Saturday, May 19, 2012

Shadows of The Past

What do Dark Shadows, my Mom and The Carpenters have in common? Sit back and relax; I'm about to tell you.



One of our favorite activities in my family is watching movies together. We are big Johnny Depp fans so my son, Ben, and I decided to spend the afternoon watching Dark Shadows at the theater. We both really enjoyed it. One of my favorite parts was a montage of images as a family is working to rebuild their business in town and welcome a new relative into their lives. Over that part of the film, a song by The Carpenters was playing. It made me smile and actually brought a few happy tears to my eyes as I remembered my Mom. Let me give some back story....

After my parents divorced, my Mom struggled to support us. We did okay, but there usually weren't any funds leftover for things like vacations. If I remember correctly, the only vacation we ever took during that time was a short trip to Cincinnati, OH to visit King's Island amusement park. This was in the mid 1970's and I was probably 14 years old or thereabouts. While we were at the park, we attended one of their variety shows. During that show, a group performed The Carpenters' song, On Top of The World. It is a song I remember singing together with my Mom in the car during that time, too. We had such a good time on that trip. This is my sweet Mom.



...so when On Top of The World began playing during the movie today, I had a flood of happy memories come to me and was overwhelmed for a moment. It made the movie all that much more enjoyable for me. (I will note here that the movie itself is not really the happy-go-lucky type. But it has its moments of humor and sweetness.) I drove home with a smile on my face.

So that is what Dark Shadows, my Mom and The Carpenters have in common. Here is the song I enjoyed hearing again today after such a long time. I hope you enjoy it and smile, too.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

BBL, Gotta Get Married!

Yep, I caught me a man and we're getting married on May 25, 2012!























Seriously, we have been together for 8 years now and finally decided to make it official. We are so happy that we are finally going to be husband and wife. I am so thankful I found such a wonderful man to spend the rest of my life with. I couldn't be more thrilled.

Even with a small ceremony in my home, there is so much to do in the next week-and-a-half and then we have a nice honeymoon to be spent in my favorite place on earth. I will report back on our trip.