Linda Rokos Watts

This weekend Troy, Stella and I drove down to Boston for a really GREAT night out. We stayed with the Daily's and the Spencer's joined us for dinner at the country club owned by the Dailys. Stella made an awesome new friend, the Dailys have a daughter the same age, height, and with just as much attitude as Stella they were like two peas in a pod. They had a BLAST together to say the least.  After a five course dinner, lots of drink and some great conversations, we made our way back to the Daily's  (in a major snow storm) for desert. Troy and I were surprised with a little cake just for us! How sweet is this?!? Blessed to have such great people in our lives.  As for the storm, it knocked the power out at about 2am and looks like it will be out for the next few days. We made the drive back home this afternoon and were happy to be in our home with power. From the sounds of it 1/2 of New England doesn't have it.  Love and gratitude....

In passing the other day I had mentioned to my husband that I would love to read the new Steve Jobs authorized biography. Lo' and behold, guess what showed up today in the mail. A little surprise from Amazon / my  AWESOME  husband.  Can't wait to dive in.  Love and Gratitude....

Driving over Tripoli Road this morning on our way to Lincoln.......and look what we came across!! WoO HoO. Love and Gratitude!

Soccer has officially ended for the season. Stella had her last game on Monday. Unfortunately we lost 2-6 but the kids left the field with a smile so all is good in the end. We're now debating whether Stella wants to join basketball but we're a little hesitent since we'll be in Colorado for most of November. She is so excited to get on snow and spend Thanksgiving at Copper skiing! Woo Hoo!   Stella and the rest of the Waterville gang. What a great group of kids.  Took this pic while we were driving over the Tripoli road to Lincoln the other day. The leaves are finally done changing and with one or two more high wind days they will all be in the ground.  On the family front, I have the next  few weeks off till we leave for Colorado. Troy is busy getting the season rolling and spending a fair amount of time in the office. He got his first spinal cortisone shot on Monday and so far so good. We'll see how well his back holds up after...

My work week started on Thursday morning when I made the drive to Portland, Maine and it was NON-stop (literally) till Sunday evening. Whew what a weekend, here's a sneak peek!   Rail-Jam (middle of nowhere) Maine! HA! A ramp, a parking lot and a little snow.....  Lots'o lids...  More clothes then you can imagine....  *LiNdA*  Sushi, sushi.... and, more sushi!  Productive, busy weekend, but happy to be home. Met lots of great people and had a hoot with some great co-workers, explored a new city and got to dip my feet in the ocean. Woot!  Back home, Stella and Troy had a great weekend hangin together in Waterville, they found a great costume for Stella, went to a Holloween party, did some pumpkin carving and missed me of course.  ;)  Happy to be home  Love and gratitude....

CHECK THIS OUT .....  http://www.theyachtweek.com/ Island hopping in Croatia! Yes, PLEASE!!!  Stella was in Croatia this summer with my mom and my mom use to vacation there as a kid. A definite must see. And, what a great way to do it.....on a yacht!   Ahhhhh, daydreaming........one day.  Much love and gratitude

The World Cup season opening race kicks off this weekend in Solden, Austria.  My friend Sarah is one KICK ASS MAMA!!!! We grew up ski racing together and she's still racing her tail off on the World Cup circuit. We got a chance to hang a little in Hood this summer and she is the type of person that illuminates light and positive vibrations. At 33 she is a world class athlete, a mom, a wife and one great human being. This weekend she kicks off yet another season of racing.....Wishing her, love, light, fast skis, and lots of FAST positive vibes. GO SARAH GO..... Love and gratitude....

The fireplace is cranking the leaves are dropping, the skies are grey....it's time! Time for snow. The anticipation of winter and getting my skis back on snow is building. We're cheating the east coast a little by getting on snow in November at Copper, but by the time we get back home the snow will be ready for us here! Woo hoo.  Photo courtesy by Olivia Katrandjian Heading to the coast to Portland, Maine tomorrow morning for 4 days of work. Should be a blast.  Sending out much love and gratitude and doing a little snow dance.....

Today was the 10th annual Waterville Valley Gazebo Sachet. A great gathering for locals living in the valley to get together, drink, eat and enjoy each others company in the great outdoors. Besides getting to know all the moms and dads at Stella's school I haven't had much of a chance to get to know the rest of the community. It's a small knit group of great people, and what a great way for all of us to get together. The basic idea of the sachet is there are groups of people that host at each gazebo in town. Each gazebo has a theme. We (the PTA moms) hosted a gazebo this year. It was a Patriots tailgate theme since the Patriots are playing this afternoon. Plus we thought it would be a great way to get the guys out of the house before the game. Lots of beer, wings, chili, and snacks!   Stella hung out with her buddy Olivia while we all sachet. Luckily with the valley being so small were within walking distance at any given moment.  ...

If there was ONE thing I could change about our KICK ASS new home, it would be stripping all the wall paper. That's the one thing about renting a home.....no changing. Here's a sneak peak at what we look at.... It could be worse, I guess, and I'm pretty good at working with what I've got. On the plus side this place has HUGE exposed wood beams, lots of open space, a great kitchen, great fireplace, and all OUR stuff. The two BEST things about this place though, are the people in it, and the views from our huge living room windows.  LOVE and GRATITUDE...

A big'ol  box of goodies showed up today from my mama. In it, Stella got outfitted for the ski season. Lots and lots of great clothing from Spyder. Stella (and my mama) have the HOOK UP. Lucky Ducky. I think she's going to be the best dressed kid out there, and these outfits are not including all the ones she got hooked up with last year. Yikes.  :) Warm, fuzzy, fleecy.  Workin it.....   Electric PINK... Stella has a great pair of black Spyder pants she got last year the will look awesome with this little number! Okay now that Stella's all set......my turn?!?!  Yes please! On the family front, things are great. We're pretty stinkin close to being 100% moved in. Both Troy and I are fighting a little bug that's been going around. It seems to bypass Stella (thank god) and get passed straight on to us. There are a LOT of kids in her school out sick. O'well, better us then her.  Sending out Love and Grati...

Today we did the drive over the Sandwich Notch to the town of Sandwich, NH for the annual Sandwich Fair. It was spectacular to say the least.   The leaves were AMAZING.   A small pit stop on the bridge.  Ah, the fair. Lots of live stock.  Love the piggies.  This was fun to watch, a lumber jack competition.   WAY TOO MUCH FRIED FOOD.  Stella and her buddy Avery. They had  a BLAST. Lovin this little one. What a great family day. Nana B, and Papa B had a great time as well.  Wishing Taylor and Jordan were with us.  LOVE AND GRATITUDE.

Becky and Bill (Troy's parents) came into town in Friday night and it's been non-stop fun since then.  Troy and I had to both put in a few hours at work on Saturday and Sunday but we had most of the day and evenings to spend time with everyone. Whew, what an awesome weekend....and the best part.....it's not over yet!  :)  Taylor and Jordan got to come up to spend some time with us!! It was sooooo great. Stella unfortunately missed the family picture before the girls had to go. Stella had almost ALL her ski team buddies in town this weekend so she was off visiting with them in town square.   Troy and his girls!!  Such amazing young women and one proud dad.  Jordan and Nana B.   *tAyLoR*  <3 Stella experimenting in the kitchen.   What a great weekend so far, everyone is still in their pj's this morning and ipading or laptoping but it's almost time to pack up an...

Today the world lost a true visionary. The advances in technology this man has made are far above and beyond what anyone else has done. Beyond his measurable successes, though, Steve Jobs claims one spot in history above all others: He realized what we wanted before we understood it ourselves. As I sit here blogging on my iPad with my iPhone next to me, he lives on in the technology he created. "You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future," he told Stanford University graduates during a commencement speech in 2005. "You have to trust in something: your gut, destiny, life karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life. Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Do...

This place is *slowly* coming together. Whew. It has been non-stop since Friday.   There is still a love-seat that matches the couch above that needs to be moved in, but the views are KILLER, the kitchen is being broken in with LOTS of cooking, the loft is being officed in...LIFE IS GREAT *sO HaPpY iN lOvE* Tomorrow Troy heads to Boston for the day and I've got a day planned with more unpacking, baking, and then soccer practice in the afternoon with Stella.......domestic BLISS.  Love and Gratitude.