Proud Parents!

On January 30th the 186th class of Philadelphia Fire Fighters will graduate. My son is in this class. We are so happy for him as he has truly found a job that he loves. He served as a Marine for four years and his class is made up of mainly veterans from all branches of service.

Saturday was family day and the class performed various exercises and PT. They scaled a building, climbed a building, set the building on fire and then extinguished it. I was so happy as we were joined by family and friends to watch these cadets who are so proud of their new vocation. They have worked extremely hard in their training over the last 20 weeks!

Go Jake! You have made us so proud!

Jake with two of his cousins!

 

Jake and his sister, Danielle, his lovely girlfriend, Maria and his fav cousin, Amanda.

 

 

Declan loves the macot!

 

 

Two fellow Marines who are now Firefighters too!

Best of Luck, Matt, Matt and Jake!

 

 

 

HGTV's Dream Home

Every year I look forward to seeing the new Dream Home that HGTV gives away. I imagine winning it and going with my friends and family for an awesome vacation.

I love Linda Woodrum's style. I have to say she is now one of my favorite decorators. I look forward to watching the show that features the home on New Year's Day. It's fun to dream!

This years's home is on Kiawah Island, SC. It is so beautiful.

I can picture hanging out on this deck.

The Great Room.

The Master Bedroom.

I imagine it is even more beautiful in person!

Pretty Young Bride

I haven't been in the mood to post. My husband is in the hospital.
I just finished this watercolor for a young woman that I've watched grow up. She made a beautiful bride!

Elf

It is so funny, we had an elf as kids and my Mother used to move it around to trick us. Who knew that it would morph in this?! I love looking at some of the creative ideas that people are coming up with for their elves.

from www.livinglocurto.com

from www.livinglocurto.com

from flicker

 

also from flicker

 

Love It, Or Hate It?

Philadelphia ia an old city with many aging commercial areas which the city is now trying to revitalize:

I was invited to see this project:

Join the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program and our partners as we celebrate the realization of Philly Painting, an experimental transformative public art intervention along one of the oldest commercial corridors in North Philadelphia, where Germantown Avenue intersects with Lehigh Avenue.World famous Dutch artists Jeroen Koolhaas and Dre Urhahn – better known as Haas & Hahn – transformed the facades of more than 50 storefronts between the 2500-2800 blocks of Germantown Avenue, along with muralists and crew hired from the community. This unique year-long collaborative project is a key element of a larger economic initiative in the area led by the City of Philadelphia Department of Commerce.Immediately following the dedication, everyone is invited to participate in a festive parade with live music and entertainment, which ends at The Village of Arts & Humanities, and take a FREE tour, led by the project team.

I love it!

 

Good Book!

I'm always looking for a good book and I found this book to be hilarious!
Mindy is a writer, producer and actor on the show, The Office.

I found Mindy to be so funny. She has such a great comedic style.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)

byMindy Kaling
 

“I’m only marginally qualified to be giving advice at all. My body mass index is certainly not ideal, I frequently use my debit card to buy things that cost less than three dollars because I never have cash on me, and my bedroom is so untidy it looks like vandals ransacked the Anthropologie Sale section. I’m kind of a mess.”
― Mindy Kaling, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

Macy's Light Show

Do you have a favorite holiday tradition?
If you're from Philadelphia, chances are you've seen the light show at the Macy's Department Store at Broad and Market, which used to be John Wanamakers.
There is a huge pipe organ and they have a choreographed light show which plays along. Kids love it and families sit on the floor to watch the display which is about three stories tall.
Nothing like it to put you in the spirit! (Although I worked here a couple of Christmas seasons and I think I used to dream to music!)

 

 

Love their window dispalys this year.

Scrooge:

 

The Parade figures coming out of the TV:

 

 

A miniature version of the organ and light show!: