Dana Daily

January, my least favorite month of the year, is almost over. For once it passed so quickly that I barely noticed it at all. Last weekend I hosted a Pampered Chef party with consultant, Linda Cahill. Thanks to all who came and for those who couldn't attend, but placed orders online. It was a fun afternoon. On January 27 my blog turned 1 year old. That's pretty exciting! This weekend the girls had their first swim class of 2012. Sal and I enjoyed watching them from the bleachers. Here they are just before leaving the house: Naturally Emmy had to accessorize. Today Sarah, Emily, and I hung out at home. In my attempt to get one family picture a week, we played around with the self-timer on my camera. Take 1: What happened to Emmy?  Take 2: There she is! Can't wait to see what's in store for February, and we'll be one month closer to spring. 

My divorce was finalized this past November. Today I submitted paperwork to the Pittsburgh Diocese Tribunal requesting an annulment. I have reached the shore.

Most people know just how much I love birds. . .I don't. Like a moth to flame, I decided to add a trip to the National Aviary in Pittsburgh to my birthday bucket list . Sal and I took the girls to the aviary yesterday. All four of us had a great time, but major props to Sal who was fighting a migraine during our visit. Oddly enough, I was most interested in seeing WINGS! the free-flight bird show.         Enter the theater's intimate space and prepare to be thrilled at the free flights        of rare macaws, hooded vultures, massive Eurasian eagle owls, hawks, and more        as they zoom just inches overhead. Travel from the rain forests of South America,        to the plains of Africa, the continent of Europe, and the wild spaces of North       America as video, music, lighting, and stage design add drama and conte...

The girls and I kicked off the end of the week with another family photo: Then we headed out the door to work and school. Today was also our first real snowfall. The roads were covered, but the brand new tires on my car did their job. Neither Sarah or Emily was very impressed by the cold. Clearly they are summer girls, just like their mom. It hit me when I was at Lowe's this evening, signing the contact and placing the order for my new front and back doors, and two screen doors (with very cool roller screens), that I am in fact old. I am old enough to think that buying new doors for a house is exciting. I am old enough to think that roller screens are the next best thing to sliced bread. I am old enough to think the person who designed roller springs must be a genius, or just a really cool engineer. Just wait until you see before and after pictures of my house with the doors. I hope the installation crew won't mind me taking a few pictures as the project progresses.

So what if it's January 8 and I'm just getting around to writing my first blog entry of 2012. Tis the life of a busy woman :-) The girls and I kicked off the new year with a family picture: I'd like to keep up with this project and take one picture a week of the three of us for the next year. Only 51 weeks to go ::giggle:: To catch you up on our goings-on: I have started car shopping. It's been over 10 years and 166,000 miles since I bought my last car so I'm due. I have home improvement projects underway. At the top of the list are new front and back doors. My current doors are drafty, wooden models circa 1951. I'm also meeting with Mindy from Cabinet World this week to discuss a kitchen remodel. I'm back in class and will graduate in August. Only three classes stand between me and that measly, albeit expensive (thank goodness work has agreed to pick up the tab), piece of paper. Sarah and Emily will be starting swim class again in a couple weeks. B...

I've been wanting to see TSO for years, and this year finally decided to just buy the tickets already. Any guesses on who I asked to go with me? Sal and I had a fantastic time and continued our date with dinner after the show.  When I bought the tickets I never could have imagined how much fun the day would be. (and with that, I can cross item #13, go to a concert, off my birthday bucket list ).

What a wild couple of days. I came home after a day of shopping yesterday to realize that I was out of heating oil in my tanks. The house was a balmy 61 degrees and it was steadily downhill from there. I had to take today off from work to be here when the oil was delivered, but as a result I got to spend a whole day doing nothing, guilt-free . How often does that happen? Never. I stayed wrapped up in an electric blanket and it was good.