W.I.N.E.

For the last 2 years, I have had the privilege to work with the fine ladies of the Women's Lunch Place in Boston. A couple of weeks ago, Women in Insurance in New England (WINE for short) hosted their 2nd annual golf outing in support of the Women's Lunch Place and in addition to a monetary donation, we provided them with 3 SUV's stuffed full of in-kind donations. The generosity of of my fellow insurance women continues to truly inspire me and I wish they all had the honor of hand delivering our check, as we were able to see our goods being used, and worn by the ladies of the WLP. If any of you reading this have any gently used winter coats, boots or sweaters, please let me know. WLP also has a listing of other needed items shown here. I'd be happy to come get whatever you have and transport it to Boston for you. It is a fantastic cause, and I've seen these women in action.

Beaching it October Style

Mommy and Emma Day: E and I hung out an went to the beach. I know - beach you say?? In October, in New England? It was spectacular. Sunny, breezy, but not cold, and we actually put our feet in the water. E hiked up her pants, and plopped down to dig in the sand with clam shells. The sky was blue, the air was clean, it was a great afternoon. We stopped for lunch at this little lunch counter and sat on spinning bar stools and had sandwiches grilled up right in front of us while chatting to local waitresses. We drove up highways surrounded by October blue skies and gold and rust covered trees. We sang songs we didn't know the words to. Fall in New England is THE BEST.

Family Circus

It was just a matter of time before little Miss E got tangled up in the high flying antics of "the greatest show on earth" and that time came yesterday. It was a fairly spontaneous family outing thanks to a last minute Ticketmaster email that caught me in a weak moment. Secretly, I think I probably belong in the circus too, and although the stinky smell of elephant poo is not my favorite aromatic pleasure; seeing elephants and tigers dance and parade about just makes me happy. I'm a sucker for the circus.

We arrived early to meet all the circus-folk, and E got to try out a few tricks and work on some of her magic skills. Zing, Zang, Zoom was a magic-themed circus.

Sadly, the circus doesn't pack them in like they used too - it was far from a full house, but much to our delight we were in the front row, and got to hang with Larry the clown during the show. We saw up close and personal just how well orchestrated the production is, and how many jobs everyone has! We felt like we were a part of the show, but happily, didn't have to sweep anything up :)

Don't worry about a thing...

Emma sings to herself all the time: in front of the mirror brushing her teeth, getting dressed, feeding the dog- it is just part of her thing. Most of the time we have no idea what she is singing, and often tune it out because we are so used to it. Yesterday we were outside getting ready to run some errands and heard her little voice. Joe and I actually stopped, looked at each other and laughed - this is what we heard:

Rise up this mornin',

Smiled with the risin' sun,

Three little birds

Pitch by my doorstep

Singin' sweet songs

Of melodies pure and true,

This is my message to youuuuuuuuu

There is nothing like a 6 year old singing "Three Little Birds" to bring a smile to your face. We got in the car, and thanks to modern technology, had the immediate pleasure of cranking the tune up loud and having a family sing along to Bob Marley. It was the highlight of my weekend. For a few minutes we had the delightfully free feeling of not worrying about a thing, and it was more than alright.