Another Long Interval

I have the best intentions of updating my blog, but time just slips away from me. I still have a few more days of Paris travel journeys to cover, but today I thought I would include pictures from my recent visit to the US Open.

This was Greg's birthday present this year - a trip to the US Open and it was quite a lot of fun for both of us. The weather was hot, but not overly hot. Just full sun with a bit of a cool breeze all day long. We met the chartered bus at our tennis club and enjoyed a non-eventful ride to NYC. We got to the tournament before 10:30 am which was awesome because we got to go see some of the players practicing before the start of the matches.

We saw Venus Williams warming up on the practice courts, French players Mahut and Batteau, Iva Karlovic (all 6' 10" of him serving a record 42 aces in his match), Anna Groenfield, Daniel Nestor, Warwinko, Guy Montfils, and more. We hated leaving at 7:30 because we were very interested in the Daniel Nestor and his partners' doubles match (they are seeded No. 1).

During the Mahut and Batteau doubles match with Frognini and Lapenti, I was sitting in front of Lapenti's parents throughout the entire match. When I sat down at one of the outer courts to watch Anna Groenfield, I ended up sitting next to her father. Then I went to another match and sat next to another player parent as well. This is the neat thing about having a grounds pass. You can wander in and out of matches all day long and see some very good tennis.

Paris - Day 2

Late in the morning we headed to Versailles for a tour. This was our first glimpse of the labor woes in France. Apparently, whenever the workers decide they want a break, they go on strike. They happen to do this often during tourist season. Lucky for us (not), we were there over the spring break holiday and of course, the workers decided to go on strike. For a country that has fewer working hours than us, this was hard to fathom.

We ended up walking around the grounds of Versailles while our tour guide wrangled her way to get us into the buildings when they reopened. The lines were SOOOOOOOO long and she didn't want us to have to wait in line. The grounds were quite beautiful but it was bitterly cold and windy so we didn't stay out too long.

We finally got to go into Versailles and it was unbelievable how opulent everything was. In the Red Room, Mozart played at age 8. The Hall of Mirrors has been shown in various movies. Learning that the royalty weren't very clean and only bathed once or twice a year, disgusted me. It was very crowded but definitely worth the trip. It was amazing to look out from the various rooms and see the beautiful gardens.

My "bucket list"

I haven't seen the movie "The Bucket List", but I did decide to put together a list of 50 things that I would like to accomplish by the time I am 50. Unfortunately, this list changes a little bit every once in awhile and I guess by posting it on my blog, I am committing it "to paper" so that I don't change it. So here goes the list:

1. Lose 50 pounds
2. Get involved in my community (i.e. church, animal shelter, environment, local harvest)
3. Buy a colorful summer bag and use it to add more color to my life.
4. Write a business plan for a virtual assistant business or some other home-based business (i.e. web design)
5. Put together cookbooks for Casey and Greg with family favorites and stories.
6. Ride in a convertible
7. Get something published - scrapbook page or recipe
8. Finish another quilt
9. Learn to knit and make a pair of socks
10. Start digital scrapbooking
11. Finish Casey and Greg's school scrapbooks
12. Make sure that Grandma has a headstone/grave marker
13. Visit someplace in the United States that I have never been to - done 7/1/08 Dearborn Michigan
14. Take a photography course
15. Learn ASP.net
16. Declutter house by using Freecycle (stop hanging on to things for sentimental reasons only)
17. Learn to meditate
18. Splurge on something decadent
19. Get back in touch with Nancy, Kathy, and Chris
20. Make bagels from scratch - 1st attempt July 2008
21. Paint something bright red
22. Screen porch cleanup - new cushions and table settings
23. Utilize screen porch more often
24. Read all of Genesis in the Bible
25. Read Rebecca
26. Read at least 10 "classics"
27. Organize all family history papers
28. Start a family history blog and keep it up-to-date
29. Create a "Shutterfly" book with family history notes and pictures
30. Get some type of Microsoft certification (Word, XP, or something else)
31. Try a food I haven't had before
32. Write a letter to Casey
33. Write a letter to Greg
34. Make a new cushion for kitchen window seat
35. Organize all money saving ways into a blog, website, or booklet form.
36. Document more of the everyday
37. Become proficient at Photoshop (check out all of the free tutorials on-line)
38. Do all BPS classes that I have signed up for - all projects!!
39. Give my bedroom a facelift
40. Go through all of Mom and Dad's recipe books and try recipes - add to family cookbooks
41. Take Greg to the US Open
42. Get back into tennis - join a league or lessons
43. Go to a Broadway show - NY or Philadelphia
44. Get up to Maine again
45. Trip out to Lancaster to visit quilt shops - inspiration trip
46. Put together Christmas book of recipes and traditions
47. Do something positive for the environment; make a difference.
48. Create a bigger garden and eat more food that is produced locally.
49. Visit another country - done March 2008 France and England
50. DON'T BE AFRAID TO TRY SOMETHING NEW - STEP OUT OF THE ORDINARY