Happy Birthday Lilly!

Hi Everyone,

Yes, that's right...today is Lilly's 1st birthday. Wow, it's been a year-hard to believe.

As some of you know, we lost our first baby, Ally, last November to cancer and, shortly thereafter, the first week of December, we brought Lilly home. She was a little, tiny puffball who helped us heal our hearts. We will never forget or stop loving Ally, but we have put all our love into Lilly and we are so thankful to have her in our lives.

Here she is as a 4 month old with her new bed!

Here she is today on her 1st birthday!

She's small for a Lab-only 61 lbs. versus her older sister's 97 (when she was healthy) and tiny compared to Ally. I wished for a 'puppy forever' and I have one. I know that Ally sent her to us and we are so blessed to have gotten her when we did.

If you are considering a dog, consider a Lab. They are THE BEST! We adopted Lilly from www.excaliburlabradors.com and they are a family breeder in Southern MA. This family LOVES dogs and breeds yellows, chocolates, blacks and Bernese Mountain Dogs.

And, if you already have a beloved cat or dog-consider getting health insurance for them. It's really affordable (about $20 per month) and covers all the 'bad' stuff (like cancer) so you can take care of your beloved family member should anything happen. Visit www.embraceyourpet.com and you'll see the policy we have for Lilly. We have the best pet healthcare (Tufts in Grafton MA) in the Country and you won't want to deny your furry family member in the event they get sick.

So, here's to Lilly on her special day-Momma and Daddy love you!

Monday Monday...

Hi Everyone!
Well, I hope you all had a good weekend and enjoyed the Pats win by a LANDSLIDE....Brady is back!
Oh and I hope you ignored the white, flaky stuff flying from the sky. I say we all imagined it...how does that sound? Good, right?
So, today I'm on my way to WF to pick up groceries and stop by the Doggie bakery to get Lilly's bday cake (her bday is tomorrow-1 year old already!)....(Doggie bakery closed on Mondays, I'll go back tomorrow.) and I see a woman driving a convertible...WITH THE TOP DOWN! She's wearing a parka a hat and sunglasses.
Ok, now I do understand that owning a convertible in New England has got to be maddening but, seriously? People it was snowing yesterday and it's NO TIME to have that top down on the car!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Don't miss class tonight-I know it's cold and dark out there but sitting in your Snuggie eating Doritos is NO WAY to spend the Fall! Get your a** to class and we'll make sure you're looking and feeling good all season long!

Thursday

Hi All,
First, we would like to THANK all of you for coming together and raising almost $3000 for the American Heart Association during this year's HeartWalk! WOW! You guys rock! If you'd still like to donate please visit our team page at www.merrimackvalleyheartwalk.org. Our team is in memory of K's Dad-Paul C and we deeply appreciate you honoring him with your generous contributions!

Second...
I'm sure I'm imagining that it's 40-something degrees outside and it's October 15. WHAT?! Lord people if this keeps up I am serious-we're all moving to SoCal together! And, as a sidenote, I know it's cold and dark out in the evening but don't let that come between you and coming to our AWESOME evening classes! We'll get your blood pumping and you'll actually feel more energized than when you came in! And, remember that regular exercise helps you fight off things like the flu and the common cold since it helps your immune system remain strong!

So today is paving day at the P&P ranch. We're getting new walkways, driveways and road. Our association sent out a spreadsheet which, of course, is not accurate. So, being the squeaky wheel that I am, I went right out and asked the Super of the job what was up. He is really nice and let us know we'll still be able to get out of our garages, etc. That's a relief.

Lilly is currently looking out the window at all the equipment that has taken up residence in front of our windows and she just finished giving me a 'shower' of kisses! (Another sidenote, we want to thank all of you who come in, see Lilly, and give her so much love. She clearly eats that up and we love that our baby gets so much wonderful attention from all of you awesome ladies! After losing Ally (almost a year ago now...hard to believe), we wanted Lilly with us as much as possible and having you all welcome her as the J mascot is so special. She loves playing in the big room before you all arrive and enjoys giving you all a little kiss before you start dancing! So...thank you so much!)

Well, it's time to get my fanny moving for the day-we hope to see you ALL in class so we can dance together, laugh together and ward off the winter blues that are coming WAY too early!

Make today count-be good to you!