Things that are new......

Don is a new man! He has lost 50+ lbs as of today. He looks great and we are celebrating his success. We both spend an hour in the gym almost everyday. Counting down the days until our Disney vacation in August in our new bodies and swimsuits! Thanks to Don I have lost 15 lbs since mid-January. Long way to go, but motivation is abundant! We had an awfully cold and snowy winter. The only plus was an extended visit by my parents and a brief visit by Heidi and Tristin. The neighbors enjoyed my house being decorated for Valentines and St. Patrick's Day (compliments of my Mother, of course)and Lilo & Stitch enjoyed entertaining Tristin!

We have a Son-in-Law! Congratulations to Heidi and John who celebrated their special day on March 12, 2010. Can't wait to introduce John and show him off to the rest of the family. Heidi seems so happy now, and we wish her and John love that lasts a lifetime. They live in Montgomery, Al. John works for himself and is a local voiceover "celebrity". Heidi is still going to school and throughly enjoying motherhood and her new life as "Mrs. John Yuhas".







Tristin is turning one year old in two weeks - CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?? Already a year old and it seems like yesterday I was trying to catch a flight to Montgomery while Heidi was in labor hoping to make it before she delivered. I have no idea why this picture is dated 2/13/09. It was taken on a snowy 2/13/2010 in my van in Weirton, WV. Grandpa Don was entertaining him while Mimi drove the van around the parking lot waiting on his mommy to finish shopping!


Don is commuting back and forth to Youngstown ARS in Ohio. In January he started his new job as the Deputy Operations Group Commander. He is very goal oriented and his career is progressing. We are excited about what the future and command holds for us. If we are lucky it will include a move back south close to family and friends.

I am still working at the local lawfirm and loving it! I am fortunate to be able to visit with Heidi every 12 weeks or so and see Tristin. I am still scrapbooking when I have time and trying to learn to quilt whether I have time or not!

That's a quick update from the Richeys. All is well, life is good and we are truly blessed with good health, a loving family and fabulous friends. Come and see us!

shame on me!

I am almost ashamed to post since it has been so long. Facebook completely spoiled me. I have been up to lots of cool things since I posted last and will be updating again soon. I miss my blog friends!

Congratulations Jacob & Eagle River H.S. Class of 2009!

Graduation went very well and Jacob is so excited to be finished with High School. He plans to attend the University of Alaska Anchorage in the fall with his sister, Alex. In fact, they are moving into a house together June 1st. Hope one or both of them will blog about them living together and going to college. Somehow their stepfather Mark and I think there is a comedy in that situation! We plan to spend this afternoon with the kids, as this is our last day in Alaska. Our flight leaves just after midnight tonight.

Happy Mother's Day!

Hope everyone has a great Mother's Day! I am almost packed and ready for my trip to Alaska. Check out the cool Mother's Day gift I received! It's an Aerogarden 3. I Can't wait to get back home and start planting my English Garden - Thanks Jimmy!

New Jim Shore Art!!

Had to share the following pictures of all the great Jim Shore "Heartwood Creek" pieces my parents gave to me as an early birthday present! Absolutely beautiful and the pictures that I downloaded from the website don't do the pieces justice. They look great in my patriotic home. Thanks Mom and Dad!






Don and I are headed to Alaska to celebrate Jacob's High School Graduation! Congratulations Jacob - we can't wait to see you graduate!

Baby News!

Tristin is finally home from the hospital and I am back in West Virginia. My parents drove me back home and are staying with me for a couple of weeks. Here are the birth announcements that have been ordered for Tristin. I hope to get them mailed out to family this week! Thanks for keeping us in your prayers!

I'm a Grandma!

Tristin Michael was born Friday March 27th at 3:10 a.m. He weighed 7 lbs 11 oz. He has some respiratory issues and is in NICU. His mother is doing fine and really, really wants to hold and feed her baby!

Thought my Kids would recognize the words to this "MOM SONG"

The Mom Song from Northland Video on Vimeo.

Early Christmas Presents - Art Work, (but not mine!)

If you know me even a little bit you know that one of my favorite artists is Jim Shore. I have various pieces and here are a few that were exclusive to Avon this year that I picked up for a very nominal cost. You probably also know that Don and I are huge "Disney" lovers!

Anyway, I wanted to share my newest addition to my Jim Shore collection. It was an early Christmas presents from my parents to Don and I. I absolutely cherish it, and it fits perfectly on my piano. The pictures of Jim Shore's work do not really do him justice. They are very detailed and very folk art. Thanks Mom and Dad - we love our new Nativity!

So, another one of my favorite Artists is my Dad - both of my parents are very creative and talented. Check out my tree! Dad scroll sawed an ornament of every State that Don and I ever lived in - isnt it great? The tree topper was scroll sawed to read "Santa - Look Where We Have Lived"! This was another early Christmas present to Don and I.

a few closeups of the ornaments

Well, only a few days until Christmas and I have lots to get done. Hope all of you have a Very Merry Christmas! Don and I will be having Christmas with his family in Illinios this year for the first time in our marriage! We are very excited and can't wait to see everyone.

Happy Thanksgiving

May your stuffing be tasty

May your turkey plump,

May your potatoes and gravy

Have never a lump.

May your yams be delicious

And your pies take the prize,

And may your Thanksgiving dinner

Stay off your thighs!

Have a great long Thanksgiving Weekend!

Deja Blue!

The Hockey game was AWESOME!! We had so much fun. The Penguins wore their "throw back" baby blue jerseys from the 70's and the game was the 75th straight sold out game in Pittsburgh.



I was amazed at how quiet it is at a hockey game. (Until the Penguins score that is)You can actually hear the skates and the puck on the ice. Three 20 minute periods separated by a 17 minute break. Most of the action takes place in the last five minutes!
The Penguins won 5 - 2 and scored the last few points in the last five minutes of the game. A must for a hockey game - scarfs and gloves, it was cold in there. Also - COW BELLS!! They ring cowbells instead of clapping. Another cool thing they do is fly a big blimp around the inside of the arena. As it flies around it drops little paper flyers over the top of the crowd. These flyers include free items from the vendors - like free cup of coffee, free piece of pizza, etc. McDonalds flashed up a video on the jumbro tron stating that if the Penguins scored in the next two minutes everyone could use their game tickets as a voucher for a free Big Mac from McDonalds starting the next day. Guess what? THEY SCORED!!
Big Macs all around compliments of the Penguins! LOTS OF FUN! (I decided we need to scrapbook the tickets, so there will be no McDonald's celebration for the Richeys!) I can't wait to go back to another game. Sure would be nice to see them play the Atlanta Thrashers, unfortunately that game is this Thursday night - in Atlanta! GO PENS!!

Don is TDY to Robins AFB this week - lucky him! It snowed all day yesterday and is snowing again this morning. We are suppose to get about an inch or so accumulation today. I can't wait to get back to some warmer weather.

Have a great week!

Colder Weather, and PENGUINS!!

I am very excited to tell you that tomorrow night is date night and Don is taking me to a Pittsburgh Penguin v. Buffalo Sabres NHL Hockey game!! I have never been to an NHL game ever and have always wanted to go. Can't wait to post about my experience and let you know how much fun I had.

We are expecting much colder weather this weekend and some snow as well. I will be so glad to get to Alabama for Thanksgiving to see my family and to enjoy the warmer humid weather!!

Being Silly!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

The Art Institute, Mamma Mia! & Bahama Breeze.....

What a great weekend I had! Jacob is here visiting colleges and I was so impressed by all his drawings. He really enjoys art and certainly has the drive and the creativity needed to study art. People think you are born knowing art. Art is a skill that is learned, just like math. Some people do better in math because they like it, some people are more artistic - because they like it! He is so passionate about his characters, and his imagination is HUGE! Jacob needs structured instruction to channel his artistic abilities and the Art Institute will be able to provide that for him. Guess we will see if he gets accepted and if he decides to attend the Art Institute. I am delighted that Don and I are able to provide him the opportunity.



Yesterday I saw the Broadway play "Mamma Mia!" in Pittsburgh with two friends, Anna & Christine. What a great musical. It was full of energy, excitement, gogo boots and spandex. We had a blast. I can't wait for the movie to come out on dvd next month.

After the play Anna and I went to Bahama Breeze for dinner. We had great mojitos, jerk chicken pasta and flatbread. I had a great girls day out.

Today Jacob has an appointment to tour West Virginia Northern Community College here in Weirton. It is cold today and we had a lite dusting of snow on the ground this morning. Don and I both took the day off work to spend with Jacob. Touring the Art Institute inspired me to draw...which I havent done since High School! I got out my sketch pad and charcoal pencils and started drawing the human body to scale to give Jacob something to study by! Good luck Jacob - I hope you get to follow your dream! I love you!

New York City, John McCain, Halloween Fun......and a some BIG NEWS....

I have had so many fun things going on since my last blog. I simply cannot spend the time needed to keep this blog updated with everything I am fortunate to experience. Just in the last week I have been to New York City, attended a John McCain "Whistle Stop" in Ohio, and dressed up and attended a Halloween Party! Life moves quickly.......

Last weekend I went with three friends on a "Redeye" motorcoach tour to New York City. We left Weirton, WV at 11:00 p.m. on Friday night and arrived in Manhattan at 7:00 a.m. We had a one hour driving tour of the city and then we were dropped off at Macy's on 34th and Broadway. We did some purse shopping that was quite an experience. Got some "good deals" on merchandise if you know what I mean. Love my new Gucci, Coach and Dolce & Gabanna handbags which I picked up at a fraction of the retail price. We had a great breakfast at "Ellen's Stardust Diner" at 51st and Broadway - home of the singing wait staff! The staff are all kids trying to make it on broadway and they sing and dance while waiting tables. Much fun, great food and I highly recommend the experience. We did some shopping, visited Rockefeller Plaza (the ice rink is much smaller in person!) and experienced the subway!

The tour guide Ronnie, and my friends Patti, Jeannie and Debbie all in front of Macy's just after he dropped us off. 8:00 a.m. on Saturday October 25th. 56 degrees!




This is a picture of Jeannie, Debbie and Me in front of Rockafeller Plaza at the ice skating rink. We also toured Ground Zero, St. Paul's cathedral, saw the Statue of Liberty from across the water and had so much fun just being together and walking around Manhattan for 12 hours! We arrived back in Weirton at 3:15 a.m. on Sunday morning. Very exhausted and tired, but we were all committed to going back and doing it all again in the Spring. I just kept thinking about how much my neice Andrea loves New York City, and how much I would love to take my daughter Alex - she would love it too!

On Thursday I got an email at work from the office manager telling us that John McCain was holding a rally at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Steubenville, Ohio, on Friday at noon, and anybody that wanted to attend was free to take off work with pay to go! How much fun I had! I went with two girls from work (one was Jeannie from the New York trip) and after standing and waiting for 2 1/2 hours for John to get there (he was an hour late) we realized it was worth it. We were dead center and five rows back.

He looks much different in person and you can really feel his sincerity when you are face to face with him more so than on television. I am glad I was able to attend. My first political rally and I am such a McCain/Palin supporter!

That afternoon my friend Anna invited me to attend a Halloween Party with her. Don had to work so I agreed to go. Had to come up with a costume at the last minute and after looking through my closet I remembered my labcoat and scrubs that I was going to use to paint in. I put them on, grabbed a witch's hat and went as a "Witch Doctor".

The theme for the party was Caveman/Cavewoman. It was lots of fun. Thank you to my friends Mike & Karen for holding a great party in their beautiful historical home! Don is sad he had to miss it.

Next weekend will be lots of fun too! We are so excited to have Jacob coming for a visit from Alaska!!! He has applied to attend college at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and is flying down for a campus tour and personal interview with admissions.

NOW...for my BIG NEWS.....

I am going to be a GRANDMOTHER! I know, I know, I can't believe it either!! Congratulations to Heidi & Michael.


They are expecting their first child, a baby boy on April 1st, and have chosen the name "Tristan Michael". We are excited and hope and pray for a healthy pregnancy.

I told you, Life moves fast!!!

Happy Labor Day, and a Birthday Wish!

Happy Labor Day to Everyone! Don and I are enjoying our day off and getting ready for his parents to come for a visit next weekend. The ivy needed a light trimming and the weather was just perfect this morning to get it done.

We returned from the Florida Keys last Wednesday and were quite happy to get back to our home, puppies and normal routine. It was a great birthday present! I enjoyed a "Cheeseburger in Paradise", great rum runners, key lime pie, margaritas and two very luxurious resorts - thanks Donny for being my best friend and always treating me like a Queen!

Happy Birthday to my Dad! Hope your day is great Dad, despite the weather you are probably experiencing from Hurricane Gustav. We miss you and although we are dreading the winter weather, we are looking forward to December because of your visit! Have a great birthday, we love you!

Blasts from the past?

I found this cool website on friends blog and just had to play with the pictures. I took one picture of me and uploaded it in various yearbook pictures from previous decades. Very funny! Check out my pictures:

1990:

1974:

1964:

1960: I really enjoyed seeing what I might have looked it from 1950 - 2000. Go to http://www.yearbookyourself.com/ and see yourself "in the past"!

By the way, I am still on vacation in the Keys. Just hanging out in the hotel room and surfing the net!

"Happy Birthday to Me...I'm in the Keys"!

I turned 44 yesterday and my wonderful hubby brought me to the Florida Keys for a week long celebration of my birthday. We flew into Miami yesterday. I absolutely love Miami - it was very clean and the people were not only very friendly, but very attractive. Love the latin feel of it all. We arrived in the Keys today and are spending the night tonight in Islamorada before going down to Key West tomorrow. The weather is beautiful. Tropical Storm Fay is way north of here and shouldnt affect the rest of our trip at all.

Don is not liking the hot humid weather, but I am sure some bikini clad women and some rum runner drinks at the Tiki Bar will make it all worth while!

Jacob & Alex's 4th of July Visit!

What a busy summer it has been in West Virginia. Alex and Jacob came for a long weekend visit over the 4th of July and we really enjoyed showing them around Pittsburgh. We saw the Zoo/Aquarium, Andy Worhol Museum, the Heinz History Center and The Natural History Museum/Art Museum.



It was great to see them and we wished they could have stayed longer. We are excited about going to Anchorage next May to see Jacob graduate High School and to check out Alex's first home away from home! Speaking of Alex - HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIRL!


She turns 19 tomorrow. She is getting ready to start her second year at the University of Alaska, and we are very proud of her. Visiting with Jacob & Alex was certainly the highlight of our summer.

Summer Weather and more flowers blooming!

WOW - it was in the 90's today and felt wonderful!! We had a huge storm last night that dropped lots of rain and then the sun came out and it was a beautiful day. I was so excited to come home to more flowers that bloomed!

I just love watching things bloom around this house that I had no idea was even planted!! Don is sharing garden space with the nextdoor neighbor. Don is using about 3/4 of the garden spot in their yard and has been busy planting squash, tomatoes, sunflowers, cucumbers, bell peppers (red and green), jalepeno, marconi peppers and lots of herbs.

He is working on beautiful herb garden on the other side of the house. I will post pictures of the herb garden when he gets finished planting.

Don is enjoying the golf course today and Stitch is at the Vet for a few days having some surgery. Lilo and I are enjoying our walks around the yard and smelling all the wonderful flowers!