Trick or Treat

I put a large bowl of Halloween candy out on my front porch earlier tonight with a note that said, "Happy Halloween--please take one!"
I came in and watched two movies. Then went out and got my bowl...and, unfortunately, most of the candy.
...I'll be taking it to work in the morning.

Ratatouille

Coming out on DVD November 8th!
I can hardly wait!! I absolutely LOVED this movie...so cute, so entertaining, full of food and full of Paris! Two of my favorite things!
I'm gonna buy it and watch it the very first day...if you have not seen it--come on over! We'll cook up something good and watch together.

Joe Torre ?!

The talk on the street today is that Joe Torre may very well be the manager of the Dodgers next year...yes!! The Los Angeles Dodgers and Joe Torre! When I read that this morning I was so darn excited! This is big! This is GREAT! Amazing!! Who could ask for anything more?! I tell ya, I will be the happiest girl in the whole USA

FYI--if you ever want to know how to really get my heart beating...how to make me smile all day long....just say "Joe Torre" and "Dodger Manager" in the same sentence.
Still smiling.

Baseball season is just five months away...

Happy Halloween!

Here's a classic shot...Halloween 1990. My friend Mary, from Coco's made both of these costumes for my kids. Allison won 1st prize at the Mission Viejo Mall Halloween Costume Contest!
Those were the days...
Have a GREAT Halloween...take lots of pictures!

Amanda

Please check out Amanda McGuire's blog...she is hilarious...
I know you will really enjoy her writing!
(I really DO have two fingers up!)

Such a productive day!

After running errands this morning, I PROMISED myself I was going to come home and be productive...and BOY was I! I wanted to work on my Europe 2007 scrapbook and also get some of the old videos on DVD. And I worked on both projects all day! Above you see that I now have 15 (of the 40) VHS tapes transferred to DVD! And what a blast to watch...Zac's 3rd birthday, Allison's 8th birthday, my 30th birthday surprise party, Christmas 1990!
I actually teared up while watching Allison's graduation video...

I watched the videos while they were recording and at the same time I was able to finish my scrapbook! And it is gorgeous!

Dinner and a movie

I met Sarah and Shadi for dinner at Chili's tonight...split my favorite Quesadilla Explosion salad with Shadi while watching Boston clinch the World Series!
After dinner we went to see "Dan In Real Life"...
Ugh...I think this might be one of the worst movies I've ever seen. I can't imagine that any of this ever happens in ANYONE'S real life! Sarah kept wanting to leave--with the rest of the audience--seriously, at least 10 people got up and left within the first 1/2 hour of the movie.
It is pointless, predictable and just plain painful.
But dinner was delicious (as usual!) and the conversation and company--terrific!

Boston wins...

Oh Jaime...I believe our bet was for dinner at Lucille's...
Looking forward to it!

So many great friends & one (truly) amazing daughter!

My darling friend Marla (and her husband Tom too!)

Allison sang at "big church" again tonight and was so incredible! I made sure everyone around me knew that THAT was my daughter!
It was the first time that I had seen her new adorable haircut too!
The night was filled with the JOY of seeing old friends too! The picture above is my long-time friend Marla who worked in Children's Ministry with me for many years. I sat with my Jan (who I've known for almost 20 years!) and Christal(who lived across the street from me for 8 years!)
I was finally able to spend a little time with Heather too! Then my baseball buddy, Cathy called me after the service...she knew I was there somewhere!
It was a reminder of just how many great people I am blessed to have in my life!
The evening was an absolute GIFT...just in time!

Movies (off the top of my head) that make me cry

It might actually be easier to make a list of movies that DON'T make me cry, cause I am a real crier. But these are movies that make me SOB out loud. I gotta admit, there are times when there's nothing better than a good cry...it's so therapeutic and cleansing! These movies are pretty much guaranteed to get you going.

1. Ghost
2. Titanic
3. Lorenzo's Oil
4. Dead Man Walking
5. Dumbo (come on...you know the scene)
6. Shadowlands
7. Field of Dreams
8. Terms of Endearment
9. The Way We Were
10. Steel Magnolias
11. Finding Neverland
12. The Patriot
13. Glory
14. Babel
15. It's a Wonderful Life
    

Funeral for a(nother) friend

When I got to work this morning, I could hear the piano being tuned upstairs in the lobby. It was not a melody being played, just random notes being repeatedly being hit here and there...as the player tried to get it back in tune. That's how I have felt this whole last week-- completely out of tune. Random things have filled my heart and mind these last seven days and I am doing my best to get everything back to normal--back in tune...I gotta admit, I'm not there yet.
The constant fires have been a nightmare for everyone in Southern California. A tragedy of incredible proportions. Montage opened up many rooms for evacuees and the place bustled each morning with people on cells hoping for news of saved homes...children, dogs, cats and even a few birds wondered by my desk, not knowing what the next moment would hold. This went on all day, every day...
What else did the week contain? My sister's father in law died suddenly and she and her family flew home quickly from Hawaii to be here for all the services and to help pick up the pieces. The up side of that was my niece, Sunny's shining presence in my life for a few days. And her smiley little face among the crowd gathered to celebrate Allison's 25th birthday. Thank God for that.
The hardest part of the last seven days was the news of my dear friend's suicide. I have just returned from his funeral...and I still just cannot believe it. You would have sworn that you had never met anyone who loved life more...happy, upbeat...PQ was the life of ANY party. He was successful in every aspect of life. The church was packed--standing room only--and people sobbed out loud, tears streaming down every face. Those speaking made us laugh remembering Patrick's incredible love for every single person. There was no one in the place who did not have a "PQ name"--he called me "J-lady" or "Jewels" and most recently, "Baseball Julie" or "BJ". He KNEW people. And we all THOUGHT we knew him. But no one saw this coming! Senseless. Heart breaking is the perfect description. A great video of his life was shown at the gathering after the funeral. Pictures of him with friend after friend after friend...surfing, skiing, playing baseball, doing yoga, dancing, laughing. Pictures of him in his classic cars, with his dog, and in Hawaii, Australia, Japan, you name it! I wanted to say, "See PQ, you really had a wonderful life!" But like the beautiful piano in the lobby of the Montage...he was out of tune. And no one knew.
On the drive home from La Jolla tonight, I realized that the funeral I went to a couple of months ago was also for a friend who was just 44 year old. Ironically, she died of cancer after suffering for years and doing everything she could to try to save her life!
I just flipped on the TV and the "Vitameatavegamin" episode of I love Lucy is on. I'm sipping on a Corona in my jammies, laughing at Lucy and saying the lines along with her..."Hello Friends!"
And so life slowly gets back in tune...

a few old friends at the funeral

David Hanna and Steve Keefe (Steve and I were "Class Flirts")

PQ loved Elvis

Happy Halloween (a tad early...)

Earlier in the week Montage had a Halloween party for the Banquets Staff and their families. I was lucky enough to catch my niece Sunny in town, so she was able to go with me...Sunny wore my "prom queen" costume and I wore the dress that Allison wore in Alanna's mom's wedding AND the dress I wore at Crave's "Ugly Prom" a few years ago...

Beauty and the Beast #1

Beauty and the Beast #2

Shadi and Trisa

Beauty and the Beast #3

Beauty and the ???

Tara and Shadi

Laura

I love hanging out with Sunny and
I absolutely love the people I work with!

Pumpkin Ice Cream

I know many of you are not fans of anything pumpkin flavored...
but if you are you will LOVE this ice cream! And it's LOW FAT which means I can eat it and not feel guilty (cause I would eat it anyway being that it's only available for a limited time...)
I highly recommend it be served with just a drizzle of chocolate syrup...of course I eat it with a lot of chocolate syrup. (Fat free)
Delicious.

The World Series

I am betting on the Red Sox who seem to be unbeatable. But I would LOVE to see the Rockies win...they HAVE BEEN unbeatable...Rockies were in 4th place the majority of the year and now they are in the world series! Amazing...GOSH this is a great game!
Will be fun to watch!

It's October 24th!

Happy 25th Birthday Allison!

The first 25 are just the roots growing...
The best is yet to come!!

The Darjeeling Limited

Went to dinner with my friend Annie...and then to see The Darjeeling Limited. Despite rough reviews, Annie and I both really liked it! Great acting, encouraging story line and lots of laughter! Perhaps the running theme of trying to keep track of, deal with and get rid of your baggage was what I most relate to!
The best line: Believing he is healed, Francis (Owen Wilson) takes off his bandages only to find gaping wounds.
He says, "Perhaps I have a bit more healing to do."
Brother Jack says, "You're almost there."
That's exactly how I feel...

Happy 25th Birthday Allison!

Sunny was a surprise present for Allison!

With Zach and Bethany

Cousins Thatcher and Sunny

Dylan McGuire

Another surprise--our friend Dillon!

Aunt Gina

Thatcher and Logan

Zach, Bethany, Allison, Jaime and Jason

Red Sox win. Jaime and I have a bet on the series now.
I took the Red Sox (even though I would LOVE to see Colorado win!)

We gathered at Fuddrucker's last night for the celebration of Allison's 25th birthday!

There was a big batch of BTS, a Funfetti cake (I think the frosting was STILL the wrong kind!) and lots of love and laughter...(and a BIG WIN for the Red Sox!)
Allison's 25th is actually Wednesday...so she'll be celebrating for the next several days!
Happy Birthday Allison!

Brian Mathews

In my search for photos of Patrick, I found this shot of my dear friend Brian and me from our "wedding day" in January of 1981...we had to plan and have a wedding for our Religion class. (I believe that may have been the last time any one picked me up!)
Brian was one of the very first people I ever met at Mater Dei, were friends throughout high school and we have stayed in contact for last 25 years. Brian and Patrick went to 1st through 12th grade together and were best buddies all these years...Patrick was even Godfather to Brian's children.
I was blessed to see Brian, his awesome wife and his three kids at the Homecoming game Friday night.

Patrick Quinn

Above, Patrick and me at our 10 year reunion
Below, last year at our 25th

My dear friend Patrick Brady Quinn, is gone

...a life tragically--and needlessly--taken...I am so sad today
The punk concerts, the pogo dancing, the long long rambling--and often cryptic--emails
and OH the Adam Ant songs...("Do yourself a favor!")
PQ had an even better memory than me for useless--yet priceless!--information...
and MAN did he love baseball.
RIP PQ--you will never be forgotten...

Mater Dei Homecoming Game!

Tonight I met some of my DEAREST friends at the Mater Dei Homecoming Game.
This is Mr. Ickes (he told me I could call him Bob now...but it's so hard!)
He was the boys' dean and baseball coach when I was there...he also helped me get a date to Homecoming 1980...He's an amazing man and now teaches math at Mater Dei.

The girls of the Class of 1981
Shelley, Christine, Kelly and Katherine

Kelly forgot she was supposed to wear red...
Kelly married her highschool sweetheart, Dave
and all three of their kids have attended Mater Dei

Oh, dear Brian Mathews...do we have stories to tell...Brian asked me to dance at the Freshman Welcome Assembly in 1977...and we TRULY have been friends since then.

Such a fun night! (that's Kelly's daughter, Kendall in the right corner)
I am so glad that I went to Mater Dei...the spirit of the school is just incredible!
We are like one big family...and these are STILL my closest friends!