Tuscany Italy

At the Villa

Fresh Herbs growing everywhere!

View overlooking the villa

Infinity Pool time...ahhhh...sigh.

5 Days to Italy!!

Only 5 days until we leave for Tuscany, Italy! Our neighbor friends invited us along with another couple to stay in this villa near Lucca, Italy. They have so generously provided the villa, a rented van for touring, a chef to cook our welcome & fairwell dinner, and give us a cooking class! We met with everyone a couple times to plan and we're getting sooo excited! I even packed my luggage today! I have such a busy week ahead of me i didn't want to forget anything if i packed last minute! I even have room left in my suitcase for souvineers! Wonder how much wine and cheese will fit in there? Ha! I'll be posting a few pics throughout the week so stay tuned! In the meantime, for those of you who might be curious, here is the link for the villa website with complete info about the villa, with more pictures and the location...

www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/p415044

http://www.georgesodini.com/20090804.htm

This guy was one SICKO! I pray that his victims will be blessed and given a place in heaven and that his soul will rot in H*LL!! He doesn't think he will pay a penance for killing innocent people! I pray he is wrong!

Autumn Leaves....

This picture is in honor of my Sister-in-law, Jackie who loves the cool fall weather.

We have a beautiful Maple tree next to our backyard patio that is already losing it's leaves!!

Yep-that's right folks...summer is over (even though it never started) and fall is here.

It's a love/hate relationship with me in the fall. I love it so much but hate knowing that winter is just around the corner. Our summer has been chilly and cool but we've had many beautiful days with sun and low humidity. I'm not gonna complain about it. It was nice. Maybe could have been a little warmer. Rick and I will leave for Italy in less than 2 weeks and from what I'm hearing it is hot there right now. So I'll get my taste of summer overseas. Tuscany-here I come!

Cindy's Closet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0

Beautiful Wedding!

Go to this link to see a beautiful wedding! I cried when I saw this it was so beautiful! What an amazing way to celebrate beginning a new life. You know, the whole time I was watching this video, I was thinking to myself-Yep! This is exactly how I wanna go out of this life and into a new one! So start planning my memorial today kids! It couldn't be made any easier or perfect than this video! A little morbid to think this way? Maybe....but then again...Maybe not! Enjoy!

On My Way Home...

This was the image I was met with on my way home tonight.

It sends me into a swarm of memories from my childhood.

Warm, summer nights filled with fireflies.

Stars nearer the earth to catch and wonder.

God's little gift to remind us to follow the light.

PUNCH! PUNCH! PUNCH!

Shoulda seen it comin! DAMN!!

Great news -- the TODAY Show is planning on including iMated on Thursday's show during the "Today's Talk" segment in the 4th hour of the show with Kat

Apparently the iMated application is going to be featured on the TODAY SHOW during the 4th hour with Kathy Lea and Hoda!! Set you DVR's everyone! Congratulations on your success Jamey! Let's keep our fingers crossed that millions of people download this!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATE!!!

It's somebody's birthday today!

Crazy Eyes and all-We Love You Kate!

http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/dpp/morning_news/I_Mated_Combines_You_and_Anyone

On the morning News!!

http://imated.com/media/audio/iMated_on_WCCO.mp3

Jamey and his market guy on radio too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boMPyvRkpYs

Oh Summer-How I Love Thee!

Summer Garden in June/July- Amazing and Beautiful.

It makes me sigh...."ahhhhh"

Lilly stops for a pose. 11 years old and still kickin! Luv you Biddy!

Foxglove! I love these!

This is what I see when I step out on my deck every morning with my cup of coffee to smell the fresh air! It is so amazing and settling at the same time. I can sit and have my coffee with the birds. Do I love this? YES! I do!!

Working Conditions Need to be Addressed...

Poor guy...you just gotta question these working conditions.

The background noise is irrepressable (aka: birds chirping, slight breeze blowing, water fountain dripping, etc.),

The fresh air and landscape are too distracting,

No desk to set up his LAPtop (I would assume that's why it is called this),

Natural light (do we call this the sun?) is too bright for my screen,

and the list goes on....

Maybe Rick should put in a complaint....NOT!

I'm sure there are those who would pay to work here.

Just try and de-stress ok?

Thursdays on First

So I had a beautiful day on Thursday for the Vendor's Market! A Huuuuuuge Thank You goes out to Bev & Danny (my aunt and uncle) and Mary (my mother-in-law) for helping me to set up! I couldn't have done it without you and gotten it all done by 11:00!! whew! I really appreciated the help! Bev and Danny hung around for a good part of the day and we had a lot of fun checking things out! Sales were ok but I am hopeful that I will do better each week! Thanks to all who stopped by to say "Hi"! It made my day! Now on to the next....

Sensitive...

Megan gave me a little kit to grow some sensitive plants. She had started some at work but they died. They are called sensitives because when you touch their leaves they fold up and bow down. I have already transplanted them and am hopeful they will grow big enough so I can give her a couple to take to work with her. Here is their progress so far.

Nice Day for a Ride...

Rick and I like to bike the trails and hauling our expensive bikes in the back of his truck hasn't been ideal so we bought a bike rack for transporting them. It sure makes it easier and provides damage control. Last Sunday we hit the Douglas Trail and rode 26 miles. It was a wonderful ride to Pine Island. We stopped at Subway and ate lunch and then headed back. Much to my dismay-the wind had picked up and we battled it the whole way back. Uuuugh! It was rough but I'm glad I had my new bike. It rides a lot easier and smoother so it wasn't quite as bad as it could have been. Next trail to conquer is Faribault. Don't know when but I'm looking forward to it.

Toooooo Cute!

Take a look at these eyes and tell me YOU wouldn't fall in love!!

Major Briggs is the newest addition to my son's family.

He is about as big as a guinea pig with a lot more spunk!

I can't stand it he's sooooo cute! Love you Major!

Lilly Loves Her Daddy...

Especially when he's in the hammock!

Oh Silly Lilly!

Enjoying the Weekend...

So I just returned from a wonderful weekend with my daughter. She got tickets for a play at the Guthrie Theatre for Mother's Day. We had such a great time and laughed all night long. Thanks for letting me spend the night and hanging out with me Meggie! It was sooooo fun! On Saturday we cleaned out her closet to make room for new, got groceries, and went for a lovely walk in her beautiful neighborhood. Megan lives about 10 blocks from her brother and the area they live in is so nice. All the homes have character and it feels so cozy. It was a beautiful day and it was great spending time with her. Hopefully I can do it again soon! Today was a relaxing day at home. Our neighborhood was Peaceful and quiet. The birds were chirping and the kitties spent all day outside. I finished a good book I started a month ago and just hung out all day. It was so nice out! Rick comes home from his fishing trip tomorrow and I'm hoping he brings a bundle of good fish to eat. If it's anything like last year it'll be a lot of fish stories and no fish to share. Makes you wonder what they do all day! Enjoy Memorial Day everyone!

Rick's 50th Birthday Celebration!

Man of Honor....Mr. Rick

Jensen's got skills...

Kate playing ball and Sam in the tree fort.


Darin, Jodi, & Mary

Girls just wanna have fun...Kate and Megan

Mary and Sam

Jake, Jensen, Darin, & Randy

Darin, Randy, Sam having fun!

Holly, Jodi, Randy, & Megan

Campfire where the kids tried to burn themselves to death-all part of the festive fun!

Meeting of the Rick Minds...

Silly Grant!

All the Siblings made it!!

Good food and family...

Chris and Gale chattin it up.

Jamey and Kate being silly...so cute!

Happy Mother's Day!

Rick and I traveled to Red Wing to ride the bike trail to Welch (about 22 miles round trip). It was cooler than I expected so Rick saved me by bringing a wind pullover. It was a beautiful, partly sunny day. Along the way we saw bald Eagles (bird in flight in above picture), turtles, cows, heard all kinds of birds, beautiful wild flowers, and turkeys. Then we returned home (while I napped in the car!) and watched the finale of Celebrity Apprentice! It was fun! Missed my kids though. They'll be down next weekend! yay!

Somebody's Graduating from College Today!!

I believe it's my nephew Brice Hemmer!

Congratulations on making it this far!

You must be a real WIZ by now!!

And Soon You'll be Kicking up your Heels!

Some Things I Did Today!

This is the view today from my deck. I was sitting down to rest after washing windows

and I couldn't resist the urge to go for a walk in the woods. It's just so beautiful this time of year!

What you see in the background is part of the golf course in Mantorville. Lots of golfers taking advantage of the weather today too!

Bluebells!

All kinds of beauty!

Down by the river it's covered in Bluebells! Looks like Carpet!

The one of many Deer paths I followed on my walk.
So serene and beautiful today. Just imagine the birds chirping and a babbling brook. That's what I saw today on my walk.