What's love got to do with it?

For the last 60 years, I'd say that love has got everything do to with the fact that my Grandmom and Grandpop have been happily married, raised a family (6 children and 18 grandchildren) and have shown our family what it means to be a loving spouse. 

Grandpop John and Grandmom Honey have been together since they were teenagers and continue to make each other happy to this day - their 60th wedding anniversary.

As you might be able to tell from the photo above, my grandfather is a Scotch-Irish man with fair skin and blue eyes - while my grandmother is an Italian lady with olive skin and dark eyes.  He is about 6 ft tall and well she, as she likes to say, is a good thing in a small package :)  So - I guess you can say they are the definition of "opposites attract."

My Grandpop is known to be soft-spoken, very wise and extremely funny.  He's been telling jokes for years and they will always be funny.  He drives my Grandmom literally all around God's creation - and never puts up a fight about it - no matter how many times she decides she doesn't like a handbag or a curtain she just bought and that she needs to return it.  He gives great hugs and always has a smile on his face. 

My Grandmom is something else - she loves to dance and with those Italian roots, she loves to cook.  Her laugh is infectious and she loves a great story.  She is only about 5 ft. tall - so the joke of the grand kids was always to measure how much they have grown by standing next to her (unfortunately I never made it past her height...).  She brags about each of her grandchildren - whether she is on the train, in the back of the church, at her son's barbershop - to anyone who will listen.  She is proud of us and she makes sure that we know it.

Most importantly, my grandparents have modelled for our family what it means to have a strong faith and always remain confident that our faith will see us through. 

For me personally, their marriage has shown me that it is possible to find your one true love and remain loyal, faithful and happy for years and years.  I know that it is possible to find someone funny for 60 years - even if you heard the joke 60,000 times.  I know that is is possible to be respectful of each other's differences and accepting of their flaws.  In essence, I have learned how lucky I am to have witnessed their love and their marriage. 

I appreciate all you have taught me, Grandmom and Grandpop, and for always being there for us.  You have been an inspiration and true role models and I love you very much.

Here's to 60 more years of love and laughter. 

Love always,

Your oldest granddaughter

Going home this weekend...

and I can't wait to see this:

A month in one

Life has been...well, busy since my last post!  I apologize for the lack of posting - but I promise to get back to writing more often!

After St. Patrick's Day - that weekend I was sick and took most of the weekend to lay low and just try to get some much needed rest.  Then, the following Monday and Tuesday I prepared for a dinner party I hosted for some friends.  It was our friend, Phil's, birthday and our group of friends try to get together at least once a month for a game night.  I offered to host it and wanted to have dinner for everyone.

So on Monday and Tuesday, I prepped the dinner - which included a homemade chicken pot pie, a big salad and "Noonan broccoli" as Tom calls it.  I saw on Rachel Ray's show a really good chicken pot pie and it was supposed to be really cold on our game night, so I thought that would be a nice dinner to have!  The salad was topped with all kinds of veggies, almonds and cranberries and Noonan broccoli is made with lots of garlic and breadcrumbs - quite delicious if I do say so myself!

On Wednesday night, we had a lot of fun playing Apples to Apples and Scattergories while watching American Idol.  We also had a cake for Phil with the most perfect beer can candles that Tom found!

The next week - I went to Colorado Springs for my first business trip.  I was a bit nervous because I had never traveled by myself before nor had never had a connecting flight.  But once I got to the airport and settled on the plane - I knew I would be okay.  The planes were very small - only about 12 rows - so we all got to know each other pretty well given we were pretty much on top of each other :)

I made it safe and sound to Colorado Springs and a coworker came to pick me up and took me for a tour of the United States Olympic Training Center.  It is a beautiful complex and the athletes are more than inspiring.

I saw countless Paralympians who persevered through their training despite their handicaps.  It made me realize, first of how lucky I am to be able to walk or run or workout without having to think about it and second, how with drive and determination, anything is possible.

We stopped for a quick photo by the 5 rings wall...

They said I could be the gold medalist :)

After my tour, I went to the hotel for dinner and then caught up with my work emails that I had missed during the day due to travel.

After a long day, I was definitely ready to go to sleep!  The next morning, I woke up and opened my curtains to see this:

It was beautiful and made me feel like I was in a movie!

After a full day of meetings, my coworkers and I participated in a spin class to benefit a charity that my work is sponsoring.  We were extremely nervous because the leader of the spin class was an Olympic trainer/coach and we knew he was not going to go easy on us!

We all made it through and stopped for a another photo by the USA rings wall...

It was a great trip and Colorado really is a beautiful place to visit!  I hope to go back one day!

After traveling for most of the week, I was certainly looking forward to the weekend.  On Friday night, Tom and I went to dinner with his cousin and her boyfriend and then Saturday - our friends put together an impromptu bar crawl.  It was a really nice day and we had a lot of fun - I didn't make it too long - the exhaustion of the week caught up with me - and I was asleep in my bed by about 9:30 that night! 

This past week - I was in birthday mode - as I wanted Tom's birthday to be as wonderful as mine.  On Monday night, I prepared the dinner I wanted to make for Tom to give him his birthday present.  I made Italian baked chicken with peppers, onions and potatos and then Noonan broccoli of course.  I also surprised him with strawberry shortcake because that is his favorite!  

On Tuesday night, Tom came over for dinner and I gave him his present - tickets for Spiderman on Broadway!  We were going to the Friday night 8:00 show and we were really excited to see one of the most talked about shows!  

On Thursday night, Tom and I went to the Rangers game because his Dad was not able to go - so Tom asked if I would want to go.  So we met up after work, got a quick bite to eat and went Madison Square Garden for the hockey game.

On Friday we anxiously awaited the evening - and we went out to dinner at an Italian restaurant called Sophia's.  The food was delicious and just enough!  We then headed to 42nd St. for the show and it was incredible.  Our tickets were in what is known as "the flying circle" so Spiderman landed in front of us about 3 or 4 times after swinging above to crowd!  It was quite a show and we were really happy to have been able to experience it!

On Saturday, I did some much needed laundry and cleaned the apartment.  Then got ready to go out on with all of our friends to celebrate Tom's birthday.  His sister and brother, Jackie and Joe, came out with us and we had a great time at 10th and Willow!  Lots of dancing and lots of fun!  A perfect birthday celebration!  

Here's a throw back picture of me and Tom from our senior gala - we've been dancing since the beginning :)

Hope you had the most wonderful birthday. <3

Then on Sunday, Tom's parents and other family members came to Hoboken to walk around and see the town as well as go to a special birthday dinner.  We had a wonderful day walking around and it was really nice to show them around and hope they will come back soon!

So - that is what I have been up to these last few weeks!  I hope all is well with you and I promise not to have such a long hiatus again :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Next to Christmas - this is one of my most favorite days of the year! 

Nothing better than a sea o' green in the streets!  The months I spent in Ireland were truly some of the most fun days I have had so far in my life and today reminds me of everything I got to experience in Eire. 

The picture below has a story to it.  This was from when we were on the Aran Islands and there were a bunch of us who walked to the cliffs to see the sunset.  We took turns taking pictures overlooking the water and then took a couple group shots.  Normally - I loathe taking a picture by myself.  I hate awkwardly standing - not sure where to put my hands, etc.  But I really wanted to get a picture with the stone walls so I just sucked it up.  After the picture was taken, and thanks to the invention of digital cameras, I got made fun of for the rest of the night for this J-Crew-esque catalog shot.  

Cool sweater around the shouders, Kathryn.  Even better pose! 

But naturally - I am wearing green -  as I am convinced every Irish person looks great in green - and the stone walls really are awesome! So the picture was worth taking. :)

And here's an Irish blessing - as everyone is Irish today:

"May the road rise to meet you, may the wind always be at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your face,  the rain fall softly upon your fields, and my God hold you in the palm of his hands."

Now - go do a jig! :)

Happy Birthday Daddy

Hope you have a good birthday in Heaven 

...and that you are preparing a great St. Patty's Day party tomorrow :)

I love you and I miss you.

Vegas, recapped

Las Vegas is a place like no other place I've ever been to and - I would argue - there is no other place in the world like it.  With the themed hotels, casinos, shows, bars, and restaurants - there is so much to see and do and for a first-timer, it is a lot to take in on one trip!  But - we had a great time and here are the highlights!

We stayed at the Wynn on the 58th floor - so we had a beautiful view and the rooms were awesome!  The Wynn is one of the nicest hotels located on the one end of the strip.

After settling in after the long flight, we began to explore.  First, Brett went to a roulette table and put a hefty bet on black and after watching the ball jump in and out of the numbers on the wheel - the ball did, in fact, land on black and he was up big within a minute!

Little did we know, the big winner of the trip was Jenelle who won $1700 in one night playing "Let It Ride."

Then, we walked through some of the hotels to really see what Vegas had to offer!

We stopped at the Venetian that has the gondola inside the hotel! 

The boys were a little thirsty, so they stopped to get some drinks! 

Then on the first night we went to dinner as a big group and then went out to one of the clubs in Wynn.

Tom and me at Blush!

The next day we started at the pool - which put me right into vacation mode!

Just one of the pools at the Wynn

Then, we went to see more of the hotels!  My favorite was Paris...

After a long day of walking, sightseeing and gambling, we came back to our hotel to get ready to go out!  We went to another club in the Wynn called Tryst - it was such a great time!  

Girls at Tryst

My favorite from the whole trip

The next day we went to the most amazing brunch - just take a look at some of these desserts!

We did a lot of gambling after we took a rest by the pool and then Tom and I got ready to see a show called Le Reve.  It was an amazing water show where the performers did the most amazing athletic stunts.  Here are a few shots from inside the theater.  

On our last day, we took the bus all the way to the end of the strip and then walked our way back.  We stopped, of course, at New York, New York...

And then stopped for some pictures as we made our way down the strip...

We all went back for one last dinner together and then stopped at a piano bar for some drinks and live music.  That night we went to the casino for one last night of gambling and went to bed knowing that we had made the most of our trip!  

Vegas, you were good to us - see again soon! :)

Mamma Noons on the upcoming Vegas trip...

"What happens in Vegas....no, I still want the 'deets'." 

Lucky for you, my loyal readers, you all will receive a full recap of our trip! 

Roulette tables, here I come! :)