All Hallows E'en

Tomorrow we celebrate the feast of All Saints, a time in the church's year when we recognise those people who have been good people and have lived their lives in the way God showed us. Some saints are very famous because they did something remarkable whilst they were alive, like our school's patron saint, Mary, who was the mother of Jesus, but others are ordinary people, perhaps like our grandparents.

Long ago, All Saints Day was known as All Hallows and so today, the eve of All Hallows, is known as Hallowe'en. The Church traditionally held a vigil on Hallowe'en when worshippers would prepare themselves with prayers and fasting prior to the feast day itself.Our disco tonight was a celebration for all those who have died and, although we didn't fast, we had lots of fun thinking about All Saints Day.

Tomorrow, we will walk to St Joseph's School to celebrate Mass with them.

Happy Howl-o-ween from LBR!

The pups at Legacy Boxer Rescue would like to take a moment to wish everyone a happy and safe Howl-o-ween! Everyone have fun trick-or-treating with your little monsters tonight, and I'll be back tomorrow to share even more pawsome costumes!


(And yes, I know that's not a boxer! Sheena is a French Bulldog who was an honorary boxer and adopted out by LBR. :))


(And Lexi and Tex here share their home and their mom with LBR foster dogs, so we've made them honorary boxers too!)

Everyone loves a parade!

I got to go to a Halloween pet parade today! It was so much fun. Some LBR dogs turned out in fine style to strut our stuff.

Here's Gentry the surfer dude.


I went as Long John Casey, the most fearsome pirate who ever sailed the seven seas!


And pretty little Bacall made a pretty little bumblebee.


I can't wait for tomorrow night! My sister and I are going to dress up and help Mom hand out treats to all the kids. She'll give candy, we'll give kisses! I'll share pictures on Tuesday. :)

Who's ready for Halloween?

I am!

Blogalicious 11!

I have attended the Blogalicious Conference every year since its inception and the experience just keeps getting better! I had the honor of leading a fitness class sponsored by UbiSoft and utilizing Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012. Despite the early time - 7:00a.m., a great group of women joined me for a quick 20 minute exercise. We were able to burn calories and work on tightening our muscles with a brief workout that was NOT easy. I'll be sharing my experience working out with the fitness game over the next five weeks - look for it! 

Isn't she pretty????

I was also honored to speak on a panel about working with Brands and was able to highlight some of my work with Walmart (my sponsor for Blogalicious), Ragu, and others. 

I was able to hang out with old friends.....

                             Lorraine, Jennifer, Barbara, me and Karen. 

And new friends! Sadly, I was not the best shutterbug so I do not have photos of my new friends but I have to tell you they are awesome and way too many to mention! But I have to note Rene Syler, she is a ball of fire and was a keynote speaker talking about Reinvention of Self. Simply amazing. I am happy to be able to call her my friend. 


IF you have not attended a smaller conference like Blogalcious, I highly recommend it. The conference was low-key, fun and full of opportunities for relationship building.

A Little Graveyard Humor

Happy Halloween 2011!!
Marjorie

One. More. GAME!

Just one more game!! Tonight the Texas Rangers play those silly birds from up north and will bring home a WORLD SERIES title!!! All of LBR is ready to cheer them on!

(Ike is an honorary boxer because Auntie Kaffy is his momma. :))



And remember...

Torture and torment

I really don't know why humans do it. Why are they so fascinated by that flashy thing they shove in our faces all the time? They'll even withhold cookies trying to get us to look at it longer! It's even worse when one of them gets a brand new one, because then they want to try it out over and over and over again. What's a dog to do??


My sister Cinderella hasn't realized just how bad this is. She just smiles and acts happy about the whole thing.


But I know the truth. This is nothing less than torture. How would she like having a flashy thing shoved in her face all the time?


Even my kitty sister Pigeon was pulled in. Poor thing, she looks terrified.


The torture seems to have stopped for today, but I know it will be back. She just can't help herself. Why did I have to be born so darned handsome? It's a tough life.

Netherworld Haunted House - A Must See Atlanta Attraction!

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For as long as I can remember I have been fascinated by the spooky, scary and supernatural. But unlike most people, I am not prone to be scared I simply enjoy the thrill of hearing other people screaming and working myself up to scream too! For the past few Halloween seasons I've been lucky enough to venture into neighborhoods where Halloween is a big event. I've actually been in two "haunted houses" that were so much fun and believe it or not, my son accompanied me and had a ball.


This year, I decided to fulfill my curiosity for the "fear factor" by visiting the nationally known Netherworld Haunted House in Atlanta. Netherworld is celebrating its 15th anniversary and after my visit, I wish I'd experienced this before!

This 3D monster greets you at the Haunted House

Netherworld is actually composed of two haunted houses. The short, intense Raw Meat Exhibit and the longer Nightmares. True to my nature, I decided to see Raw Meat first - it was right next to the ticket center and the line was much shorter than Nightmares. The experience began with me crawling through a tunnel so that I could enter the sewer. What followed was an experience I won't soon forget that is not for the faint of heart! 

After Raw Meat it was time for Nightmares...and as much fun as Raw Meat was, Nightmares really is the not to be missed aspect of the Haunted House. While waiting on line various creatures greeted me from a man holding a crazy "monster" that tagged me..

To a demon skateboarder

and skeletor

and

Their presence kept the crowd pumped and these are only a few of the characters wandering around. After about a 20 minute wait we entered the Nightmares. The organizers of the experience have this down pat, each group goes in individually which enables you to have your own experience. Of course, screams abound around you which adds to the fun. 

My favorite aspects of the haunted house were a circular tunnel that reminded me of something out of the Twilight Zone and when one of the creatures in the house put my friend and I in jail and refused to let us out until we sang a song! 

I honestly cannot remember the last time I had more fun. And although this wasn't a "workout" when I left both Raw and Nightmares I was sweating like I'd run a 5k! A word to the wise - go with someone you can hold on to! Netherworld is not to be missed! 

Netherworld is open for the rest of the Halloween season - be prepared for long lines this weekend I'm sure but trust me, it is worth it and you will certainly be entertained while you wait! Tickets are $22 for Nightmares and $28 for a combination ticket that includes Raw Meat. If you want to avoid lines altogether you can purchase a speedpass for $50.00 For more info visit the Netherworld website. And if you visit, please be sure to share your experience with me!!!

Disclosure: I was provided with media passes to experience Netherworld but all of the opinions, screams, and sweat belong 100% to me!

Bonding with my child after a C-Section

In the United States many women are opting to give birth by cesarean section for a myriad of reasons. In my case, it was a necessity. Like many women of African-American descent, I have fibroid tumors on my uterus and a year and half prior to getting pregnant, I decided to have them removed. Well, several of them removed because I still have fibroids there were just too many to get rid of all of them. Prior to surgery I was told that I would only be able to give birth by c-section.  As disappointing as that revelation was, relieving the pain of my fibroids was more important to me than giving a vaginal birth.

Admittedly, I had some concerns about bonding with my child because I knew before being able to spend time with him, I had to recover from the actual surgery.

To read the rest of this post visit the Million Moms Challenge

Reinventing Meals

I titled this post reinventing meals because that is what I like to do with what is formerly known as leftovers. In the latest episode of Moms the Word on Dinner my friends Whitney, Kim and I are discussing are ideas for meals using leftovers. I have a lot of great tips for using pasta which is my favorite. Check out the video and join the conversation on the Ragu facebook page. Share your ideas for meals using leftovers! 



Disclosure: I am a Ragu Moms The Word on Dinner and this is a sponsored post. As usual, all opinions are my own. 

Woohoo!

The Hensley brothers are cheering on a Rangers victory last night. One more game!!

School Holiday???

While the children are at home having lots of fun with their families, school business continues!

During this holiday, work has begun on the improvements in our Reception classroom. Old shelving has been removed to be replaced by modern furniture, the walls are getting a fresh lick of paint and Mrs Hopwood's prayers have been answered in the form of a new carpet

We all feel more relaxed in a pleasant environment and in school we believe children learn best when they are in a warm, safe and happy classroom. This work helps us continue our journey towards a lovely working atmosphere for all our pupils, and helps them to learn how to respect and care for the environment in which they work and play.

Those of you on your way to our local supermarket to do your weekly shop may have also seen diggers in the school field. Sadly, this does not herald the arrival of our new play equipment, but sees the improvement in drainage in our field!

I have the meanest mom ever!

HRMPH!! You may have heard that my Texas Rangers tied up the World Series last night in a thrilling 4-0 shutout victory right here in DFW. I was wearing my Rangers bandana and was all ready to cheer on my Rangers.

Did I get to? NO!! And I'll tell you why -- my MEAN MOM! Instead of watching the game with me and Cinderella at home -- where I could bark my Rangers war chant -- she went to the game without me! How dare she! I'm a Rangers fan, I'm lots of fun at games, and I look darn snazzy in my Rangers shirt. I'm sure they would've let me in!

(This picture is from a game last year, when she still acted like she loved me. Hrmph. See how good I look?!?)

Mom says she's going to watch the game with me tonight, but nothing can repair this grievous betrayal. ...Okay, maybe a bunch of cookies and a Rangers World Series title. But I'm holding out until then!

GO RANGERS!!

Go Rangers!!

The Texas Rangers are playing in Game 3 of the World Series tonight right here in the Metroplex! Legacy dogs are doing our part to cheer them on.

LET'S GO RANGERS!!!

Our buddy Booker was a Rangers fan too. I know he's cheering them on from the Rainbow Bridge!

More Birthdays!

It is my honor to serve as a member of the American Cancer Society's Blogger Advisory Council. ACS is here at Blogalicious asking how we will fight for more birthdays.  As you know, I run for more birthdays- for both myself and fundraise to help others too.  I love celebrating having more birthdays with cancer survivors, current fighters and even honoring those that put up the good fight like my Great Aunt Helen and my cousin George. 

This afternoon Susan, a member of the ACS Blogger Advisory Council  shared her story.  

She is currently fighting Metastatic Breast Cancer. Susan is a fighter and came to speak right after her radiation treatment.  I have to tell you there was not a dry eye in the room. She truly is my hero! 

After Susan's presentation we sang Happy Birthday in celebration of More Birthdays! 

Visit MoreBirthdays.com for information about the More Birthday campaign!