Martini Musings

      OOPS! Well, it happened! I started my blog post earlier today, got pulled away and somehow, it disappeared. I know my technical skills are not totally up-to-date, but it was literally gone. As hard as I tried to find the document, it just wasn't to be found. So, at 9pm, I had to start over. Guess what? I'm re-thinking my post anyway. I wrote about my efforts to unload my storage unit, finding and providing humor in some of the effort. It was full of emotion because each bin provided different memories. Some I was willing to let go of and some I need to hang on to.  The wedding album was tough. Lots of tears, memories and reminders of those who are no longer with us. I remember my Dad got his braces off just a week before my wedding and on that day, he smiled a full, teeth showing smile! My Mom was a fashionista with a cocktail dress and a pill box hat. I chose royal blue for the bridesmaids and obviously I was a rebel amongst the pastel dresses!  I se...

  I Got the Sweetest Hangover…   …I don’t wanna get over! HA! HA! You all know that I have often referred to my “fun hangovers” that happen after special events, like Derby, milestone birthdays, weddings, reunions and those other fun things! This time, my sweet (fun) hangover comes after a weekend full of Gabriel & Adrian, my loves from Pittsburgh! Those boys are my heart and watching them interact with my Katie & Anthony, AND their great-grandparents and great Uncles and great Aunt…WOW! I got a quick visit with them on Friday night as they have a rule to go straight to their accommodations on travel days. I could not believe how much they had changed since my last visit in mid-January. My family had not seen them since Thanksgiving so I was anxious to have them arrive at the house on Saturday morning…early! Just as planned and expected, they arrived after their early breakfast and I promptly showed them where I had setup the new toys…Under the dining room ta...

  The Boys are Coming to Town!!!   In just 48 hours or so, my two favorite boys will be arriving in Louisville! I’m fairly certain you know who I’m talking about but just in case you don’t, GABRIEL & ADRIAN are coming from Pittsburgh for a visit with CeCe!! I can’t wait to hug on these two! They change every time I see them so I know at 3 ½ and 1 ½ they will be into everything! Gabriel will tool around in the black Chevy truck and Adrian will ride the Little Tikes roller coaster! They will be playing with my newly acquired Playmobil toys (gently used from eBay) and Gabriel will spend the night with me on Saturday night! There will be Jeff’s donuts and birthday cakes for Uncle Steve and Betty Boop as we celebrate their birthdays this weekend. We’ll make a big deal for each of them so there will be two birthday cakes which Gabriel has already asked “will they share?” Let’s just say there may be more sugar consumed this weekend than normal! I have a short “to do” lis...

So Many Catholics… Back to my Catholic church relationship…Are you rolling your eyes? As you know, I work for a small Catholic non-profit. We provide tuition assistance for underserved families that want to have their children in a Catholic school but cannot afford it. The main funds come from an organization called Catholic Education Foundation. Then, in cases where we can help, we try to give assistance to those families in our program. That being said, I love what I do and I love seeing the success stories, which are not always the case. Sometimes, even with the financial support, these kids don’t always get to the finish line. Often, there are too many struggles at home and at school. We have resources like testing for learning issues, tutoring and counseling for students and parents. Even with these resources, some kids just can’t make it. However, there are many great kids that do succeed and it is great to be a small part of that success. Over the years, Catholic schools...

  ‘Tis the Season Sometimes, dates can be sad or sting…dates like my divorce date, tax deadline date, expiration dates…you know what I mean. Sometimes, dates are good reminders or bittersweet dates. This week is one of those…a bittersweet week! You may remember that I was in charge of a pretty big gala at Mt. Notre Dame, my last employer. This week would be “hell” week as we called it. Gala was always the first Saturday in March. The week before was packed with the last-minute preparations, wrapping baskets, putting together auction packages, tweaking the script for the evening, and so much more. It was controlled chaos most of the time but it was my job and the hard work always paid off. There were many wonderful people involved and I was grateful to have them on my team. It wasn’t easy but with all of the helpful hands, we put on a successful evening for Mt. Notre Dame every year. My last Gala was a re-branded event with a new location (Kings Island) and it was almost lik...