Apparently my birthday messages to all of my far flung friends have not gone unnoticed,  because when I woke up this morning I had been sent this wonderful PowerPoint presentation, that touched me like no other birthday gift I’ve ever received.  Marcelo even recorded himself playing the guitar and singing!  You’ll have to hear it to know how beautiful it is.  Thank you to my fabulous friends and thanks to all of you who sent such nice birthday wishes.  I’m truly touched.  Thanks also to my family for such a nice time tonight and to my parents and everyone who called today.  42 isn’t bad at all!  Thanks again.  –Carey

GLY,  friend!!!

May this day be even kinder to you…

Here is a techno-humble gift from us.  Forgive my incompetence in packaging the power point slide show with the audio file I made to go along with it.  Daringly, I am asking you to download the music file so you can play it in the background as you watch the slide show.

Some of us are tech-challenged.  Some of us aren’t but can’t be bothered with it.  But together we have the warmth of a mother’s hug…

Marcelo

This is Marcelo, playing the guitar and singing “I Will Survive”  Gloria Gaynor’s got nothing on Marcelo!  Sorry girls (and boys),  I know his accent is dreamy, but he’s happily married.

The “gang” in Brazil on New Year’s Eve

And here are a few photos from dinner with my family tonight:

Andy & Tressa

Where’s Andy?

Guess who climbed into the basketball machine??

Tommy’s toothless smile

Cole & Dar

Andy & Lisa

Jenn & Dar

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
“After a B-52 pilot flew over several U.S. states carrying nuclear warheads, the Air Force said that it would discontinue its use of MapQuest.” — Newsweek satire columnist Andy Borowitz

Today was a day to relax and unwind.  I’ve gotten even less sleep this week than I normally do, and my body is starting to feel (and show) it.  This morning we went to Cole’s swim meet.  It conjured up memories of my summers long ago.  It was a gorgeous day.  Here are some photos I snapped throughout the day:

See how tired I look?

These days, kids even play DS at sporting events!

Cole in Lane 4, the poor guy was so exhausted from this harrowing week, he finished last.

Like a trooper he kept going though.

He didn’t even want to compete in his 2nd event.

But eventually he decided to keep going.

And did quite well in the backstroke.

Cole & Mommy

Cole & Daddy

After the meet we went for a long leisurely lunch, then stopped at the Pet Supply store.  Remember a few weeks ago when I wrote about Garbo & Ruby’s “designer” dog foods, which Dick Van Patten supposedly ate out of the can?  Well, apparently this new line tastes even better, LOL.

The Pet Supply store was apparently owned by some right wing Christians who had a a literature stand filled with pamphlets like this:

Apparently, my computer is going to hell.

Roxy was glad to see us when we got home!

Lisa, positively glowing

Funeral flowers certainly don’t last long…too bad.

Roxy, being playful:

Cute little bugger ain’t she?

We went to see Hairspray tonight, and it’s exactly what we all needed.  I must admit I didn’t have high hopes.  Very rarely do I enjoy movies that are based on musicals I’ve seen on stage (i.e. Rent).  Also, John Travolta bugs the hell out of me (closet case).  The movie was superbly done however.  There were cute cameos by John Waters and Ricki Lake.  There were a few new songs that were actually quite good.  James Marsden makes a much better Corny Collins than an X-Man, and Queen Latifah was delightful.  As for Travolta, he’s no Harvey Fierstein (who is?) and he’s certainly no Divine, but he wasn’t as bad as I thought.  I’m sure they cast him to draw an audience, and apparently it worked, as it made more than $27 million its opening weekend.  It also got an extremely high 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. I looked around the theater several times, and most of the people there had big smiles on their faces the whole time.  What’s not to like about this story too?  I could see it over and over.  Loved it.  Of course, maybe I was just in the mood for a fun, light movie.  Go see it….if you don’t like it, I’ll pay you double. 

The oxymoronic thing about funerals is that they can be so much fun.  Though the sadness is often overwhelming, the gathering of family and friends from far and wide and the memories shared, often result in laughter to the point of tears, but tears of joy, as we remember a life well lived. 

I learned many things about Dave this week.  I learned about his childhood from his kid brother.  I learned about what kind of father he was from his daughters.  I learned what a good friend he was from over 100 people who came to a memorial on a Wednesday afternoon to celebrate his life.  Of course I knew all of these things already, they were facts.  But as we all stayed up until 4 or 5 AM the past 3 nights and rummaged through boxes of old photos and told stories, these “facts” developed a genesis.  Through Jennifer’s eloquent eulogy to Cole’s tears of anguish at never being able to see his “Bampa” again, I learned how he was adored.  From Lisa’s unwavering spirit after painful surgery to Tommy’s matter of fact innocence in the wake of such a loss, I learned how his spirit was infectious to his family.  From Dar’s brave face and smiles through the tears, I realized how much joy the man she loved brought her every day of their life together. 

He was a man who defied all the odds and his spirit will live on in the family that loved him so much.  Here are some of my favorite photos from the week.  We’ve been joking about how happy we all look in these pictures.  If this is how our family acts at a funeral, imagine what we’re like at a wedding!  LOL.  To wit, a celebration of a life well lived:

Song of the day

Here are some new photos of the twins, Cole & Carter and Trey & Tyler (the Fantastic Four).  Here they are at the lake with big brother Jaden and their 2 little cousins.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Diane is the most amazing, bestest mother in the whole wide world!  Here are my Godsons:

And lest you think the pictures I took of Andy and the milk yesterday were messy…take a look at two sets of identical twin boys, all under the age of 4 (when these pictures were taken) getting REALLY messy.  I threw in a few of me with the twins as well.  Anyone who knows me knows how good I am with kids, but I can’t even begin to describe what baby-sitting for these four little devils is like.  Again, Diane is the Mother of the Year.  I love you my friend!! xoxoxoxoo

So, my third Bluetooth in the past year, broke today.  I’m getting sick of spending $75 to $90 a pop on these pieces of shit that keep breaking.  They really are horribly designed.  The volume buttons never work, and the on/off switches are ridiculous.  Doesn’t Bluetooth have a monopoly though?  Isn’t that illegal?  Anyone know of any better options? 

Here’s the sad story of my Bluetooth:

It keeps disconnecting unless I press on it.

Come to find out, a little piece broke that held it closed.

So of course with no pressure, it disconnected.

So, to save money, I introduce you to my Ghetto Bluetooth!

Maybe I should get a black rubberband, LOL.

So I guess now, I’m a 21st Century nerd!

Song of the day

The dogs were glad to see Seth when he came home the other night, and he was apparently glad to see them too. LOL! 

My last 100 visitors, yesterday and today. Thanks friends! Wake up Antarctica!

Thanks to Lewis for reminding me what a good movie this was.  This actress is 15 and in the movie she’s singing to her parents who always tell her she’s too fat.  She should be on American Idol!

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
“In the recent Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, musher Deborah Bicknell was found on the wrong trail, 18 miles off course. Why can’t women just stop and ask for directions?” — Michael Hinkson, Cooperstown, Pa., writing to syndicated columnist Norman Chad. (The Washington Post)

This is Jennifer’s son Justin.  I told you you’d be on the Internet Justin

I finally installed my beta version of Joost.  They still don’t have a ton of content, but some of what they have is pretty cool.  The first thing I saw was the Christina Aguilera/P Diddy video and the quality was amazing. The other channels weren’t as impressive, but it has potential.  As a beta tester I have 5 invitations that I can give out.  I’ll make them first come first serve, for whoever wants them.  Take a look at the website and the hardware requirements before you decide.  If you want an invitation, send me an email at careygly@gmail.com Again, first come, first served

Tommy & Cole in the “Big City”

Dar and Lisa brought the boys up today to see Meet the Robinsons at the El Capitan.  Afterwards we went to the Kodak Theater, and had lunch.  It was a gorgeous sunny day and the kids had a blast.  Luckily the Hollywood sign was still standing and flame free.  All the smoke had cleared away too, though it was pretty smoggy when looking towards downtown LA.  Here are some photos of the kids and a few more of the fire.  I’m also including a coupe of videos I took of Tommy and Andy the other night.  I need to teach them a new joke

Finally, thanks to Seth for passing on this worthwhile website: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/032907C.shtml