Uh-Oh!!!

Already beginning to regret the gas station tree. He's drinkin' lots of water and all, but already dropping lots of needles. Haste makes waste.

Walk a Mile in My Shoes

Teacher story:

So me and about 8 students are sitting in a circle in the back of the classroom discussing the book they've been reading, The Courage of Sarah Noble. It's about an eight year old girl who travels with her dad from Milford, CT to what is now New Milford. As Sarah's dad builds what is one of the first houses in New Milford, Sarah's job is to cook for him. She is left at the temporary "hut" on a hillside while dad goes down to work on the house. Sarah, young and lonely, ends up befriending some of the Native American children and eventually when dad needs to go back to Milford to collect the rest of the family, he tells Sarah that she is going to stay with a Native family (the father of whom helped Sarah's dad build the house). So, one of the questions the kids were responding to reads: How would you feel if you were "in Sarah Noble's shoes"? The first little girl responds along the lines of "I would feel scared and worried because I would miss my dad and I would only want to stay with people in my own family." Good answer. Next little girl, who is a bit of a perfectionist, careful, conscientious, and bright student reads (without pronouncing any "R"s), "If I were in Sarah Noble's shoes, it would probably be very dark. There wouldn't be much room and I might even get squished. It would probably smell pretty bad, too." As a teacher, I realize what has happened and don't want to offend this sweet little girl and a big grin crosses my face. Another student shouts out, "That's not what the question meant!" And another boy said, "I had the same thing but then I erased it!" Needless to say we all laughed together after I explained that she did a very detailed job answering her question carefully and explained what "literal" means. It was really a cute little third grade moment, knowing that she wasn't being a wise guy (like would have happened last year). I have to remember to snag her questions from her folder and send that one home to mom for safe keeping. Very cute!

In the Spirit

So does it seem to anybody else that it was just the beginning of December and now all of the sudden it's like Christmas already? I don't know what happened and why all of the sudden I feel this Christmas crunch. I really have no reason at all the feel this way and after an evening trek up to the outlets last week AND a solid morning of the Thursday snow day, I'm actually in good shape, shopping-wise, (myself included in the shopping purchases, of course!), particularly considering my boycott of weekend mall-madness. On Saturday I had plans to have lunch with my parents and today (Sunday) we're supposed to head down the NY to a holiday party at Trav's boss' house. With knowing we were doing these things this weekend, the whole tree thing ended up being part of the "Christmas Crunch"... So Saturday morning we went down the local community center that had trees and were giving a portion of the proceeds to a charity. We passed the gas-station trees on the way to the community center and I commented that the guy must have just set up shop there because I hadn't noticed them last weekend. Anyway. We go to the communtiy center, sliding across the crusty snow to a few rows of trees and some teenage boys sitting around a metal barrel trash can/fire pit...very classy! Anyway, the trees were enormous, a bit funny looking, and way overpriced. We left, treeless. So we're driving back home, I'm pressed for time because I need to get to the parents and now it the time for the tree...Soooo, as we approach the gas station, Trav says something about liking the humbleness of a gas station tree, so we pull in, decide on the size, the tree guys' son shows us to our rack of trees, which only has like 3 trees left on it. We pick the second one we looked at, completely effortlessly and take home our chubby little tree for half the price of what we would have paid at the other place. We spent Saturday night decorating the tree, putting the spare greens in the window boxes, sipping wine, playing Jenga, and listening to old school Christmas records on the old Magnavox record player. It was a nice night. Now cross your fingers that the needles stay intact at least through New Years! (Two years ago we had a gas station tree and told ourselves not to do that again, but alas, the decisions we make in our holiday frantics!)

As you can see, our humble little tree is still a bit crumpled up from its long drive down from Nova Scotia all squished with his brother and sister trees. We'll give it a good last few weeks here with us with plenty of room to open up, plentiful city-water, and his life will be extended further as we continue to sweep up his needles left behind for months to come as he is eventually dragged to the curbside to be mulched to nourish and protect our towns gardens.

Mental Note...

Avoid the urge to assume that a dip which appears a creamy rich caramel color and caramel consistency is actually caramel. I made that mistake last night and upon taking a bite of my "caramel" dipped pretzel was rather surprised to taste nothing remotely caramelly...but rather a honey mustard wasabi dip...*gag* Yup. I don't even touch mustard jars no less eat the stuff. And no thanks on the wasabi either. I'm okay now, but thought it necessary to forewarn the loved ones...

Been Busy

Makin' stuff, sewin' stuff, printing labels and a brochure for my craft fair this weekend. I hope I make enough cash at least to make it somewhat worth my time there. As for time spent makin' all this stuff, I'm not worried about that. It's been my much needed down-time. On that note, has anyone seen my usb cable so I can download/upload some of my crafty macaroni and cheesy pictures?? Ugh! Donde esta??? Hey, my husband now officially has a new hobby too...He's been going to these Jujitsu (I know, misspelled for sure) classes...He gets to roll around on the floor and wrestle people until it hurts too much or he's gonna die so then he just "taps out." I learned all kinds of new terminology about this over the past week. In fact, don't anyone try to approach me from the front and grab my shirt collar because I can effectively grab your hand between my two, pull it down and back and break it (unless you "tap out" first)...Very interesting! (How funny that I'm making all the calming relaxing things (and sewing!) and he's releasing all of the aggression that's been building I guess since he hasn't been playing rugby. We all need some kind of outlet for sure! That said, I think I'll go sew the crap out of the gingham heart ornament I'm in the midst of! Grrr!!

Bustling

I'm continuing my saga from my trip to New York here...lets see...left off with the Dixie Cup of Wine, went and found our seats, though it's still a little early for the show to start (about 15 minutes to go). Our seats were, well, pretty far back, but in the mezzanine so it could have been worse. I commented that the seats looked much closer when I selected them online, the girl next to us agreed. Oh well. I asked the nice seating/door lady if there would be any possible way to upgrade the seats...umm, nope, all sold out (but meanwhile there were only like 50 people seated in the theater at all. We sat and waited. Shortly after eight, an opening act comes on. Some brothers band. Some of their songs were okay and some were kind of noisy. When they were done we went for another beverage, this time the Bud-in-a-Plastic-Bottle (very classy) and I made Trav stay out in the lobby area looking out over the balcony into the lower level which was...well, Bustling! No wonder there were hardly any folks seated in the theater, this is clearly where the action was. We looked down on a sea of people, mostly donning their metropolitan blacks, scarves, and style. My eyes just soaked it all in. Hanging from the ceiling was an enormouse crystal Christmas Tree dangling down over the main lobby, spinning ever so slowly and bedazzled with sparkles from the light. I wished I could drink that image!! (Great, now I'm sounding like Becky's blog!)
We hear some music getting started and head back to our seats expecting our show to start....Ummmm, nope, opening act number 2! (It's already 9 and we haven't eaten dinner, but I'm doing okay cause there's music and wine!) We sat ready to be entertained nonetheless. These guys were much better than the first opener and I felt my foot start shaking to the beat and all then they began to get a little jammy and stuff and I just felt like it was absolutely insane that all of these people in this theater (more folks seated by now) could all just remain in their seats sitting and watching. I turned to Trav and said something along the lines of "Clearly there are no hippies here..." I don't get it! No one was even standing up! Sit and watch. Now don't get me wrong, I've been to shows where you sit and watch (love Dar, Leo Kotke, etc) but these guys were clearly jammy and danceable...puzzling...Where have all the hippies gone?
So I enjoyed the music from my seat and FINALLY it was time for our guy Bright Eyes, also known as Conor Oberst or something like that. We could barely make out the figures on the stage from where we were but it was nice to know that there was live music going on. I knew many of the songs because I listened up in the weeks' leading up to it. This is the guy that sang one of our wedding songs, that I came home from work one night and Trav said, "You know how you asked me to think about a good wedding song, well this is it." and he played it and danced with me in the living room:) So I might not get all of this guys poetry, but he's alright by me if he can move my honey so with his lyrics...So a good show, though he didn't play our song. That's okay. Next time I'll have to put in a special request.
So it's time to go and we slip out the back door. It's like midnight. It's cold outside. But New York City during the holiday season nonetheless so cold-shmold is what I say. I don't want to go straight back to the car since we didn't get our time to roam around a little when we arrived. So we leave towards 5th Ave. in hopes of strolling past some windows, the Plaza, and Central Park...we find ourselves right smack at Rockerfeller center. No, I didn't get to go ice-skating:( and the tree wasn't there yet, but still, one of those must visits during the holiday season). I loved our little walk, the giant snowlflakes decorating the buildings, the quietness of the streets that late after the madness to get there in the first place. I just love being in the city (I think I said that same line in my last post when we were down to see Lion King, that must mean I'm really serious about it!) The walk was cut a little short by a cold husband and the trip home was direct and uneventful (phew!) I could never live there, but I sure love to visit!

Sometimes You Just Gotta Go!

On Monday, Travis and I had an evening adventure in New York. For his birthday I had given him tickets to see one of his favorite singer guys (Bright Eyes) (also the singer of one of our two wedding songs) at Radio City. So I worked a regular day, came home and we were on the road by 4:30, both with travel mugs of tea in hand (this detail becomes important...) So a Monday night, traveling south on 95 shouldn't be too bad, but you have to count on SOME traffic getting into the city particularly at prime rush hour...I'd say we cruised along well enough until we were in the Bronx. Then it was stop and go, then mostly stop. I'm beginning to feel like I have to pee so I mention it (it's important to plant the seed well in advance of it becoming an emergency, particularly when in traffic and where there are no easy "rest stops.") So I planted. Did I mention the mostly stopped traffic?

I begin to have flashbacks to our trip to Newark Airport for our honeymoon. Much the same slow-to-not-moving traffic however at least we didn't have a plane to catch this time around. So say we began the traffic at about 5:15 (and pee seed planted at this time as well). Knowing we're already in the Bronx I was fine with the traffic. We weren't going to be late for the show that doesn't start until 8. So we sit and wait in line. And we wait. And wait. And didn't get very far and now it's 6:00 (did I mention I have to pee?). I vocalize my need again along the lines of, "So I may really need to stop and pee at some point kinda soon." We make an attempt to get off the highway and do some backroads for awhile, but somehow we ended up on the highway again just a little ways down. Now it's becoming urgent. Belt is unbuckled. Soon thereafter I'm doing the leg shake. I find myself eyeing underpasses as being a good possibility for a sheltered, somewhat private possibility (I had to do this once before years ago when there was such traffic because a bridge was out.) No more underpasses and now we're merging onto our next highway. I eyeball my travel mug and say,"Okay, it's officially an emergency...we're going to need to just get off the next chance we get." Travis speaks calmly along the lines of, "I don't think I've ever had to go so badly to the bathroom." I shush him. He asks something about directions or the map, I tell him I can't look at a map because I only can focus on not peeing!! I'm dancing in my seat. We get off the highway and pull into the first gas station we see...yay...ohhhhh, no bathroom. We drive down the road, I'm telling Trav, just pull into a parking lot...then we see our sign for the 3rd street bridge that we were going to so we just went over the bridge (I was hoping to have peed before getting into Manhattan out of fear of not being able to walk and find a bathroom.) Oh well. We go over the bridge, on to FDR drive and get off the first exit, pull down a dark road next to the highway, there's a shady excuse for a "park" a couple of trees and some grass and I run behind the tree and do my thing....Holy Camoley!! Now I can relax and enjoy myself. Of course I told Travis when I got back into the car that this story doesn't leave the car, but it's actually funny now...I was actually very worried!

So it was a good thing I got that out of my system because now we get back on FDR heading south and get off around 60th to begin cutting across town. It's about 6:30 now. Still time to grab a quick bite before the show. So we begin making our way across town when I feel like we're going up a hill (in Manhattan???) I see signs for the 59th street bridge ahead so I tell Trav to turn because we don't want to cross over into Queens. Well we turn and lo and behold we're on the bridge ramp, no turning back now, on our way to Astoria. Mind you, we're both very even tempered at this point, rolling with the punches (even Travis who really doesn't like traffic, no less a wife with an emergency while in traffic, no less going back over the river that we just crossed, heading in the opposite direction than we needed to be). So you think you can just go across the bridge, turn around and come right back...ummm no, not so much...one way one way, no left turn, no right turn...we drove in circles following signs leading us back to the bridge...insanity! We eventually make our way over again, get to a parking garage, and are walking to the theater at 7:30. No dinner. No relaxing. We stop at the falafel guy on the corner to grab a sandwich but he's all out of falafel. Oh well. We go into the theater, past all the hip young kids and to the bar. We may not be so hip and young, but at least we can drink a $9.00 dixie cup full of watery Merlot to decompress after an unexpected 3 hour journey into NY. What the heck! I've never had such trouble getting into the city (or around the country, and even countries that I can't read the road signs in!) Oh well. We made it there safe and sound. To be continued...unless I don't feel like it!

Happy Turkey Day to All!! Count your Blessings and Enjoy your Time with Family!

Just So You Know...

Even if you were three months pregnant and miscarry, insurance doesn't qualify that as having been pregnant...I just got off the phone with my OBGYN's billing company who proceded to tell me that I owe copays on office visits which I was told at my very first one that I would only have one copay for the course of the pregnancy. Now that I'm no longer pregnant I receive a freakin' bill for more copays so I call and explain that I paid the one copay I was told to pay and the woman proceeded to tell me that essentially my pregnancy doesn't count as a pregnancy according to the insurance company, therefore pay up...

What the hell did they suck out of me when I went to the freakin' hospital 2 months ago then if that didn't count as a pregnancy???

Yup I was pregnant, now I'm not, sorry some of you didn't even know and find out like this but as much as I think it's in the past and I'm moving forward, there's still constant reminders which really just suck. Maybe just being able to get it out by typing it here will help me some more.

The Art of Complaining

Just a quick little note on this art that I'm regretfully good at...I think I've been better about it more recently (think back to last years complaining upon complaining about my job). Luckily there's significantly less to complain about in that category. Which doesn't leave too much else that I'm really entitled to complain about (although it WOULD be nice if I was actually getting paid for the second Master's Degree status at school (still in conflict with Human Resources)...But the reason I post this is because on Saturday morning, (brrrrrr), my soccer team had the playoffs. I watched the weather on Thursday and Friday and was hoping for a rainy morning and therefore cancelled games (I don't like to play when it's very cold outside, just like I don't like to jog when it's cold, either). So anyway, I hear the rain Friday night and I'm thinking it's looking good for a cancelled game (or two...it WAS the playoffs so if you win game one, you gotta play game two!) So anyway, I wake up to bright blue skies...grrrr...Get to the field @ 8:45, game starts at 9...I'm on the sideline (fine, for a little while, then after reflecting on the fact that I could still be home in my nice warm bed, I start to get frustrated by the fact that I'm left to turn into an icicle on the sideline when I know that some of the girls playing are going to bail out for game 2 during which I'll be playing (even though I have things to do, not to mention that once those guys leave then I won't even have a sub if I wanted one)...yadda yadda...So, we're losing game one, right up to the last 5 or so minutes, I'm thinking, good...I've gotta get home, showered and up to the parents for lunch...We score and tie the game. Okay..that's a Good thing I remind myself. We go into 10 minutes of overtime, still tied, then into penalty kicks...after the first 5 kicks, still tied, so then into the Next 5 (very unusual for this to happen...) and we win. So rush rush to the cars to get to the other field, I call Trav to tell him I have to play another stupid soccer game which means we'll be late for lunch...and so off I play at an even colder field...we tie (of course) and go into a 10 minute overtime and end that in a tie, too and that is how the playoffs end...
I rush home and am complaining about having won, and about poor me having to be outside (with shorts, mind you) in the cold cold weather and Travis says, "You're not allowed to complain about this." "Why not?" I ask. And he goes on to remind me that I play soccer because I enjoy it. Because I like to play. I was disappointed earlier in the season when I didn't think I was going to get to play. So I figure, I must really be good at complaining if I can complain about something that I volunteered for, paid a good chunk of cash to be part of, and miss when I'm not taking part in it...
So alas, my goal moving forward will be to try to be more "cognizant" of my complaining and making an attempt at ensuring there is merit and validity to that which I choose to complain about.

Hurtin' for New Material

Alright, so I've been thinking about posting over the past couple of weeks but either I was too lazy to do it or else had nothing to say, which I still kinda think, but I guess I can share a confession...

It's about...our tub.

It's the regular square tiles/grout kind of tub and you know what happens when it doesn't get a really good scrubbing for awhile...well actually, we've scrubbed the regular tub part and even the grout part, but just with "regular" scrubbing stuff (we especially like "Zud")...But as I've been on this kick of trying to finish all of our "harsh" cleaners and transition into more natural type or homemade products, I haven't been keeping up with the purchase of new cleaning supplies...

Okay, so the grout had turned a nice shade of, hmmm...black (I hang my head in shame) (but the toilet bowl is always sparkling!) I did some research and referred back to various recipes I had been saving to remove mildew/mold from grout and mixed my concoction of borax, baking soda, and white vinegar into a paste. I applied the paste and scrubbed whole heartedly with my new grout brush and earth friendly homemade cleaner...but for naught. Still dark mold all around the edges. Travis said not to worry because it was at least clean mold. That didn't do it for me.

So the next day I stopped in at the grocery store to pick up veggies for dinner and I somehow found myself strolling down the cleaning product aisle (funny how that happens). I see one scrubbing product called Bon Ami which I had read that people recommended because of it's earth friendly ingredients. I picked it up, then put it down. I already tried earth friendly without success. So I kept going until I spotted what I was looking for...Mold and Mildew Remover With Bleach. I have also read that bleach is not the cure all for mold/mildew because it only wipes out the surface mildew but you can count on it growing right back, but since I'm not about to dig the grout out (yet), I needed the next best thing...

So before going to bed, I took a deep breathe and sprayed the perimeter of the tub and let it set for 5 minutes while I opened the window wide and left the room to brush my teeth...When 5 minutes was up, I took a deep breathe and began to scrub...magically, the mold was going away! I so value a sparkling clean tub, and while the grout still has some battle wound/gray areas, it is sooooo much better off now. The only problem I had after the big scrub was that all I could smell for the rest of the night was bleach...even not thinking I was breathing it in, it managed to get up in my nose because even when I went outside for air, all I could smell when breathing through my nose was bleach...yuck! Then in the bedroom, we had to keep the window open because it was so bleachy too...bad bad. That's kinda why I was hoping to "go green" with the cleaning products because all that bad toxic stuff gets inside the body and accumulates...I don't know, maybe there's another active ingredient in the spray I bought? Otherwise, I might as well make my own bleach mixture if that's what it's going to take to keep the tub clean...

How sad that I'm blogging about mildew...yup, this is what happens when writers run out of material...Please share your remedies for keeping grout clean...yeah, I know, keep the shower curtain open when done showering, squeegee the excess water, window open, fan on, yadda yadda...any other magic bullets???


I'm a dork who hates to scrub the tub...


That's what you get for an update...

I don't get it...

Why can't people just Be Nice? Keep their word? Do the right thing? The only thing I can think of in my situation which I don't even want to waste time talking about is MONEY.

It makes me sad to think about not only the frustrating inconveniences such as what I'm going through, but of the terrible circumstances around the globe, just because of Money.

Disgusting.

Okay, and to turn the negativity around...Things I'm glad for...

1. My health and the health of my family (which includes Travis and his family:)
2. The roof over my head and the ability to turn the heat on (but not yet...)
3. That I can pay my bills (even though I complain about it)
4. That I have a job with benefits.
5. That I have 4 social obligations this weekend and had to turn one down:( sorry Tasha
6. That I have a cute neice and nephew to hang out with on Saturday.
7. That I get to drink wine with my new wine consultant friend on Friday;)
8. That it's fall and getting chilly and there's beautiful colors all around me and crunchy leaves below my feet!
9. That the people across the street have their lightpost dressed up like the grim reaper and when the front door is open I catch him out of the corner of my eye and get a little creeped!
10. That the people in my neighborhood have ridiculous blow up spiders in their yards, cobwebs in their trees, and RIP tombstones with round-headed ghosts dancing in a circle on their front lawn...
11. That my tea is finally cooled down enough to drink.
12. That my report cards are almost done!
13. That 1/4 of my schoolyear is over.
14. That I have all these great coupons with which to begin my holiday shopping (or not).
15. That my Halloween snickers bars were in the car on one of those blistering hot fall days and got all melty so now I have to eat them all because they're discolored and mis-shapen. Yum!
16. That tomorrow is Friday!!
17. That I have a nice support system of friends (some of whom even like me enough to read my boring blog!)
18. And lots of other things, too...

Crafty!!

So yesterday was my debut at a real live "craft fair" (although it was at my school). But when I got there, I quickly recognized that there were some serious "crafters" there. There was everything from nice quilted table runners and wall-hangings to crocheted and knit products to the *fancy* fringed fleece blankets and "decoupage" jewelry boxes. Then there was my table...down the side aisle, in the corner...you'd think that I had connections with my school's PTO and that they'd give me a little preferential treatment, but alas, we (Tasha and I) got the worst location in the house! But alas, we were recruited by a "scout" for another local fair...We were "invited" by this woman organizing her school's holiday fair...I asked if she was just asking everyone and she said that she was really just picking those vendors that had the an appearance of quality. She said that last year when they opened up the vending to the general public there was a lot of junk so they decided to do it differently this year. That was a nice compliment:) Plus, given that I still have PLENTY of soap and salt and smelly sprays and oils, I technically don't have to do anything to prepare for it:) But of course I always like to give myself more work so I'm thinking about making these cute little country/"primitive" ornaments I made as gifts a few years back...we'll see. And actually, another woman who owns a lingerie shop in town was going to be checking in with her mom/business partner and "holistic healer" to see if they might be able to carry some of my products in their shop once they move into their new location...we'll see what happens! It's kind of nice to get paid for your hobby...Well, time to get into report card mode....

Halloween

Any ideas for a creative yet easy Halloween costume...please send them my way...we have been invited to a post Halloween party...strongly encouraged to dress-up. Hmmmm....Please share any ideas you've come across...

Actually, I guess I can turn this into a memory post...I remember Becky being Gilligan and getting kicked out of Blarney's only to sneak back in to find her sailor hat...I remember Erika being Wind...I was some silly farmer girl...what else???? I think I was a shoe-shine boy a few years back...the year my brother was Ugly Kid Joe...

VT Family Fun

This past weekend, me and Trav, Abby and Shan, and Jill, Lenny, and Chase all made it up to VT to stay in a house that my parents had rented for the weekend. (We missed you Jeff and Marisa and Samantha, too...maybe next year;) It was a nice laid back weekend of everyone doing their own thing, coming and going, hiking, going to a farm, looking at houses, watching movies, watching the leaves change colors overnight, looking for lakes that are all dried up, making dinner, better even, making dessert (thank you Trav), taking first steps (beyond the standard 3), making our own Oktoberfest, arguing over movies, you know, all the standard weekend away with family kinds of things. It was a nice time! Thanks Mom and Dad for the invite...wait, were we ever even invited??? On our way home, as per my dad's suggestion, we stopped in the town of Shelburne Falls in MA where there was this great little "Bridge of Flowers" as it is called. It was formerly an old trolley bridge that crossed the river. Now it is a footbridge that is filled with all of this beautiful vegetation, even trees! and thick, twisty wisteria vines. Pretty impressive colors for mid-October! Some of the pictures are neat because of the contrast between the boldly colored flowers and the dreary day. Trav and I stopped in at a coffee shop for a couple lattes and sweets. We waited out the sudden downpour and walked back to the car in a drizzle. It was a nice little stop-off if anyone is ever in the area.

More Randoms...

Last weekend our little house was like an olfactory amusement park! I spent much of Sunday mixing and labeling my sprays and massage oils (new product;) So for a good portion of the day the house smelled of lavender, lemon, peppermint, grapefruit, etc. Kinda nice, but not so much after awhile...then there's the headache of getting the damn labels aligned...Grrrr...
Then Trav came home from a study-break drive in his special car after having gone to an apple orchard where he picked up some apples. He got right to making some applesause when he came home...Yummm!!! That was the fall smell that I so much needed to get rid of my essential oil overload. A little warm chunky applesauce with a dollap of vanilla ice-cream...Delicious!!

There Goes the Neighborhood!!!

While I don't claim to be a significant contributor to the house values in my neighborhood, I try not to do anything that might bring more attention to our simple accomodations. Then there's the neighbor who is actually in the construction business himself in many of the wealthier towns at that. Well, last weekend, he apparently took it upon himself to begin digging up his walkway which I noticed on my way into the house. That's fine by me. Our walkway is a little "dated" seeming too so I thought nothing of it until Trav asked if I'd noticed the neighbors new "Belgian Block Retaining Wall." Okay, so maybe they're not exactly Belgian or even Blocks for that matter. Maybe there's a new market for that "crumbled walkway" look...Maybe Trav and I are sitting on a goldmine after all with both a front AND back walkway...I'll cut a deal to my dearest friends if you're interested in the crumbled curbside look...just let me know...accepting all offers...

Random Things

Before I start rambling, how cute is that picture? My brother took his little girl out to buy shoes last weekend and this is what they came home with...I can't remember when my brother didn't own a pair of Timberland's or "Herman's Survivors" (where'd I pull that name out of??? Must have been the knock off Timberland's back in the day, or maybe Timberland is the knock off? What do I know about boots?) So anyway, once the boots were home, they had to be immediately broken in by helping daddy wash his big truck...Onward...

I know I haven't been a good "poster" but things have been a little crazy around here over the past couple of weeks...And I have some pictures from various events but don't feel like getting up to get the camera and USB cable so you'll get pics another time, except for the one above that was emailed to me which is saved...and maybe I'll stick one below (being a Random Things post and all...)

So let's see, last post was Lion King...the following weekend we took the ferry across to Long Island for Trav's sister's wedding out in Montauk. It was a great weekend and a perfectly simple and lovely wedding ceremony. Her now-husband's family has a cottage out there with a little windy path through the dunes to get to the beach. Shannon's friends lined that with daisies for her to walk through on the way down to the beach. Once on the beach, the "aisle" was lined with tikki torches...very cute. There were only about 25-30 people there, immediate family and closest friends, "intimate" as the invite said;) After the sunset pictures, the party was back at the house, outside, with one of those "fire-pits on wheels"...Trav and I brought the s'mores ingredients for late night;) It was a nice time.

We had to get up and out early on Sunday however because my darling husband needed to get more schoolwork done so that he had enough work done to qualify for an extension...I thought I was a pretty good procrastinator, but he has me beat in that category for sure. Thank goodness he's almost done...Hopefully by mid-December (good plan, Trav?) so we can enjoy the holidays...Wow! Then I'll be done AND he'll be done...We will be able to RECLAIM our WEEKENDS...I must say, it's been nice not having any schoolwork to do. I've actually been busy making soaps and other smelly stuff for my school's upcoming International Festival...They make a big deal out of this event and have a simultaneous Craft Fair in which I will be selling my wares (and so will Tasha who's been busy knitting Stuff to Sell)...we're such dorks. But at the very least, I'd like to get rid of all of my hobby related CRAP I've been accumulating over the past however many months. While I like the idea of selling things and making things and all, I guess I need to narrow down my doings...I'll see what actually sells at this fair and then take it from there. I need to simplify because otherwise I think everything is a great idea and I buy more stuff to sell therefore spend my money to MAYBE be able to make money back, but we're talking nickels and dimes in the grand scheme, so I just need to look at it like a hobby, something I enjoy doing. If I make a couple of bucks, great, if not, well then I stop buying stuff. Bored with my rambling post yet??

And to end, dinner from a few weeks back. These were supposed to be 'wraps' but I got the wraps at the health food store and they only just crispily folded in half before breaking apart. At least they were good for us!

Have a nice day!

I Love the City!!

Yesterday went down to New York for my long awaited birthday present of seeing Lion King on Broadway and an overnight in NY. It was Sooo nice, all around! We saw the early show at 2:00...Wow! From the very first moment it started it was fabulous! If you know anyone who's seen this or seen this yourself, you know all the talk about the costumes and the set...just really well done...while I'm not very astute when it comes to recognizing "art-manship" or art-womanship or whatever, the costumes and set were very creative, not in the hollywood sense of "looking exactly like a lion" or whatever, but in the way of creating the "essence" of the character or prop/set piece. Even if you're not so into musicals, it truly was an entertaining show! I love those silly hyenas the best, STILL...they crack me up with their stupid humor. Not to many people appreciate corny stupid humor as much as I do and I miss that as being part of my everyday life---so much has gotten so serious...or maybe I'm just hanging around the wrong people;)

After the show we walked around a street fair which took up a good chunk of blocks just north of Times Square. There was all kinds of yummy food, but since Trav and I had already grabbed a slice of pizza before the show and were planning on dinner a little later, we settled on a bag of kettle corn...yummmeeee!!!! All those vendors there that weren't selling food were selling purses (of course), and pashminas (a bargain, really, at $5-8 bucks a pop)...I should have gotten one because their so handy, particularly when dressing up, us gals need some warmth on those chilly evenings or inside the ice-box airconditioned reception halls at weddings and whatnot...next time...

After we saw enough of the same thing over and over, falafel, sweaters, jewelry, kebabs, lemonade, sweaters, scarves, falafel, belts, jewelry, purses, more purses, get the idea? We turned around and made our way back to our hotel to check in. In the lobby there was a young couple who didn't speak much English at all and the reception guy was trying to explain how their card wasn't going to be charge until they left and then the woman/girl noticed that the price on the new receipt and the price on the receipt she received online was tremendously different so both sides were trying to understand each other (in spanish, since they knew more spanish than english)...and this went on and on, thank goodness Trav and I were comfortably waiting on the red leather couch. For the first 20 minutes, it was fine that we were waiting because god knows when Trav and I have traveled, we haven't known the languages either, but luckily, I don't recall ever having made such a scene in a reception area due to our language ignorance. All good.

We had dinner at a lovely italian restaurant. There were all kinds of special things and whatnot, but I special ordered a "regular plate of pasta" with meatless sauce (they only had the meat sauce on the menu. And a regular green salad...that's how fancy I was feeling. Trav at least ordered from the menu...It's so funny, we don't ever go out to Italian restaurants...we really only go out to eat at Thai, Indian, Japanese, and Chinese places (mostly because of the veggie options). Dinner was delicious nonetheless and we strolled around awhile before heading back to the hotel. We were able to watch a little TV (novelty for us)...whatever baseball game was on, and then lights out, earplugs in (noisy noisy, still), windows closed, a/c on...less noisy...but still not a great night's sleep. Trav and I both commented on how long night seemed to take...usually it's time to get up in no time at all, but we just kept waking up all night...still dark...

So, I always wish that I can stay the night in the city when I go there. I always think I'll be missing out on something. I feel sad leaving... But now this is the second time in the past year that we've spent a night in the city, I must say that I'll be okay with leaving from now on. It's not like we're night owls...we go to bed early;) AND we like to actually sleep when we go to bed. So, the next time we find ourselves in the big apple, we'll enjoy ourselves thoroughly and an hour and 15 minutes later, we'll be home sweet home. (Though we did have a delicious breakfast this morning...Trav had Nutella filled french toast and I had homemade granola with yogurt and fruit...yummy...yes, quite possibly my favorite part of going away anywhere is the yummy food...) On that note, I must go finish making my homemade soup! (And hey, breakfast inspired me to make my own granola today, too...not bad for my first attempt!)

Where Do I Live???

So Trav was out of town from Wednesday night through Friday evening doing his usual Saranac consulting. It's not so bad having a couple nights of solitude, though as the weather gets cooler in the evenings, I miss the nice warm snuggle at night. Anyway, Wednesday comes and goes uneventfully on the homefront. I had a faculty meeting after school, then walked with my jogging gals (one of whom is nearly 8 months pregnant, hence the walking), after which we had a nice mexican meal together to "celebrate" my belated birthday and Vanessa's more recent birthday. It was a nice visit with the gals. I came home, checked email and blogs, locked all the windows (ever since that Cheshire incident, I'm a bit more spooked being alone), and read until my eyes wanted to close. A nice night.

Then comes last night...yesterday was a No School day, always welcome;) I got some things done in the morning around town, including a trip to the mall to use my various Macys coupons to buy dresses and accompanying accents for the upcoming sister-in-law's wedding and party a month later. The best part was even after the sales AND coupons, I got 2 $10 off coupons to use in a few weeks...not really a bad deal...Onward. So the rest of the day I straighten the house, sort of, do laundry, and poke around on the internet (I'm so good at that). I think I may have taken a nap in there, too. Then comes bedtime...

I go into the bathroom to brush my teeth and see a big Mr. Spider up on the ceiling. The other night there was a big Daddy Long Legs in there which Trav brought outside for me...I know he's harmless and all, and I know I'm all about protecting bugs and stuff, but I definitely handle bugs in a girly way when I'm trying to get them outside and they start crawling toward me (picture me rescuing a spider on a magazine and carrying magazine towards door when said spider begins crawling toward me...picture me then throwing the magazine AND spider across the room, I do the "gross spider dance" while said spider makes his escape.) Does this ever happen to anyone else??? Anyhow, Mr. Spider on the ceiling is a light brownish, somewhat translucent spider with a legspan of at least an inch and a half (not as big as the BIG spider in our living room 2 weeks ago). So Mr. Spider is allowed to stay there as I brush my teeth. He is still the whole time. I'm okay with that. My only concern is that I tend to be a night-time bathroom run type gal...one, sometimes 2 times, lights generally stay out...I don't like the idea of doing the stealth sit-on-the-toilet to have a creepy spider sneak up on me, or worse, Under me!!! Aaack!! But, I vow to suck it up and put the light on,to be sure he stays up there...I refuse to smoosh him and imagine the dances I'd be doing trying to get that spider off the ceiling...I leave the bathroom, lights out in bathrooom, lights out in kitchen, and head into the bedroom. I clean the bed off and am just about to pull down the covers when I hear, "Crick, crick, crick, crick." Wait, more accurately, "CRICK, CRICK, CRICK, CRICK!!!!!!" You've gotta be freakin' kidding me!!! First a big ol' spider, and NOW a cricket...where is that little sucker...in the kitchen...go into the kitchen, lights on, cricket's off, lights off, cricket on...Unbelievable!!! So lights off, I just listen, coming from near the table....lights on, inspect the table, look under the table, don't see anything...go to start moving the table away from the wall, notice my sneakers and just pull them out of the way when, Aaaaahhhh!!! BIG BLACK CRICKET!!! Yikes!! I was totally expecting one of those smaller brown ones...you know the "regular" ones, the one that cricked at me as I walked past him going down to get my laundry from the basement, but no, this was the real thing, a big ol' 2 inch long (nearly!) thick, antennaed, jumping (perhaps impaired though) cricket. Okay, next steps, get the newspaper and begin pushing him toward the door. Push one way, jump the other, push harder, jump jump, this thing better not jump on my toes!! Push, oh no, how is he crawling on the newspaper now? Throw the paper...oh no! Where is he? What if I go to pick up the paper and he jumps on me (I'm such a freakin' woos!!) Get the newspaper and one last good push (or fling) and he's safely outside and I'm safely cricket free...Sorry about putting your dinner outside Mr. Spider! You'd think I lived in the middle of a jungle the way my house seems to support wildlife lately...Who needs to go camping when you can stay at my house!!!

Thank goodness I'm so self sufficient!!

Up, Up, and Away!!!

On Tuesday, the long awaited hot air balloon came to our school. The whole school went out to the back field and watched as the pilot filled the balloon with air. They all screamed when the balloon would begin to roll as the wind would blow, afraid it might roll on top of them. It was really cute (and how cool for me even to get to be so up close and all to a real live hot air balloon)! The balloon was tethered to a couple of trucks in the back field as well as held onto by some of the big strong school staff. Because it was a bit of a windy day, the eighth graders weren't able to get a tethered ride as originally planned. It was cool though to see even just the pilot in the basket, firing the hot air into the balloon and seeing it take off from the ground. Once it got past the tree line, it would begin to blow sideways. It was quite an ordeal!

Thanks again Jenn and Dan for sharing such an exciting event with the school. It will be one of those experiences the kids remember forever! Did anyone see the pictures in the paper? We're famous!!

A Busy Weekend

Yes, that's right, we've been busy 'round here:) We had Chase's first birthday party on Saturday up at Jill's which was nice...It's amazing how kids can be so different...He was Not into his Mickey Mouse cake at all...we joked around that he was thinking stuff like "You mean this ISN'T Organic?" and "You want ME to eat this Sugary Crap!" It was funny because really all he's been eating has been organic and without sugar...Jill even complains about the sugar content of Cheerios! So anyway, it was not a surprise really that he didn't like the cake...give him a little more time, I guess!

It was nice to catch up with the rest of the family, too...Abby has been doing work for the family that lives in Westport and has been wanting to ask them about using a barn on their property for her wedding. My mom and I had counseled her on how the next time they ask "How's the wedding planning coming along?" that she should then describe what she's looking for...something "barn-like" with beautiful grounds outside...rustic inside, but classy nonetheless..." and on and on...Well, apparently, last week the people actually asked exactly what we had predicted and because Abby couldn't believe that they said it just as we had practiced, she had to do all she could to keep serious and totally couldn't get close to inviting herself to use their barn...oh well...She'll figure something out soon enough!

Jeff has been working his butt off on a couple of houses...one of which is all ready for a buyer...If you know anyone interested in a cute little, completely renovated house in New Fairfield, let me know and I can send pictures, etc. Samantha is like a stringbean, growing and growing...she was as big as a three year old boy that was there (and stronger, too...) She's a feisty little nearly two-year old...snagging toys from innocent bystanders and whatnot...I don't think anyone managed to get anything out of her hands! In good time I'm sure she'll be sharing with the best of 'em, right Marisa?

Jill's back to work this year and Lenny will be home with Chase until Jill gets home (around 3 or so...lucky duck!) Then Lenny'll be heading out to do various odd jobs around town to make some extra cash...Everything tends to have a way of working out it seems...

On Sunday, we had a picnic at Trav's parents' house, always nice:) Sorry we missed the picnic up at Amy's though...I guess Trav and I had our own private bbq with the Gemmiti's last month though...And today WE GOT OUR NEW-ISH WASHING MACHINE!! Trav called on an ad in the paper this morning, went to take a look and brought us home a nice extra large capacity clothes-cleaning machine!! Hooray!!! She's been working at it all day...So nice! So the official word was that although my blog-fans seemed to think that a stackable on the main floor was ideal (as I still think), my realtor and house-builder resource people said it did not make sense to have a washer in the middle of the living space which is already so limited...PLUS if we're going to rent this house out anyway for awhile, the talk is that renters are likely to be pleased enough to not have to go to the laundromat that walking outside to the basement is really no trouble at all...(we've been doing it for 4 years now...)

Oh, and one more update...Check Engine Light is ON again...what the heck...let's see how long I have to ignore it for it to shut off this time!!!

Sorry no pictures lately...the camera's been in school for the past few weeks...I'll get better at it again...

Nothing New...Yet...

Still back at school. Still don't mind my job. It's nice to have "nice" kids this year. And they do just what I ask them to (mostly). And I can actually help students individually without chairs flying behind my back. It's very nice to be a teacher again:)

We had yummy barbecued dinner tonight...good ole veggie burgers and grilled corn on the cob...yummy!

While there's nothing new to really report on, I'll share a disappointment...about books...you see, tonight I'm going to be finishing my book "Prodigal Summer" by the Poisonwood Bible lady...I read the book a good 5 or 6 years ago and it's so funny because I remembered thoroughly enjoying it but as I've read it again, it's like still all new to me (except for the general gist). But the disappointing part is that I only have a chapter or two left and then I'm done hanging out with those folks I've been spending my evenings with...Then I have to find another good book match and get to know a whole new group of people...Maybe I need to find a good series I can get into...As a kid I read those series books, there were all the Ramona Quimby books, the Bobsey Twins, and who were those cheerleader girls...oh, Sweet Valley High (Jill had like the whole set and so I would steal them and read them all). I accidentally came across a sequel to a random book I had picked up at the recycled book shop in town, which was fun because I had been wondering what ever happened to those friends I made down south just outside Appalachia...What does this mean? Is this a reflection of my life? Is this why I have a hard time making new friends? Because I like to stick with the comfort and the drama of those lives I already know? Hmmm....On that note, I'm taking suggestions for pleasant reading selections...any ideas?

Back to School

We're back into the swing of things at school! The kids started yesterday (Monday) so I've had two days with them and no complaints! I have this fabulous feeling that I'm really going to be able to teach AND enjoy my class this year, which is a tremendous relief. Our first three days of school are early dismissal days for the kids so that after school we can have conferences to meet families and set some goals for the year. The neat thing about this class is that some of the kids I had already in Kindergarten so I know their families and other families I recognize from them coming on field trips and volunteering in the school. So I have a class full of eager parent helpers and support. That is awesome!
Our theme for the beginning of the year is Soaring into the School Year and we're actually expecting a real live Hot Air Balloon to blow up, launch, and even carry 8th graders up a few at a time....How cool is that?!...Thanks to "kayaking Jenn" for donating her hot air balloon trip wedding gift to the school! I'll post pictures, but you all have to cross your fingers for great weather on Thursday or Friday so this launch can actually happen.
Travis and I are dog-sitting for my sister's dog, Tahoe. He's a big, lovable Doberman who is Not used to being on a leash and wants to eat squirrels. He's been dragging me down the block to the park and typically once we get there, still leashed, he'll start barking at squirrels and attempts to "get 'em." What a meanie! Our couches are covered with all of Trav's text books because Tahoe would much rather sleep on the couch than on his cushy LLBean bed...While I don't like to sit on a couch that smells like dog or anything, I kind of don't mind being able to cuddle with a dog on the couch, especially on these chilly-type days we've been having. But, I guess that's not allowed. Poor Tahoe...
Let's see how many blog posts I can go without complaining about school this year!

The End

My Experiential Health and Healing Class

Ahhh...finally I am done being a student! We had our marathon final class on Friday followed by a graduation ceremony on Saturday and I Almost even have a new degree to show for myself...(it will be mailed in 3 weeks), which stinks because the other end that is upon me is the end of summer, yes, already, and it would have been nice to have been able to get the appropriate salary starting with my first paycheck, but alas, my graduate school is not quite on top of things so once my papers are all read and handed to the lady in charge, then I believe I can get my transcripts sent to my Human Resources...what a pain in the neck!! But I'm done.



So yeah, I'm back to school tomorrow (Wednesday) for professional development and getting the classroom all ready and whatnot...It's not such a bad thing I guess. I am honestly far more productive when I have a schedule...I accomplished much of what I set out to do this summer, the biggest exception being that damn wedding album. I figure why should I have to do it if I don't want to? So I've read mindless books and wasted away the last couple of days getting caught up in fiction...Nothing really worthwhile...I read Nicholas Sparks' "The Wedding" which was actually a very nice story, start to finish (every husband should read this...I told Travis he should really read it and his reply was that I should really read what he was reading (some car magazine), oh well...And now I'm finishing up a sequel to some random book I had read a few months back about this woman in a small southern town, yadda yadda...sucks you right in though and that's what I like in a book.



Cheers to a new school year, starting fresh, a new class, no more graduate work....I feel a good year coming on!!

A Weekend Away...

Rockport, MA

Well, we've been a rather busy crew here...Backing up to last Friday, I went to the beach with Tasha and vegged for a couple of hours after which we treated ourselves to yummy ice cream (yes, Vicky, the Full Fat kind because, you know...) Then on Friday night we met a bunch of folks at a carnival where Trav got to ride the "Cliff Hanger" or something along those lines with his nephew...think of the swings except you're lying down flat on your stomach with arms stretched out like superman (optional)...after some quality nephew time consisting of watching them go on rides, we caught up with a second party of carnival goers (trav's softball friends and significant others) for fried dough (yum...in moderation, of course, which pretty much means once a year a the carnival) and games...While I'm not a big fan of carny games, that's what the boys seem to like. I did play Whack-a Mole which I used to win, no fail, back in the day, however, even upon striking each freakin' mole dead-on, someone else won...we'll call him the prize hog of the night...My beloved did eventually win me a three foot tie-dyed snake (no you can't have it)! If I recall correctly, he successfully knocked 3 blocks off the platform...hmmm, or was it milk bottles?? Whichever is more challenging I'm certain is the one he did...

Saturday morning we left bright and early(ish) to head up to Salem, MA for one of Trav's high school buddy's wedding. We were able to have a stopover at Amy's which was nice:) I got to see that cute little Nolan boy in person and what a cutie little ham...I told Jen today that when I saw him, he was smaller than I had imagined. I guess that when you only see close ups and pictures from down on his level and just his head shot approaching the camera, he appears bigger. I'm glad he's still just wittle.

The wedding was nice but even nicer was getting to drive out to Rockport on Sunday for a stroll through the village and a little sunning time on the rock jetty. I like it there:)

And, the busy sociallites we are when we really set our minds to it, we stopped in Boston for Sunday night and stayed with Trav's friend Sage who has embarked on a guitar making odyssey...pretty impressive. Below is a picture of Trav getting his first ever accordian lesson from his buddy. We made it home Monday afternoon exhausted. And today I had a nice visit with Jen and Molly...we had a nice little picnic in the front yard and a swim in the back. I meant to take a picture of Miss Molly in the pool to post on my blog, but I didn't...I'm certain Jen will be updating her blog at some point...any day now...(wink, of course!)

I go back to school in 1 more week. But, I'm seriously okay with it...If I endured last year's class, I can endure anything!! (Though I'm only just really getting good at having summer...)

Checking In...

This past weekend was my last full class weekend. I presented my culminating project and handed it in. Although I personally didn't feel very good about it, I received lots of positive feedback from my "colleagues" and from the program coordinator (kind of like the teacher). So that was all good and it was nice to have closure on that, finally...

We had a busy Sunday beginning with Trav's softball game followed by his dad's birthday brunch in Danbury/Bethel. We came home and relaxed and napped for our big night out in Norwalk seeing The Samples. They were supposed to be playing on the beach but because of the rain, the concert was moved to a nearby elementary school, which was weird...All the tailgators were under tarps in the parking lot because you couldn't "drink" inside the school. It was great to be around music and get a little dancing in.

Aside from that, last week was fairly low key...I went kayaking with Jenn on Wednesday, caught up with Jen, Molly, Vicky, Becca, and Richie on Thursday, hung out at my mom's pool before class on Friday, and classed it on Saturday. As for Monday and Tuesday...hmmm...I think one of those days I went to a craft store to get inspired to make "stuff" to go in my soap related gift baskets, and another day I bought a new quilt for my bed to try to change the feel of our bedroom...I'm regretting the red walls and am not about to repaint them anytime soon! Today I returned the new quilt because I realized when I got home with it that the one I have is just fine...I don't think anyone returns things more frequently than me!

I'm just comfortably in summer mode...only 17 days left of it and not a whole lot to accomplish in that time...except maybe the wedding album...maybe next week!

Okay...and to leave you with a little link to hear The Samples:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKZE-3lP8k4

It's not th show I was at, nor is it my favorite "Did you ever look so nice?" song, but it's a good jammy tune nonetheless:)

In the Summer Swing of Things...

Rainy Monday mornings are not nearly as bad when you get to stay in bed a little longer and don't have to get to work! After staying up late last night to finish my book, I deserved a little sleep in. After all I've been sooooooo busy here, I have all kinds of lists and things to accomplish and whatnot. Unfortunately, the busiest I've really been is to actually write the lists. It's much harder to accomplish and cross off when there's no real structure to my time. Then there's the procrastination piece...The two biggest things I need to do are to "fine tune" my final project and create a Power Point to present it to my class on Friday...(I'm so done with this schoolwork crap!) and the other is to pick 50-75 of our wedding pictures so the photographer can finally put together an official album for us (yes, I've put that job off for a year now!!! but, but there's like a thousand pictures from which to pick and I have to do it on the computer and you can't hold two pictures next to each other to see which is better...just a pain in the butt...) But I refuse to not have that done by the time I go back to school.

Please note...the blond gal with the sleek black dress is at the buffet even though her table number was not called yet...her husband took the photo as proof and I am now exposing the truth to the world!! They called 13, not 14, Marisa!!! (hehehe)

On Saturday, my cousin had a commitment ceremony in Long Island. Me and Trav, my parents, Jill, Lenny, and Abby all took the Bridgeport Ferry across the Sound to get there. On the way, we stopped at my dad's former boss' ice cream shop and everyone got a cone (well, Trav got a Rootbeer Float). It was fun having a little pre-wedding ice-cream party of grown-ups!

The ceremony was on the north shore at a pavilion that led down to the sand and ocean. So they had the white chairs on the beach and the little trellis thing with the LI Sound as the backdrop...Everyone who walked down the aisle was barefoot (except the parents of the brides:) Steel drums played for the cocktail hour and there was a beautiful sunset. It was a nice little adventure for us.

We're Home...

We had a great trip to the Cape! The first few days were overcast and chilly, but perfect for being lazy, just what we needed to unwind. During those days we kayaked around the pond right outside our cottage, read a lot, bicycled to the beach, played paddle ball or whatever it's called at the beach, and even caught a Drive-In movie (I haven't been to one of those since the original Superman). We saw Ratatouille followed by Pirates of the Caribbean (I fell asleep, just like during Superman...we didn't get home until 2 am...of course I fell asleep!) It was fun just being at the Drive in with the speaker in the window and all...

This is Travis crossing the bridge on our commute to get to the beach. We rode a bike trail through the woods to for just over 2 miles to get there...so nice...Below is our Anniversary picnic on the beach. We went to a beach that had live reggae/calypso music playing and hung around until the bugs were eating us alive!

The kayaks below are in the salt pond that lead out to a salt marsh. I, being the nautical expert that I am (sarcasm), thought it might be a good idea to put the boats in just before the official low-tide time so that we could easily get out into the marsh and then by the time it was time to return (after the official low-tide time) then of course beginning at exactly 6:15, the tide would then be coming in and therefore help us back to where we came from (I've had the experience of paddling against the tide with Jenn in the past and knew it wasn't a nice thing)...So we went out, paddling happily along and then we realized that the lovely pond and canal we were paddling through were only about 6 inches deep! It was cool though because we could see straight through to the bottom. I made lots of hermit crab friends, came across mussel colonies, lots of lettucey seaweed, and even saw a little white eel of some sort slither out of the sand! It was really cool. I did get beached at one point because I went to far out to where the water was even more shallow, but we never had to get out and pull our boats like another couple we saw literally walking their boats in! While I was busy watching the scurrying of creatures beneath the surface, Trav was busy watching the sky for birds and setting up his angle for the impending sunset. It was quite an adventure!

We also managed to get lost in a forest of trails trying to get to the ocean from a different pond we had gone to...that debacle ended up being a 9 mile hike!! Thank goodness the return trip ended at the beautiful clear kettle pond we had left from!

The cottage we stayed in was perfect for our needs, riding distance to the ocean, steps away from a pond, updated, with porch and lots of birds to watch, frog sounds at night (annoying...thank goodness for the window fan to drown them out!), definitely loads more to explore up there! Perhaps next year!

Cheers to one year of marraige and to many more ahead!!

Imaginings...

Imagine a photo of a cute little black Subaru Impreza Outback with two kayaks strapped on top, back seats down, two bikes stuffed in the back along with all of our bags, etc. for our week in Cape Cod...I meant to take a picture, but I didn't...

Okay, now imagine this, I know it's a little early, but I'll be away so you have to imagine a beautiful bride and a handsome groom, happily gazing into each other's eyes in the midst of a beautiful rose garden that only has a few roses in bloom because everyone knows that roses peak in June and a July 9th wedding in the rose garden means not so many roses, but instead of roses, that garden was filled with oh so much love:) Who needs roses when you've got love...hmm, maybe I'll write a song, "All you need is love..."

One year is almost here! Today Trav gave me an Oronoque Farms Strawberry Rhubarb pie to bring with us to celebrate our anniversary (that's the one we cut and ate at the wedding). So, on our anniversary we get to have yummy wedding pie along with a special Alsatian white wine that we brought home from France last year after doing a little wine tasting in the Alsace region on the Honeymoon. I'm looking forward to that:)

Have a fabulous week everyone! Those of you who are going to the beach to see Jen and Molly, have fun!

Grrrr....

Whose stupid idea was it to legalize fireworks in the state of Connecticut?...obviously not anyone who lives in a neighborhood with houses remotely close to each other...Do people who light these things realize how freakin' loud and obnoxious they are....Have some freakin' consideration! Do they have clocks? Do they know that 12:30 a.m. is a fairly universal sleeping time. It's only 10 now, so at least these dingbats making all the noise at the moment have a tiny bit of consideration. I'd be even pissed-er if there was a baby trying to sleep in this house. Sorry Vick...not seeing the bright side on this one!

Happy 4th!!

Yay for Fireworks!! Last night Trav and I headed down to the beach here to see the town fireworks show. But first, and more importantly, we stopped at a new little coffee and sandwich shop that opened nearby with a little sign out front that said, "We sell Dr. Mike's Ice Cream." While most of my readers can't relate, Amy, Marisa?, maybe you guys can because Dr. Mike's is so freakin' yummy. It so beats Dairy Queen which was the only acceptable ice cream place around here...So, ice cream in hand, we drove down toward the fireworks. The beach parking was filled, but we found a prime location in a parking lot just beside the old landfill where the fireworks were being launched from...PERFECT seats! Lots of loud booms! Overall, however, the show was unimpressive, but something to do on a Tuesday night nonetheless and it would have killed me having been home to just hear the booms rather than to actually be part of the festivities. The quote of the night came from a little kid watching the fireworks in the same area who just after one of the fireworks went off said, "That would have been even cooler if it looked like Queen Latifah." Yeah, kid, we were thinking the same thing...But alas, fireworks are fun and will always remind me of my engagement night:)
Today Trav and I went up to my parents for a BBQ. It was a bit on the chilly side, so no swimming, but we just hung out with Jill, Lenny, Chase, Abby, Mom and Dad...We had yummy ice-cream cake for Jill's birthday.
I'm supposed to go kayaking tomorrow with kayaking Jenn (from now on I will just say Jenn...she has two n's, versus Jen C-S who only has 1)...but it looks like it will be possibly rainy and cool. Maybe we'll need a plan B.
I think the washing machine decision is to just replace the washer with a used one. The reasoning is that a washer/dryer in the middle of the living space in such a small home is not practical...not to mention cost effective. We'd have to run pipes/water to the front of the house. It would be one thing if we were going to be here awhile longer and then might "bump out" a mudroom type thing, but we've probably only got about a year left here after which we'll either sell or rent it...So if anyone has access to a used washer for sale, let me know! Until then it's the laundromat (at which I spent over two hours on Tuesday---but actually, I never really minded the laundromat...it's a slow pace there, AND you get six loads of laundry done all at once)! AND on top of that, I treated myself to falafel from the falafel place next to the laundromat! AND I saw a "finishing school" in the same plaza after having talked about finishing school with my mother-in-law on Saturday night. AND I saw a man who walked with a cane and literally had to step with one foot and slowly and effort-fully dragged the other leg to catch up. Made me appreciate my health. See everything that comes from a broken washing machine!!
I too am sorry I missed my luncheon on Saturday. Go figure that our second game, when everyone was absolutely exhausted, went into overtime AND penalty kicks only to just lose...and on top of that, miss my lunch:( next time...
okay, movie time...

No Spin

So I come home from work, toss a load of laundry in the washing machine in the basement, come back up, do my thing and then go down to toss it into the dryer when I open the washer and find it still filled with water. Hmmm...that's curious, but then not really because it would be just like me to not have pulled the knob out or whatever so I go ahead and do all the usual...no change. I look at the plug, I consider the idea of a circuit breaker, I unplug it and plug it in again, and nothing...no spin, just water and a load of soaking wet clothing.

When I came out of the basement (outside, since we only have Bilco doors to get down there) I tell the neighbor about my dilemma who then proceeded to tell me that the guy who used to own the bar down the way had once worked for the washing machine company and said that it just happens that way sometimes, no more spin (as it was, the neighbor had the same problem in the past but now he has a new washer and a dryer from the bargain news...)

So now, I have a big pile of wet clothes out back. I tried to rig a clothes line, unsuccessfully and Trav is not around to help:( I guess that means it's off to the laundromat tomorrow after school. AND I guess that means we have a major (ish) decision to make...Just get a new washer, OR get a new washer AND dryer (the ones we have were free from someone my mother in law knew who was getting rid of them when I bought the house), OOOORRRRR, do the stackable washer dryer in the front entryway of the house with a closet (we so need more storage and it would likely make the house more marketable with the washer/dryer more easily accessible.) Hmmm... I'll stop the ORs there, though the way my brain works I could go on and on...

Oh, decisions! How I love them! I'm leaning towards the stackable and the closet. We'll see what Trav says...

3 1/2 Days to Go...

That last day is not going to be here soon enough! I am ready for summer, slow mornings, sitting on the front steps drinking my tea, writing in my journal, going for a jog, catching up with friends, kayaking, doing nothing, heck, maybe I'll even knit a little again...I figure, Samantha is going to be 2 in September so her blanket that I started almost 3 years ago might get a few more rows added on to it (sorry Marisa, I certainly meant well when I started it;)...reading...I was given the book The Pact by Jodi Picccoult by a colleague and I can't wait to dive into mindless reading, although I have to finish my reread I'm working on now. This is going to be the first summer in many years that I haven't worked for a few weeks at summer school (and I don't have a wedding to finish planning and execute, etc.). I honestly feel that I have truly EARNED my summer vacation this year given all the crap this class has put me through. In 9 years of teaching, this is definitely my worst...good riddance!! Oh and as I reread, I realize that the word "class" though originally meant to apply to my students (though not all), it can also dually stand for my graduate program...August 11th is another of those bittersweet dates, marking my official graduation, although a mere 4 days later I begin the rat race of the new schoolyear, which I anticipate to be much much more enjoyable again. Wish me luck in my last few days!!

Just Stuff

So on Saturday, in the midst of my going batty-ness and not feeling well, I decided to head out to get some fresh air and sunshine for awhile. I took myself to the beach in Milford, found a nice quiet spot away from the "crowds" and with a view of these rocks, but more importantly with the soothing sound of the mini-waves spattering against the rocks. A nice cool breeze, some sparkling water, and warm sunshine was a great improvement from couch, sneeze, cough, blow, repeat...If any of my local friends are interested in a beach day this summer, just give me a call (though I confess that 2 hours is More than enough time for me at the beach...sizzle, sizzle, burn!!)
On Sunday, Father's Day, my father was busy with my husband, father-in-law, brother-in-law-to-be and some of Trav's other friends up in New Hampshire for the now annual Father's Day Weekend Getaway that developed out of Travis' pre-wedding guys weekend last year. It appears to be that a lot of fun was had, swimming, water-skiing, campfire and s'moresing, fishing, and apparently snoring! While I'm jealous because I want to do all that stuff (except hear the snorers), I also find it to be a nice tradition in the works. I love the fact that my dad drove his shiny red corvette up to the "camp" which last year he didn't for fear of having to off-road it to get to said camp. As it turns out, the so called "camp" they stay at is a fully equipped A-frame with kitchen and bathroom...really rough! So Dad gets to show off his favorite toy to all the boys!

And on Tuesday was my first co-ed soccer game of the season. It was a great workout and I didn't feel like quite as bad of a player as I usually do after those games! Those boys are just bigger and faster and I seem to get knocked down much easier as I'm aging...But, I love to play soccer, whether I stink at it or not...it's kind of like riding a bike...it instantly makes me feel like a kid again, running around, chasing people, kicking balls, falling down. I think that as we grow older, we forget how good doing all of that stuff makes us feel...Give it a try if you haven't in awhile!

Finally, a decision has been made and the check is in the mail for the Cape Cod cottage. It paid off to wait it out for the "best of three." This cottage is fully updated, nicely decorated, on the water and does not appear at least to be damp...And besides, based on my comment received on the previous post, I've got nothing to worry about anyway!!

A Splash of Color Outside...I love the purple viney flowers:)

Going Nuts

Did any of you all know what difficulty I have making decisions? About my "particularness" about things? Yeah, well, that's a problem I have long battled and for the past week I have been making myself NUTS trying to decide on a place to stay up in Cape Cod. I've only been there years and years ago, but Travis has been there and recommended we stay in Wellfleet or Eastham...Do we stay right on a lake or in a neighborhood? I've been looking and looking and looking and looking for "just the right place" at "just the right price (or even a little more)" and I'm just not meeting success...I just worry about places being "damp" or too "dated." I figure that my own house is cozy and comfy, airy, breezy, all that jazz...I don't want to go away and stay somewhere with an old itchy damp couch...I know we're doing this late in the game and if we had known we were going to do this trip months ago we could have probably found "the perfect place." But alas, this is how it is...and I just can't make a stinkin' decision!!! I have two very different places in mind and am waiting to hear back from a third (which would be the best of the three...) I shake my head at myself because all I need to do is pick a place, book it, and move on with life, rather than being STUCK here with my "favorites" overloaded with vacation rental links....AAAAACCCCCKKKKK!!!!! I so need to find a "spot" that we like to go on vacation around here and just count on that year to year...My traveling needs are a-changing!!

The last time I went to Cape Cod was when I lived in Willington with Jen and Donna and decided one morning that I was taking a road trip...Jen came along and we camped in P-town in THE BUGGIEST CAMPGROUND EVER!!! But we had a nice stroll through town and ice-cream which made it all worthwhile. I think that's even when I bought my little Tibetan bowl that I used when I taught Kindergarten to get the kids to line up from recess. Before that trip I was there with the family probably when I was 6 or 7 and then in high school with my friend Karen's family...We'll see what happens...wish me luck!