{happy face}

This is Mamba.

My cat.

 And my love.

This is Mamba being pretty much no help at all this past weekend.

 But isn't she a peach?!

{NOT so peachy? Cat hair on my luggage :/}

 My sweet sweet bestie A sent me this picture {not sure where she got it} but she said that it reminded her of me in NY.. Aww.. sweetest thing ever right? I know. it is now my screen saver! You know it :)

I have had some amazing conversations with my momma lately. I love her soooo very much! She is wise, but she is HILARIOUS and we laugh until out faces hurt most days on the phone. I will miss being a drive away from her when I move next week.

..isn't she so beautiful! Always with a flower in her hair!

My momma at my bestie "StoBirds" wedding.

Seriously... who else literally kicks up their heels like my momma!

***

Words for thought..  

..and Ritz Bitz Cheese are apparently my food for thought as I have eaten so many of them I will soon become a Ritzbitz myself according to my mother if I do not stop eating them. Can't help it though. it is the perfect Emily Dickinson and Harry Potter reading breakfast lunch dinner snack!

I have two feelings on the topic I am about to sent a link to.
One: I don't want to ruffle feathers, and I don't want nasty grahams from peeps on here either. I especially don't want people to be offended.
Two: isn't my blog. Since when is this for anyone else? And besides if you feel the same, or maybe have never thought of things in this light before.. perhaps this will lead you to ask some questions..

It is along the same lines as the documentary I posted about "The Cover" awhile back.

For a while now {since before I became a vegetarian} I have felt that zoos and places like Sea World {***} are just not the best environments for these animals or creatures. I see the benefits to humans of these habitats and have enjoyed going myself as a child and young adult. But for the past several years now after hearing story after story of these animals attacking trainers, or children who are throwing objects at them {you ass hat child! and you ass hat parents!} they are the ones who are being further punished by being put down.
 I feel the article I read on Yahoo explained my feelings on it better from PETAs stand point regarding their lawsuit against SeaWorld.
Read it here, and tell me what you think!??

{***} I do not include habitates for endangered species where the goal is to rehabilitate the animal back into the wild, or protective parks that let the animals roam feeling and naturally in the grand acres and acres and acres of land.

Toot Toot Beep Beep

Yep I am tooting my own horn here on this 'ol blog of mine...

Today I turn 25. Yowzah. Last night while checking for more grey silver hairs, and wrinkles, I realized I have some little Confessions to make this Friday about the habits I have held onto and the new habits of my 25 year old self..and soo..

Confession 1: I still paint my nails at stop lights... I know. its bad. probably not the safest. but.. I'm stopped. that parts ok right?

2: I have a weird toe thing. I had to perform my own toe surgery. Now I have like... a nubbin toe nail. I know. It's yuck, and I'm now super self conscious about it.. and very toe aware..

 Hey not all confessions are cute warm and fuzzy ok

 3: Now that I am a young lady.. I'm getting acne what the what! And because I have not been able to break the habit of sleeping on my hands at night (Which I am convinced leads to break out on my cheeks) I have now worn {clean!} socks on my hands to bed two nights in a row. No lies people. No lies.

4: Still to this day, I eat in my bed. Another none attractive quality. It's very Carrie circa Big hating the oranges smell in his sheets.

5: I love to dance in my car to music that are "my jams!" But when I sense that another car is watching me.. my dancing gets worst I think. I do much better thinking no one is watching me. ugh.. eyes forward people I'm trying to dance to my jam here

{Cousins Brian, and Brennan and myself. Look how super burns-y I am.. see THIS is where I get my Mighty Burns name LOL man look at them grow!}

6: Today is a massive eating day. I have not stopped eating since 6am. DUDE. Bagels and dips and cookies.. oh my! But starting Monday it is game on to a better, healthier and slimmer 25 burns bod.

7: Sometimes {and by sometimes I mean most often} I narrate in my head what's going on..

"She sat there and waited for the words to come to her while slow taps on the keyboard rang out into the quiet office.." I'm my own little movie. It's a good one.

8: I have come to realize that to be totally honest with myself I now know this:

I LOVE my mothers side of the family. Which is evident here. But I think a big part of my latching on and really holding tight is that from a young age I was disowned by my fathers parents (I think I was about nine or perhaps ten). It was very hurtful but at the same time made sense. i never seemed to fit into their clean white carpet "don't touch that" world. But now that i am older {more mature at 25 don't ya know} I realize I have Aunts and Uncles and cousins on that side of the family too.. and I really should try and get to know them as my sister recently has. It is all family. And in a family you take their good with their bad.

9: Diamond back just might be the best thing for me at this point in time. Although I feel slightly like kicking rocks and pouting in the corner when its been the 6th date and still no move has been made, it's made the feisty burns take a chill pill on the whole topic and just enjoy having someone actually get to know me. nice right :)

{My Grandpa and I at his birthday weekend}

10: I am freaking out about NYC! Everyone keeps telling me how brave it is. Although I don't feel like it is a brave act. I do feel over come with mild panic that HOLY CRAP I'M MOVING TO NYC!

 And then I pop in a Sex and the City and try to pay attention to what streets they are on to associate with the city.  

That's all I got ladies!

 Enjoy your weekend.

Tonight i am going to dinner with my ladies

Then possibly out on the town

Then cupcakes and the famous Sprinkles

Then a road trip to Sedona!

 YAHOO!

Family Album

Where do you come from?

(These pictures were taken with my iPhone from the albums, sorry for the glares)

I am a lucky lucky girl, because what I come from is a family tree that is so large, and deep rooted I picture it as a large Oak.

{The home my mother grew up in}

Branches upon branches stacked with interesting ancestry, life of the party Irish fellows, and sassy working gals that knew how to wear a fur coat in the cold Chicago weather.

{My great Grandfather-My Grandfathers' father}

Loving the hat on you both!

{Great Grandfather younger here and bottom center {John Buckley}

Dated 7-8-1917

{Great Grandpa Buckley}

Mostly what I saw page after page in all the multi colored albums was love.

Lots and lots of love.

{My Awesomely dressed Grandmother}

{My Too cool for school Grandfather J.P. Buckley far right in the shades}

 Arms wrapped around one another...

... and endearing candid glances.



Silly Skits for the clubhouse meetings..

Yes, that's My Grandpa about to "deliver", and My adorable Grandmother the expectant "father"

Turning the pages I sat with my sisters, Grandpa and Aunts and got the "who's who" on each page with a back story, or two..or three...

My Great Aunt Rita is a great Beauty

My Sister MGrace defiantly takes after her. Several times my Grandpa thought my sister walking across the room was my Great Aunt Rita {His only Sister}

{in the local Newspaper with her boys}

{most recent... very Audrey Hepburn style. Always in classic looks and the short hair *sigh*}

I love the prints! Wallpaper flowers, dress designs, and larger than life corsages.. I love seeing them all in contrast in the black and white photos...

{My Grandparents, and my Grandmothers parents John Becker, and Agnes Fitzgerald}

{Friends of My grandfathers in the Park holding their news paper framed when the war ended}

{\Great Grandparents .. Frolicking? What else! lol}

{My Grandmothers' sister and my Grandmother}

Love



Great-Great Aunt Who was A sister..

 Ireland

My Grandfather is so passionate about Ireland... patriotic to our "Mother Land", so in tune that he weeps listening to Irish songs about war, hunger, and the Irish pride.

You'd think, like I thought for so many years, that my Grandfather was there not only in spirit but as often as he could. You can practically smell the salty sea breeze from the Cliffs of Moher on him. His cheeks freshly flushed from being at a local pub...

He seems to have magicianed himself right out of the Irish countryside and landed back in

 San Marcos, Ca within the hour.

{My favorite shot: a young Irish boy on the side of the road with his donkey hitched with two baskets that served as bucket seats for two small dogs peeking out the top}

So Imagine my shock when I learned.. he has been there...Once...

His father, My Great Grandfather was brought over to the Unsited Staes from Ireland when he was a young teenage boy.

It has been a dream of mine to visit Ireland with my Grandpa.. it looks as though I won't be able to make that happen after all..

So instead I suck down the {put hair on your chest, STRONG} Irish Coffees, listen to his favorite Irish songs, and page through photo after photo of the Irish magazines he subscribes to monthly with him each visit.

**My Mother**

She is still absolutely stunning today. Anyone will tell you how blue her eyes, how silver her hair, and how bright her spirit...

{My Aunt Maggie, Aunt Trish and My Mother... in original dresses made by my Aunt Maggie}

Sitting around the dinner table long after dinner is severed talking, joking, and visiting has long been a family must...

{My Mother, Aunt Maggie, Great Grandmother Agnes, and My Grandmother}

Even as a small child in, what I call her "Mini Julie Andrews Phase" my momma was a little cutie!

The family was featured in the paper for "Family Fashions To Be Shown AT Thursday Party" article about a fashion show where my mother modeled the latest in children's dresses...

{My Uncle Danny, Mother, and Grandparents}

Below: My Aunt trish modeled here with my Grandmother and two other woman for the paper..

My fam bam was all over the local press!

Love

My Grandmothers Parents on their Wedding Day

August 19th, 1910

My Great Grandmother Agnes' wedding ring is the ring I will get from my mother, now a century old.

My Aunt Maggie replicated her flowers in her wedding which turned out just stunning!

Here! Here! To all the love that has been passed down through our family right to lil 'ol me.

 I am grateful for them. Proud of them. And so happy to be one of them!

Say cheese

OceanSide, Ca

2011

On Thursday I took to the road in my sisters car and headed for California for the weekend!

My Grandpa {J.P. Buckley} turned a feisty 90 years old.

To celebrate the occasion cousins, aunts, uncles, and great grand children gathered from all around the state and country.

Uncle Phil, Trish, My momma, Mary, Maggie, Grandpa, Pauline, Tom and Ann

Missing from the photo is my Uncle Jim who passed away and my Uncle Dan who couldn't make it.

Since my sister and I arrived a tad early we lounged at the beach as much as possible the first two days. it was glorious!

Apparently there was some earthquake near New Zealand again {boooo} and the waves were just reaching our coast line.. the waves were giant! Powerful, and beautiful.

Although... in these picture they look pretty tame :)

The Birthday Man and one of my many beautiful cousins, Eilee.

Our Happy Birthday message to our nephew Forrest who turned four on the same day, and couldn't make it down :/

My sister and I watching our Grandpa read our card.

{He posed us! Ha I love it!!}

(my favorite shot from the beach that day)

My favorite shot of my sister Mgrace {left} and I {right} on a walk...

Their hill top home in San Marcos, Ca is literally my favorite place to be in this world.

The breeze is cool and flows through the white linen curtains tied back with soft ribbon and into the house. My grandpa plays big band music while we all choose our cocktail {at 3pm!} and settle in around the house to catch up with each other. It is so peaceful, and sweet with small flower blooms and friendly bees that buzz about doing their work. Walks around the block to stretch your legs and work down the latest snack we have all just attacked and devoured!

no make up = far away shots

Trips to the beach are easy and nice since OceanSide is about ten minutes away.

The pier was swaying that day from the waves!

I look a smidgen snob ish in the photo but I assure you its just the sun in my eyes!

Big. Pretty. Waves.

Dolphins were playing under the pier the second day!

{obvs couldn't get the best shot}

I received sweet texts from Diamond Backs while I was away, and a Happy Birthday wish for my Grandpa too! I received one very odd and random text from Shark late one night.. haven't heard a peep since.. hmmm?

That's it for now, I'll be back {OH! I'll Be back!} with more posts, updates, and fun! And perhaps a giveaway!!!

Mmmmwaaahhh!

B.