Sunday, November 9, 2008

Pictures from fall Boston Trip


I know that not many of you all read this blog. I barely read it myself. But for my friend Sandy, who never comments anymore, and for anyone else who might care, I do put pics up here once in awhile of trips we've taken. For some reason, the fall leaves and sights captured my interest this trip so I'll share a few of them with you.


This is a gate outside of Harvard Square. I took the picture with my color subtraction on, so that only red shows up. While we were in Harvard we ate at a cool Tapas restaurant. Tapas is short for a restaurant that doesn't give you much food on any one plate, but they charge you a lot because the plate is cute. Here is that restaurant.


This picture below is taken right outside the Charles Hotel, where David and I spent our honeymoon night. We walked through the lobby to see what memories it brought back. None. Didn't remember a bit of it. But this walkway is pretty!


These are buoys that were lined up outside a shop in Rockport. Very colorful. I like this pic.


This one is just classic New England.


So that's it for now...I'm tired and I still have to pack up for our trip home to Sunny South Florida. Believe it or not, everyone...we have no more tickets for upcoming trips and really no more travel plans! I am not naive enough to think that we will stay put for long, but it's nice dreaming. Sooner or later, though, we get restless. Atlanta will surely come next. And business does call. And a tropical island would be nice. Hey, Whaples, weren't we supposed to be doing a cruise?????

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Nashville, Tennessee and the Saunders road trip

This is my Nashville girl! She fell in love with Belmont University, Nashville, Franklin...everything.


Here we are in Franklin, Tennessee. Note the rockstar clothes on David...Jillian was busy shopping for David at "The Buckle".

The Gibson guitar factory was a favorite stop in Nashville!

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Sweet to a Mom's eyes...

I found this written on my facebook wall, and realized again why we love this girl! And what the true value of a college education is...

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Just a few shots from Santa Barbara


This girl believes she belongs in California! She is breathing her "natural" air, and loving it.
Grant was married at the Firestone Vineyards outside, under a tree. I will upload more pics later. It was stunning.

View from my balcony in Santa Barbara. I loved it. Talk about a creativity booster!!!

This is a picture of my cousin Brian, his mom Shirley, my mom (her sister), and me outside our hotel.

Yes, I am back. I'm sorry. I've been hanging out in the Coffee Shop and neglecting to dance. But here are a few pictures from our family trip to Santa Barbara for my nephew Grant's wedding. Enjoy!

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Ragamuffintop - home again



Back home after our latest trip, it's been good having a little more control over my circumstances! How did I do this week? Let's see...no exercise except jet-skiing. Ate ok. Clothes are fitting fine at this size, but it's time to make progress toward the next. I have one month until a family wedding...move your butt, Ragamuffintop!

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Ragamuffintop - idk what week

So Carlos is pretty well convinced we've all fallen off the wagon on the Ragamuffintop challenge, and he might be right. I know that I've been horrible about exercising, but by the same token I've been really good about not letting my diet go to the dogs. I've been away from home for a week, and only home for a few days before that. But even traveling I've been eating reasonably. Now doggone it...it's time for the exercise thing. SO this week I have a new goal: I'm going to get out there and walk while I'm up in the north in relatively cool weather. Someone out there hold me accountable! And don't let me get away with saying that being a spotter on the boat counts as exercise!

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Staying cool in the summer


Photos taken from Viva Terra catalog email

I know this is an ad for a catalog I get, Viva Terra, but I found their newsletter really interesting in this VERY HOT summer! Sometimes we get so sophisticated we forget our grandparents sometimes knew how to live life. Go check this out.

Cool Off This Summer

The first vacation pictures!

This is a picture of the five of us downtown Boston a few days ago. We went to the New England Aquarium, as you can tell from the next picture!

I'm sorry I haven't gotten more vacation pictures up here yet. We've been having great times on the lake tubing and -- hurray! -- jetskiing. The upload time here is excruciating, though. We're headed back to Boston tonight and I will try to round up the camera cards!

Don't you love summer? I feel like this is the first real vacation we've had up here in years.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Woman trapped in clothing. Dies in dressing room.

I was at the mall today trying on dresses for my nephew Grant's wedding. I have this question: how come clothes go ON so easily, but are impossible to get off? Especially silky kinds of dresses and tops with side zippers. At one point today I was struggling to get out of a tricky top and wondering how long it would take David to drive to the mall and extricate me. I am not exaggerating here, and if I could show you a picture I would. I had to literally calm my claustrophobia, uncross the arms over my head, and slither the top an inch at a time. By the time I was done I was ready for a nap.

Sunday, June 29, 2008



OK, all my internet friends, I can't resist passing on this "health tip" from a publication I subscribe to!

HEALTH TIP: Ice Cream As A Fertility Booster?...

1 in 8 couples has trouble conceiving. But, the fix could be
just the thing that summertime is all about... Ice Cream!

The good folks at Harvard University have found that along
with the usual suspects of increasing fruit and veggie intake,
limiting red meats, adding healthy fats by way of nuts and fish,
and other assorted healthful advice, full fat dairy products
may also boost fertility.

The thing here is that it must be full fat dairy, not low fat
or skim. Evidently, "skinny" dairy products lack the hormones
which hitch a ride on fat molecules - the ones that may aid in
ovulation.

While more research needs to be done, this finding looks
promising. So go ahead and indulge yourself.

--HCP Health Tips

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Happy Anniversary to us!




Today is our 22nd anniversary!

Ragamuffintop - week 4


Sorry there was no post for the Ragamuffintop Challenge last week: it all got lost in the shuffle of my niece Joy's wedding! So here we are back again. It was a good week...back on track with my eating and stayed active. Better yet, I didn't totally fall off the bandwagon on our last trip north. Progress is the pair of jeans I'm wearing. Oh...don't worry, there's a smaller pair still waiting for next week!

For those of you, like me, who are interested in such things, this picture was taken with my Macbook Air and Photo Booth. I'm sitting in my living room. Happy Saturday everyone!

Monday, June 23, 2008

A few pics from Jordan and Israel

Kylie is home from her trip to Jordan and Israel! She went with Student Leadership University, an organization she has traveled with every summer. Oh, you should see the hundreds of photos she took. But for just a sampling of her trip:
Kylie is on the left in this photo. The girls are covered in black to go into a Muslim mosque in Jordan.



I can honestly say that this is a picture I never thought I would see: Kylie on a camel. That's her friend Katie behind her. I love saying "Kylie 'n Katie on a camel." Small things entertain me.


This is Jay Strack baptizing Kylie in the Jordan River. I am amazed at how murky it is...you can't even see their legs! No wonder that general Naman from the Old Testament story didn't want to dip into the Jordan river 6 times! I didn't realize that it was a test of faith in more than one way!
That's our girl! I'm so proud of her and all the work she has put into the various levels of Student Leadership University. Now it's time to prepare for Toccoa Falls!

Kylie is home from Jordan and Israel!

So much to write, so many photos to upload, and yet it is too late now. Come back tomorrow! We had a great family weekend with Joy Mathisen's wedding (lovely) and Kylie's return tonight from her Student Leadership University trip to Jordan and Israel. I'll have pictures of both tomorrow, I hope!

Monday, June 16, 2008

New Hampshire Photos





Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by going too fast - you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.
Eddie Cantor
US comedian & singer (1892 - 1964)
We are back in Lexington getting ready to go into some business meetings tomorrow. We had a nice couple of days getting the lake house up and running for the summer and hoping for sunny and peaceful days there in the future.

On a personal note, if the Lord brings us to mind in the next few days, please pray for us. Family businesses are never easy. David has the patience of a saint, but even he is being tried by fire these days.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

The coolest $100 bill ever


Go check out this collaborative art project called Ten Thousand Cents. Ten thousand individuals digitally drew a small section of a $100 bill. These were then combined into the print of the bill that you see below. Their site is really fun to play with...you can click on any section and see how it was drawn.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Ragamuffintop Challenge - Week 2

I can't believe what a terrible picture that is, or that I haven't posted since last week! I am in New Hampshire right now with David, Jillian and a friend named Holly. I just found some great pictures that I want to share later, but my computer is dying so off to this post as soon as possible! So here is my post for the Ragamuffintop Challenge!

Here is what I accomplished this week
  • I went back to the gym and I exercised twice (one shy of my goal for the first week)
  • I stayed strictly on our new eating plan, and managed not to cheat at all!
I call that a successful first week. I was also able to wear a new pair of pants that where too tight before our Oregon trip.

Goals for this week:
  • More exercise - including several nice walks around the island here in NH or into town when we get back to Lexington.
  • Same eating plan
  • New clothes fitting when I get home to Florida!
So...most boring posts ever, but indulge me a little. The realization I would have to post this kept me honest all week!

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Fat Ragamuffintop Week 1

Yes, that's us: one Ragamuffin Top (me) and one pretty decently in shape and definitely cute husband. And we are home from vacation, and ready to take the Ragamuffintop Challenge.

So here is my measurable, concrete goal: two dress sizes. One dress size by August 24 (my nephew's wedding.

Progress this week: I bought a book called the 3-hour-diet (about as long as I can stay on one!) and began using the meal plans. For me, any plan is better than what I do on my own. This one features three meals of 400 calories each, three snacks of 100 calories each, and one 50 calorie snack they try to call dessert. The meal plans are very flexible, interchangeable, and can work with many of the frozen entree's for those days. You know those days.

I went back to the gym. Yes, I did. Finally. Today we just walked on the treadmill, but I'm hoping to get back into some strength training this week as well as 3 days of cardio at least.

That's my plan, and I feel rather exposed posting it, but I think that is the idea!

Portland Wrap-up

The trip to Oregon is a great memory now. We had an amazing time connecting with family and watching Brooks and Amy tie the knot! I thought I'd throw up a few more pictures of our trip for you.


Jillian and Brittne at the wedding. The bridesmaid dresses were beautiful!

This is Brittney's boyfriend Ian. He is 6'6"!!!

These handsome guys are Jeff Hughes, Coutney's boyfriend, Grant Johnson, my nephew who is getting married to Ahnika in Santa Barbara this summer (!), and Collin Vataha, my niece Heather's husband.

All the girls on the Johnson side of the family ended up choosing navy blue dresses for the wedding...without ever talking about it! This is Jillian, Courtney, Heather and Kylie.

David and me at the rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding, in downtown Portland.

Debby and Clint the morning before the wedding. They headed off to an Alaskan cruise the next day!

All the kids at California Pizza Kitchen, except Colby who was out of the frame. And this is my cousin Brian and his wife Trudi.

I'm sure I'll have more later, but for now I'm off to the gym! But that's another post....