Thanksgiving fun

Here are some pictures and video from Thanksgiving.

It was cold but Matea still needed to swing.






Matea wanted to hear Uncle Gary play the trumpet so we dug it out of storage. Gary had definitely NOT forgotten how to play............and Katie gave it her best shot. She was having some trouble reaching the high notes but finally did it!!



Matea decided that she preferred to hear Gary play the trumpet - and her mom, not so much.





The turkey on the grill was great - thanks boys! That left the oven open for Katie's famous sweet potatoes and a Flavin first - green bean casserole (I know, most of you have this every year - we just never have!) We were thrilled to have a couple special guests for the day - Angela and Brandon. It was a joy to have you at our house. Thanks for coming!

We spent time cooking, eating, having fun, playing games and yes, being thankful! We even got to Skype with Jennifer. What a great day.

Thanks #3: Technology

Computers, cars, cell phones...........I like to say can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.

The best part about all this wonderful new technology is keeping in touch with those we love. Here are some things I am thankful for:

videos of Matea
Skype with Jen from halfway around the world
being able to find your friends and family when you lose them at the state fair...if they answer their cell phone,
using my cell phone to get DIRECTIONS when I get lost
text messages from Gary and Katie

I'm feeling a bit like Jane Jetson


(Now if I could just get that automated Maid to work better!)

I love technology, but not as much as you, you see... But I STILL love technology

Thanks #2: It's the little things

Don't you think that sometimes it is the little things that make the biggest impression on us?

I am thankful for:

a good cup of coffee in the morning

Greek style yogurt with fresh blueberries for lunch

listening to my favorite CD on the drive home from work

"I Give Up" clothes to put on for a night spent at home...

Thanks #1: Toot! Toot!

So, Dave, how’s the music writing going??

We hear that a lot….and my hard working, humble husband is loathe to toot his own horn.
So I will do it for him. For those of you who are not aware David has switched his focus from writing the next top 40 hit to writing production music. What is production music you ask? It is the music behind television shows, commercials, websites, videos etc. – the part that you may (or may not) really hear – but if it wasn’t there you would miss it.

Or as Wikipedia defines it: Production music is the name given to the music owned by production music libraries and licensed to customers for use in film, television, radio and other media.

In the last 3 years we have seen much success in the music realm. I always say that his perseverance and hard work are really paying off – there are few people who stick to anything with such dogged determination – but that is so characteristic of David. His music is in over 15 music libraries and he is part of a select group of composers writing for a new music company associated with Harpo productions.

Some of his successes to date:
• Hallmark Movie: Mrs. Washington Goes to Smith
• MTV: Teen Cribs
• TV Ad for Nicolas Sparks new book “The Last Song”
• Discovery Channel: Future Car Extreme
• Jib Jab
• NBC: Most Outrageous Moments, Dr. Oz show
• ABC: TV’s All-Time Funniest
• CBS: Sunday Morning; The Big Bang Theory (prime time no less!!)

So, thanks for letting me brag a bit about my husband.

Let’s call this the first installment of things to be thankful for as we look ahead to Thanksgiving and one of my favorite times of year, Christmas!

.....and the next time you're watching television listen carefully - you may hear a Dave Flavin original!!

Time for a chuckle

Since the world is apparently in turmoil and seems as if it is going to heck in a handbasket (what does that actually mean??) - I decided that it is time to laugh.

Most of you will remember this post from Katie and Aaron's blog:

Ah yes, we are storing toilet paper in a plastic bag again.

Well, I have no toddler living at my house....and since all of the children are now grown and gone we have two cats. Yes, two. One old one who was a stray that we adopted 4 years ago called Alley Cat. We have a new kitten, 6 months old now (to keep Alley company when we are at work all day) named Boo.


Apparently, we may be storing our toilet paper in a plastic bag soon too.
Bad, bad kitty!

What did you do on your summer vacation?

So does anyone remember when you would go back to school in the fall and they would ask you to write about what you did on your summer vacation?? Well, lately when people ask me what I did on my summer vacation and I start to tell them about visiting sites from the movie "You've Got Mail" I see their eyes kind of glaze over and they totally tune out.

I really can't understand this.
Just ask Katie and Jen.
What is one of the best movies ever made?
What other movie could you watch when you feel bad, lonely, crabby, happy, tired, mellow or just needing a break and it would totally fit the bill. It is the perfect movie!!
I know, I know..............there are a few caveats we have to put up with - there is a bit of living together out of wedlock presented in the movie, perhaps some premarital sex (but we never have to see it!) and certainly some emphasis on worldly values and possibly some questionable morals. Well no movie is perfect. So putting all this aside, it is practically perfect in every way.

So..........because Katie, Jen and I (and Grandma Lynn) have probably watched this movie approaching over 100 times I decided I wanted to actually visit some of the sites from the making of the movie. Thanks to Amy (who knows how to get around on the NY subway), my sweet husband David (who willingly traipsed over 50 blocks in the city with me), our good friend Dan (who is always up for something new), Jen and Michelle (the World Racers who were seeing the town before leaving the country) we visited several spots from the movie and had an absolutely wonderful time.

Here we are at the brownstone where Kathleen Kelly lived. Yes, this is the actual home and we are standing right where Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan stood!!

Here I am in front of Cafe Lalo where Joe Fox first realizes that Kathleen Kelley and shopgirl are one and the same person. Great tension!!! ...and if you have to ask what Jennifer is doing, well, never mind - you've never seen the movie and you just won't get it.


Here we are at Zabar's, the grocery store where Kathleen accidentally gets into the "CASH ONLY" line and she has no cash and Joe Fox has to help her out.
Yes, I am actually in the "CASH ONLY" line!!!!!!

I can tell that most of you have already zoned out already and your eyes have glazed over. For those of you who are still reading this - I know you wish you would have been there. If you love the movie and you have the opportunity - go!!!!

Happy Birthday Jen!

I have been remiss.

I have been a slacker.
I have been a no-good very bad blogger.

There is no time like the present to make a change....so here goes.

Since Jen is on the other side of the globe I will use the WORLD WIDE WEB to wish her a very happy birthday!! (thank you Al Gore)

Here is Jen at about 4 months.........what a cutie!!
And still a cutie



When she was little she had a blanket that she liked to sleep with. She has apparently graduated to Chuckanucka...an ugly doll...just like Matea.



Well - happy, happy birthday Jen. I hope you have an absolutely splendiferous day, and if I could I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils - just like mine.