Dedication and Hard Work

Here they are - our dancing girls!!!

My daughter Danielle has been dancing for 7 years - 6 of which have been with these lovely girls.

Yesterday was dress rehearsal to prepare for today's production of "There's No Place Like Home" - A Wizard of Oz themed show.

I could not be any more proud of these girls. The will dance jazz, tap, an 8 minute Hip Hop production in which they all have at least 3-4 different dances/parts and then the finale of the show. They have worked so hard this year - no time off for Spring Break, 5 hour practices on Saturday's since the first weekend in April, 2 run throughs of the recital in addition to dress rehearsal and their regular dance classes. They have never once complained, said I'm tired, I don't want to go, nothing. They love what they are doing and they love being together - they have deep friendships at this point - both in and outside the studio.

The mother's of these girls are a tight group as well - we help each other help the kids, we support each other in our outside of dance lives and we have become great friends.

Today is a day for celebration for our girls - so let us sit back, relax and enjoy the show.........

So for April, Loren, Michaela, Alyssa, Danielle, Julia and Solteria - you have worked hard and deserve to be in the spot light today - soak it in girls and have a great time. We are so very proud of all of you!!!!

I am all for the environment - BUT!!!!!

So driving into work today I hear on the radio that there are lots and lots of people using "old skool" push lawn mowers and now even electric mowers that either plug in or can use a battery.

Don't get me wrong - I am all about everyone doing their share for the environment - HOWEVER if you have ever seen my lawn you would see that while I might be saving the environment I would be taking a big chance of running up my medical bills!!! And I can speak on this because I do share the lawn responsibility with my husband. So if you see me out there with my self propelled mower - forgive me - and remember I do recycle, conserve water etc.......

3 Extra (very special) Kids In The House

So this week our 3 nephews are spending the week at our house with us. They are enrolled in a camp at the YMCA near our house and they all live clear on the other side of town - so staying with us was the most logical thing.

I am enjoying every minute of my house full. The boys are 13, 12 and 12 and all very special too us.

While it is certainly a challenge trying to fit lunch, snacks and drinks for growing boys into something they can carry with them - it is a great opportunity for them and my kids to have a fun week together.

Tonight at the dinner table I was so engrossed in conversation with them that I forgot my daughter was waiting at the dancing school for me to pick her up!!! Luckily I made it just in time.....

I am spending my week listening to them, cooking their favorite foods and just spoiling them in general for someday it won't be so cool to come stay with Aunt Marie and Uncle Joe - but for now I just want to soak it all in and make the memories.

Fitting room lights are harsh!!!

So last night I was at Kohl's trying on some clothes. WHAT A MISTAKE!!! The lighting is horrible, I need a tan and all of today's styles are cut at an unflattering length for my knees!!! Which I might add I got from my mother.....

My friend Tom passed along some great advice - when you go to the store pick out what you want and enjoy the shopping experience - don't try anything on - bring it home and then try it on with better lighting and where you are more comfortable - if you don't like stuff, bring it back.

Grant it none of us like to make returns (with the exception of my dear Lisa) but I sure would like a GREAT shopping experience once in a while.

The real love of the game......

Manny Ramirez hit his 500th home run over the weekend. The ball that came off the bat for that historic homer could have fetched at least $10,000 for the lucky fan who caught it. Luckily for real sports fans everywhere the ball was caught by a RedSox Fan - who returned the ball to Manny because he said Manny deserved it. Ramirez will likely have the ball auctioned off with the proceeds going to charity - so good things all around. I am sure the fan feels like his moment with Manny and the rest of team was worth well more than the value of the ball - and that is the true love of the game......

June 2, 2008 -- A big-hearted Upper West Side baseball fan made the catch of a lifetime - and then returned the ball for free to the slugger who blasted it into the stands.

Damon Woo grabbed career homer No. 500 off the bat of Boston Red Sox masher Manny Ramirez and never thought twice about handing the ball - worth at least $10,000 - to the future Hall of Famer.

"The emotion washed over me," Woo told The Post yesterday.

"You hear about the big money that some of these baseballs go for, but this was Manny's accomplishment. Being a big baseball fan, this just felt like the right thing to do."

Woo, 40, a native of Nahant, Mass., had planned for weeks to visit his brother Jason in Maryland, and watch their beloved Red Sox play the Orioles in Baltimore on Saturday night.

"The ball hit me over my collar bone. I trapped it and my brother covered me up," said Woo, who took a pummeling from fellow bleacher bums eager to grab the milestone homer ball.

Woo, a former Navy SEAL who has lived in New York for the past five years, joked that his military training came in handy.

"I think that [Navy training] taught me how to take a punch or two," quipped Woo.

The Red Sox rewarded Woo and his brother with prime seats to yesterday's game, following a post-game trip Saturday to the clubhouse, where they formally handed Ramirez the ball.

"These guys were genuinely great people, and they made me feel special," Woo said. "It was an experience of a lifetime."

While Woo couldn't put a price tag on his magical Red Sox moment, a professional sports collector estimated that he easily gave away a five-digit payday.

Ramirez, a Washington Heights native, pledged he'd take Woo's gift and pay it forward - by auctioning the ball and giving the proceeds to a hospital charity.

"On the low end, it's worth at least $10,000, $15,000," said Sean Mahoney, vice president of Steiner Collectibles.

"On the high end, who knows, especially if it's going to charity."