HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

To my kid sister. I wish you the best year ahead!

Finally!

Sarah Louise Whitford, daughter of Barbara and Ned Whitford of Westerly and Sean Lewis Sweeney, son of Carole and Gerard Sweeney of Dover, MA were married Saturday, October 28, 2006 at three in the afternoon at Christ Church, Westerly, RI. Reverend Robert W. Anthony officiated. Ceremony music was performed by George E. Kent and the Christ Church Choir, trumpet by Richard Given, and bell ringing by Aimée E. Blanchette. Harvey M. Blanchette and Emily A. Sweeney read during the ceremony. The bride’s sister, Lucy E. Whitford was the maid of honor and the bridal attendants were Alisa Saunders, Heather Sanborn and Kara Fieldhouse. The best man was James Damon and the ushers were Ryan Saunders, Michael Freitas and Andrew Kruppa. Flowers at the church were arranged by Jane Barber and flowers for the reception were arranged by Julie Cronan, Susan Sweeney, Regina Murphy and Andrew Lidestri. The ceremony was followed by a reception at The Chester House in Westerly.

The bride, employed by the Gulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland, ME, graduated from the Graduate School of Oceanography at URI. The groom graduated from the University of Maine School of Law in Portland, ME. He is employed by Pierce Atwood, LLP in Portland, ME. They honeymooned at the Orchard Cottage in Queenstown, New Zealand. The couple resides in Maine.

The couple was surrounded by lots of loving friends and family!

What is Manamana?

Answer: The first sketch of the first episode of The Muppet Show.

As a splurge over Christmas, I bought myself the first season of The Muppet Show on DVD. I watched the first three episodes last night. It is such an awesome show. Anyone who has kids ages 3 and up should own this show. There aren't any scary parts and the muppets are hilareous and what the kids don't get, the parents will. I think Jim Henson was on some heavy drugs when he created this show, but he was a genius.

Where else will you see a left-handed conducting frog? (Who knows who else is a left-handed conductor?)

Let's go Pats

I have heard a lot of talk about how boring the game between the Patriots and the Colts is going to be. I don't understand. Do people think it is going to be a blowout? That is the only kind of game that is boring. Do people not know that these teams are rivals? It is always exciting when rivals play (i.e. Red Sox and Yankees) even when it is a blowout. Maybe people are disappointed because there won't be any severe weather to contend with. This is a valid point, but that just means the strategy will have to be that much better. I, for one, am pretty sure this game will be anything but boring.

If you want to talk boring, let me tell you about this Microsoft Access class I took......

Sting Like A Bee

Muhammad Ali turned 65 this week. Most of you who know me know that I am not a boxing fan. I just never saw the point of watching grown men beat each other up. Maybe there is some sort of strategy or something, but I don't get it.

However, I am a fan of good people. This is not to say he was always a good person, but he did become a good person and mended the errors of his ways. He has given millions of dollars to charities and persevered despite his severe illness.

So, happy birthday to the greatest, keep on dancing.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I would like to take a moment to remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Days like today are necessary to make us remember that there were people who had great hope for our country and world. We need more people like that to get others fired up about equality no matter what they look like, what language they speak or what religion they practice.

XII Night

The people in my hometown put on a play every year called XII Night. It is not Shakespeare's XII Night, but an original play about showing out the old year and welcoming in the new and the omnipresent fight of good and evil. There plot changes from year to year but there are some constants: Good wins, a battle, a cool monster, a dancer, an (annoying) clarinetist, great music, jesters, cake, and fun and merriment. For the past 32 years is was written by the same woman. Unfortunately, she passed away this past October so there was a huge void. Who was going to step in and write XII Night? How will the show go on?

My friend, H to the rescue! He is an amazing writer and artist. He has been involved in XII Night since he was 2. It is in his blood. It only seemed natural for him to have a chance to showcase his talent and step in to help out. As it happens, as much as he might deny it, when someone is in trouble, you can count on him to help out. His big heart is a huge part of his personality and his talent is just a bonus.

The play was fantastic. The plot was easy to follow. The poetry used (original and otherwise) fit in beautifully. The dancing was well done. The acting was exceptional (the dark god played by my friend, A, was my fav!). The monster was scary with it's booming footsteps. And the music fit in very well. Although, I might say the tap dancing twins stole the show!


Congrats H. I know I already said this - but I am very proud of you.


Well done.

Pats Win!

After a very messy, but exciting game, the Pats pulled it out to beat the San Diego Chargers to advance to the AFC Championships where they will play the Indianapolis Colts in Indy. They won by a field goal. This is not an unusual way for the Patriots win, but it is unusal that the kicker was NOT Adam Vinatieri, but a much younger rookie named Stephen Gostkowski who pulled it off with grace. I have a feeling in a few years people in New England will be saying "Adam who? Oh you mean the traitor who when to Indy so he could keep his stats by kicking in a dome?" It is also good that the Pats will be playing in Indy as their home record wasn't so great this year. It will be an interesting game next week. Go Pats!

The New Year

I feel like blogging is like going to the gym. Everyone's resolution is to keep up with their blogs (or maybe that's just me). Well, I am going to try to blog at least once a month (I try to keep expectations low).

I know a LOT has happened since I last blogged. Hey - I got married! We had a great wedding. It POURED all morning (I know - it's good luck) and there are some pretty hilareous pictures of me getting into the church all covered in raincoats and bonnets. But we probably had the best sunset EVER when we went down to the beach afterwards. My church is awesome and is made even awesomer (I know it's not a work but it's my blog) by the choir that sings there. We were very lucky to surrounded by people who loved us and wanted to be there to support us. Our photographers were great. Especially when we were being rushed out of the church where we were taking our pictures because of the rain because the 5:00 service was starting. We had a great reception. Our friend Drew and various aunts made the place look fantastic. The DJ was great. The food exceeded our expectations and everyone had FUN which is exactly what we were going for. All in all, it was a great day.

We then went for a honeymoon in New Zealand. That's right - New Zealand. It was fantastic. It was just nice to be on vacation, go for a hike if we wanted, go for a boat ride, or just hang out.

After our nice vacation it was back to reality: work and holidays. Thanksgiving was great and Christmas wasn't but what are you going to do?

Now it is the New Year and I just listened to one of my new CDs (Paul McCartney's Ecce Cor Meum) which also exceeded expectations and was pretty good. I am sick, but my hubby should be home soon (since he said he would be home 1/2 an hour ago) to cook me some dinner.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!