Almost 3 years ago I wrote about Fitness Trainers Incorporated.  This gym is very special to me because I can’t go to any other gym.  It’s very cool to work one on one with my very own trainer “I”or “A”.  They are amazing! I enjoy the special treatment and attention I need.  My trainers work me hard and by the end of my workout I am sweating like crazy! I look forward to Wednesdays.  I am part of their Scholarship program called Fighting Back. They help people to rehabilitate from an accident or illness. The team is amazing.

Each year the owner holds an Annual Achievement Night Fundraiser Dinner to celebrate a few of the rehab success stories which are a result of training at the gym. It was not held for the past 2 years due to covid and the pandemic. It was held this year at a hotel in Vally Forge. I was fortunate to attend. 

There where four participants being honored. Each had endured an unfortunate accident or illness requiring intense rehab to regain physical strength. Their stories were powerful and they explained that the love and support from the staff helped them mentally, as much as phypically.

Many people attended and there were buffet stations with really good food. The presentation began with a client who had suffered a brain hemorrhage. She rehabbed at the gym for years. Her goal was to “dance again.” She surprised the audience with a modern ballet dance to a beautiful song. “I’m Here for You” by Lady Bri.  At the finish she walked off stage with a cane and we realized she was sight impaired. It was so inspiring.

The four honorees each went on stage to tell their stories. My Mom and I cried at times. They also honored a mom of one the clients with the first time “Caregiver Award.” I know her well. We are at the gym on the same day. She has been caring for her son, who has multiple medical conditions, for decades. It was all so touching and so inspirational. I am so proud to be part of this amazing organization.  If you’d like to see it, go to Youtube and type in  Annual Achievement Night 2022 – LIVE.  It’s a couple of hours, but you can fast forward to 51m 30sec.  This is where the dance and speeches begin. It puts life in perspective. I am grateful for all that I can do, and hope that all the clients of FTI will get stronger with each week. 

October is here. Leaves are changing, the air is cooler, apple cider is in the grocery stores. Fall is also a time for Halloween parties. When my sister and I were young, we hosted several Halloween parties. They were always so much fun and great memories!  Of course there was bobbing for apples. We had a big purple tub filled with water, and many big shiny red apples. If you have not tried it, I would not advise you to do so. It is very tricky. While the tub stays put the apples are floating and keep moving. If you try bobbing be prepared to get soaked and have many towels nearby.  Another crazy game we played was trying to catch a donut on a string which was attached to and hanging from the ceiling. The contest was to see who could nibble away the entire donut. Two girls at a time were blindfolded and had to stand with their hands behind their back and were placed near the donuts. The others watched. One thing that made it more difficult was the swinging donuts hitting us in the face. And everyone was laughing hysterically watching them trying to bite the donuts while getting sugar all over their faces.

My Mom also set up craft stations. One year we all made a scare crow decoration to bring home. Another was fabric stuffed pumpkins. There was a nail polish station with orange, black green and purple polish. My favorite was the cupcake table where we frosted and decorated our own.

I also love dressing up for Halloween. My Mom always makes really cool home made costumes. My first costume was a pumpkin.  My Mom said after she dressed me she couldn’t stop laughing.                                                                                                                                              

        Some of favorites were a Ballerina, Hermione from Harry Potter, Roaring Twenties Flapper, & Angela from Pirates Of Caribbean.  

Another fun celebration was the Halloween parade at my school every year. One year my aide and I dressed up as fifties girls and I brought my American girl doll!

As I got older, My Friend Olivia and I would go to her Mom-Moms house and give out the candy.  Oh yes…the candy…how could I forget!  Maybe that is the best part of Halloween!    I’m glad fall is here and I am excited about celebrating once again!

I mentioned that I was going though stuff in my room. I also came across a scrapbook I made from my twenty-third birthday. My mom and I were trying to think of ideas and she came up with a “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” party theme. I always liked the movie so we looked up stuff on pinterest. We couldn’t believe all the cute ideas, but we should have known because pinterest has everything Cool! My Mom, Helen, my cousin Stacie, and I all helped me prepare for the party

My mom and I found a layered platter with crystals that we used for cupcakes. We made moist chocolate cupcakes with tiffany blue icing topped with a white bow with a rhinestone that Helen and I put together. Helen also helped with black ribbon napkin rings with jewels glued on there. Stacie and I made place cards for everyone with a photo of Audrey Hepburn and each with a different quote from the movie.

There was a card to display the menu, which included Croissant Sandwiches, Chicken And Broccoli Casserole, Fruit Salad, Mini Quiches, Blue Berry Coffee Cake, Lemon Squares & Cupcakes. I’m hungry Right Now! The day of the party, my mom put my hair up with a tiara like Audrey wore in the film. After the guests hung out, talked and ate brunch, we all watched … can you guess…. Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I have had many fun themed parties, but this one was very special. I think it will always be one of my favorites…Darling!

A couple of weeks ago a few of my very good girlfriends, Olivia, Hannah, Chloe, and Lauren came over. I really like to get together with them. It was sort of a warm up from winter / hangout night.

We had the fireplace on and appetizers out when they arrived. Since I forgot to take pictures, I will describe everything as best I can and add a couple from pinterest. I made an artichoke and cheese dip served with cracker and flatbread. We also had cauliflower & carrots. For dinner I decided on warm comfort food. This included broccoli & cheese soup & creamy Mac & Cheese, along with chicken fingers and a salad. This all sounds a bit cheesy, but only because I Love cheese! For dessert we had … more cheese! I made a cannoli dip which had ricotta and mascarpone cheese! That was served with graham crackers and sugar cinnamon pita chips. Thank You Pinterest! My mom also made her triple chocolate bundt cake, which was so moist it almost melted in your month.

We served that with Hot Apple Toddy’s with cinnamon sticks! So can understand why I ate just a little bit too much that night? After hanging out a bit, we ended the evening watching Adam Sandler’s in Just Go With It”

“Can’t Wait to do it again Soon!

I see a lot on TV about the upcoming elections. I don’t catch all of the debates and sometimes the news stories kind of bore me. I always liked watching Donald Trump on “The “Apprentice”, so I recognized his name. I like him and like his determination and he is a good businessman. And I like the fact that he loves our country wants to make America Great Again. ! I’m not sure he would be the right person for president (although anybody is better then Obama). Because he is interesting and entertaining, I have paid attention to him more then the other candidates.

I want to share something really funny that I found regarding Donald. There are two ladies named Diamond and Silk who call themselves “The “Stump Trump Sisters”. They are video bloggers and YouTube personalities. Their real names are Lynette & Rochelle and they are sisters who were registered Democrats. They changed to Republicans and are now urging everyone to support and vote for Trump … hence “Stump for Trump”. They were not hired or endorsed by Donald at first. They just did this on their own. They have now appeared at a few of Donald’s rallies to help support him. They are knowledgeable and get their view across in a very entertaining and very funny way. I really enjoy watching them, and learn a little bit about politics from them.

If you have not seen them, please search you tube to have a look. One of my favorite videos is called “Hillary Clinton Where in the Hell are Those Emails”. I think you will crack up if you watch it! Enjoy…and Stump for Trump!

Last night I celebrated New Years Eve at a dance with my AADD Group. There where over 100 people at the Hilton Garden Inn. Everyone got dressed up for it. The tables were decorated with fun New Years Eve stuff like centerpieces, hats, & horns. DJ John- who does most of our dances was there playing great dance music. There was also a screen to watch Rockin New Year’s Eve in New York ~ and the Ball Drop at midnight.

                   (the DJ’s lights were shining behind us)

We started out with dinner. I had salad, salmon, veggies & dessert. After that we hit the dance floor and hardly ever sat down. I love dancing. The director of AADD, Larry gave a short speech, basically reminding us how fabulous our group is! At midnight we had a toast (Martinelli’s) and then back to dancing. At the end we all gathered around in a circle and the DJ played “That’s What Friends Are For” and we all sang along. It was tons of fun…looking forward to next year!!