my parents 60th annversary dinner was a wonderful event for our family. there were moments of great laughter as we watched vintage films of my now 59 year old brother running scared from a deer at 4 years old. i had asked my aunt to bring the video of some of the old 8mm films we had from our childhood. one of my cousins had them converted to video back in the 80s. none of my nieces and nephews had ever seen these and as for me and my siblings, it had been at least 25 years since any of us looked at them. some of the flims are missing in action, but the one we had was simply hilarious. of course, the majority of the film was my brother since he was the first born of our generation. there were classic images of italian picnics at the side of the road in the days before the new york thruway and rest stops were built. my family would literally pull off the side of the road and whip out a feast of giant loaves of italian bread and cheese. the part that made us laugh the most was watching everyone wipe their mouths on a communal napkin -- a tablecloth really. i know it sounds disgusting, but it was truly funny to watch. the traffic wizzed by as my grandfather cut apart the largest loaf of bread we had ever seen.

of course as we were laughing, it was sad to note that my mother had no idea what was going on. she was watching the tv, but it was obvious her mind was not comprehending what was there. my father enjoyed it though, and that was something to feel good about. all in all, i am glad i put this together for my family.

from a calorie point of view, i ate 3 days of food in 2. not a complete disaster, but it is certainly not going to help the weight loss battle this week. i think the emotion of the day on saturday set the wheels in motion for a disaster on sunday.

one of my husband's buddies stopped by the house for breakfast on his way back to Maryland. he had been to a birthday celebration for a mutual friend on saturday that we would have been at had it not been for my parents anniversary. (sidebar: doesn't that always happen? you have nothing to do for so many nights and then 3 invitations for the same night. my neighbor was having a jewelry party on saturday night too. of course my parents party was the priority over the other 2 invites, but still...)

well we originally planned on going out for breakfast, but i told ralph that i would prefer staying home so i could prepare my breakfast exactly as i wanted to. yea right, i did that. but i also made the boys pancakes with a hot banana and nut syrup which turned out excellent. since I winged the syrup recipe, i had to taste it. 3 pancakes later (on top of my good breakfast) the tone was set for the rest of the day.

i hope to put that past me. It's a brand new week and I have brand new energy...here's to getting it right again. c'est la vie!! i will do everything in my power to get it right.

this is life
as i know it
with ups and downs
good days
and bad days
strength
and weakness
joy
and sorrow
should have, would have
and could have
i do, i can and
i'll never give up

this is life
trusting my instincts
easily
taking my chances
willingly
sharing my stories
honestly
seeking more wisdom
passionately
admitting my faults
openly
being true to myself
faithfully

this is life
the cards
i am dealt
the hand
i have to play
i can cheat
to win
but then
i really lose
my integrity
the quality
of my life
that i cherish
with every
breath i take
and every
morning
when i rise

this is life
it is not perfect
it will never be perfect
but i expect
perfection
not out of life
but in my living
not out of every result
but in every attempt
it's the trying
that matters
not that i get it right
every time
but that i want to
and that i will give
100% to the task
at hand
and not give up
never,
never give up

this is my life
a speck
in a universe grand
but my speck
and i will do with it
what i must
to reap my own rewards
and accept what is mine
and what is not
and deny those
who try to put my down
and drown out the drone
of limited thinkers
with my own symphony
of laughter, platitudes
and the best of me
the absolute best
of me

this is life
i will take it
i will not
put it on a pedastal
i will not be afraid
to break
i will not be idle
i will not idolize
but i will live
with these ideals
love hard, laugh a lot
and try every single day
to be better
than i was
the day before

that's it.
that is life
c'est la vie