Friday, December 30, 2011

On our adventure back to New Hampshire from CT, on Dec. 26, we saw a sign for the "Smith Mansion" Historic site, due to our last name we had to stop this was the view for the parking lot. So peaceful and quiet, it was not open but we walked around outside and took some pictures.

We do alot of "drive by" sight seeing, we will stop and take pictures but never actually go inside the buildings or even get out of the car, it cracks us up for whatever reason.  Getting ready for the New Years Eve big weekend here at the Inn.

Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

On our way back to New Hampshire, I drove the husband to one of my favorite beaches, in Rhode Island. I used to come here every Jan. 1 and when Thomas died I came here, when my relationship with Scott ended I came here. This spot always made me feel calm. I wanted to finally go for a wonderful reason and show Stephen.  It was a beautiful day Dec 26, 2011 , a bit chilly but gorgeous, we walked on the rocks and I took this picture from the beach..

Well, 2011 is ending in 3 days and 2012 begins, it seems so unbelievable to me that 2012 is here, when I graduated from High School in 1982, it seemed so far away and unfathomable to think about it. Now, it is upon us and of course, makes you reflect what has happened in your life time.

Technology is a big part of changes, kids today all have cellphones, and computers. On Christmas Eve I was sitting with the young kids 4-22, and they are all sitting there on their separate phones, twitting, texting, facebook not really talking to each other. I had my cellphone with me then thought I should put it away to enjoy the family.   Growing up at these family functions we talked, laughed and no one was on their phone, has technology taken away communication in the normal way?

Even at work- my clients don't really call me everything is done via email. Even for weddings, it is easier for them to email a question and they can do it while at work and not have to explain why they need the answer right away to their boss.  Seems so impersonal sometimes and you have to keep checking when you send an email to not come off wrong, so hard. Things can get interpreted differently on line then on the phone.




Saturday, December 24, 2011

So, we bought this "little" fireplace with stockings from Job Lot and I love it, even though it is small makes me feel Christmassy, ( is that a word).. We are in the Hampton Inn, Mystic CT visiting the family for the holiday and since, the husband and I are not exchanging presents this year, for me,  I want it to feel as much like Christmas without presents. I am not upset about no presents, just worry about the husband feeling guilty for our current situation. When you are starting a business it is tough in the beginning and I know in my heart it will take awhile for his business to take off, but I have full confidence.

He does not always like Christmas, and wants me to be happy, I just love him so and when we got married I said for better or worse and richer and poorer and really meant it.  We are young ( ish) and both work hard, so I know it is just a tough economy but you must take a chance to better yourselves and our lives.

I started this post before Christmas, and became side tracked.  We had a wonderful Christmas with my family and each other.   Now, we are back trying to make our lives better and to see if we can actually survive in our own business..

Friday, December 23, 2011

This was the beautiful sunrise over Lake Winnipesaukee on Thursday, December 22, 2011 up here in Wolfeboro,NH


This morning Friday December 23, 2011 I woke up to Snow! It will be a white Christmas up here in NH, we leave around 1pm today to go down to Connecticut to spend the holidays with my family and I do not believe there will be a white Christmas down there...

 Work has been really slow this week, waiting for the anticipation of engagements happening in the next week or so... Then we have Valentine's Day, work wise I love this season then my sales go UP!!!  What bothers me is the people who are Shocked you do not have that Saturday in Summer available, then refuse to be flexible,  Friday and Sunday weddings are usually less expensive and  you are pretty much guaranteed to be the only bride that day, on a Saturday you can not promise that, also if you really want to cut your list go to a Friday.  Sunday's are nice you have do a Brunch early afternoon and guests will not feel obligated to spend money to spend the night which is helpful in this economy. 

Just a few thoughts on weddings in this "ENGAGEMENT SEASON"! Congratulations to all the new brides to be coming up and a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year...

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

It is the week before Christmas and I still have nothing for my mom.. Tonight, I begin my sauce to make my lasagna for the family Christmas Eve.  The husband is working hard to bring in some extra money, we had to tighten our belts this Christmas and now are just waiting for the New year and my paychecks back up to where they are suppose to be.

We leave for CT on Friday, to spend with my family, am looking forward to it... Hope everyone's Christmas is safe and Happy...

Monday, December 19, 2011

Christmas Eve Outfit



Ok, Christmas Eve is coming up again!!  We just colored my hair,and yesterday we were on the hunt for a Sparkly Shirt for me to wear with my winter white dress pants.  I really wanted a Green one, but one it is hard to find, especially with sleeves. I am not a designer but why are there no sparkly tops with color for adults not teenagers? There were some beautiful tops at "Maurice's" with one sleeve but again not sparkly.


Then went to Kohl's nothing!  Walmart/Target/JCPenney Nothing!  Did try Kmart and there was a red shirt with a little sparkle from Jacklyn Smith, but still not what I wanted. So, we went down to TJ Maxx my favorite store and we found (3) 2 black and one Gold ( Jacket), ended up with black by "Michael Kors", I love the style and the fit with cap sleeves but wish it had more color... Here is some pictures.



Friday, December 09, 2011

I just want to say what annoys me: People that for some reason throw anyone under the bus for what reason to better themselves in who's eyes? It is just so frustrating.

Why say you are uncomfortable by something you over heard? Don't ease drop....None of your business, or my favorite, their b**** about someone and I may make a comment and then I am backstabbing... I have decided to unfriend and block anyone I work with from facebook. I do not put anything on facebook but not going to give them a chance to use my personal stuff against me..

Wednesday, December 07, 2011

NEW YORK – The 13-year-old boy who admittedly threw a shopping cart over a fourth-story railing in New York -- striking a philanthropist mom of two -- cared more about his sneakers than the woman he nearly killed, officials revealed Tuesday.
"The respondent was more concerned with the condition of his sneakers than with the condition of his victim," city lawyer Leah Schmelzer said of pint-sized Jeovanni Rosario, 13, whose legal fate in the prank -- originally set for decision Tuesday -- was delayed due to lingering sentencing issues.
Rosario and his even younger partner in crime, Raymond Hernandez, 12, had spent their time at a Harlem precinct "laughing and joking," and showed "no empathy or remorse," following the Oct. 30 tragedy, Schmelzer told Manhattan Family Court Judge Susan Larabee.
"Am I going to be able to get my sneakers back?" Rosario asked as he was led off to detention, a police source said.
Both boys have pleaded guilty to dropping the cart over the railing of a shopping mall despite knowing it could seriously hurt those below. At sentencing they face anywhere from probation up to being jailed until their 18th birthdays.
Victim Marion Hedges had been at the mall purchasing Halloween candy in bulk for disadvantaged children -- and her own 13-year-old son watched in helpless horror as she was struck.
She remains seriously injured from a severe head injury, though prosecutors have kept mum about her specific condition.
"All we know is that she is out of the hospital and getting rehabilitation," Rosario's lawyer, Shahabuddeen Ally, told the New York Post of Hedges.
"I'm being told only that she is at the point where she has to relearn her name, and other basic functions."
The lawyer said Rosario is quite concerned with her wellbeing, and has written her a letter of regret that says, "I did not mean to hurt you," and "I hope you feel better."Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/12/07/police-say-boy-who-dropped-cart-on-mom-more-concerned-with-shoes-than-victim/#ixzz1fsswQKWP

Saturday, December 03, 2011

"It is the most wonderful time of year". Today at work was Breakfast with Santa, it was quite the success, I truly enjoy my job when you get to see people so happy.

The kids were so excited and Santa & Mrs. Claus made sure each child felt special (as they are). It does make me wish I could of had children but since I was not blessed it is wonderful to see them come in and be so happy...

I love Christmas and with kids it makes it even more special...

I hope everyone realizes Christmas is a time for family and to enjoy the season not just getting crazy with presents. The kids actually brought in a presents for other children which to me really made it wonderful..

Friday, December 02, 2011

I was just on the Hotel News Webpage and saw this article , on a new service called Backbid.

I do not agree with this, I think this business is already cut throat now it is just downright dirty. We all know it will be a bidding war, I am in a small town and it is hard enough getting people here, now you want to put businesses against each other, and the real possiblity of putting a small hotel out of business? This economy is so tough as it is. Who came up with this? I know Chris Patridge, but has he worked in a hotel ? Does he realize the hard work and such...

The fight for guests heats upPosted by Jason Q. Freed at 12:00 AM

As if the street-corner hotel business wasn’t already competitive enough, a new third-party intermediary undoubtedly will turn up the heat. BackBid, just 10 days old, allows hoteliers to essentially steal—for lack of a better word—guests from hotels down the street by offering a more appealing stay.

How it works: Travelers book a room and then send their confirmation number to BackBid. Hotels in the surrounding area are then able to query guests from BackBid’s database and bid, or pitch, to that traveler with value-adds and private rates. The consumer can pick his or her favorite bid and change their reservation. The new reservation is pre-paid and non-refundable.
Chris Patridge, executive VP of marketing and co-founder of BackBid, told me he hopes hotels will compete with value-adds instead of discounts. For instance, hotels can use BackBid to learn about a guest who already has booked at a competing hotel in their area and then pitch a more customized experience. If the traveler is there on business, the competing hotel could offer free Wi-Fi or free breakfast, he said.

It’s a nice thought—but I don’t think that’s how it’s going to work. If BackBid catches on the way Patridge hopes, hotels are going to be undercutting each other left and right. I don’t think a consumer would go through the trouble of canceling their reservation and changing to a non-refundable hotel down the street for a free bagel and orange juice. But to save US$50 a night …
Fortunately, the system, Patridge said, is completely opaque. So if Hotel A sees that a guest has booked Hotel B down the street, contacts the guest via email through BackBid and convinces the guest to change his reservation to Hotel A, Hotel B will never find out. At least theoretically.
Patridge says the system is set up to allow hotels to determine a competitive set that must have a certain amount of hotels. The hoteliers can create an unlimited amount of competitive sets, but there are limits on how many hotels appear in more than one comp set. So hoteliers won’t be able to gain proprietary rate information about an individual competitor or single out a particular hotel and attack it, he said.

GetMidArticleAd('Blog', 'Mid Article', 'True')
There are two ways hoteliers can offer bids: A full Global Distribution System model is a little less flexible on what kind of packages the hotel can offer; or hotels can use BackBid’s extranet to get granular by looking through the database and offering specific packages tailored to individual guests. Hoteliers can set detailed parameters for their queries—such as certain days of the week or certain types of travelers—and can automate the query-and-bid process to run at specified intervals.

“We hope that in the future both hotels are going to be partnering with BackBid and accessing reservations that are coming in,” he said, “so it will be a wash losing some reservations and picking some up.”

Chris Anderson, professor at Cornell University, said during a price optimization webinar this week he is “fascinated” by BackBid. “Suppliers have been very slow to adapt; there hasn’t been a lot of desire by individual suppliers to participate in BackBid,” he said. “As a consumer, you have a lot of flexibility with the reservation. At one level, we don’t want to reinforce that more with something like BackBid.”

However, during the past 10 days, BackBid has signed on 100 hotels, and Patridge expects to add a dozen or so each week. In the meantime, the company has developed an algorithm that searches a partner online travel agency for what it considers a “better deal” and then presents those deals to the customer.

“Consumers will always get bids either from BackBid partner hotels or hotels we’ve determined are better deals,” Patridge said.

In researching and developing the product, 85% of hoteliers offer rates that are refundable with no penalty, he said. There really is no downside to a consumer posting his or her reservation on Backbid, he said.

But I wonder if there will be long-term consequences; if the trend catches on, will more hotels offer non-refundable rates?






I know it is a dark picture, this is the hubby and myself at the Tavern to celebrate his birthday.




We went to the Restaurant for a cocktail first, then the tavern for dinner then after dinner up at the new place. I was upset at the new place due to the owner was standing behind me touting how wonderful his new property and restaurant is when only (6) People were there, no one in the dining room. He also knows where I work and what I do, how rude!! Will most likely never give them my money again...



Stephen actually seemed to enjoy his birthday for the first time since I have known him. Birthday's in my mind are to be celebrated, and he never seems to really want to do that..


Here are some pictures of the wonderful food we had...