Little neph and my Momma came down from Jersey today! Sooooooo glad to see them. I missed that little man so much! ...and my Mom too! I worked, had sushi with Katie, did hot yoga, and went to see everyone at my Sissy and Bro's place afterwards. Hubs was working. Big neph was sweet as pie tonight. They ordered dinner while I was at yoga so I ate some leftover salad and wings when I got there. They had ordered pizza too, Anthony's no less, but I refrained. Sissy had some boxes delivered today, so we were playing in her closet again. She gave me these boots. :) How freakin' cute??? Can't wait for winter!

Then my Mom and I went into the guest bedroom. Wouldn't let anyone come in with her but me. We sat down. She handed me a box. Beautifully wrapped in black paper with a big red bow. I held it for a minute. Shook it gently. Tried to figure out what it could be... I read the card. "From Rivka to Basha to Leba to Rivka..." Whatever was in the box, was my Great Grandma's. (Grandma Rachel, Rivka) She had given it to her daughter, (my Nana Bessie, Basha) who passed it on to her Daughter, (My Mom, Lesley, Leba) ...who was now passing it down to me. (Rivka) I slowly removed the wrapping paper. Underneath the paper was a black box. I anxiously took off the lid. Inside was a little jewelry box. I held it in my hands for a minute...still trying to imagine what was in there. If this "gift" had been in my family for the past 75 years, I'm sure I had seen it before...What could it be??? I held the box up to eye level, and slowly opened the lid.

Inside was the most beautiful diamond wedding band I had ever seen.

It was my Great Grandma, Rivka's ring. I can remember my Nana wearing it, and my Mom too, for parties, but tonight it looked totally different. Tonight it was mine! I immediately put it on. It fit perfectly! What a wonderful 50th birthday gift! I was blown away. Not only did my parents give me the most beautiful ring I have ever seen, but they gave me an heirloom. A special gift from the heart that has more meaning than anything in the world ever could!

Thank you so much Mom and Dad for the most special, and extravagant gift in the world. You have always been great parents, and this gift just proves it again. I will cherish this ring for the rest of my life. Probably even longer. I love you. Thank you!

Nana Bessie (Basha) and Mr Gorgeous.

Great Grandma Rachel. (Rivka)

The woman I am named after.

I never met you Grandma, but I love you.

Can't wait to meet you! xoxo

Guess what we got????

Today, while I was at work, Hubs went out and shopped. He actually made a big, huge decision on his own. Hubs and I took a Dave Ramsey course last year. We learned a lot about budgeting, spending, and saving our money. We usually discuss big purchases as a family. So you can imagine my dismay when I arrived home and found out that he had gone out and bought something for the house, on his own, without even talking to me about it first.

Kinda like our friend Phil who went out and bought a boat while his wife Charlene was away one weekend. ...but I digress.

So are you interested in hearing about our new addition?

I'll share it with you, 'cause we're friends.

OK.

My husband went out and spent our money on ....

Scroll down...

Wait for it...

Yup. A pool! Yes, lookout Michelle! The real estate in this 'hood is going up! Pool party at our house this weekend! Houston, we have pool.

Anyone up for a redneck BBQ?

Here he is. The man! The pool getter. My hubs. MJB. Whadda guy! Who's the luckiest girl?

Today was Monday. I had to remind myself my of that fact, since the last time I worked was Thursday and apparently my work calendar is how I know what day it is.. It's so weird not working. But alas, tomorrow is back to the grind. As I mentioned in a prior blog, it's been raining here since Friday. Not much to do about it, 'cept put on my plastic shoes and get out and see the world. Today started off with 11:00 hot yoga. Then came back home. Showered, made breakfast, finished up the closet, and went over to Sissy and Bro in Laws place. I was so happy to see them. It was amazing to see Big neph. He's is the sweetest young man! Played in Sissy's closet for a while, then, around 6pm, went to Weight Watchers. Lost another 1/2 pound. I'm down 29.6. Waiting for the day I hit 30! Should be soon!!! After WW, Hubs took a break from work, and we met Sissy BIL and Big neph at a Chinese restaurant by the house. Not a fancy place, but it was fine. (Thanks for dinner guys!) So to recap my last four days, I had a great loooooooong weekend. Only thing I missed was a coffee date with an old friend, but I hope to do that very soon! (Sorry Howard!) I slept, lunched on the beach, did yoga, organized closets, saw my family, hung with my dogs and celebrated the birth of our great nation. Who could ask for more than that? The best, most special time of the weekend was hanging with Sissy, BIL and Big Neph. There's nothing like family. Sooooo happy they are here! They make fun of me 'cause I say all kinds of mushy things, but hey, if you don't express your feelings, how will people know how you feel? :)

...and how could you not fall in love with this face? Love you so much Big Neph. Thanks for spending the day with me.

Your auntie adores you. xoxo

Happy Birthday America!!!

Today was a rainy day. All day long. Nothing but rain. It's been a dry summer so far, so I guess the trees and flowers really needed a drink. The dogs weren't too thrilled about the thunder. Unno was most miserable. She slept in the laundry room all day, and wasn't happy until I pulled the dryer door down. I think it made her feel like she was hiding. Poor thing.

The pups and I stayed in the entire day today. We cleaned out two closets and the kitchen cupboards. Cleaned, bagged and

boxed up. Good day.

Hubs worked.

Sissy, Bro in Law and Big neph should be here in about an hour. Not sure if we're gonna see each other tonight, or tomorrow, but either way, it's gonna be soon!!! I can't wait to see them!

'Specially that boy. He's been through so much this

summer. I just wanna see his face and know that he's ok. Well, other than that, not much to report from here.

To our armed forces:

Thank you for all that you do to allow us to live in freedom.

You are in our prayers.

Please come home soon.

On this, the birthday of our great nation, my heart is beating red, white and blue

...and I am filled with star-spangled happiness and banner waves of pride.

Happy Birthday America!

Hubby was off all day today! For the first time in a long time, we had a full Saturday to spend together. It was nice! He had wanted to go to the beach or pool today, but it was drizzly. Not a pool day. So of course I suggested shopping, my favorite past time! Got in the car and headed up about 1/2 hour north of us to Palm Beach! We went to CityPlace. Love it there. They have so many good stores and even more great restaurants! We had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. Thai lettuce wraps and a TBM Pizza (Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella) Visited the Harriet Himmel Theater. Went to some of my favorite stores. Anthropologie, White House Black Market, Restoration Hardware, Banana Republic, Chico's, Macy's, and Barnes and Noble... We have most of those shops here in Boca, but for some reason when we go to CityPlace, it always seems like we're on vacation! :) Yay! Bought some gifts, and two tops. Spent enough to get free parking and a $10 gift card for Panera Bread! Nice day!!! Tried on lots and lots of things! Needed a smaller size than I thought. No reason to go to Lane Bryant on this trip! Very happy. We had a blast. After CityPlace we drove around the corner to Clematis Street. Downtown West Palm Beach. It was Fleet Week! The streets were lined with Navy men! You gotta love a man in uniform! What a site. We saw the West Palm Beach Public Library. We walked the Pier on Flagler. And we stopped in to Sloan's for some ice cream. Cherries Jubilee with Caramel sauce and colored sprinkles.

Now we're home.

Watching Alice in Wonderland.

Enjoying the evening.

Hope you are too.

Happy Birthday Momma!

Today is my Mom's birthday! She's spending it with Daddy, and Middle & Little nephs in Montauk in Cousin Lippy's house. Lippy (Lisa) is like my Mom's 3rd daughter. Her hubby Zack, another son in law, and the girls! Oh those girls. They are amazing. They are my mom's Granddaughters, Zoe Zoe and Remi. When Auntie passed away, my mom stepped in. She went from Aunt Les to Surrogate Mom, Mom in law to Zack (sorry Zack) LOL... and especially Grandma to the girls. :) The girls were flower girls at our wedding. They are soooooooo delish.

The above is a picture from our wedding, 4 years ago. Big, middle & little nephs with sissy, and bro in law and mommy and daddy and hubs and me. The beauty on the left is Lippy and behind her is her handsome man, Zack and there's Mr. Gorgeous. The girls are the little beauties in the front, of course!

My family. I told you I was blessed.

Hi guys! Hope you are enjoying your time together!

Sending big hugs and kisses to all of you. Miss and love you guys tons!

Happy Birthday Momma!

May all your dreams come true, today and always! xoxo

Here's a picture of the lady of the hour. The birthday girl. My Mom.

Love you Ma.

Worked.

Had sushi.

Did Hot yoga.

Matt said I looked amazing!

Saving for a private class with him.

Taking off tomorrow.

Four day weekend.

Spoke to old friends on Facebook tonight.

I love when people I know, know each other...and I didn't know it.

My neighbor Instant Messaged me to see if I wanted a pork chop. They are moving in 2 weeks. :( Not happy.

Big Al fixed my Tory Burch shoes!

Ma, Pa, Middle & Little Nephs are with the cousins in Montauk.

Gorgeous boy is going to take the train out tomorrow and join them.

Sandra is in Korea, gonna meet her biological family!

Mom's birthday is tomorrow!

I love fireworks.

Big Neph is outta the hospital.

Daddy's doing great!

My dogs smell.

I smell.

Going to bed now.

Thanks for reading my silly blog.

I hope you guys are all happy.

Love you.