let's start with the good news first. we had a such a wonderful and fun weekend. from the moment i picked up beth from the airport friday evening, until i dropped her off today, we laughed and laughed and laughed some more. we seemed to be on the same wavelength and still shared the camaraderie we did 32 years ago - the last time we saw each other. she had ralph laughing and my dad too.

friday night, we went to the casino - beth enjoys the casino too so it was spontaneous on our part - 11:45 pm spontaneous too..lol thank goodness the casino is just a 5/10 minute drive from our house. although we didn't bring my dad with us, it made my dad happy just to see us go. he enjoyed the fact that beth wanted to go, so of course he shared his tips and wisdom about casino gambling with us before we left.

on saturday we went to brunch in the old neighborhood with a few other friends. we traded stories and although one person's memories didn't always match the others, we laughed and basked in the glow of stories perhaps embellished by our 40 year rich history. we drank a little vino and ate a lot of sweets and the afternoon passed in a flash.

that evening, back in mount vernon, i put together a bbq for us; burgers, turkey burgers, ribs, grilled asparagus, grilled corn and a tomato and vidalia onion salad. sounds like a lot, but it took me less than an hour to put it together. beth said "i don't think i will be hungry, so don't go to any trouble." well a burger, several ribs and other assorted side dishes later, she was finally full. ralph insisted we eat outside in the dark. he lit a candle and beth and i laughed at his idea of ambiance and our idea of "i can't see a damn thing!"

we ended the evening with a drink on the couch and watched "it's complicated" and appropriately funny movie to cap off the day.

on sunday we headed to queen of the rosary academy (QRA) for our reunion luncheon. although the school is now a very beautiful assisted living facility known as dominican village, the reunion was held on site in a lovely auditorium on the grounds of the expanded facility. the school was originally built on 75 acres with a separate retreat house on the property. now there are 200 assisted living "apartments" in 4 separate buildings. although it was sad to see some of the original buildings gone or converted, they did a lovely job with the property and put it to good use.

anyway, what they started this year was a reunion luncheon for all years. as far as i know this is the 2nd event. strangely, our year has never had an official hs reunion on its own and i don't know why. meanwhile, the class of 72 always seems to have one of the largest showings at events.

of course, we had a great time. there were about 20 of us (out of 145). some of us aged better than others (thankfully, i am on the better side) and it was such fun to reminisce about our hs years. going to an all girl parochial school was a unique experience to begin with, but we had such a fun, wonderful 4 years as "academy girls". for me it was my haven away from a tumultuous home environment due to the twins and the angst that accompanied the upbringing of these 2 handicapped children. i felt neglected (certainly not physically, but often emotionally) as my mother had more on her mind and heart than any mother should be asked to cope with. i can see that now, but of course then, i needed my friends and school mates more than ever. anyway, needless to say, my hs years were happy and filled with a lot of laughter and joy as long as i was with my friends.

i was nominated (how, i don't know) to take the lead on putting together a formal 40th reunion for our class which will be in 2012. several others volunteered to help out so i am sure i won't be in this alone.

by the time beth and i got back to mount vernon, we were exhausted from 2 days of talking and strolling down memory lane. i don't think i have talked that much in years. plus you are trying to squeeze the many years of history (families, children, careers, etc.) for several people into these pea-sized memory banks in a few short hours. it was really very tiring. we picked up a pizza for dinner and then vegged out on the couch to watch the season finale of "true blood". we went up to bed about 1 am (yes, an early night) and honestly, i think i was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

now for the bad news. i am sure you don't need a road map to figure out what the bad news is...hmmm, there wasn't a calorie i counted and apparently not a calorie i didn't eat. i did go back and complete my food journal for the weekend as best i could. even with about an 80% accuracy rate, i am way over for the weekend - and let us not mention sugar!

but as usual, I am back on track and looking forward to starting at the Y this week.

well time to clean the house a bit. wishing everyone a happy monday and then some...

the photo: that's me and beth laughing (as usual).....