OMGosh!!

I just had to post again today! We're going to Paris on the Eurostar! When we checked fares and times this am, it was 1/2 the price it was yesterday and there were so many early times that we could take it. So, we're going to leave London at 5:25 am!! We'll get in to Paris about 9 am and have the whole day there, leaving around 7pm to get back to London about 8:30! YIPPEE!!!!

So excited I can't stand it!!!

What a week!! I'm so excited that I can't stand it! On Monday I offically registered for the Mediterranean Cruise that I earned through Close To My Heart. What a "once in a lifetime opportunity"!!! We had originally thought we'd fly out a day early to arrive in Barcelona with some extra sightseeing time, plus, to be on the safe side in case there was an unforseen airline delay. Well, we're doing that and more!!

CTMH has put together some fantastic excursions for us, and one was the extra day in Barcelona. No having to book our own room or anything. It's all planned out for us. And, the icing on the cake was, we could also book two days in London!! So, book we did!! Due to the time difference, I think we'll leave NY on the evening of the 1st of October. This way, we'll get in bright and early on the 2nd and have the whole day for sightseeing. Plus, with any luck at all, I'll sleep through a lot of the flight! LOL!! I'm not big on flying...I've only flown once. I hate giving up control of my life to somebody else...what if the guy in the 3rd row's number is up? You get the idea!

And, now I've been exploring going to Paris during one of those London days. After all, I never dreamed I'd be that close...how can I not go?? I've found a fabulous 3 hour walking tour that covers all of the best things in Paris.

So, this is what our trip is looking like at this point.

10/1 Leave NY
10/2 Arrive in London and spend the day sightseeing

10/3 I think we will then fly or take the Eurostar (haven't decided yet) into Paris then back to London for more sightseeing.

10/4 Fly to Barcelona and enjoy the day there

10/5 More sightseeing in Barcelona and then board the Norwegian Gem Cruise ship at 7pm

10/6 Out to Sea

10/7 Valleta which is the capital of the island of Malta

10/8 Naples, Pompeii, Sorrento & Capri
We depart from the port of Naples and head towards Pompeii . Here we will find the incredibly well preserved ruins of this ancient Roman town where in the year 79AD at the volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius life came to a halt. The plaster cast figures of the fleeing inhabitants, the amphitheatre, the houses of the wealthy families and the red light district attract visitors from all over the world, making Pompeii one of the most frequented tourist attractions in the country. After our guided tour of the ruins our coach takes us to Sorrento where we can have lunch at one of the sidewalk cafes and time at leisure. We will then head towards the pier of Sorrento where we will travel on a hydrofoil to the island of Capri . Once there we will be taken to the town of Capri and will be allowed free time to explore this beautiful island and city that has been a resort for the wealthy and nobility since the time of the Caesars. We will then descend by cable car and board a ferry that will take us to the port of Naples .

10/9 Rome, Italy
After riding through the beautiful countryside into Rome , our tour begins at the Trevi Fountain, perhaps the most beautiful and famous fountain in Rome ! Our guide will then introduce us to the Roman Empire, walking through what was the heart of ancient Rome , the Forum. We will walk by the Senate House, where the destiny of the Western world was decided, and will see the very spot from which Marc Anthony delivered his famous - "Friends, Romans,Countrymen” speech, on the assassination of Julius Cesar. Then, we will continue on to the Coliseum, symbol of power and eternity of Ancient Rome. It is said, “If the Coliseum should fall, Rome and the world will follow”. It was the largest amphitheater in the ancient world, where heroic gladiators and fierce animals challenged each other to the death, all for the pleasure of the Emperor and the public. Then we will continue on to the Arch of Constantine, commemorating the conversion of pagan Rome to Christianity. To complete this tour, we will drive by the famous Circus Maximum, the site of Ben Hur's chariot race, the Theater of Marcello, a forerunner of the Coliseum and will finish off in modern times in Piazza Venezia, to admire the huge white “wedding cake” marble monument to King Victor Emmanuel II, built at the turn of the last century. We will then stop for lunch at a restaurant situated in the famous piazza Navona. After lunch we will be transported to St. Peter’s square, for our guided visit of the piazza and the largest church in the world. View one of Michelangelo’s masterpiece “La Pieta”. Upon exit of the basilica we will then board your coach for a transfer back to the Civitavecchia Pier.

10/10 Pisa and Florence
A very full day of touring…with a lot of walking, but we have two famous cities to visit and will come away with a wonderful introduction to both!
After a short drive, we will stop first in Pisa ; a historic medieval university town located on the Arno River , a few miles inland from the Tyrrhenian Sea . We will walk to the famous Square of Miracles , and view the unique and very famous leaning tower together with the 11th century Cathedral.
Back on board our deluxe motor coach, we will continue on to Florence , the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance. Without a doubt, this is one of the world’s great historic cities. Over 500 years ago Florence became the “ Golden City ”, with an incredible explosion of intellectual and artistic life. Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and Donatello top the list of artists who made their debut in Florence during the 16th century. Our guide will lead us through open-air markets to the Ponte Vecchio, the famous bridge that attracts so much curiosity because of its uniquely charming appearance and the fabulous jewelry shops lining this ancient landmark.We will visit the Academy Gallery, famous for its sculptures by Michelangelo: the Prisoners, the St. Matthew and, especially, the statue of David.

10/11 This half-day tour begins with a short orientation of Nice, capital of theFrench Riviera . Then we depart for the Principality of Monaco via the lowercoastal road. We stop in Monte-Carlo to see the casino gardens and casino/opera. Then we will enjoy a short drive to the Rock of Monaco for a walking guided tour of the old city. We will return to Nice via the middle coastal road.

10/12 Arrive back in Barcelona and board out plane for the US

Will October ever get here??

After seeing all of this, I just have to earn the next trip to New Zealand in 2010!!

Have a great day, everybody!! I know that I will!

Suz

New pictures of our colt

I can't believe he's a week old already! Here are a couple of new pictures. Please excuse the red-eye.

He's already flying around the stall. We've been calling him Crazy Legs as his long legs just seem to go every which way. LOL!

It's a Boy!

Noooo!!! Not me!! LOL!! One of our mares has been pregnant for 1 year, and she finally had her baby last night. These pictures were taken this am. He's about 10 hrs old. Too cute!!!

Here are a few pictures.

Till next time!
Suz

Excited!

I am so excited! I've just been chosen by my bank to be their Business of the Month! Now I need to get busy and create my Close To My Heart display. What a fabulous way to showcase the gorgeous products that Close To My Heart carries! I couldn't be more thrilled!


I've also branched out to try my hand in a layout contest. This is stepping out of the box for me. So, if you like my layout, I hope that you will place a vote.

Vote Here

Well, I better run. I have 40 cards to make today for a project that I'm doing. Until next time...which with any luck at all, won't be many days from now....

I can't believe it's been soooo long!

Wow! I can't believe it's been so long since I've added to my Blog! I need to get better at keeping things up to date.

Let's see...what has happened in life since my last post in Sept.

• Halloween
• Thanksgiving
• Christmas
• New Year's
• My Birthday
• Pneumonia..yes, I was sick for my birthday and Valentine's day. UGH!
• Valentines
• St. Patrick's Day
• Easter

Have I forgotten anything? LOL!! Every day seems to run into the next!

The exciting news is, I earned a FREE Mediterranean Cruise through Close To My Heart!! I'm so excited! They've just announced our next trip and it's to New Zealand! Wow!!

I am definitely going to start posting more often, and include some of my Close To My Heart artwork. So, put me on your list of Blogs to check!

September 11th

Today is still such a sad day. While I didn't know anyone personally who perished or lost a family member or friend, it's still so fresh. With today being the first Tuesday 9/11 since it happened, it brought back so many memories. So much has happened since then. For me, I was driving into the city and can still remember the spot on the road where I was when the local DJ's came over the radio and said a plane had hit one of the towers. I quickly switched to Bloomburg radio for news. I was on my way to meet my best friend, to drop some things at her house, before I did the rest of my errands for the day. When I got to her house, she was outside waiting for me to arrive. I asked her if she had heard anything, and she had not as she was not a morning TV watcher. I headed to my next stop of the grocery store and she headed off to work. By the time I reached the grocery store, the 2nd tower had been hit. Since I was only hearing snippits of radio stories, I had no visuals at that time. I remember heading to the Advanced Auto Parts store to pick up something for my husband. While in there, the Pentagon was hit. They had a TV on in the store and we just stood there in shock. I made quick work in there and headed for my last stop. While in that store, the news of the plane crash in PA came over the radio. I grabbed what I had to have and headed for home. I just wanted to get home to the safety of my home.

I remember standing in front of the TV most of the day and calling my friend at work, and she calling me. We cried and prayed throughout the day.

Driving in to the city today brought back so much, and also brought more sad memories as that best friend passed away the following June from breast cancer. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think of her. The tears have been close to the surface today and have spilled a few times. Watching the children of September 11 on Oprah today was so sad. I can't imagine what they have lived with for the last 6 years. My thoughts and prayers are with them today.

God Bless America!

Welcome, Sunshine!

Ooh...ooh...ooh....come on....you can do it! Come on sun....you can come out!

You made it!! Woo Hoo!! This is the first glimpse of sun we've seen in about a week! Summers are short enough in upstate NY, but, we just had a long spell of 60 degree weather and no sunshine. Now, I'm a hot weather lovin' girl, so, I'm not ready for summer to be over yet! Thankfully, it's back! 90 degrees yesterday and they're predicting 92-94 today. Yay!! OK....call me crazy! LOL!

Hope the sun shines upon you today! Have a great one!

Welcome!

Well, it's about time I got into "this bloggin' thing". My husband always says I have too many irons in the fire, so to speak. But, I can't be the last one getting on the blogging train.


My grandson and I have been busy taking pictures of "all things nature" lately. I recently got a new Nikon D50 camera, and, I'm loving it. I seem to spend more time looking for things to take pictures of than anything else!

This was the sky this am as I was walking back up from feeding the horses. The sun was trying to come through the clouds, and I thought it was just so pretty.

We have some of the most amazing sunsets. Since we live out in the country, there are no city lights to light up the sky. Below is one of the most amazing photos I have ever taken.

Our 4 yr. old grandson is really into butterflies. When he's on the tractor with his Papa, he steers the tractor nice and straight until he sees a butterfly. Then...watch out! He gets looking at that butterfly and starts driving right toward it. So, while he was here Sunday, we decided to go take some pictures of the butterflies. Here's one of the shots we took.