Sunday July 24th

OK, So we all know it's Monday but I'm still celebrating my birthday....sort of... a day off to try to get all the technical crap out of the way and relax with my honey...

What an amazing weekend!!!  I am so thankful to be here in this place with my love and feeling loved...  I wasn't exactly looking forward to advancing another damn year but it certainly beats the alternative.  We're all on the right side of the dirt!!  Tracy has been surprising me in oh so many ways....

Saturday was a full on work day.  I showed 13 (my lucky number) homes to a wonderful UK couple and enjoyed helping them see the possibilities.  They have some homework to do in order to figure out what will work for them as a second or full time home and I'll be there to help.

I came home to my honey and we ate another bowl of fettucine with marchegiana sauce and then, we decided to make the Strata.  Linda had given us this wonderful brunch recipe several years ago and Thursday, an Italian Realtor friend gave it a name as she served it up to we starving Realtors on Brokers Tour.   Layering Italian (recipe calls for white bread but I'm hopelessly Italian) bread, cooked Italian sausage, grated cheddar cheese (champage cheddar was delish) and then, 6 beaten eggs with 2 cups of milk ( I used soy milk).  We left it to marinate overnight in the frig and popped it into the oven for about 50 min. @350 degrees on Sun. morning.

What a wonderful lazy Sunday full of surprises!!!  I was born very early in the morning many moons ago and I decided to make it a day of leisure this year.  I spoke with my family & very slowly greeted the day.  Unbeknownst to me, my T had been very busy.  I came downstairs to a dozen beautiful red roses and a pile of cards laid on top of a wrapped present.   We set to work in the kitchen... T made the coffee and I squeezed some oj, & made a protein drink.  I wasn't in any hurry cause I was fooled by the size of the package.  Usually, Apple packages are elegant and much larger than the item enclosed.  Well, I was on the phone with Johnny & Shar when I unwrapped the end of the package and saw a silver Apple.... the dam burst and I could no longer speak... my honey not only had written 2 beautiful cards, he'd managed to get an iPad2 engraved for me... I'm so thankful.... we'd cancelled a possible brunch gathering cause there was no way to have Tracy exposed to the number of people we'd wanted to invite.  Also, I just didn't have it in me to entertain upwards of 20 or more... I'd been putting names on a list and in the middle of a sleepless night, I realized it was just plain stupid.  T & I would make it a day...  So, man were we surprised when Carla & Jayne appeared bearing many gifts ( a gorgeous blouse, an Italy boot charm, an iPad cover and bag, a floor mat, Italian beans & spices, peach & cherry pies, bagels & cream cheese) and itching to walk on the beach!!!  The Strata went in the oven and we sat and chatted and looked at Jayne's Tuscany photos on her iPad... never did make it to the beach.

  I was bowled over by my emotions continually choking back tears throughout the day.  The thoughtfulness of my dearest & oldest galfriends astounds me.   They knew that they would be missed & decided to surprise us.. Then, Jayne gave T his birthday present early.... his very own iPad!!!  OMG!!!  0 to 2 in one day!!!  What a phenomenal day full of love and good feelings....  Thank you one and all for your kind notes, cards, calls & emails....

Onward and upward cause life is what we make it!!!