I mentioned in a past blog that I love going to concerts. I have been looking at concerts coming up this summer. I may try to hit one or two. I was remembering some I have attended in the past . I have seen too many artists to mention, but here are a few country concerts that put on a great show: Rascal Flatts (4xs,), Taylor Swift (3Xs’), Brad Paisley, Scotty MCCeery, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, Jake Owen (Met Him), Keith Urban (2x’s) and Carrie Underwood~ are a few.

A very special one that I will never forget was the first Rascal Flattls concert. One October day I went off to school on the bus. The last thing I said to my mom was to call the radio station because they were giving away concert tickets that morning. So my mom got through (Almost a miracle) and answered the question correctly. Not only did she win first row tickets, but also a Meet & Greet with Rascal Flatts !! It was Awesome!

Taylor Swift was also singing that night. It was when she was really young and just beginning her musical career. I stood at the edge of the stage for the entire night and was so close. Gary Lovx gabbed my hand at one point.

After the concert ended the crew came out to break down the stage and pack up the instruments. Apparently they change drum tops for each concert. One of the guys came down and handed me a drum top signed by Gary, Jay & Joe Don. This topped off the night. It was Amazing. I will never forget it! Love XTU, Love Your Show! (radio station where I win all the tickets)

I attended Gladwyne elementary school , kindergarten through 5^th grade. It was a great place and many of the parents volunteered for different committees and activities with the students. A really neat one was “The Book Nook Press”. It was like a parent run company. Every year each student was able to write and publish a book or two. I wrote nine books while There! Some were stories that I wrote myself, and one was a class assignment to write our own version of a Paddington story.

Another was for a geography project, to map out a world trip and research all the places I would go. Then we had write letters to our families to describe where we were visiting. It was fun because it was like a virtual vacation. Each chapter contained an envelope addressed to my parents and the letter was place inside. We used pictures of stamps from each country for the envelope. Some of the places I visited were San Diego, China, Italy, and Greece. I used pictures from the internet and some of my mom’s photos from when she traveled.

It was fun writing my  Paddington the Chef story. We read Paddington in my class and then the teacher assigned us to write our own Paddington adventure. I love to cook and one of my favorite shows on the Food network was Emeril (Emeril Lagasse) – Bam! I made Paddington a chef who was a disaster in the kitchen and Emeril came to his rescue!  My Brother John is a chef, so he also appeared in the book!

Other books were about my surgeries, my dogs, and rainy day fun. 

In first grade my friend Chelsea helped me illustrate my book. When I could not find photos, or clipart, my mom would help me draw pictures. Her artwork was really Awesome! After the stories were written, we would be interviewed by a parent from the Book Nook Press, who would then help us edit our story, break it down to pages and decide where pictures would go. A week or so later we would visit them again to approve the editing and choose a binding and a back cover for our book, which was from old wallpaper samples. When many books were ready for binding a large group of parents (mostly moms) would meet and complete our books! It felt really great to see the finished product. A real hard covered book, just like the library, with me as the author!  I love looking back and reading these books. They are something I will keep forever.

With Easter approaching tomorrow I have been thinking about my cousin Matthew. For many years our families spent this day together. Everyone would come over to my house and we often had Easter egg hunts when we were younger. My Mom made a bunny cake that we waited all year for! It was always fun being with my cousins.

This past February was very sad time for our family. My cousin Matthew passed away on Sunday February 14^th. The whole family gathered in South Carolina to be with him. On Valentines Day we each told matt how much we loved him. Matt was 22 years old. When he was 15 he came down with a sickness called Transverse Myelitis. At the same time he also had seizures, which caused brain damage. Because of these two things, he was left a paraplegic – not able to move anything except turn his head a little. He was also suffered intellectual disabilities. So he could not communicate. We were never sure during the past years what he could understand. He was also on a ventilator to breathe.

He lived at home with 24 hour nursing care and was not able to leave his house very often and participate in life’s activities. His life had changed dramatically, and so did his family’s. It was very sad. He is my Aunt Dona’s and Uncle Stu’s Son. He has one younger brother Ryan, who is now 20.  It has been very difficult for their family. Earlier in February Matt was sick and had to be admitted to the hospital. He was too sick to get better.

Matthew had a fun energetic personality. He loved telling jokes and pranking people. He had the best laugh. When he lived in New Jersey we spent many holidays & birthdays and visits together. When he was older, he loved music and concerts. He always had his earphones in and ipod on! I am happy I had the chance to know Matthew for 15 years before he moved away.

I think his spirit is now free after being trapped for seven long years. I will always have good memories of our time together and will always love my cousin Matthew. Here is a link to a sideshow of Matthew ~ If you would like to see it. You can copy & paste to your search bar.  http://play.smilebox.com/SpreadMoreHappy/4e444d344e5441314e7a493d0d0a 

In January I went shopping at H&M clothing. It made me think about how my mom taught me to shop. She loves bargains and paying the lowest price possible for clothing and most anything she buys. Everyone knows about Black Friday. This year my mom found boots for me. Regular $190 for $48 and some glitter shoes regular $44 for $14, both at DSW on their 30% off sale. But other times can be good too. A great time to shop is in January. Most items are marked down once or twice and clearance racks have a percentage off. H&M was offering 30% off of all the clearance items…. and did we find some good bargains! The stores were ready for their spring and summer clothing. So they try    to clear the winter stuff. You can also find great buys at the end of July and August, when the stores are trying to clear all the summer stuff. I brought a skirt, dress, a top and PJ’s. My mom picked up a cute sweatshirt for Brooke. And PJ’s for herself. The items were regularly from $17.99 to $59.99. We paid $ 4.90-$7 each! It was Jackpot. We also found some foaming hand soap at Bath and Body for 50% off for $3.25!!

Another great way to save money is to sign up on websites for store emails. I received a coupon for Vera Bradley during my birthday month for 25% off. Some will text you the coupons, like Joann Crafts and Lord & Taylor. When you add those to the clearance prices. You can really save. So have fun shopping ~ and be sure to look for those Bargains!

Eleven and one half years ago we flew up to Massachusetts to meet a breeder of Golden Retrievers. We did not plan to bring a dog home with us that day.  The breeder began to show our family her dogs and some of the puppies. There was a litter that was eight weeks old and ready to leave their mama to go home with new families. There were two male dogs that were not really spoken for, and my dad held each one. He really loved one of them and asked the breeder if we could buy him. My mom wanted to wait for a girl and was not ready to start puppyville just then. But of course ~ my dad talked her into it! So the little puppy slept on my lap the whole plane ride home. When we arrived home my sister Brooke was taking a nap and my mom went in and surprised her with a puppy running on her bed. We were all thinking of names for him and Bookie came up with Bancroft. My Dad started calling him Mr. Bancroft. We also called him Banks.

At that time we had a two-year-old Golden name Tally Angel. Banks kind of thought she was like his mama. Tally was a little put off that we brought another doggie home. Eventually, they not only got along, but also loved each other very much. Banks used to take his toys and put it in her face. He ALWAYS wanted to play. He would bug Tally until she finally gave in and played, tumbled and ran with him. The two of them would wait on our front lawn in the afternoons for my bus to come home from school. I loved being greeted by them. I had a playroom in my house and the two of them would always sit under my desk. When my friend Helen visited, we would do crafts. One day we made a gum drop tree and Tally and Banks were sitting with their heads on the table waiting for a gumdrop to fall! Bancroft’s favorite thing to do was eat!

In 2011 we moved to a new home and Tally died 2 weeks before the move. Bancroft was very sad and depressed for several months. He would not even play with his toys. After a while he started to become himself again ~ only sweeter than ever.  Sometimes he would watch TV – especially when doggies were on.  

Whenever we walked in the house Bancroft would always pick up a shoe or one of his stuffed animals and bring it to us. It was his way of letting us know he was happy to see us. He also wagged his big fluffy tail. In fact my mother says he never stopped wagging his tail for 11½ years. He loved going for car rides and when my dad would go in a store, he would sit behind the steering wheel and it looked like he was driving!

He started slowing down a bit last year. We were giving him extra attention & love & caring, to comfort him.  My sister’s resue dog Montana  has been staying with us since November, so Bancroft got to know him and liked playing with him.  They were very cute together.

On Friday January 8^th, we learned that Banks had a cancerous tumor on the right side of his heart. It could not be fixed. His heart was failing. The doctor told us he was in distress and it would get worse. My parents made a decision to let him go peacefully and with dignity. We had to say goodbye. My sister & I were not there so we faced timed and told him how much we loved him. Later that night when my parents picked me up I was so upset. My mom called the Vet Center and asked if we could go back to see him. They had a comfort room and they brought him to us. His body was covered except for head. So I spent some time with him and said my good-byes. He looked very peaceful. I was happy to see him one last time. Tally and Banks were best friends and they were both my best friends. I miss both of them but hope they are back together again.