random ...

• To answer the questions about the cute dog in the recent Easter (and Thanksgiving) pics ... his name is Bruce and he's an English Bulldog who belongs to Manbug's brother - too cute for words, isn't he?!  The long story is that the 3 brothers grew up with bulldogs - the only breed my in-laws ever had.  It's been about 6-7 years since their last bulldog, so there had been somewhat of a drought in recent years.  So when my mother in law passed away about a year and a half ago, one of the boys decided to get a bulldog of his own almost immediately afterwards.  The timing was really nice - my mother in law had passed away around Halloween and they were able to bring 3-month-old Bruce home right before Thanksgiving, which was an especially tough one so soon after her passing ... so needless to say, sweet Bruce has a very special place in all our hearts ♥

• This next photo is being posted for Jess over at ccbella ... today she posted this photo of her daughter Caroline while they were boating on a recent vacation and I almost choked when I saw it because it looks so much like one of my all time favorites of my own little ladybug (nearly 5 years ago ... sigh!) ... compare for yourself, I think it's kinda wild ... same crinkly nose and big smile ...

• That "if you were a little girl in the 70's" post was so much fun - everyone seemed to identify with at least a few things on the list ... what fun to take that trip down memory lane with everybody!  As I said then, the original email that was being passed around years ago included a couple of items I took out (feathered hair, solid gold dancers, strawberry shortcake dolls, etc) and then I added the Bionic Woman "Jamie Sommers" barbie doll at the end ... but I have to confess there are a couple of other entries I missed and have to share - were roller skating parties as cool for you as they were for me?  Nothing cooler than roller skating around the rink with your friends - disco ball glimmering its spots all over the place - with Queen's "We Will Rock You" blaring over the speakers ... can't you just hear it?!  C'mon, you know you want to clap along ... clap-clap CLAP ...

Also, did anyone have this fold-up vinyl Barbie airplane??

Or how about the camper?

I promise that's it from my 70's flahsbacks, but these last few stragglers were big for me - I just had to make the addendum ;-)

• My funny bronx zoo cobra is still tweeting in spite of being recaptured and returned to the zoo ... I seriously love this ...

• My March trip home to Florida - hello?  never even posted a single photo, that's terrible!  How about a few belated photos ... hard to believe this was 6 weeks ago!  Basically, the trip home consisted of ...

Flying ...

Eating outdoors ...

Shopping ...

Swimming ...

Hanging with my gorgeous goddaughter - my brother's precious lovebug - beloved cousin to my ladybugs ... 

Riding bikes all around the 'hood ...

Learning that time flies when you're having fun ...