Vivien makes a career move

Today is Vivien's birthday, and along with wishing her the best, we'll take the opportunity to pass along an update on her career.

Vivien recently started as new job as catering sales manager at the InterContinental New York Barclay hotel in Manhattan.

The InterContinental is just across East 49th Street from the Waldorf-Astoria, where Vivien previously worked. She joined the Waldorf in the fall of 2013 as a catering coordinator. Previously, she worked at the Lexington Brass restaurant and at Brookdale Senior Living.

Happy Easter to all our family

Brien's Annual St. Patrick's Parade Watch Party

What's everyone looking at?

The annual St. Patrick's Day Parade on McLean Avenue in Yonkers marches right past Brien's apartment, and for a fourth consecutive year, he hosted a parade-watch party for family and friends.

The parade gets bigger each year, and so does Brien's party! Owen came down from Massachusetts and Austin came up from Florida to join the festivities this year, and Beatrice made her debut.

Here's an album of photos from this Great Day for the Irish.

Stephanie performs in clarinet ensemble

From Clarinet Solo & Ensemble

As promised, Cathy sends us this video of Stephanie performing in a clarinet ensemble at the Hilliard Darby High School Winter Band Concert. This is "Finale" by Mozart. Very impressive!

Update from the Saratoga side of the family

Dan reports: I called Aunt Pat on her birthday March 4 - but she was out celebrating! We caught up a few days later. She said she is doing well, and updated me on her daughter Mary, grandchildren Brennan, Brienna and Shannon, and great-grandchildren Brooklyn Rae, Brennan Alexander and Cash.

Mary is very busy but enjoying her role as director of the Stepping Stones 1 Head Start facility in the Lansingburgh section of Troy, N.Y.  "It's a lot of work but she loves it," her mother said.

Shannon's senior photo

In October, Mary traveled to St. Thomas for a week-long conference. The days were filled with work sessions, but she managed to squeeze in some swimming every day. Mary also continues to coach the swimming team at the Saratoga Regional YMCA.

Shannon is now a senior at Catholic Central High School, also in Troy. She and Mary commute together from Saratoga to Troy. After graduation this spring, Shannon's plan is to join the U.S. Air Force.

Shauna Rae's birthday in January

Brennan, an ex-Marine, is currently studying at Schenectady Community College and coaching sports at Gloversville Middle School. After completing his service in late 2014, he was employed at the GlobalFoundaries semiconductor plant in Malta until a recent wave of layoffs there.

Brennan's wife, Shauna Rae, recently completed her B.A. at Empire State College and works in the Gloversville school system. They live in nearby Broadalbin. Their 4-year-old daughter, Brooklyn Rae, is in pre-school and will start kindergarten next fall. Their son, Brennan Alexander, will have his second birthday in July.

Brienna is currently working at the Saratoga Casino and Raceway. She had worked for several years at a local restaurant, but it recently closed. Her son, Cash, is also four and in pre-school, and will start kindergarten in Saratoga in the fall.

Aunt Pat sends her best wishes to all the family!

Beatrice celebrates first birthday

March 4, 2015

Genevieve and John's daughter Beatrice celebrated her first birthday this past weekend.

"Can't believe how time has flown," said her mom. No kidding!

Stephanie excels in clarinet performance (Updated)

From Clarinet Solo

Cathy provides this video of daughter Stephanie giving a clarinet performance at her church.

"This is the piece Stephanie performed last month for the Ohio Music Education Association Solo & Ensemble event. She received a score of Excellent," Cathy writes. "She performed it in church this morning and received thunderous applause and numerous accolades!"

The piece, "Allegro Moderato, Concerto No. 1" by C.M. von Weber, is about six minutes long and quite beautiful. Watch and enjoy the music!

This week, Stephanie will be performing an ensemble piece at the Hilliard Darby High School Winter Band Concert, so we look forward to seeing more video.

(This post has been updated to include the name of the work and to correct that Stephanie's performance last month was at an OMEA judged event.)

Julie sets out on new career path

Logo by Christine

After years of working for advertising agencies large and small, Julie has set up her own business, Franchise Falcon.

As a franchise consultant, Julie works to connect entrepreneurs with franchise companies that match their interests and experience.

As stated on the Franchise Falcon website: "Just as a falcon surveys the landscape to find exactly what it’s hunting for, our 'bird’s eye' view of the franchise market can help locate the best opportunity for you."

Franchise Falcon is part of a network that represents about 500 franchising operations in a wide range of businesses, including senior care, educational services, auto repair, hair styling and many other fields.