Happy Father's Day

Being a dad is a really big job

and if done right,

it pays well...

with

Love and Smiles...

Anywhooooo.....

The clipart photo above

reminded me of a photo I took on Father's Day...

way back in the day....

hang on kids

Happy Father's Day

to PaulA,

my Pops,

and all you Father's out there.

CMA Music Festival-Pretty Sure I Was There

Country's biggest party was in Nashville last week

and this Kat was there, ya'all.

  Yeehaw

"The" party is 

known as the CMA Music Festival 

and is held in early June each year.

If you've  never been before,

you need to put it on your 

Bucket List.

It was 

#6 on my Bucket List...

right after...

#5  "Win the Powerball"

and before

#7  "Smash a pie in someone's face."

Now I can cross it off.

(although I'm thinking of adding it back, 

so I can do it again.)

If you don't have crowdaphobia…

(pretty sure that's a real word.)

checking out the crowd scene…

is worth the price of admission…FREE…

for a lot of shows.

The country folk are almost as 

interesting as the

folks singing country.

And if you aint' country…

you can fake country..

especially with a little help from

cowboy boots and a cowboy hat,

(pretty sure a horse and brown rope would seal the deal)

and a little

southern drawl ya'all, 

I wanted to wear cowboy boots….

(you know, when in Rome…wear a toga)

but

the thought of wearing 

leather leg-hugging boots in 

hot and humid weather…

wasn't as appealing 

as my air-conditioned Flip Flops. 

Its funny...kinda knee slapping funny...

before the CMA Music Festival...

whenever I thought of 

Broadway…

I thought...

now I think of...

Broadway, Nashville

Anywhooooo…….

I hate to sound like a broken LP but ….

my favorite country artist 

(pretty sure he's an artist, 

even thought he sings instead of paints)

is

Dustin Lynch

with his awesome band.

It was a real treat for me to watch them perform...

especially this guy...

(pretty sure his name is Colin

and not Karl.)

Catch them this summer/fall with 

Keith Urban 

and Little Big Town.

(pretty sure they're coming to a city near you.)

Now to get started  on 

#7 on my Bucket List...

Happy Birthday Brianna

Brianna is 22 years old today.

woop woop

NOT ONLY  
is Bri older…

but with her recent graduation from Boston University…

she's wiser.

I like remembering the ole days…

you know…

the days when Bri was...

young and dumber….

JK, sweet wish.

The days when June Fif …

as she used to pronounce it, 

couldn't get here soon enough  

so her birthday party planning started in January.

(Hang on Bri, 6 more months to go.)

But together…our "thang" was…

the cake. 

Planning the cake. 

Designing the cake.

Decorating the cake. 

But the 

Icing on the Cake 

will always be
 the memories 

we both share.

Anywhoooo……

Bri may be older and wiser,

but that didn't stop me 
from being juvenile...
and making her a cake fit for a 

youngster. 

Not the sophisticated cake due a 22 year old... 

grownup grad girl,

but definitely a throw back to the cakes of her
yesterbirthdays.

Happy Birthday Brianna.

I hope you always have your cake

and eat it too.

Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit

Holy Jumping Jacks…

it's June 1st.

In no time...

we went from 

chilly 

to chill 

It felt like going 
0 to 60... 

celsius

Anywhooo……

Hare's wishing you a 

month 

of good luck….

Rabbit

Rabbit 

Rabbit

hare's looking at 
YOU.

Happy Memorial Day

It's Memorial Day 

the "unofficial" 

start to summer....  

althooooough 

this year it "officially" 

feels like 

we skipped over summer 

and ended up back in winter….

ala Vermont yesterday.

Walden, VT 5/26/13

Let's just hope this crappy weather 

isn't a hint of what is to come.  

New England's summer

 is short enough.

It's like we get a taste of summer...

an Emeril's Essence.  

The season first starts out on with a bang 
on Memorial Day.

Then it gets kicked up a notch 

on the Fourth of July.

BAM! BAM! ...and it's already Labor Day.

We have to live each summer day to the fullest, 

otherwise...

we’re standing at Customer Service...

looking for a refund. 

We have to find ways to pack everything into 

12 BANGING weeks.

So fire up that barbecue.  

Today you have a free pass 

to binge on 
burgers, buns,
beers, 
baked beans, 
and brownies. 

Woo hoo. 

Anywhooooooo......................

Last Memorial Day 

PaulA and I were having breakfast at IHOP.
While I was feasting on a short stack...

 I watched a young man 
say goodbye to his sweetie who worked there. 

(They were recently engaged and 
he was leaving for active duty.)

(I have a way of eavesdropping.)

Needless to say, my tears flooded my short stack 
as I watched their emotional goodbye.

  

I'm thinking of that young man today 

and hoping he's home this Memorial Day 

with his sweetie, family, and friends.

Memorial Day 

is about honoring the men and women 

who have served, protected, and given their lives 

for our country and our freedom. 

 Thank you, Thank you...

to all these courageous men and women.

35 days until the Fourth of July. 

Tattoo Who?

Guess who got a tattoo?

PaulA...nope

This Kat…nope

Barbie…hell yeah.

  

Barbie has gotten a little edgy over the years.  

I can totally understand why 

she would want to live 

 "outside the box."  

 I like the way Barbie has always stayed current with the times...

although at Barbie's mature age of 54,

I'm still waiting for Wrinkle Barbie.

Apparently there are some parents who are up in arms 

about the tats on Barbie…

(not to mention the t?ts on Barbie.)

Mattel addressed the "issue" saying that Tattoo Barbie 

was really designed for the adult Barbie collector.  

My sister is one of those adult Barbie collectors.  

(I wonder if Sistsersledge sneaks down to her storage room 

and plays with her collection?)

Anywhooooo……

The tats on the new Tattoo Barbie 

are not of the removable sticker variety 

found on the 2009 Tattoo Barbie.

These tats are permanent ink.  

I  hope Barbie didn't get 

"Ken" 

tattooed anywhere on her bod.  

With her on/off relationship with Ken, 

she could end up with

tattoo remorse…

you know, like Angeliena had with Billy Bob.

(It's one thing to wash a man out of your hair, 

but

quite another to wash him out from under your skin.)

Anywhooooo2

I've started wondering…(uh oh)

if I was a Barbie, 

what Barbie would I be?

Easy decision…

Blogger Barbie.  

I'd  sit at my pink laptop 

in my pink Mailbu Dreamhouse…

and crank out blogs.  

At the end of a good blogger day,

 I'd get in my pink Glam convertible 

and drive around the hood.

Every day I'd be tickled pink.

Brianna, the College Graduate

I remember the day

when I thought the year 

2013

sounded so far off….so futuristic.

Brianna was 5  years old 

and it was her first day of Kindergarden. 

That day I figured out 

Brianna would graduate from

college in 2103.  

And I thought…whew…

at least that won't be happening any time soon.

But her graduation day came…

and went...

and I'm now thinking….woah…how is that possible?

Anywhooooo

Last Friday, 

as waves and waves of 

2013 Boston University grads 

entered the arena to receive their diplomas, 

I couldn't help but get caught up in a

rip tide of nostalgia and emotion.  

That's bound to happen during a mega milestone event…

especially when

 "Pomp and Circumstance"

 is being played.  

(I'm pretty sure  that song is played to make parents shed tears.)

As I looked for Bri 
in the red sea 

of red gowns and black caps...

I pictured our Sweet Wish, 

through her school years...
with her sunny disposition,

so independent, diligent, passionate, and hard-working...

and the tears came...

nostalgic tears, 

happy tears,

proud tears.

(Cry me a Charles River.) 

And later 

after jumping for joy

I saw Bri with those same tears.

As Brianna takes her next step
into her bright future...

bri with her dad

she will carry with her a wealth of 

lasting college experiences…

 a lasting education, 

lasting memories, 
and

lasting friendships.

We are so proud of you, Brianna.

(I think i just popped all my buttons.) xo