Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a wonderful and peaceful day. Our festivities started around 3 on Christmas eve. Starting with the voyage down to the cape to see W's Mom. We went to Church, had Chinese food and played Boggle. We also watched W wrap last minute gifts. She even wrapped one of ours in front of us with out us knowing. Ohhhh, she's good.

W wanted to make sure Santa knew he was sleeping so he snored extra loud. I ended up on the couch for a few hours. When it got light out I went back up stairs and I think that's when Santa stopped by.

W made the breakfast pizza this year. Normally Gram does it but since she broke her hip she wouldn't be able to. Everyone raved about it probably more in relief that they were still getting their pizzas. The pizza was accompanied by baked french toast with a side of a mimosa (or two, well, 3 in my case but who's counting).

After all the gifts were opened, it's round two for W and I. We stopped back in F to drop off/pick up presents and headed towards my Mom's house.

The whole crew was there, C,T, and their 3 boys, S&P and their two daughters, W and J with their 3 boys, W and I, and Mom and Dad. The paper was flying and a lot of hoorays and screams. There were plenty of melt downs towards the end of the day as one could imagine. Once everyone left, W and I hung out with Mom for a little bit.

It was a wonderful, family filled day. I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas.

Portsmouth

Today my college roommate C and I went up to Portsmouth NH. It was awesome. We went a few years ago right before Christmas and had such a great time we said we'd do it annually. Since life never goes according to plan, we didn't go last year. This year however, we did.

We had specific places that we wanted to visit and go beyond where we went before. We found "our" ever so convenient but free parking spot. Walked to our favorite store and found that it was no longer there. We were totally bummed but kept walking knowing it was probably because of the bad economy.

We crossed the street and to our suprise, they just moved! The owner remembered us too. He gave us a wine testing and we walked out of there with 3 bottles each. Next was our second favorite store and after another wine tasting, we both both another bottle of wine.

The remainder of the day consisted of walking in and out of small, unique stores. C bought new boots that she loved so much, she wore them right after she bought them. Same goes for me for my wicked awesome and much needed hat.

For lunch we ate at the Gaslight Company. Delicious pizza bar with a beer for dessert.

The day is over and now I have to bake brownies and cookies in prep for the festivities of Christmas.

Five Golden Rings...

W back again. So 5 days before X-mas and we are snowed in, 2 feet of snow on the ground. E decides that we should go to the gym this morning because "the roads shouldn't be too bad". Did I mention the 2 feet of snow??? Well at least we got our workout in, with the added bonus of our heart rates staying through the roof slipping and sliding our way home.

Good news is all our shopping and wrapping are done so we spent the rest of the day sitting in front of the TV and relaxing.

Is everyone done with their X-mas preparations????

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas

Here's some pictures of our first snow a few weeks ago. It's long gone now but we are expected to get some more tomorrow.

This past week has been super busy. W has been sick so he's been no fun. I finally got him back yesterday. Yay! W's back!

I had my department yankee swap on Tuesday. I ended up getting a beautiful hand carved box with chopsticks and bamboo place mats. They were bought in Veit Nam by one of my co-workers. Thursday was our office party. That was fun, I got to leave work early.

Any good office party stories?

Jolly Jaunt 2009

Last Saturday I ran my last race for the year, the Jolly Jaunt 10k. It was about 40 degrees out so it wasn't too bad for weather. I did a 10:13 mile which isn't too bad considering I having issues, let's just say, I ate Mexican the night before. Lesson learned.

This year there was a choice to do a 5k and a 10k. 10kers had to run the course twice. My friend R ran the 5k so I had some company the first half of the race. That made the course much quicker. After the race I went to her house for a little Wii play time. It was so much fun W and I bought one the next day. It was an early Christmas present to both of us.

Sick and Tired

W back again. Here's the injury report for week 2 of the X-mas season. E got sick and missed some work last week, she has since passed it on to me and now I'm home sick. At least I'm getting it done with before X-mas gets here. Also my Gram made it through the surgery for her broken hip and is in rehab down near her home. Looking good for her being with us X-mas day.
Hopefully we'll have a full healthy roster for the big day.

Hope everyone else stays healthy this season and gets all their shopping done early like I did.

Star date 12022009

E is sick with a cold. W doesn't feel all that great either. Bummer is, E has a race on Saturday and hasn't run since Sunday. That should be interesting.

W's Grandmother is in the hospital for a broken leg. We all told her that snowboarding was probably not a good idea at her age. They never listen. She had surgery yesterday and all is well. She has a long road of recovery so please keep her in your prayers. She's already talking about facing that Half pipe that did her in.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful day. We went to E's house. Ate a lot of food and now I think I'm going to burst. Tomorrow we are on our way to W's family. Round two for eating!

Hopefully the running will help with not gaining any weight.

v-v-vroooomm

That was my weekend flying on by.

Friday E went to NY for Nanny’s birthday party. It was great. I went out to eat with Nanny, Grampa, Dave and Mom. The plan was, after we ate I was to call my cousin H and tell him I was on my way to his house. Well, I didn’t get his updated phone # so I couldn’t get through. I wasn’t 100% sure what his address was but I did have an address in my GPS that was only 10 miles from the restaurant. It just had to be his.

My Mom said to call his mother E because she could tell me his address. She wasn’t home. So I suggested I go to the address that I have and if it’s wrong, I go back to Nanny’s. My mother says “well, just go to E’s house.” I reminded her that we just called and she wasn’t home. Dur Mom.

Rest assured it was the right address. We stayed up into the wee morning hours chit chatting. It was very nice.

Saturday was the party. There was TONS of people there but got to see my cousin M’s and cousin J’s babies. And not to mention all the other cousins kids. There wasn’t much wiggle room in their house.

I had to drive home that night but had little traffic so it wasn’t bad. W and I hung out on Sunday until the game. He went to his cousin’s house. I was left to all those little things you make excuses not to do.

Thank God this is a short work week.

Happy Birthday Nanny!

Yesterday was Nanny's 90th birthday. Don't tell her I told you her age, she'd kill me.

I'm going up to NY to visit her tomorrow. I can't wait. Her party is on Saturday. W has to work so he can't go so I'll have to take a lot of pictures.

I will be staying at my cousin H's house. That should be fun too!

The remainder of the week/weekend

Our prayers go out to our SIL L and her family. Her father passed away last week. He was a wonderful man and will be greatly missed.

Saturday we laid low because of the terrible weather. Sunday, E went shopping with her Mom. W got to watch football all day.

What will next week bring?

Mid-week review

Let's see, we had Sunday which consisted of running, grocery shopping, Pats game and a nap. Monday there was some work involved and the gym. Tuesday, well, Tuesday involved work like Monday but it was a lot slower. Well, it seemed like that anyway. There was no gym for E but she made up for it by doing a little Christmas shopping. W went to the gym.

Tonight there will be take out for dinner. E is very tired. Shopping can do that to you.

How's every one's week so far?

Surprise!

Last Sunday we attended my father's surprise birthday party. My father's girlfriend, L, planned it all. The party was at Bootleggers, the food was delicious and so was the wine. It was so nice to see my relatives that I don't get to see too often.

My Dad said he knew about it but kept his mouth shut. He's such a good actor;)

I think the kids had the best time of all, with the balloons and of course, helping Pepe blow out his candles.

Extra hour

How was every one's extra hour of sleep on Sunday Morning? W and I got up at 7:30 and went to the gym. It's amazing what you can do with all that extra time.

Come Monday, well that was a different story. We both couldn't peel ourselves away from the bed. No gym for us. I saw it as taking advantage of getting up at what my body thought was 8 am but it was really 7. I wish I could of used that excuse this morning.

Driving home is such a bummer. So dark, so don't want to do anything.

Halloween

W back again. I want adult trick or treating. Why should the kids have all the fun? Remember Halloween when you were a kid? the excitement? "what am I going to be? how much candy will I get? who's going to have the best costume?" I miss that.

We dressed up as couch potatoes and watched a "Supernatural" marathon. We got our annual one group of trick or treaters. Just the kids in the complex, top of the hill and off the main drag cuts down on the kiddies. Hope everyone else had a great time.

Happy Halloween to all you ghost and goblins.

Half way there

It's Wednesday. We're almost there. W doesn't have to work this weekend so we are planning on doing nothing. Does that mean we are doing something?

It's supposed to be nice on Saturday so hopefully I can get a nice long run in. I did 5 miles last Sunday and it was so nice! I would've liked to go further but I didn't have water with me. I'll have to plan a little better.

We get that extra hour of sleep on Sunday Morning. It's like a little reward for getting our sunlight taken away from us.

Ello Gov'na!

What's with the Patriots playing Tampa Bay in England? Do the British even care? Seems like a waste of fuel to me.

What's next The England Elite VS Los Pumas at Foxboro Stadium??

Never say never

Just a word to the wise. Just don't say it or 6 months down the road you're in a car dealership by yourself signing your life a way with a brand new car. Or you'll end up living on a street with speed bumps. It's true, it happened to me.

Be careful what you say.

BTW - this doesn't work with the lottery, I've already tried, many times.

Friday Off

W here, E and I are taking some vacation days. Yesterday we went out and shopped for a pumpkin. Today E carved it and it looks great even if she says she messed it up. It's 3 ghosts looking all scary can't wait to see it lit up. She also toasted the pumpkin seeds. MMMMM.....

Meanwhile I tweaked my Applecrisp recipe to add some cranberries. It was awesome. E is so lucky she married a guy who can cook. (right now I'm patting myself on the back for being a good cook.) Now if I can only get her to eat more than chicken. Just kidding she loved the Cran-apple Crisp and I did too.

Hope everyone else is enjoying their week.

Days off

W had yesterday off and was supposed to write the blog. I had to work.

We both have Thursday and Friday off. We're going apple picking and antiquing. Tee-hee. Just kidding. I'm just seeing if W is reading this. Though I think I would like to get a pumpkin. Oooh, and carve it. Yum, pumpkin seeds.

Tonight my company is having a big shin dig in Boston for their anniversary. I'm going so W is on his own. Tomorrow and Thursday I'm having dinner with friends.

W's brother's friends asked him back to play poker for Friday night. I think they want their money back.

And the winner is . . .

EC!!!

I won an award from the In House Agency Forum (IHAF). IHAF is an design/marketing organization that I belong to. I won first place for the direct mail category. I can't believe it, now I can update my resume and on-line portfolio to say that I am an "award winning" designer. The other designer I work with also won an award so it was an overall good evening for the team.

I've attached a pdf of the design that won. The piece was cut out in the shape of a fryer basket.

Happy Anniversary!!

Today is W's and mine two year anniversary. We're going out to dinner. He's the best husband ever. I could continually gush but you probably won't want to hear it.

I have to work late. This makes it hard to stop at the store and buy a card. Oh, since I'm at work, I'll make him one.

13.1

The day started off at 4:30 am at a balmy 41 degrees out. I got to the parking lot around 6:15 just what my GPS said even though I got lost a bit. I know, I lived in Salem BUT in my defense, they took out all the rotaries which confused me and the GPS. I maybe took myself 30 seconds out of the way.

The parking lot was a 1/2 mile away from the race start. There was a trolley that came around and picked up the runners. Once I got to registration I found M and S right away, they are my SIL P's brother and SIL. I couldn't wait for the race to start. Mostly because I was freezing. Did I mention it was still 41 out?

I had two big concerns before the race, 1 - was my leg going to be ok and 2 - I'm I going to have to poop during the race. Well, the mole skin worked like a charm and I had no pain and 2, never had to poop. I was pumped. You have no idea what a bummer (pun intended) it is when you are running then the need to go hits you, especially if there are no bathrooms.

The race was awesome. It was a great course that was much easier than what I trained on. Don't get me wrong, there was plenty of hills it was just that they were much more forgiving than the ones in Franklin. It was also nice to see Salem again, I ran by the school, places I used to eat, and Castle Rock. After the race, there was no trolley back to the parking lot so after running 13.1 miles, I had to walk another 1/2 mile. You wouldn't think that is that bad but you try it.

I planned on and mostly trained at a 10:45 minute per mile pace. I thought it would take me about 2 hours and 20 minutes. Well, to my surprise I did a 10:09 mpm. I couldn't be happier. I said this was my first and last 1/2 marathon but I'm not sure if that will be true anymore.

The big day

Tomorrow's the big day for my 1/2 marathon race (also know to W2 as my mara). I think I'm all ready. As for what bandages I'm going to use for my injury, I think I'm going with part bandage part mole skin. The bandage I tried tonight failed as much as the regular band aid I used last night. The wound is healing but it won't be enough for tomorrow.

I'm all packed and I made my list so I don't forget anything. I showered tonight so I don't have to in the morning. I'm hoping to be out the door at 5:15 am. The race starts at 7 am and I'm sure I'll be done the race before most of you are out of your jammies.

I think the biggest thing I'm looking forward to is my nap that I'm going to have when I get back.
Please say your prayers that everything goes well.

No work and all day play

Tomorrow is my company's outing. We are going to Mount Wachusett. It's the company's 25th anniversary and so they are doing a big to do. I'm looking forward to it since I won't have to work! Oh, and there will be boccie. I love boccie.

I was originally not going to run tomorrow since it's the day before my big race BUT I had a little incident and now I need to. I went out Tuesday to do a six miler, my shorts had a hole in the seam, which I didn't realize until I was too far. Well, my skin stuck out of that hole and pretty much gave me a rug burn on the inside of my leg. I now have to test out different types of band aids.

I wore a real band aid tonight and that failed. I'm going to try to do a little patchwork with a non stick pad and some tape. I knew something was going to happen before the race to hinder me but I'm not going to let it bother me. It could of been worse.

I have to make a list of things I need for the race so I don't forget. I'm leaving my house at 5am. I'm bound to forget something!

Monday blues

W and I had a wicked awesome weekend. On Friday night, W won $100 playing poker with his brother and his friends. Saturday after my 12 mile run (W went to the gym) we went to the Cheesecake Factory for my birthday lunch. I got my favorite, Shrimp BLT. I take of the B. They don't put much on to begin with. We finished off our lunch with what else but cheese cake. yum!

Sunday we went to our nephew J's birthday. The cake was awesome. SIL L knows how to bake.

Alas, the weekend had to end. My Monday wasn't too bad but W is sitting in traffic right now so my guess is that it wasn't all that great.

5 more day until my race, eek!

Birthday week

My birthday week is just passing me by. This year, I really don't mind. I'm still having fun though. I ended up only buying one sweater on my birthday shopping excursion. I'm wearing it right now and I love it! W got me the True Blood book series. So far so good but I'm only on Chapter 2.

W and I are going out tonight to dinner with our friends B and C. I get to show off the new sweater;) We are going to the 99 in Marlboro. It's kinda a half way point. I can't wait to have some coconut shrimp.

W started more classes this past month. Something about security. He doesn't tell me these things. He'll have to blog about it.

Saturday is the day I do 12 miles. Ack! I can't believe I can run that far. One more week to my race!

HBT E!

It's my birthday. I took it off from work. I ran 8 miles this morning and now I'm doing what I do best - shopping.

09-09-09

I hope you made a wish at 9:09 today. You have a second chance tonight!

Happy Labor Day!

A nice long weekend with wicked awesome weather. Can ask for anything better.

This is the first weekend W has had off in 4 weeks. We pretty much did nothing and for W, that's a good thing.

I did my 10 miles on Friday then did a little fall shopping. If anyone knows me, they know I'll return half of what I bought next week.

On Monday we will be heading down to the Cape to W's Mom's house for a cookout.

Anyone have good plans?

Numba 9

Last Friday I did my 9th mile. It was so much more enjoyable than my 8th. I will attempt 9 again tonight, then 10 on Friday. I have Friday off!

Last Saturday W had to work but had the reward of going golfing and playing poker afterwards. Unfortunately, it rained so he just hung out with his friend T until the poker game started. I went over to W2's house and hung out with her and the babies. We then went out for dinner. It was a wonderful time.

Sunday W and I hung out together. It was so relaxing.

Someone came to see the house on Saturday and returned yesterday. Say your prayers that she's the one!

I'm also waiting for someone else to call me back to make an appointment to see the place. We have got to have the cleanest condo in Franklin.

8 going on 9

Last night I completed 8 miles in my training for my half marathon. Or as W2 likes to say my mara. It was very hard and at one point I wanted to cry because it was over a mile of going up hill. I was sick of going up. I wanted some downhill action. I didn't get it. I need to find a new route for my 9th mile because there is no way I'll be able to climb that hill after running 6 miles.

The 9th mile is scheduled to take place on Saturday Morning.

Someone came to look at the house today. Let's all have positive thoughts towards this being the people to buy our condo. I couldn't tell if they liked it but I kept throwing subliminal messages that they need to buy it. Let's hope that works.

What a weekend

W back again. Well my 2 weeks of hell at work ended and what an ending it was. Friday night we had game night at my brothers. It was great time. Full of laughs and some good competition. We followed that up with a Tiki Party at E's brothers house on Saturday. A few Coronas some ribs and jerk chicken and I was a happy camper.

Game night Friday went until about 1 am and I had get up and work Sat morning before the party. So by the time we got back home Sat night I was one tired camper. I slept well that night. Today was a relaxing recovery day.

Hope everyone else had a good weekend.

Week 2

We are in full force of week two of W's OT week. We are counting down to Saturday at 1 when he steps out of his building knowing his 60+ hour weeks are over.

Kudos to him for going to the gym extra early the last two weeks. I'm not sure if I could do that. I know I didn't yesterday.

We're half way there!

Long week #1 -almost over

W's is working tons of OT because his manager is out on vacation for the next 2 weeks. All work and no play makes W an unhappy boy. He has to work the next 3 Saturday — yuck.

I'm also leaving him on Saturday to go to a baby shower with W2 for my cousins wife, S. I have to get up bright and early to drive up to Leominster then W2 will drive to NY.

I don't think he has any plans while I'm away but we can all ask later.

Sunday will hopefully be a relaxing day. We'll see.

3 H's are here

Hazy, hot and humid, just how I like my Augusts.

I do have a itty bitty problem with the weather, I am thinking about doing a half marathon in September and it's quite hard to run in this heat. I have my goals set to do the Salem Wicked half race race. I want to do this race for several reasons. One, it's in Salem and I would love to go back and run in the streets that were once my stomping grounds. The other reason is that it starts at 7 am and I can get it over with by 9:30. I'll be home and taking a nap by 11. That's my goal anyway;)

This week it's mile 7. So far, so good. I really enjoyed my 6 miles last weekend. I hope I can keep up the positive thoughts. The humidity, even in the morning, does put a damper on things. I'm either going to do my 7 on Friday afternoon (hopefully if it's not too humid) or Saturday Morning (at 6 am because I'm going to NY on that day). I'll make my decision on Friday Afternoon when I leave work.

If I don't think I'm ready to do the Salem race there are a few in October and November I have my eye on.

This weekend

W back, E and I had a great weekend. Saturday we went up north and visited with our friends T and G. We went out to dinner and then went back to their place to chit chat until late into the night on thier new back deck. We had a good time. T did a great job building the deck.

Then Sunday started as a quiet day at home until brother M stopped by with "Watchmen" on DVD. We had a great time watching that while I made red beans and rice for dinner. I'm quite proud of myself, my first time making them and they came out delicious.

Well back to work tomorrow and since my coworker is on vacation I'm working extra hours all week. It's going to be a long one.

Hope everyone else had a great weekend. Anyone do anything fun??

W.A.W.

W back again. So our Wicked Awesome Wednesday went well. I started the day by splurging on an Ice Coffee and a bagel at Dunks. I then took a long lunch outside in the park near my work. Relaxed in the sun and ate my lunch. The day finished with E and I having pizza for dinner and a trip to Dairy Queen for some blizzards.
I hope everyone else took the time to treat themselves to something nice today. Happy W.A.W.

Girl's weekend

This past weekend me and 4 of my friends went to Hyannis for a mini vacation. We left early Friday morning with no traffic in sight. We made it there in record time. Our first stop once we checked in - Persys! Home of the worlds BEST breakfast. We even got free cornbread to take home with us.

Weather wise, Friday wasn't all that great. We decided to do a little shopping instead. We hit the flea market first then the smaller stores around Hyannis. I bought Will a shirt that says "Will the mother who left her 9 children at Fenway Park please pick them up, they are beating the Yankees 5-0." Sad thing is that I didn't get it until I gave the shirt to Will 2 days later.

Saturday was a beach day. I burnt my back and the back of my legs. It was very uncomfortable to sit but a few drinks made that feel a little better. After the beach, we all cleaned up and went of for a yummy dinner and some drinks.

Sunday was another not so nice weather day. We left right when we got up. By the time I got home I was in need of a nap. Apparently I was very tired, once I woke up I started to tell W all about my weekend . . . again! He listened, he's such a good husband.

Wicked Awesome Wednesday (WAW)

OK W back again and the first annual WAW is coming up on the 5th of August. For those who have forgotten or missed it, since August and Wednesday's do not get any holidays, I have declared the 1st Wednesday of every August, Wicked Awesome Wednesday.



E and I are keeping our first WAW low key with dinner, a rental and some Blizzards. I'm also going to try and get 9 holes in before work that morning (keeping the fingers crossed for good weather.)



I hope everyone takes the opportunity to treat themselves to something on this day, even if it's something small like an Oreo blizzard. After all we deserve it. Let us know what you choose to do and have fun.

P is for passing

Today, W passed his most recent exam. He's on his way to becoming a . . . uh. . . .a. . . I'm not sure what he's going to do but it's better than what he's doing now. 

I think W will need to fill in the blanks for us. 

Yay for W!

What a time

W back again. A+C's wedding yesterday was great. The wedding party looked awesome especially the bride and groom, the food was great, the music was good and E and sister in law L made good use of the open bar. They were both feeling pretty fine before the wedding party even showed up at the reception.

Today was breakfast at my mom's and then a cookout at Uncle S's. Unfortunately C's family got a full force indoctrination into my family. Needless to say when we all get together the conversation gets loud and rowdy and no one is safe from a little good natured ribbing. A great time was had by all.

Both E and I got home tonight exhausted. Tomorrow will involve sleeping late and lounging in front of the TV.

Anyone else have a great time this weekend???

Wedding Eve

Tomorrow we are going to the wedding of W's cousin A and his future wife C. Hopefully W's back will feel better so we can dance. Yes, despite what he says, W likes to dance. He's a better dancer than me!

The wedding is in Marion, MA at four and I'm not sure what time we are leaving. I do know what I'm wearing for the wedding and the party the next day. That's very important and makes things easier while packing. 

Somewhat of a slight inconvenience is that someone is checking out our condo but we have to leave the key with the realtor. Neither one of us is too keen on that but would hate to miss an opportunity to show it.

Congrats to A and C and best wishes!

Aching back

This past weekend was another busy one. 

W had to work for the first time in 5 weeks on a  Saturday. So while he worked I cleaned for the open house and had a short run. I went to my friend U's house for a cookout in the evening. It was a lovely time. W stayed home and watched Push.

Sunday while W went golfing with his family, I went to R's house for pancakes then went home for a very unsuccessful open house. 

W totally put his back out of whack so he's on the Disabled List until further notice. 

#2

It has been announced that the radio station WBCN is now turning to talk radio. Now, I've never been a big fan of BCN, they play what I can best describe as canned rock. Not heavy or soft just your run of the mill, who's popular today music, even if it's no good.

The big question here and why I'm bringing this whole subject up is, who gets the coveted #2 spot on my radio presets? I'm telling you, WBCN has been in the #2 spot since 1993, in my first car. My radio is set to #1 - WAAF, #2 - WBCN, #3 - WFNX (my favorite) and so on. They are listed in numerical order down the dial and there's no stations that I listen to between #1 and #3. I hate having to go out of order but I think I'm going to have to. Either that or listen to easy listening. Nothing is wrong with that, I'm just not an easy listening kind of gal.

I have a few weeks to think of who will be number #2 but I'm thinking WERS is going to win.

Anyone have suggestions?

Photos from the Baptism

Here are some pictures from Sunday. Who's missing is my nephews N, A, and C. They were there, I just didn't get any pictures of them. I'm bummed because N got a really cool hair cut. I'll have to get one of him next time. Notice I only got the girls when they were caged in.

Enjoy!

Toilet pride

I was so happy that W did the toilet, I just couldn't write another blog for the week.

This past weekend was quite busy. Saturday we went to my Mom's to celebrate my cousin R's 40th birthday. A good time was had by all, especially when we had the ice cream cake. We stayed up late chit chatting and throwing back a few beers.

Sunday, W's Mom came up and then we took R out for breakfast. Afterwards we went to the Baptism of our nephews G and S. I'll post pictures later on. I'm on W's laptop right now and it takes to long to upload from here.

We showed the condo today. The real estate agent looked more interested than her client. At least we got a lot of compliments. For example, one we hear a lot is, "Wow, it's so clean". Good to see that they appreciate it. It makes me wonder how dirty the other condos are.

Plumbing

W back again. I actually stayed home from work today, wasn't feeling well this morning. This afternoon I felt a little better and decided to install the brand new low flow toilet. Our idiotic (E said told me no swearing on here) condo association gave us a whole 5 day notice that we needed low flow toilets or they would raise our condo fee for being out of regulation. Thanks for the loads of time.

A few hours , an extra trip to Home Depot, and a bunch of bad language later and we have a new toilet. Hopefully just in time to sell this place.

Anyone want to buy a brand new toilet, comes with in a 2 bedroom condo???

Happy 4th!

I can't believe it's Friday already. Tuesday we had 2 people scheduled to look at our place. Both cancelled. Our luck has to turn around soon. It's so frustrating. Plus, this weather isn't helping. I haven't run outside for about 3 weeks. ICK!

It's the Fourth of July this weekend. I have Friday off but W doesn't. Such a bummer. I have to go find a dress for the twins baptism. I'm hoping my friend R can join me. It's so much more fun when you have a companion.

For the 4th we are going to Marion to see W's Mom and have a cookout. We haven't been down there in a while so I'm looking forward to that. Supposedly it will be sunny on Sunday. If it is, anything we do, it will be outside.

Vacation recap

We both can't believe we are back at work. Neither one of us made it to the gym this morning. Perhaps tomorrow. 

Here's a quick recap of the remainder of our vacation:

Wednesday I went out to eat lunch with my friend S. It was her birthday. Afterwards I went to help my sister W2 out because her husband was on a business trip. W stayed home curled up on the living room floor crying. He missed me.

Thursday and Friday were relaxing days. We did some shopping and went to the driving range. 

Sunday was very busy with 2 birthday party's. Our niece L turned one! I'll post some pictures when I upload them.

Well, back to work!

More on the movie

Seeing Star Trek yesterday proves that I cry at everything. The beginning was a bit emotional for me. Overall the movie was great. They did a great job choosing the actors. And for all the hard core Trekkie's out there they used all the good lines from the first show.

We heard "Dammit, I'm a doctor not a bricklayer" and "I'm givin' you all she's got, Captain". They even poked fun at never really knowing Lt. Uhura's first name.

The only issue I have with these types of movies is that it's set in the Hay Day of Jim Kirk. He's making crazy decisions as a younin' and the other characters are like "but Jim, you'll die" and you're thinking "go ahead Jim, you won't, I know you won't".

Great movie, I enjoyed it a lot. Go out and see it.

Today we are going to the book store and the Cheesecake factory. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

Vacation

E and I started our joint vacation week by seeing the new Star Trek movie. Thought it was great all the actors did great jobs with the characters we all know and love.

We then went for Sundays at Friendly's. Great day all in all.

I'm on vacation

yah, yah, yah, yah, yah

So far so good. I started with a blizzard from Dairy Queen. Who knows what tomorrow will bring. I'm hoping for the day to at least start later than 7am.

2.5 days and counting!

Then I'm on vacation! AND the best part is. . . it's supposed to rain the whole week!!!! Wooo-hoooo! Yeah, woo, yeah. 

We are planning on going to Foxwoods one day. I'm staying over my sister W2's house on Wednesday to help out since her husband is going on a business trip.

I guess I'll have tons of relaxing to do. I think there's an indoor golfing place nearby. We may try that out. W doesn't know this yet. Wait! . .  he just read this, now he knows.

Let's hope the weatherman is wrong.  

W's vacation

The great thing about W being on vacation is, I don't have to cook! Woo-hoo!

Update on the condo - we had someone look at the place on Saturday. The realtor called and said the only concern for the potential buyer is how loud the pool could get. She also said that we were priced a little high. Hello - make us a lower offer, it's not set in stone. 

She said she'd call either way towards the end of the week if the woman wanted to look at it again. I'll let you know how that goes. 

Went to Art in the Park on Sunday with Mother-Sister-in-Law, nephews and MIL's friend. It poured. Last year it was 95 out. I'm not sure if I'll go next year. 

Vacation

W back again, and I'm on vacation. Gotta love it. I'm off for 2 weeks (stupid banking regulations) while E is working next week and joining me for week #2. Golf and relaxation are my only plans. Week 2 we may do some day trips around New England. The only thing I'm looking for is relaxation.

Should be fun.

Monday again?

Monday's here and didn't start well for W. His manager called in sick so now W has to work 10 hours today. His manager does this every time W's vacation is coming up, that's next week. 

The weekend flew by. I got to see my Grandparents, my Uncles D and G, my two Aunts K and E, and my cousin R. The house is now clean! E and I also helped G bring carry this HUGE computer desk out of my Grandparents living room to the downstairs. It was very scary. E and I were going down the stairs and when you looked up all you saw was this very tall and heavy cabinet ready to squish you. I think I might of said loudly "I'm not feeling very comfortable doing this!" I didn't. 

Sunday we had our last open house unless one of our neighbors have one. No one showed up but an annoying neighbor. It will sell eventually. That's what we keep telling ourselves.

The longest week

Ever notice the week after a short holiday week seems that much longer? Friday can't come quick enough.

We showed the condo on Tuesday, the lady LOVED it. Apparently not enough to buy it. I am so sick of cleaning my house. I thank God that it's small enough so it doesn't take too much time. 

I'm leaving W again this weekend for my semi-annual cleaning weekend at my Grandparents. It will be so nice to see them. I have to come home on Saturday night though because of our open house.

We were talking about not having them anymore because no one is showing. The rule is, if our neighbors aren't having one, neither are we. 

I wonder what W will do with out me being around?

Weekend follies

W back again, I spent Sat. baby sitting for the nephews. I was a last resort since everyone else was either at a wedding or a wedding shower. The kids survived. They also beat me in Junior Monopoly. They told me adults are required to play with real money, so I'm out about $100, too. E mean time was drinking wine at a wedding shower.

Sunday was an open house, no one showed. Thinking about digging up the statue of St Joseph we buried and flushing down the toilet instead. I'm so tired of these stupid open houses.

Hopefully next week's open house will be better.

Take a hike!

Here are some pictures from my hike I did with my college roommate C. We were somewhere in Billerica. They also had a little petty zoo. It smelled really bad. C brought her dog Roxy. She like the animals.

Happy Memorial Day!

Sorry it's been so long. W and I have been quite busy for the last few days. After our mid-week day off our calendar exploded with things to do, just in time for the long weekend.

Saturday W had to work so I did Saturday things like chores and what not until he got home. It wasn't all that nice out by the afternoon so we just hung out and enjoyed each others company.

Now for the explosion. Sunday we went to my Mom's house to stain her shed. It was built about 6 years ago and she decided now would be a good time to stain it. The shed looks really nice now, blue with white trim. Sorry no pictures, I forgot my camera! Afterwards we went to see my sister W2 and her family. Her boys are getting so big.

Today we went to my brother S's house to . . . help him paint. We were only there for a little while but did get the trim finished up. The house is looking good. Speaking of houses, we had to clean ours because we are showing the condo tomorrow. What a pain in the a-s-k. They better buy it.

Or what?

Any hoo, we went out to eat with W's brother and 2 cousins this evening. That was lovely. They went to watch the new Terminator movie. I opted out. Not that interested.

Boy, I am tired from all that painting. It's a gorgeous night out and I think I'm going to sit out on the patio and take it all in.

What did you do for your long weekend?

Playing Hookie

W back again. E and I both played hookie from work today. I played a golf tournament with my brother M and his father in law P. Weather was perfect and we all played well. Meanwhile E played her favorite sport today also, shopping, with my sister in law L and her mother M.

Tough to tell who had a better time, but since we were both doing what we love instead of working in the office it doesn't really matter.

What do you guys like to do when you play hookie???

First open house of the year

And it was a bust!!!

No one came. That was a first. We were very disappointed. The only person that came over was my friend R. We went shopping. That made me feel better.

W went to the driving range. He felt better too.

There's always next week!

There's always a first

It's finally happened. After 18 years, it happened. I got pulled over by a cop for the first time. I have to admit I started shaking and threw up a little in my mouth but I regained my composure once the cop got to my car.

Just kidding about the latter but I did start shaking. Just for the record, it wasn't for speeding. I have an expired car inspection sticker. I knew the minute he put his lights on why I got pulled over. The sad thing is, I really thought that it expired this month even though there's a big number 4 on it.

I got a warning and we went on our merry way. Phew.

Yet another showing

We had someone come look at our condo again today. They were supposed to be there at 1:30, thank God I live close. Half way there, the realtor called and said she wanted to reschedule for 3.

I had to turn around and work for another hour then went home.

Keep your fingers and toes crossed and hope this is the one!

Happy Mother's Day

Wishing all the Mom's out there a wonderful day!

Happy Friday!

Another busy weekend for W and I. W has to work tomorrow and I'm off to Leominster for our Nephew N's First Communion. That is at 10am and then we are going out to eat. The choice is his.

I have a funny feeling that we will be eating a McDonalds. I'm not sure if he even likes Micky D's but you give an 8 year old free reign a on restaurant choice the outcome will probably be some sort of fast food.

After that, W and I are hitting the driving range.

Sunday we are off to my Mom's for Mother's day. We are taking her out to eat, her choice. Guarantee that it won't be McDonalds. I also want to get her some flowers for her to plant.

Any plans for the weekend?

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

For all our Mexican friends, I'd like to wish them a happy Cinco de Mayo. 

W and I don't really have any plans to celebrate. I guess I should of planned on making tacos or something. Hmmm. Perhaps this is a good excuse to get take out tonight. 

Anyone doing special for the occasion?

Sunday afternoons

W back again. Well it's a quiet Sunday afternoon and we're just doing chores. E had fun this weekend spending Fri and Sat with her friend S and I had fun sitting home watching the Sox and Celtics games. The Celtics game was a good one even thought the refs were horrible. Glad the Sox finally got a win in Tampa Bay. Hoping they can make it 2 in a row today.

How did everyone else spend their weekend any cool trips or were you a homebody like me??

Hot enough for ya??!!

W000h, today is a doozy. No running outside for me. I hate treadmill running but come to find out, I hate running in this heat even more. I'd like to thank everyone again for your support, I so appreciate it!

On Sunday we also showed our condo to prospective buyers. I don't think anything will come of it. We are going to have open houses soon but our schedule on the weekends have been booked solid. I think the first one will be May 17th. That just seems so far away. 

W wants everyone to know how pumped he is that the Red Sox won 11 straight games. Now only if this happens in September too. 

Going the distance

I did it! I finished my first 10k in 1 hour and 6 minutes. It's a 10:40 minute mile. I don't think I could have done a better job especially in that heat. I didn't make my goal but I also hadn't been running in 85 degree weather when I was training. Some one past out during the race. I continually hydrated myself in fear of the same thing happening to me. I did have to walk for about 5 minutes but I was glad because I got my second wind.

Highlights from the race: (1) W came with me for support. Him being there helps me out greatly and I love him for it. (2) I got to the 5th mile and I thought "wow, I'm doing lousy". I thought I was at the 4th mile. What a great feeling that was to know I only had 1.4 not 2.4 miles to go. (3) They had spray stations throughout the race. Cooled me right down.

I don't have any pics from the race but here's the t-shirt design, my time, and my number.

To my friend B - note who was supporting the race.

My first 10k

Sunday will be my first 10k. The race is at one o'clock and because this is New England, it will also be 85 degrees out. To think I thought it would be safe to run in early Spring.

I was originally going to run with friends from High School but they have kids who have sports so they are unable to make it. The good news is that my friend from work that I have been running with is going, along with her husband. Now I have to convince W to go. He won't run but be there for support.

My goal is to do at least a 10 minute mile. In my practice runs I've been a steady Eddie at 9:50 so things are looking good.

Wish me luck!

Long week

W back again and I needed that long weekend, work this week has been one long series of computer failures. Which culminated in my own workstation dying in a rather loud and smokey way. (The last working Commodore 64 has past away.)

Good news is they had to upgrade me to the systems everyone else the building was upgraded to a year ago and I got big new flat screen that doesn't take up half my desk. Bad news is they gave me about half the programs I need so I can't do most of my work.

Well I'll keep at the computer classes and hopefully I'll be on the other end of these problems soon.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Comments anyone?

We noticed that not to many people write comments on our blog. I wasn't sure if anyone reads them and if it would be helpful to show the comments along with the blog of the day.

Any comments on the subject?

Long weekend

W back again and really happy because today starts my first three day weekend in over a year. Since last April I've had to work every Saturday of a holiday weekend, but today I'm off.

Started the weekend right with poker with Bro in law S last night. Then tonight we head to brother M's to have game night. In between we have to show the condo to somebody (please buy it).

Last night I did find a great new beer (well new to me) Smithwicks, thanks for the suggestion cousins R and A. It's made by Guinness and is basically a lighter version of the Guinness we all know and love.

What's everyone else doing with there long weekend?????

Happy Spring!

It's been so nice out. It's supposed to be like this all week. Great running days!

I went to my sister W2's house after work on Monday to help her out for a couple of days. Her husband J was on a business trip. After W2 and I were discussing the babies sleeping habits and for the most part, they sleep well at night, they kept us up all night long. That was Monday night, they slept MUCH better last night. Good thing since I had to go to work today.

My Grandparents are up from NY this week. Unfortunately, my Grandfather ended up in the hospital. He is ok and should be released today. I did get to see him last night and will be going up on Friday to see him again. My poor Mom, on top of that incident, my uncle D ended up with a weird 6 hour flu. I hope no one else gets it. Not much of a vacation. 

I'm not sure what W has been up to. I'm very happy to see him tonight. 

I are smart

W back again, for all those who didn't hear, I passed both of my computer tech certification tests, which means I get to take more classes and tests. Hurray for me.

Next up are the networking courses, hopefully I will do just as well on those. After that it time for a career change. No more stupid customers screaming at me for stuff they screwed up..... ummm wait..... I guess different customers screaming at me for stuff they screwed up.

Well talk to you later.

Happy Easter

We'd like to wish everyone a Happy Easter.

Today W's Mom is here for dinner. She arrived around 8:15 and we went to church. Afterwards we went out for breakfast. I got the chocolate chip pancakes, AND SODA! It was Pepsi so it wasn't all that great.

Today is also my Grandparents 69th Wedding Anniversary. Happy Anniversary Nanny and Grampa! They are at my Mom's for the week so I'll get to see them.

Peace!

Testing 1, 2, 3

Today and tomorrow W is taking his IT exams. It's the first two of 3, I think . He needs to take a week long course for the third one which I think he's taking it in April. Please say prayers and good vibes that he does well on these test. Go W!!!

I just got a call and we are showing the condo tomorrow. I now have to go into super cleaning mode tonight. At least it will be nice and clean for Easter. 

Baseball Season!!!!!!

W hack again. Red Sox opening day is supposed to be today. Supposed to because first pitch and severe thunder storms are scheduled for the same time. With the off day tomorrow and better weather ahead most likely they will postpone.

At least with baseball season starting it feels like progress. Everything else in our lives feels like it's on hold while we wait to sell the condo. Hopefully, the new baseball season will bring around a buyer and we can move on.

Hope everyone has a great opening day.

Oooh shiney

The appliances came in. There were no issues, my measurements were right (phew). The only one tiny itty bitty thing that went wrong is that my cell phone battery died and Lowes was going to call me an hour ahead. So I had to leave work around 10:45 knowing that they would be there between 11-3. There was a message on our answering machinge saying they would be there around 11:15. Everything worked out just fine.

Here are a few pics of the beauties!

Trees and running

Trees - Attached are some photos from Saturday. That's my cousin R piling the last of the limbs onto the pile. My body is no longer sore and I can now walk with my back straight again.

Running - I signed up for my first 10k yesterday! It's the Groton Road Race. I have 4 weeks to train. I'm at 5 miles so far. One more to go!

7

Yup, 7 hours to clean my mother's yard. My body is KILLING me right now. I slept for 12 hours last night. The good news is that her yard has no more trees/limbs. I'll post some pictures soon.

Today W and I bought our appliances. We will be getting them next Monday. My biggest worry is that one of them won't fit. It doesn't matter how many times you measure, it still may not fit. Hopefully this will wow someone to buy the place. C'mon offers!!!

No update

No update on the condo. I went and looked at appliances. I need W's opinion so we are going on Sunday to take a look. 

I'm off to Leominster tonight for a fun filled evening. First off, a 4 mile run at Hopkinton State Park. Then it's off to my sister W2's house to hem her curtains. My first hemming job. Hopefully all will come out ok on it. Later on I'll be enjoying a few libations with my best friend S. 

Saturday morning, the whole reason why I'm going to Leominster, I will be helping my Mom clear out her yard of all the trees that fell during the ice storm back in December.

W will be watching some movie on the Hulk. Probably play WoW. 

We're waiting. . . we're waiting . . .

The lady that came on Friday to see the place came back on Saturday. We haven't heard back yet so I'm thinking she choose some other place. Oh well. That's the first time someone actually came back so perhaps that's a good sign. 

We didn't get to see the Watchmen because of the showing. W wasn't pleased. 

I've been trying to keep up with this darn housecleaning just in case someone wants to see it. W has been a trouper and cleaning too. Thursday I'm going to buy a new oven and refrigerator. The realtor asked if the self cleaning on the oven worked. He said that was the first thing to go on old ovens. I wasn't sure but tried after they left. I couldn't even lock the door so I'm going to say no. 

Most of the condos on sale in my neighborhood are lower in price and have better kitchens. I'm hoping with the new appliances they can over look the not so new counter tops.

I'll keep you posted.

Wicked clean house

We are showing the house again and I think the only positive I can say is "Wow, my house is so clean". Since traffic has picked up greatly we need to keep it "showing" clean from here on out.

My best friend once said "Your house is at it's cleanest the first year you live there". I believe that is true but I think we can add to it "and when you are trying to sell it."

We're both laying low this coming weekend. We're going on a date to see "The Watchmen". Believe it or not, I actually read the book and I don't like comic boo. . ., er, Graphic Novels. I'm hoping to get a dinner out of this too. 

W has his baseball draft on Sunday. I'm hoping to run. That's it!

Ummmm..

W back again, E told me I had to write the blog. Don't know what to really write about.

I did figure out what the blob next to the post on the lower left side of our blog picture is. The back of someones head. That had been bugging me a little not knowing what it was. There was a sloth hanging out in that area of the atrium so at first I though it might be that. But not so lucky, back of someone head is all we get.

We had another person look at our condo, hopefully this one buys it. E really wants to move.

Well that's it for today, hope you are all having a good time. Later.

Trust your instincts

I had another trip into Boston yesterday. This time I was going to the Seaport Hotel. Not that difficult since it's right off of the Pike. I used my Garmin anyway.

First it tells me to get onto 495S. So I assumed it would take me to 95 and I was fine with that. The estimated time of arrival was 7:59, exactly 31 minutes ahead of schedule. It then proceeded to tell me to get onto Route 1. Hmmm, I think, I can just go two more exits and get onto 95 there. Well, I didn't listen to myself and got onto Route 1. ETA now 8:03

It gets worse.

It made me get off onto Route 28. Basically making me drive through all these small towns to get to Boston. I was so irate at that point. I hate to admit it but I did swear at the thing. Many times. ETA 8:26.

It gets worse.

It makes me get onto the Pike only to get off immediately for my exit. UGH!!! ETA 8:34

I found parking pretty easy AND it only cost me $10.

I was about 20 minutes late and they hadn't started because there was a lot of people that still hadn't showed up. Perhaps they went the ask-backwards way I went. I should've listened to myself and gotten on the Pike in the first place. Next time.

Where have we been?

I noticed it's been last week since one of us wrote the blog. We can blame W because that was his homework over the weekend.

I left W on his own again. I feel terrible when I do that. He claims he curls up in a ball on the living room floor and cries until I get home. I checked the rug . . . it was a bit damp. . . hmmm, maybe he does miss me.

I went away to NY to see my relatives. It was a very nice trip. I got to see my Aunt and Uncle that live in VA. We had a birthday party for my other Aunt who just bought a new house, which I got to see.

Bonus for the weekend, I got to run outside both Saturday and Sunday. I even wore shorts on Sunday. Of course today, it snows. Go figure.

Off the beaten path

I wish I could say that my first real use of a GPS didn't get me lost. Let's say I wasn't E lost but it wasn't a direct route.

Stupid tunnels. I lost the connection right as I was getting out of the tunnel and there were two exits. Which way do I go??!! Surprisingly, I took the right exit. It didn't stop there because it's Boston and I had to take an immediate left so no one wanted to let me in. Guess I'll take the next street — what!!! One way?? Wow, I'm surprised (not really).

So it kept recalculating and it would tell me to take a turn but of course by the time it recalculated I missed my turn because traffic was moving. I eventually found the street I needed for parking and the street the building was on. I still had no idea where my actual destination was.

So I parked, went out to the street and started walking . . . in the wrong direction. Not wearing the best shoes for the situation and didn't feel like walking in 20° weather so I stopped and secretly turned on my Garmin in my bag, didn't want anyone to see me using it. I'm so stealthy. Anyways, it proceeded to tell me to turn around and walk 400 yards. Apparently I could of gone in the building via the parking garage. Nice of things to be labeled. 

The situation turned out just fine with a few minutes to spare.  . . then I had to go home. 

I was in a parking garage so it can't pick up a signal. I have no idea which direction to turn when I leave so I guess . . .WRONG! So it recalculated and takes me to God knows where. It made me take a left hand turn into a long line of traffic. Obviously this thing doesn't know how much I despise left hand turns. Someone must've had a good day and they let me in and onto 93 I went. The only other thing the GPS did was tell me to take Route 1 instead of 495 but at that point I knew where I was. 

SNOW!!!!!!!!

W back again, and tired of the stupid snow. Heard on the news yesterday, with that one snow storm we have already surpassed the average snowfall for the month of March. The one good thing is I couldn't make it in to work so I got a day off. Bad news is my golf season just got delayed.

Hope everyone stayed home as well yesterday.

Step forward

W back again with great news on the "ugsome" front. E and I went over to M and L's last night (W's brother and the wife) We played Apples to Apples, with the cousins R and A and the soon to be cousin in law C. If you have not played Apples to Apples it is a great party game and is now one of my favorite games of all times.

So in the mists of playing I recieved a blank card which allows me to write any word I want. Yes, that's write "ugsome" is now a permanant part of our Apples to Apples game set. This is another small step in bringing "ugsome" back to prominence in the English language.

I'm the map!

W got a laptop with his tax return. It's coming in today. It's like Christmas for him. I won't be home tonight because I'm meeting friends which is just as well since he'll be enthralled by his new toy.

I claimed I was going to put it all into the savings. Then W said the magic words "you should get a GPS". What a brilliant idea. Especially after my episode last August where I got lost in Boston 3 times!!! I now want to go back to the building and start from there. 

I got a Garmin and made sure that it speaks the street names. No guessing here. I can't change the voice but it's pleasant enough. I haven't had the chance to use it in a real situation yet but I'm going into Boston tomorrow so I'll let you know how it turns out. 

Most likely, it will be a building that's right next to the pike so there will be no confusion on my part or need for the GPS.

Such is life.

More prayers

Some of you have been asking how my cousin N's baby girl was doing. I'm sad to say she passed away last Friday. Please keep his family in your prayers to give them the strength they will need.

Thank you!

Sunday already?

I can't believe it's Sunday. We had quite a busy weekend.

First up: The Birthdays

Saturday was our nephew A's birthday party. He's turning 5 tomorrow. We got to play Hungry Hungry Hippos and Matchbox cars. The funny thing was, A didn't want to have his lunch because he wanted cake first. He spent most of his birthday party in his bedroom. He did eventually eat a piece of pizza AND got to eat his cake.

Today we went to our niece P's birthday party. She turned 2 on Friday. There were about 10 children under the age of 5 there, chaos ensued. P and her sister L had a few meltdowns because they were in dyer need for a nap. They did once everyone left. It was a good time at both parties.

Second up: The Showing

On Friday a real estate agent called to make an appointment to see our condo. I told her during the week was fine and she said she'd call back after she spoke with her client. Well, she called back on Sunday and said they'd like to see it in 15 minutes. Now, most of my cleaning had been done but there was more left and neither W or I hadn't showered. I agreed anyways. I didn't want to turn them down.

I'm glad I didn't, they seem really interested and the real estate lady said that the couple wanted to make their decision in the next couple of days.

I so hope they call to make an offer.

3

On Wednesday and Thursday I went over to my sister W's house to help her out with her newborn twins, S and G; and 14 month old, D. They were all such a joy.


I danced and played with D. He also led me around the house about a gazillion times pointing at everything saying "Wow!" I had to sing him to sleep on Thursday night. Poor thing, had to listen to me sing. He probably pretended he fell asleep so I would stop.

I sang to the newborns too but I don't think they're much of critics right now because they don't know what's out there. I also had to do 4 am feedings. I was a bit discombobulated the first night and it showed when one of the babies was crying and I knew I had to get him. I picked him up and looked at W and said "Do I change this thing?" I woke up a little after that and knew what I had to do.

Here are some pics of the brood.

Vacation Week

W writing to you today. I love school vacation weeks. My commute to work is 1/2 hour shorter than usual for the whole week because traffic is at a minimum as parents stay home to watch their kids. I have heard that some schools are cutting this week short to make up for all the snow days. Hopefully all the parents are still using their vacation time.

Have a great day and may your commute be quick and easy.

V-day Bah humbug!!!

W back again, another Valentines Day has gone by and good riddance. The only people who are happy on V-day are women in relationships.

The women not in relationships are made to feel left out and that something is wrong with them. Same with Men out of relationships, but on top of it some, in a humiliating attempt to "fit in", try and use the day to "make it happen" with the appropriate partner. Usually resulting in a complete crash and burn and demoralizing them even more.

Men in relationships have it worse. Unless you have a partner who is just as uninvolved in the pseudo-holiday as you (thank you E), then you are made to feel that you have to perform on this day. You are weighted down with unfair expectation involving gift giving, staging events and trying to live up to Hollywood inspired expectations.

Now before all the women start with the "I bought a card for my man" stuff. I agree you may have reciprocated however the pressure for you to perform wasn't there. If you do not believe me just listen to the talk now, the day after. Everyone asks the woman "What did he do for you?" "What did he get for you?". The man gets asked "What did you do for her?" "What did you get her?" Thus the expectations the man faces. The day is not about showing mutual love, giving and taking, but about men trying to one up each other so women can brag.

Thank you Hallmark for creating this bogus holiday to increase your sagging cards sales between Christmas and Easter.

Check it out

Today's blog I'd like to mention a few of my friends websites. Check them out!

My very first friend, J, personalizes and distributes promotional items for you or your business: brand-rascals.com. 

If you are looking for wicked awesome photography, my friend B's website is the place to be: Painted with Light Photography.

Thanks for supporting my friends!

Happy Birthday to W!!!!

Today is W's birthday. We're having a little party tonight after work. There will be cake and pizza and presents. I'm looking forward to it. 

Unfortunately, W had to work 11 hours today. His work thought it would be a good present for him to go in at 7 this morning and work an 11 hour day. I was kinda hoping they would let him out early at least but I don't think that's going to happen. 

Let's all wish him a happy birthday and make his day special.

I lost on Jeopady

Last week Jeopardy had online tryouts for a chance to be a contestant. All you had to do is sign in and take a 15 minute test. I watch the show all the time, I should get some answer right.

It took me three times before I had to Google the correct spelling for Jeopardy.

I didn't bother taking the test.

Tax time!

It's that time again. Time to do your taxes. W and I are doing them together this year which will be quite comical. Reason being, I like to have control (I'll be sitting at the computer) but W is much, much better than me at math (he'll be sitting next to me reminding me to carry over the one). Let's just hope we don't get audited. I'll blame the mathematician in the family.

I'm using my half for the house that doesn't exist yet. W wants to pay off his credit card and buy a lap top. I'm hoping he'll go for a Mac this time around. We all know how superior they are to PCs.

What is everyone else doing with their return?

Thoughts and Prayers

I wanted to ask all of you for some extra prayers and thoughts for a couple of my family members.

First for my sister C and her family. They are fostering two wonderful little boys who are very happy being part of our family. Unfortunately, their parents, who can’t seem to stay out of jail or stop taking drugs, want them back because they think they are good parents. Please pray to give C’s family strength through this ordeal especially the little ones.

Second would be for my cousin N’s baby girl. She has fluid in her lungs and the doctors are trying to find out why. She isn’t even born yet. Please say your prayers that she is born healthy and happy.

Thank you all!

More mess

W back again. Wearing my ice skates to work today. Everything is covered in ice. Sidewalks, Roads, and parking lots. Should make for an ugsome drive.

Everyone in and around the northeast be careful. Those of you in the sunny spots, send us warm thoughts. (oh geez now I'm rhyming.)

Here's hoping everyone stays safe no matter where you are.

Words

W back again. I was reading a book about the history of the English language, which while it doesn't sound exciting the author was really good and made the book pretty funny. In the course of the book the author talks about how words come and go in the language some stick others fade away. One of the words he mentions that faded away is "ugsome" which means frightful or loathsome. I think this is a great word, if you had now idea what the word meant and I said "That was ugsome" you would know exactly what I was talking about. The word just sounds like it should mean loathsome.

I am now going to start using ugsome in everyday speech. I want a resurgence of this word in our language. Join me in bringing back this perfectly good word to modern English. The next time you're describing something frightful or loathsome give ugsome a try.

Like "Some of W's ideas are truly ugsome."

See how easy it is.

A big commitment

I've recently joined facebook and I've connected with many friends from my past. We all started talking about our running and how we should all do a race together. At first we were talking 5k and 10k races which I what was going to do this year anyways. Well, someone threw out the idea that we should a half marathon. The one that does half marathons often might I add.

So now, I'm going to train for a half marathon. The longest I ran last year was 6 miles. I now have to double that (and then some)! Eek, so much training. Can I really do it? There's one girl who lives not to far from me so we'll do our long runs together on the weekend.

From other comments I've read I'm guessing I'm not alone to wondering if I can do it but is up for the challenge. I'll keep you posted on how well my progress is going.