Welcome!

For those of you who are new here, welcome to my blog! My name is Serena, and I am Mom to Ian, working full-time in a law firm, and going to school full-time to obtain my Bachelors in Finance.

The newest entries to my blog are on top with older entries following. Conversations I found funny have my son's words in blue and mine in pink. See Growin’ Up and Advice to the Lovelorn. Pressing the 'ctrl' button while clicking on a link will cause the link to open in a new window. Clicking on the word "Serenity" in the upper left corner will take you back to my latest entries.

Comments are always welcome, and you don't have to have a blogspot account to do so. Just click on the "Comments" link at the bottom of each entry, make your comment, and choose your identity. "Anonymous" is one of the choices. I only ask that if you post anonymously, you put your name in the post so I know who it came from. Thank you!

Please feel free to browse around!

Memorial Day Parade

Thousands of men and women have died and continue to die for our Freedom, and although it is woefully inadequate, to them I say, Thank You. It has never made sense to me to say "Happy" Memorial Day. I am glad I have the freedom I have, but at the same time am horrified by the vast number of lives it has cost.

Today was the Memorial Day Parade, and not only did I remember my camera, I remembered to use it! (Ian was in the parade. That's probably why.) I got some wonderful pictures of a few young ones absolutely glued to the goings-on. This little one seemed to really enjoy the bands:

and this little one waved to the Fire Trucks:

and I don't think this little guy stopped clapping and jumping for the entire 2 hour parade!

Little kids are great. They soak up everything like little sponges. I remember when Ian was this age... {heavy sigh} Where does the time go? This year he hits 'double digits'!

I believe this band was from the Charter School of Applied Technologies. Cool-looking uniforms, but I bet they were unbearably hot:

The Pipes:

Kenilworth Fire truck:

McGruff, the Crime Dog. (I bet he was in shorts in the car.) :D

Irish dancers:

The Town:

I missed the name of this group, but I bet they were a tad bit warm, too!

Check out the baby buggy!

I have no idea what these bikes are called.
I got video of them showing how to get on them, which will follow in another post:

More Pipes:

The Ladies Auxillary:

A fire truck circa the time my Dad was born:

The Lions Club:

Memorial Day Parade, Continued

Gymnastics:

Highway Department:

Boy Scout Supertroop 104 (War of 1812 Reenactment uniforms):

Sheridan Park Fire Department:

Kenmore Village Improvement Society:

Oooold Fire Truck:

A Snow Scene. What Memorial Day Parade in Western New York would be complete without snow? :D

Ooold Car:

New Mustang:

The Keystone Cops:

And, at long last, Tiny Treasures Day Care ! That's my favorite Boy Child, helping hold the banner:

Of course, I tell him he's my favorite Boy Child, and he says,

Mom. I'm your ONLY Boy Child.

Memorial Day Bag Pipes

How they get on the Big Bikes

KenWest Band

At least I'm pretty sure it is KenWest. I didn't take any video of KenEast. :D

The Garden

My former neighbor, Joe, left behind his planters. When he was here, he grew all kinds of vegetables on our patio. I planted this year:

Yellow Tomatoes

Yellow Bell Peppers

Parsley, Dill, Basil and Rosemary

New Guineas

And in back, Assorted Perennials

Oh, yeah. And I'm sunburned. SPF 30 on, and I still get sunburned. Gonna feel lovely for the Memorial Day parade on Monday.

Energy

Wouldn't it be great if life was a little bit like the Treasure Isle game in Facebook? Every time you run out of energy, you eat fruit. And if you run out of fruit, your friends will send you some.

I need fruit. :D

Growin' Up...

Mom, Angelina asked me to go out with her today.

Yeah? What did you tell her?

I don't have any money. I mean, like, no money at all. I can't go out with her anywhere. I can't afford to go out with anyone!

Probably not what she meant. I hope he keeps his innocence for a very, very long time. :)

Michael said...

Actually, its probably EXACTLY what she meant. Every home in America has an electronic babysitter called a "TV Set," and there is a constant tsunami of impropriety, debauchery and depravity coursing into little minds everywhere.

Serena said...

{heavy sigh} You are probably right. And here he is thinking she just wants him to take her to the Corner Store...

Bunny

Building a nest, I think. He/she seemed to be gathering stuff and cramming it in that corner. Hmmm.

It's been so long since I've posted...I didn't even realize how much time had gone by.

I took the months of April and May off of school. There has been so much going on. At work, Tim started a new partnership with is friend, Herschel Gelber, called Gelber & O'Connell. Tim kept me on as his assistant, so I have no immediate need to look for work. Thank goodness. I cannot imagine being a single mom with the pressure of being unemployed. I've been working partial weekends to get things done for the transfer.

I think I've been emotionally exhausted more than anything else. Worrying takes a whole lot out of a person. Today I slept until noon. Even more surprising is that Ian let me.

Baseball season has begun, and I've already been to three games. :) The weather has been great so far this spring, and I am loving it. Ian and I have been out playing catch every day. His league has started their practicing, two nights a week. He is excited about it, and it's great to see. I'll have to post a pic of him in his new uniform.

He is wanting to grow his hair long. I don't like it, but it's not worth arguing about. As long as he keeps it clean, I'm not going to stress over it. He knows, though, that if he doesn't keep it clean, it's buzz-cut time.

I've got to get my apartment in half-way decent shape. It's a disaster area in here, and I can't stand it. Tomorrow is house cleaning day. Ian is dreading it. (We're starting with his room.) :D

The New Uniform is Here!

...and he's ready!



The sweatshirt is a little big on him, but at the rate he is growing, I figure it won't be for long.

Play Ball!!!

Ghirardelli

Dark Chocolate and Caramel...

Does Life even GET any better than this? :D

Natalie

Here is little Natalie on Easter Sunday. She is my Aunt Marlene's 4th great-grandchild, born February 9th. She is just perfect.

Fambly

Here we are for Easter dinner, clockwise, Ian, Aunt Mary, Laureen, Dorinda, Karen, and Bill's elbow. {heavy sigh} Photographer is not going to go on my resume any time soon.

Bowling and Butternut Squash Soup

I had so much fun today with Ian and my Aunt Mary and my cousins, Bill, Dorinda, Karen and Laureen. We bowled.

Well. . . Okay. I'm stretching the truth a bit.

We tried to bowl. Ian beat the pants off more than one of us with his high score of 93. (Yes, that includes me.)

Funny thing...no one was asking us to join their league. :D

After bowling, we went back to Bill and Dorinda's home for Easter lunch. Rin made this outstanding butternut squash soup that was TO DIE FOR. I helped puree the soup with an immersion blender. Every time I go there, I learn something new. This immersion blender is a very cool apparatus. You put the end of it in the pan, and push the button, and it purees, while the stuff is hot! I was very impressed, and I want one. Even if I only use it to make more butternut squash soup, it will be worth it. I think I could probably use it to make applesauce, too, though, so the investment will be worthwhile.

DFoos said...

Does this mean that you've had a change of feelings about cooking? :D

Serena said...
LOL! Let's just say I'm willing to try some things. I'm just not ready to 'run with scissors' where cooking is concerned yet. Of course, things just taste so much better when someone else is doing the cooking. I can't make an omelet taste as good as Bill's. And not for lack of trying! :D

Rainwater

I read this book this evening. It put a lot of messages between the lines about life's lessons and helping your community. Publishers Weekly, quoted by Barnes and Noble, says, "Bestseller Brown (Smash Cut) brings Depression-era Texas to vivid life in this poignant short novel. At the recommendation of Dr. Murdy Kincaid, Ella Barron, a hardworking woman whose husband deserted her, accepts David Rainwater, a relative of the doctor's, as a lodger at the boarding house she runs in the small town of Gilead, Tex. As the local community contends with a government program to shoot livestock and the opposition of racist Conrad Ellis, a greedy meatpacker, to poor families butchering the meat, Ella grows closer to David. Meanwhile, David becomes a special guardian angel to Solly, Ella's nine-year-old autistic son. Dr. Kincaid has gently suggested Ella put Solly in an institution, but she refuses to do so. Brown skillfully charts the progress of Ella and David's quiet romance, while a contemporary frame adds a neat twist to this heartwarming but never cloying historical."

If I am not mistaken, Sandra Brown usually writes romance novels. This particular novel wasn't heavy on the romance, and I enjoyed it.