people we spooked...my cousin Brett at her Halloween party, Miller and Loucks after Millers surgery, the Cambergs....did we end up going to Mr. Mac's House?? I don't know, but i can remember it like it was yesterday. Me, Becca, Rachel and Missy...you're in trouble when you put us 4 together with tubs of costumes from my basement. We laughed so hard and had a great night, no one knew who we were! The best part was that my mom was always in on the act...either dressing up with us or driving the get-away car!

My mom truly is my hero and best friend...in fact she was a little disappointed this year when i told her i had a meeting at 8:30 Halloween Night. Spooking events don't usually start until 10:00pm or so, but on a Monday night who knows who we'll find awake. That and we're not sure who to spook this year. We're running out of people who haven't heard of our spooking episodes, either we've spooked them, or bragged about it to many people the day after...we need to learn to keep our mouths shut, but it's SOOOOO FUNNY!

So whether we go out or not tonight, we can't say...we'll dress up and make a round to the nursing home, and then I'll go to my meetings, probably in costume to try and scare some people around Bona's. Maybe there'll be a blog about it tomorrow...maybe not.

So to all of you who have been a spooker or spookee...HAPPY HALLOWEEN and thanks for the memories!

In Honor of Rosa Parks

Today a very important woman in the American Civil Rights Movement has passed away. Rosa Parks was born February 4, 1913 and died October 24, 2005.

I wanted to honor Rosa on my blog today, because my friend Becca has married an amazing black man, Denis, and who knows if this would ever have happend had it not been for Rosa Parks. So now every February we get to appreciate Rosa and Becca (since she thinks she's Black), and all the African Americans who are amazing people and who have impacted America.

So thank you Rosa, for being an amazing woman, and not giving up your seat on that bus. You will be remembered every time I look at Becca, and have to go to the back of the bus.

For more information on the AMAZING Rosa Parks check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Parks

A Day in the Life

Today is Thursday, October 20. I'm riding home from a conference in Albany, and accessing the internet! It's an amazing new contraoption, a wireless card that works off of satellite, so i can be online virtually anywere at anytime. Not too shabby!

It's been a long week, but a great weekend started it off. Friends upon friends from highschool were home this weekend, and it was nice to reconnect and catch up. It was like we were 17 again, carving pumpkins, watching soccer, and laughing until we snort or Mountain Dew comes out our noses! (remember that night at Friendly's bec?) Things couldn't have gone any smoother if we planned it that way. Of course there were a few key people missing, Brooke, Anna, Claire, but for being pretty spontaneous I can't complain.

It's always nice having time to hang out with best friends that you have kept in touch with since highschool, but it's even nicer to know what and how everyone is doing. Playing who were they, where are they now, what do they look like, and what is their sexual preference...to which i'm a little embarassed of some of the answers i got! I found that 3 of my 4 relationships had been with guys who are now, how shall i say it, a little gay. Quite funny now that i think of it, and a little easier to swallow since i was not their last female relationship, but still...coincidence or not?

Anywhoo...great weekend. Now for my week. Monday: A day at good ol' St. Bonaventure University. Typical day, uneventful, dealing with stupid people. Tuesday, Bona's in the morning, hair appointment (which by the way was much needed, and my new hair cut and highlight looks HOTT!), then off to Albany with 4 girls i work with, for a 2 day conference. We stayed at a Super 8, and believe me it was NOT SUPER! No alarm clocks, no hairdryer to style my HOTT new haircut, tiny room, no internet connection...definately one of the lesser rooms that i have stayed in, and belive me, for as much as i've travelled in the past month, isn't a good rating.

So now we're driving home, after skipping out early, and will be home soon but not after our pitstop at the Waterloo Outlets! Back to Bona's tomorrow for another uneventful day, but with a home game to finish the day. Hope we can pull out another win! Go BONA's!

Picture-off

So i think now that Rachel has her new camera, we should have a picture-off and those who love us the most can judge! Hahaha, just kidding, the only ones who read this blog are pretty much Becca and Rachel, so if i vote for myself and Rachel votes for herself, then Becca is the deciding vote, and I wouldn't put her in that position...

Can I say how very disappointed i am in this gloomy weather, it really puts a damper on the picture taking. I was so looking forward to capturing the amazing autumns we have here in WNY, but without the sun shining, all the colors seem to be muted. It takes me an extra effort to remind myself that this is all God's creation, and I should appreciate it at all times, but there's something about a sunny day in fall that just takes my breath away.

I guess this is just a testing time for not only my faith but my photography as well. Now i have to search hard for original, eye-catching shots, angles, and not so ordinary colors. The picture up top is of a Indian corn cob on the side of the road stand. I got out to take some pictures of the hill across the road, and pulled into the driveway of this roadside stand. I wasn't impressed by the colors of the leaves so i started taking pictures of gourds, corn, and pumpkins that were all around. That's when i saw this beauty. Not only are the kernels different colors, but there is a swirl to them as well, something you don't see every day.

If i can take one decent shot a day for the rest of my life, that's a pretty substantial portfolio. I'm starting to collect some of my best work and keep it on file, check out some of those shots i think are some of my best work... Although you may have seen them all before, now they are compact into one album. So what'dya think?

That's it for me for today...check you all in a bit!

Alias vs Survivor

vs.










Here's my dilemma. Alias and Survivor are on at the same time. For the past 2 weeks I have had to tape Alias because I was on the road for soccer, thus having to watch it Mondays when I got home. This week, or tonight, i will be home to watch it, but here's the catch. A few guys from Bona's get together on Thursday Nights to watch Survivor. Although I haven't hung out, hung out with them, they still are nice enough to invite me over to watch Survivor week after week. So I feel I owe them something and myself something too by trying to make new friends. Don't get me wrong, none are "boyfriend" material, but they are new friends none-the-less.

Here's where the Dilemma comes in. My bestest best friends and I usually watch Alias separately but together, (in our own homes but at the same time) and usually try to figure out all that is going on either during the commericals or afterwards. This is really the only time we know eachother is going to be home, and it's a nice constant for me. To tell you the truth, this is one of the main reasons i got into Alias in the first place, so that the three of us would have something to talk about.

So not only is it Alias vs. Survivor but it is now Best friends vs. New friends...so you can see why it's hard...

I have taken a poll (not really, just racked my brain for awhile) and have come to this conclusion:

I will tape Alias from 8-9 and watch Survivor with the newby's. Then i will race home and watch the taped ALIAS which will only take me about 40 minutes becuase i can fast-forward through the commericals, and still have time to talk to Bec and Rach before we all go to bed. So Bec, Rach, if you're reading this, please DON'T call me immediately following ALIAS, but I will call you after i finish watching it tonight.

Happy Anniversary

Sooooo, here's the happy couple! Married 2 years today, October 11th. I cannot believe it's been 2 years. I can remember the beautiful 70 degree day like it was yesterday. The leaves were at their peak, the sun was shining and i was glowing like a pig! Rachel and I had both been home before hand trying to get things ready and perfect, yup you guessed it, she and I made her wedding happen! It was a great day full of laughter, tears (on Mike's part, not Rachel's, she laughed at him the whole day), and a bridesmaid who fainted. Luckily Christy and I were there to catch her, and it went pretty unnoticed.

Through this day and the weeks leading up to this day is when Rachel and I became even better friends. The two of us did EVERYTHING! We printed out the programs, tied the bows to the wedding favors, decorated the church, lit the candles...you name it, Rachel and I did it. It was some of the best days of my life. Rachel-I'm so glad that i could be there to help you out during that time, I am now capable of planning and throwing a wedding!

After Becca got married in December of 2002, I thought that Rachel and I would live together for awhile and sulk together for not being married, but on April 15th, i got the dreaded phone call..."Jaime, i have some news..." to which i responded "OH NO RACHEL!!!" I knew what was coming... "Mike and I are engaged!" It's tough being happy for her and sad for me at the same time...how do you hide your true selfish feelings?? But i did, and faked being happy or something like that.

But looking back 2 years, Mike is such an amazing man and makes Rachel so happy, that how can i still be selfish. Yes i now have to share both my best friends with husbands, but it's nice to know that when ever they get sick of living with a man every day, dealing with man things, every day, that I will be here for some girl time, where i can even make their boy problems disappear.

Rach: I'm so happy you're married to Mike, you are perfect for eachother. He makes you laugh and supports you in all that you do, and you can put up with his every comment for everything. You truly compliment eachother, and I'm honored to still be a part of your lives.

Mike: Thank you for taking such good care of Rachel, and although you had to move to Pittsburgh to get her all to yourself, it's always nice to have you welcome me into your home and treat me like the good friends we have become. You are a wonderful man of God, someone who can honor, respect, and mentor anyone. Rachel has grown so much in the last 2 years with you by her side.

Mike and Rach, congratulations on 2 wonderful years together. May the Lord Bless you with many many more wonderful years together.

On the road again...

So here I am, at another hotel for another weekend. If I can count correctly I've been in 7 different hotels in 5 different states in the past month. I used to like traveling, but now my body starts to get that "longing for home" feeling as soon as I sit my butt down in a van or bus seat. I'm not sure how the celebrities do it, a different city a different day, maybe it's a little easier when you're making hundreds of thousands of dollars per day. Me, I'm doing this on a $15 dollar a day salary, while doing the driving and losing soccer games. I know that it's part of the job, but i'm not sure how much more i can take!

There are perks, however. Like right now I'm in Richmond, VA and my sister Katie (see picture)

has joined me for the journey. She just recently moved to Fairfax Station, VA to pursue a career in Criminal Justice for the Public Defender. She's holding her own, and i'm proud of her. She's surrounded by shopping, her favorite thing to do, so I might have to make the trip down myself a few times during the year.

So back to soccer...we've stayed in some doosies of hotels, some nice, some not so nice...but it's all part of the experience, right? I'm getting to know the girls, but don't know how things are going to pan out for next year. There has been a lot of stress along with this journey, and although the girls are great, i'm not sure how much i can take. But who knows.

It's 8:30 now, and i'm exhausted. Flying and driving, flying and driving and lack of sleep is catching up to me and i'm going to be an old lady and kick back for the evening. So this is Jaime, signing off for yet another blog.

I like to take pictures...

So I like to take pictures and here is one of my latest photos, since i've been busy with soccer and work and work (yup that's 3 jobs), i haven't taken a whole lot. This photo was probably taken a couple weeks back, along with many closeups (check out my album). These Gladiolas were grown in my dad's garden and he's quite proud of all that he's been able to harvest this year.

I can't wait to have some free time and go explore the fall world (with my wicked awesome Canon Powershot Pro1 8 megapixel digital camera which i thought was the awesomest camera, but now Rachel is getting an even sweeter one) and take pictures of the wonderful colored trees, hopefully it will be Monday when I call in sick to work and sleep in and watch movies, and the ALIAS episode that i have to tape, yet again.

My life has been crazy busy, traveling up and down the east coast for the majority of September, and this coming weekend the team goes to Charlotte, NC and then to Richmond, VA. This, hopefully, will be the last roadtrip for a few weeks and I can start settling down and back into a routine.

I apologize for not making this exciting, I guess i'll just have to start doing some shout-outs or quizzes...just do me a favor and check out my pics...and have a great day!

So my Best Friends forgot my Birthday....

So lets talk about why I have created this Blog :
1) To be able to post my answers to Becca's Blog
2) To do whatever it takes to keep in contact with my bestest best friends in the world, to make sure they know when certain special occasions are.

So anyways...Yes it is true to my best friends may have forgotten to call me on my birthday, and although i LOVE to raz them about it and hold it over their heads, this is my way of relating to them that i am not hurt nor angry, that I love them with all my heart, and appreciate all they have done form, especially spending the weekend celebrating my birthday.

So Bec, Rach...no hard feelings at all, I love you, and I forgive you.