that's a lot of diapers

I'm watching TLC this morning, and there's apparently a marathon of shows about people with an OBSCENE amount of children.

There's one couple who had fertility treatments and had a set of twins. They tried for one more, and got SIX for a total of EIGHT children.

There was another couple who had 12 children. This was an interesting family where (unless there was some SERIOUS editing) everyone in the family seemed to genuinely get along. All of the children pitched in to help clean (there was a 6 year old vacuuming). It was kinda cool to see. I'm not saying I want a dozen children, but it was cool to see.

There was also another couple who had 17, yes, I said 17 children. There was only one set of multiples (twins). That poor woman gave birth 16 times (and I think she said 7 of them were at home). I guess after the 4th or 5th birth they probably just start falling out on their own. This family ranged in age from 4-31, so at least they're spread out.

Wow, it makes you think about how many children you would really want to have. I'm thinking 3. That's 14 less than one of those families! (which still boggles the mind)

But I guess none of them were as large as Bach's family.

sooooo good

My new favorite restaurant might just have to be TGI Fridays!!

New on their menu...

DESSERT MINIS!

Large-sized shotglasses full of mousse. I had the peanut butter cup.

SOOOO good!

:-)

Another "I wish I had my camera with me" moment

The sun came out this afternoon shining brightly on the white landscapes of Boxborough melting the snow into the cold air, causing a fog to rise up, the likes of which are usually reserved for the wee morning hours.

It was gorgeous.

D*** the dead batteries in my camera!!

Christmas, take #5948

We have now had 4 Christmas's. That's a LOT!

#1 - My aunt's house
#2 - Our very own place
#3 - His parent's house
#4 - My parent's house


Still to come....Christmas with his aunt (who wasn't feeling well enough to make it on Christmas - I hope you feel better soon!!)

And I have decided...we are VERY spoiled!

I'll be the one in a raincoat

I'm waiting for the Pats game to come on, and I am thinking that there's NO WAY I'll ever be able to spot the boy amongst the crowd, but I will try anyways!

French Toast Alert

Thanks to Kelly for this one!

Porky Pig - Blue Christmas

This makes me laugh so hard!

I think he's lying

Lying might be harsh...perhaps just pulling our leg.

What do you think?

I love getting packages

Today in the mail, we got lots of fun things!

First, OUR INVITATIONS!!!! :-) YAY!!! It's crazy to see it in print!

Second, our groomsmen/ring bearer gifts. They're really very nice. I can't say much more, because I don't want to give away the surprise.

Third, my name change kit. "Everything you need to go from Ms. to Mrs."

Fourth, BUBBLES! w00t. (word of the year ya know)

All's well that ends well

Another concert finished. Overall it went well. There were, of course, some parts that could have gone better, but then again, when aren't there?

The kids did their best, and that's what matters the most...and of course we had fun (which is what really counts)

So here's to the next one!

Craftiness for a Good Cause

My Eco-Friendly Beach Bag.

Many many many grocery bags went into making this. It's going to be a raffle item at tomorrow's middle school concert. I hope it does well! :-)

so much white stuff

There have been a LOT of snow storms in the past few weeks.

Anyone else getting slightly sick of it? If so, that's rather unfortunate, seeing as how it's not even technically winter yet.

Fine Food & WHAT???

I WISH I HAD MY CAMERA!!!

The Rat Pack in Framingham on Rt 9 had a large neon sign boasting of its "Fine Food & Cock". The "tails" part of the sign was out.

Middle school humor at its best...

We were out that way to go to Legal Seafood, since we've been holding onto this gift card for a while now, but there was over an hour wait. We didn't think to make reservations.

We turned around, and headed back west, where we decided to stop and check out Ken's Steak House, home of the famous and delicious salad dressings. REALLY YUMMY FOOD! It was a little on the pricey side, but it was good. They brought a bread basket to the table, which had cornbread, onion foccacia type rolls, and italian bread. We got salads, mine was a house, and his was a caesar. I had a steak gorgonzola - the kind of steak that is cut real thin and melts in your mouth. It came with rice pilaf and mixed veggies. The boy ordered lobster bisque and lobster ravioli. I tried some of both...and BOY was it good! We split a slice of banana creme pie for dessert. It was a delicious meal. The building itself is large, and there are a couple of rooms. I would definitely recommend, and go again.

80s Kids Shows

I think I have seen almost every single one of these!!!

yumminess from the past

After getting warmed up from playing outside, I decided to bake. I made mom's Layered Peanut Butter Bars. Anyone remember those?

brrrr.....

It's cold outside.

Especially when playing clarinet (which does NOT allow for gloves) outside for an hour at the Harvard Tree Lighting.

shiver shiver

I heard it through the grapevine

This is the video of my performance in my school's Lip Sync. We were the only teacher group, and the kids seemed to really like it! :-) They especially liked our dance move at the end (Soulja Boy).

This year's Christmas Decorations

Here are pics of our tree and our Willow Tree Nativity Scene.

This is what the boy and I did on Sunday afternoon, after the NVCB played an AWESOME concert at the Ayer Town Hall. A bunch of us (the boy included) went over to JP's afterwards for a late lunch/early dinner.

It was a blast! :-)

see ya later alligator

Apparently the Sox feel the need to get rid of their new, young, and upcoming players to get older (most of them past their prime) players.

Ellsbury is on the block for us to acquire Johann Santana. If we're going to trade Ellsbury, let's get someone better....like CARLOS Santana....

One thing I have learned tonight

The Osmond family does NOT believe in birth control.

George and Olive Osmond (that's a kind of unfortunate name) had:
9 children
55 grandchildren
and
48 great grandchildren


That is a LOT of procreation. I don't know the exact ratio of boys::girls, but it's pretty lopsided there too.

And people wonder why the world is so overcrowded. I don't. I blame the Osmonds. Crazy singing procreating family...

Add one more to next year's team

Mike Timlin has been signed for a one year $3 million dollar contract

I'm a long-lost chipmunk

My voice is squeaky and my throat hurts.

Stop making fun of me.

Just to clarify...

The wedding has not actually been called off.

It's still on, with all of the boatloads of work that goes with it.

Peter, there's no need for concern!

getting ready!

Today I bought the ingredients to make the peanutbutter pecan pie for Thanksgiving. I also bought the ingredients for and made my hot and sweet snack mix. It's pretty yummy.

You mix together:
Chex, Cheerios, Popcorn, Pretzels, and Craisins

Drizzle vegetable oil and tabasco sauce over it

Then sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar

Bake for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

YUM! The first taste is sweet, and then a few seconds later you feel some heat. :-)

Not much longer would you be mine....

Instead I heard it through the Grapevine!!

After our little lip sync performance, the boy said the wedding's off.

The girls and I told him that I changed the bridesmaid's dresses to our grape costumes, which was fine with him, because he said it would anger the bridesmaids more than him.

HA!

Way to go Dustin!

Our very own Rookie of the Year.

WOOT

the miracle of life

As I was feeding my fish last night, I noticed that one was missing. I looked around, and I can't find it anywhere.

It's gone.

My fish have a nasty habit of doing that. Darn fish.

Anyhoo....

As I was searching the tank for the big blue fish, I see something move in the corner. Something very very tiny.

I look closer.

It's a BABY fish!

A teensy weensy tiny winy baby fishy.

I don't know which one was the mommy, but one of my fishies had a baby!!

My hands are covered in marker

I hate when grades close on a Friday...because that is going to pretty much be my whole weekend. Grading papers. Argh.

FOOTBALLLL!

So I went to my first football game at the high school. This is my third year there, and I've only been to the one, sad to say. I had a lot of fun wrapped in a blanket from my car, dancing around to the music. Both the varsity and jv cheerleading squads were there. The JV girls are mostly middle schoolers, which is fun to see them outside of school. When I first got there a bunch of them all surrounded me and were hugging me. I thought "aww...they love me" then I realized they were just trying to get warm so I shoved them away! :-P

Papelbon on Letterman

This guy is hilarious!!

It's officially Halloween!

Mine's the cat and pumpkin sitting in the window. The boy made the creepy vampire face.

Yay for messy fun!!

oh yeah...and by the way....

swish!!

woot!!

We did it like before in 2004!

newest newest wedding idea

Ok, so after talking to the boy, he seems to want to have childhood pictures of us instead. What do you think about that instead? Better?

Newest wedding idea

For those of you who are in my close family (and my soon to be family), we have an idea for decorations at our reception. We want to have pictures of other family member's weddings in frames around the reception hall. I have some seashell frames of different sizes. I'd like to have the parents and grandparents in larger frames. We thought it would be fun to not include the names, so that people have to guess as to whose wedding picture they are looking at.

What do you think?

is there something I don't know??

We have lost yet another staff member in the middle of the year. This isn't normal. And this isn't just any staff member...this was the FREAKING DIRECTOR of special ed.

Is the ship sinking? Am I one of those people in denial on the Titanic that didn't realize the ship was actually going down until the water is quite literally above my head?

I'm not so sure this is a good feeling in the pit of my stomach.

swish, swish

What's that I hear? Could it be the sounds of a sweep?

Sox update

Youk is being benched tomorrow night....we'll see how that goes.

Papi at 1st base always makes me tense!

aw crap...

No Wakefield for the World Series.

and they've done it again!!

I stayed up REALLY late last night to watch the Red Sox KICK SOME BUTT!!!

That was a GREAT game! and as everyone keeps saying, the final score was NOT indicative as to how the game went. It was a nail biter up until the end.

Staying up until 1 am, and the alarm going off at 5 am is a BAAAD combo. I was so tired this morning I put my coffee down sometime around 8:30 half full and I didn't find it again until 6 pm tonight during jazz band.

argh

Is this California, or Massachusetts?

I woke up at around 1:20 this morning because my cell phone fell off my bedside table. I didn't think much of it, since I had only been asleep for about an hour (having stayed up for the SOX game). I picked it up, and went back to bed.

I woke up the next morning to reports of an earthquake that hit Littleton Common. It was a 2.5 on the Richter Scale.

Students were telling stories all day about how their pets woke them up. I don't remember thinking earthquake this morning, but apparently it was felt across the area.

Yesterday's Yard Sales

One electronic instrument tuner - $1.00

One ceramic Mardi Gras mask - $0.25

One ornamental french horn - $2.00

One Mozart CD - $1.00

One bag of 88 granny squares in assorted colors - $2.00

One pocket music dictionary - $1.00

One musical figurine of a girl playing a piano - $2.00

One pair of maracas from Mexico - $0.50

Total: $9.75

Fun day!!

Things I learned while hiking Mount Monadnock today

1). Not so much a hike at points as it is a climb

2). Bees apparently dwell at the top of the mountain

3). Bee stings on pinky fingers hurt a LOT and swell a LOT, so much so that you won't be able to remove a very loose ring.

4). Removing mole skin from the bottom of your feet tickles

5). Do bears poop in the woods? I don't know, but it's certainly not easy for girls to pee in them.

6). Coming down the white dot trail seems a whole lot easier than it would be to go up.

7). It is COLD at the top of the mountain!

8). Pumpkin ice cream at Kimball's Farm is a good way to finish the hike (it's even better when you get the last of the pumpkin ice cream - sorry Jenn!)

9). After driving home for a little over an hour, your legs DO NOT want to move to get you into the house.

10). Watching a guy with a broken ankle trying to make it down the mountain reminds you to be WAY more careful.

11). Seeing the chopper heading up to the top of the mountain to get the guy with the broken ankle makes you think of faking an injury for the ride.

12). Boys will leave girls in their dust on the way up the mountain, but will help them so they don't fall on the way down.

13). Pinky fingers will swell so much from a bee sting, that they won't be able to bend.

14). Ham sandwiches from Store 24 are yummy, especially at the top of a mountain.

15). Faces can get sunburnt, even when most of the day your head is down, trying not to fall over.

16). Calves will protest on the way up the mountain

17). Knees will protest on the way down

18). Did I mention something about bees stinging, and it hurts like heck??

crock pot goodness

Crock pot lasagna...mmmmm....yum.

urrrgh

My head hurts.

owie

Way too long

Working from 7 am until 6:30 pm every Monday might start to get to me after a while. Thank goodness for Monday holidays!!

I have a pretty busy week ahead of me:
Monday: HA! At least I am done with that!!
Tuesday: School all day, meeting at Peppercorn's for the Central District Music Educators. (at least there's food!!)
Wednesday: School all day, NVCB 7-9 pm
Thursday: School all day, MEETING WITH THE CATERER-WOOT!
Friday: 1/2 day of school, 1/2 day of meetings, then off to NYC
Saturday: shopping, Mary Poppins
Sunday: more shopping??, Spamalot
Monday: heading back to MA
Tuesday: and we're back to the grind!!

Ronald McDonald's Daughter (Japan Full Spot)

Seriously?? A little strange, but definitely better than the freaky clown.

Japanese McDonald's Ronald (Male)

Ronald sure has changed...

And speaking of a blast from the past...

Thisis one of the songs that I'm playing with the high school Jazz Band. WOOHOO! I was singing this song tonight, and the kids were amazed I knew the words!

Wow...

I was looking through the guide on my tv this evening...and what do I come across, but the VERY FIRST episode of Perfect Strangers. Wow....blast from the past! So of course, I HAD to watch!

THEY DID IT!!

THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT THEY DID IT

I'm so excited

We're going to see the caterer, we're going to see the caterer...

woohoo!!!

I can't wait to pick out our menu!!

He DOES exist!

my brother called me today. I haven't heard from him since August 17 (I know the exact date because it was his birthday).

He was driving on his way to Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. At one point he asks, "what's that big arch thing in St. Louis?"
~"You mean the St. Louis Arch?"
"yeah, that's it. I'm driving by the St. Louis Arch right now."

I always knew he was a genius!

childhood revisited

mmmm....I have pudding cups....

yummy in the tummy!

Bill Cosby would be so proud.

Faith Hill - Breathe

another choice for a first dance...

Someone to watch over me

not really a video here, but I LOVE this version of the song. It's a little more upbeat than the original

The pressures of a wedding

Being a musical couple tying the knot has a lot of pressure. Everyone will be looking at our musical choices. Will they pick something obscure? Will it be traditional? It has to be good...right?

ugh...

There are a lot of choices out there people!!

This is difficult!

not that I'm bragging...

I'm not trying to brag or anything, but...

I made quite possibly the most delicious pie in the history of delicious pies tonight.

Lemon Chess Pie

Simple to make.

Simply delicious.

yum.

A little pharmacy humor

My dr. thinks I'm slightly anemic, so she wants me to go on iron supplements. I went to CVS and asked the pharmacist if he would help me find what I needed. He advised me to take the pills with some food, because taking them on an empty stomach "would kill me". Those were his exact words. Seriously.
~excuse me?
Well it won't really kill you, but your stomach will really hurt. You'll get very nauseous.
~oh well that's different.

funny...very very funny...

These are a few of my favorite things...

These are some things that I have discovered and thought about today

Archer Farms
This is the food company that Target owns. They make LOTS of yummy things! Such as...
Wasabi Mustard Potato Chips
Garlic and Basil Pasta
Spinach & Artichoke Tortilla Chips
and other yummy crackers and pastas
I also bought (but have not tried) their Chicken Caesar Pizza


My new perfume
Ok...don't make fun of me...
but...
my new favorite perfume is With Love by Hillary Duff
...in all fairness...
I smelled the perfume before I found out who makes the perfume
but it smells so good!!!


When students discover new things
I have a saxophone student who has discovered John Coltrane. And loves his version of "Favorite Things". :-)

it's getting hot in herrrrre

I mean hot. Sweaty, sticky, yucky hot. It's September. Is it supposed to be this hot? The NVCB played outdoors at the Boxborough Agricultural Fair. I could feel sweat rolling off me. It was gross.

eeeew

My new favorite obsession

I can't stop watching it! Now that we have DVR, I can record the four or five episodes a DAY that are on tv. It's great. I never started watching it until this summer. I've seen episodes from the beginning, middle, and end. Maybe I should buy the series on DVD...

mmm...yumminess

So not only did I make golabki (cabbage stuffed with ground beef and rice mixture), I also made pierogis. Homemade pierogis!!! Some had mashed potato, some had sauerkraut. I've never made either of them before, and I think I did a pretty good job, if I do say so myself!!

I made the boy try a golabki and a sauerkraut pierogi, which he ate, but I don't know if he really liked them. He did, however, like the potato-filled pierogis.

I am stuffed. It was a GREAT dinner. :-)

it's going to be a polish labor day!

In trying to decide what to do with pork chops for dinner, I have decided to save them until tomorrow. Instead...

I'm going to make golabki! I'm heading out to the grocery store in a few to pick up some ingredients that I don't have, and to see if I can also pick up some pierogis. I'm so excited! :-)

Pork chops are going to be for tomorrow night's dinner (a little easier to prepare after work).

Woohoo!

I'll let you know how they turn out!

Wild Hogs

Finally got around to seeing the movie.

HILARIOUS!!!

I am a human pincushion

Owwwww...

Friday's booboos:
1 tetanus booster shot on the left bicep
1 bruised inside of the right elbow where an intern tried to draw 3 vials of blood, she only got one, and proceeded to move the needle around in circles (because THAT was going to help) and then she got a nurse for
1 small bruise on the inside of my left elbow where she proceeded to easily draw the remaining two vials

I'm not entirely sure the tetanus went so well. Is it normal not to be able to lift your arm two days later? Not to mention the BIG red HARD lump that has now formed?

Owwwwww....

A new world record?

Today I went to 4 Christmas Tree Shops: Shrewsbury, Natick, Saugus, and Salem NH. I eventually found everything I needed.

I was originally just searching for more lanterns to use as centerpieces for the wedding. I picked up 4 light blue round lanterns like the ones I already have, 2 dark blue round lanterns, 1 dark blue rectangle lantern, and 6 small light blue rectangle lanterns. I was one of those people that rearranged the packages of the small lanterns to get all of one color in the package (don't tell on me!!)

At the first store I went to (Shrewsbury) I found these metal off-white shell picture frames that would be great to use for the table names and other helpful things (such as labeling the guest book and the seat cards). However, they had 5 large and 2 small ones, and a BILLION in a seafoam green, which I didn't want. I bought those 7, and drove to Natick, where I found some of the lanterns I bought.

I then went to Saugus, where I didn't buy anything. Which is a HUGE feat for me!!

Then I went to my mom's house, where I called A LOT of different stores in an attempt to find some more frames. I called Salem NH, Pembroke, Somerville, and Nashua. None of them had the frames. Then I called Portland, ME. The lady I spoke to ROCKED! Every other store gave me an attitude. She looked in her store, and then told me that the Salem, NH store had 142 in their store according to the computer. Now wait....didn't I already call there??? Didn't they say they didn't have ANY???

So I went to Salem NH. THEY HAD A TON!!! I don't know if they had 142, but it was probably pretty close. Most of them were green, but I DID walk away with 11 large frames and 1 small one, and there were still plenty of large white frames left. I want to know who's not doing their job over there....

So I was gone for 6 1/2 hours today hopping from one Christmas Tree Shop to another.

Wow.

We needed this!

CLAY BUCKHOLZ IS MY NEW HERO!!!

panic button??

Red Sox nation - is it time for the panic button?? I think we're getting there...

Wedding planning update

Things we have:
Church/Reverend
Reception Hall
Caterer
Cake
Centerpieces
Bouquets
Dress/veil/shoes for me
Dresses for bridesmaids and possibly the flower girl (we'll have to see what it looks like when it ships - I ordered it online)
We are also in the process of designing our Save the Date cards - so be on the lookout for those!!

Things we don't have:
DJ (but we do have SEVERAL people looking into creating a dance band for us - we didn't ask for it, but I am NOT going to complain!!) :-)
Photographer - but we are talking to someone who is checking the date, and is going to get back to us
Invitations
Favors

What else is there? I'm not sure exactly, but it sure does seem like A LOT!!! Everytime I turn around, it seems like there are more things to do, but I also have done a lot at the same time. I am proud to report, however, that we are keeping a VERY reasonable budget on this whole thing, and are not spending a half million like on "My Big Fat Fabulous Wedding" or whatever it is called on VH1. :-)

Anyone else getting excited???

are we playing football or baseball?

If I said that the final score of a sports game was 30-3, what sport would you think I was talking about?

Football?
Basketball?
Certainly not hockey....

And I NEVER would have guessed BASEBALL!!!!

But there it is: Texas 30 - Baltimore 3

Good Lord...

all I have is weiners

I looked in the fridge and freezer tonight to figure out what to have for dinner. All I had was weiners. HOT DAWGS

I made a hot dog casserole. Spinach, egg noodles, sour cream, milk, cream of mushroom soup, hotdogs, peas, and crumbled bacon. YUMMY.

And the boy ate it!

He picked out most of the peas, but he ate the spinach. I guess I should call him Popeye from now on...

I am a food magician

I turned muffins into biscuits!!

I'll even let you in on my top secret trick!

When the recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of flour, just simply add 2 1/2 cups!!!

This is why I should not make muffins first thing in the morning when I am half asleep...

(They taste alright, just a little dense - kinda like me, I guess...)

Flufferbeer??

I would like to warn ANYONE who attempts to eat a fluffernutter sandwich while drinking beer. Upon taking a sip of beer, any remnants of fluff still in your mouth will expand into a tickly foam, making it difficult to swallow.

Beware.

Thank you.

it's really happening

After my cousin's wedding this past weekend, the boy and I have realized....

holy crap...

we're getting married!!

Tomorrow we're going to talk to the cake people, and help my sister pick out her maid of honor dress at David's Bridal (the other two bridesmaids have theirs already).
This morning, we were talking about groomsmen's outfits and what we wanted to do for the bar at the reception.

It is imminent...

as my uncle said "another one bites the dust"

I used to live here...

So I am allowed to poke fun!!

Thanks to Kellypuffs for pointing this out!!

THIS is what I am here for!

I got to fill in for John tonight...big shoes to fill.

But I had FUNNNNNN doing it!!! I decided to go for the "change of pace" route. I took the program for our upcoming concert, and we went through the whole thing! That's A LOT of music. We stopped and fixed things on the way, but we made it through a LOT tonight!!

There was a clashing of two worlds tonight...there were several of my ex-students in the band tonight while I was conducting. ....weird....

And it was HOT in the auditorium tonight...I was literally sweating...it was gross....

Then it was O'Hanlon's, which was always fun. (and an ex-student was there too - working as a waiter!!)

We left talking about oil....only in the NVCB.

I love this band

She lived a good life

(sort of)

Rest in Peace Petunia.

My much-tormented fishy has finally gone to the big fishbowl in the sky (or the big toilet bowl in the bathroom)

Although she didn't pass away under my watch (I was in Cleveland), I still don't blame the boy, he couldn't have helped it.

Her much-tormented few months are over.

Following the Sox Day 7

Again, no pics, but I will get them soon!

Today we started at A Christmas Story House and Museum. It was fun to look around and see what you remember from the movie (even though Debbie has apparently never seen it). They had the snowsuit and rifle in a display case. They also had many leg lamps that you could buy (I bought a nightlight version) I never realized the movie was shot in Cleveland (it took place somewhere else, and a lot of the scenes were also shot in CA as well as Canada). A few years back, the house was for sale on EBay, and a guy (who has the company that makes the leg lamps - apparently he's obsessed with the movie) who lives in CA bought it and is having MAJOR renovations done to make it look like it did in the movie. They mostly used the house for outdoor scenes in the movie, they shot the inside scenes on a soundstage. The house was originally a duplex, and had to be completely gutted. They couldn't recreate the dining room, because there wasn't actually room for it in the house, it would have to be on the neighboor's property if they wanted to do that. All of the furniture that is in there was donated, and is all 1940s-era furniture that is similar to what they used in the movie. It was fun. I'll post pics later.

Next we went to the Cleveland Zoo. IT IS HUUUUUGE!!! We didn't even get a chance to see some of the exhibits because it was so big! It was a lot of fun. We saw a rainforest exhibit, and I got to touch manta rays, and there was an entire Dinosaur exhibit that had life size moving mechanical dinosaurs. One of them even spit water (instead of poisonous juices, which is a good substitute as far as I am concerned). There were a lot of great exhibits, I had a great time, and took A LOT of photos. (which, again, I apologize, but I really don't feel like logging them into shutterfly...I want to label, and don't just want to dump).

We went to Houlihan's in Tower City for dinner again. I forgot to mention that we went there yesterday too. So let's backtrack...

Yesterday we went to Houlihan's. GREAT FOOD!!! They have this special - 3 minitinis for $8.50, instead of one martini for the same price. It was way cool, because you can try three different ones. I tried a quavatini, a chocolatetini, and a cosmotini. We split an appetizer sampler of buffalo fingers, stuffed mushrooms, and quesadillas. Then I had AN AMAZING SALAD!!! It was a Calamari salad with an asian-inspired base. You eat it with chopsticks, and it has cabbage instead of lettuce. And the strangest thing is, it had BANANAS in it...which sounds like it would be gross, but it was DELICIOUS!!! And since our waitress accidentally spilled a little of the martinis on me, she felt bad and gave us a free dessert. Yum!

Today we went back to Houlihan's, and we requested the same waitress, because she was so nice. We practically got our own room. We were in a little niche, and there was no one else around. I got the three minitinis again, but I got a bluetini, adam and eve tini (apple) and the cosmo tini again. I ordered the Ahi Tuna Salad, which has the same base as the calamari salad, but has Ahi Tuna again. IT IS SO UNBELIEVABLY GOOD!!!!! We split an order of creme brulee for dessert. YUMMY!!!

Then it was off to the ballgame. We left later than normal, because there was a thunderstorm DIRECTLY overhead, and we didn't want to go outside in it. One crash of thunder was so loud, I swear to you it shook the entire hotel!!! The game was only about 1/2 hour late in starting, which wasn't too bad. Tonight's game was definitely NOT a pitcher's duel. We ran away with it for a bit, the Tribe tried to come back, but it wasn't enough, we blasted in a few more, and it was over. There was a 3 week old baby girl behind us with her parents, and this was her 2nd Sox game!!

Great game tonight!!

We head back to Pennsylvania tomorrow, and fly out of Pittsburgh to Boston on Saturday. Perhaps I should call my little brother at some point and remind him to pick me up from the bus station....

Following the Sox Day 6

Ok...one day late, and no pics (cuz I am tired)

Yesterday was spent at the West Side Market, which was way cool, and if I lived here, I would shop at all the time. It has fresh fruits and veggies, and local butchers, seafood, and pastries. I bought a sour pickle to eat right then and there, some chocolate-covered espresso beans, and some stuffed olives (stuffed with some different italian meats ie. capicola, prosciutto, etc) I saw lots of fish, and even an entire smoked pig!

We also spent many hours touring the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I could have probably even spent longer there, but I COULDN'T BRING IN A CAMERA!! grr argh I'm an angry gumball!!! I wanted to take lots of pix to show my students, but I could only take some photos of the outside and the lobby, nothin on the inside of the museum. I got to see the different outfits that several artists wore, which is really fun, because I kept thinking, "wow that's a nice pair of pants, or wow that's a nice pair of shoes", and then I read the names, and they were worn by men. HA! Jimi Hendrix had some nice clothes!!

Then we went to the ballgame. We lost, but it was still a great game. It was a pitcher's duel to the end. Beckett made one mistake, and it turned out to be the game winning one. Oh well, that's baseball.

I will get pics up as soon as I can sit down at the computer for a while (there are quite a few)

Following the Sox Day 5

What a close game!!! SOX WIN 1-0!!

Trot started in tonight's game, but he didn't do much. It was a really close game the entire night. Pitchers duel between DiceK and Sebathia, it was a really good game.

We went shopping earlier today at the mall that is attached to our hotel. I definitely got a nice birthday gift from Victoria's Secret - I bought a $50 bra and two $15.99 bras and used a $10 coupon and only paid $60. It was sweet. I also got a pedicure at a spa....niiiice....

We had lunch at the Great Lakes Brewing Co. We split a sausage sampler appetizer - 4 different types of sausage with mustards. Yummy! I had a portabello sandwich...also yummy. There were a LOT of yummy beers to choose from. I apparently picked the most bitter one to try, it was still pretty good, and it also had the most alcohol per volume.

Then it was off to the game!

I think we might go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tomorrow (I know I said that yesterday, but I think we really will tomorrow)

Oh great...

Just at the time I am about to fly...

We have to worry about people sneaking fake bombs on our planes

Ok...so I won't be bringing any cheese onto any airplanes anytime soon.

Following the Sox Day 4

SOX WON!!! WOOT!! GREAT GAME!!!

We went shopping in Grove City, PA this morning at a HUGE outlet mall. I bought some clothes and a game called Encore. Then we went on to Cleveland.

It took us a while to get here, but we're in Cleveland. There's a lot of construction around the hotel, so it was a little tricky to get here, but we're here safe and sound.

I'll check out the hotel tomorrow and take some pics. In the mean time, there are more pics on my Shutterfly site.

We're thinking of going to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tomorrow.

Following the Sox Day 3

Today was the Polish Festival at PNC Park. We waited in line for 45 minutes to eat pierogis and golabki (stuffed cabbage). It was funny, because I thought I was going to like the pierogis better, but I liked the golabki better, it was really good.

The Pirates game was a quick one today! It was only 2 hours and 11 minutes! I would say it was a pitcher's duel, but that would be giving the pitchers way too much credit. It was almost a defensive game, there were a few good plays, but it was mostly a poorly-hit game. The Bucs lost 1-0.

We went out to dinner at Atria's restaurant. I had a crab cake sandwich, Debbie had a reuben (how she could eat more sauerkraut, I'll never know). It was a good dinner.

We're off to Cleveland tomorrow morning to see the Sox tomorrow night, stopping at the Heinz Retail Store on the way (not really on the way - slightly out of the way, actually)

Following the Sox Day 2

Click here to see the pics on shutterfly!

We started off today with a yummy breakfast at the hotel. We had our choice of all kinds of fruit, cereal, yogurt, make-you-own-waffles, english muffins, bagels, donuts, eggs, sausages, juices, coffee, milk...it was a lot (I obviously didn't EAT all of it, but it looked good)

Then we headed off to Aunt Ruth's house, where we met up with her and our cousin Glen. On our way over, we stopped at a local grocery store to pick up some drinks for the hotel room, and to replace the contact solution that exploded in my bag, as well as buy a little potted plant for our aunt.

Turns out there was some construction on the way to her house, and we got taken on a LOOONG scenic detour. (which made us arrive about 15 minutes late) sorry Ruth!

We stayed at Ruth's house for a while, where we caught up (I haven't seen her in about 7 years) with both her and Glen. We had lunch, and had a small tour of the yard, where Glen showed us what he has been working on. Turns out he hasn't been to the house in about 3 years!

After that, we drove around for a bit, and headed back to the hotel to plan what to do next. We decided to check out the Senator John Heinz History Center downtown. This museum has a little bit of everything - sports, Heinz 57, Lewis and Clark, Glass making, Soul Soldiers (African American soldiers of the US), and of course a whole lot on Pittsburgh's history. It was a pretty cool place to spend a few hours.

After that, we headed back to the hotel again, to head out to the ballgame at PNC - Pittsburgh vs. Houston. PNC park is literally across the street from our hotel. We step outside, and it is in front of us. Tonight was bobblehead night, so we each now have a Pirate bobblehead. It was a pretty good game, all and all, considering I really don't follow or have a vested interest in either team. Pittsburgh won 7-3. I kept score on my scorecard. We shared a bucket of wings from a place called Quaker Steak and Lube, I had 13 and Debbie had 12. That's a lot of chicken!!

Following the Sox Day 1

Our hotel has a living room...crazy...

...and a kitchen...(which sadly is nicer than the one in my apartment)

This is the sink part of the bathroom that is outside of the actual bathroom. (I figured that no one really wanted to see a picture of a toilet, so I didn't take one)

And these are our beds. They felt pretty comfy when sitting on them, but I will have to give you the full report after sleeping on it all night.

Ok, sadly, I have nothing to show you but the inside of our hotel room. It was a looong day. I left the apartment at 9:20 a.m., drove to mom's house where the little bro drove me to the C&J Trailways bus station in Newburyport, where I waited for an hour (better to be early than late...) for the bus that carried Debbie from Portsmouth and brought us both to Logan. We got there about 2 hours before our flight, so we ate a small lunch at Wolfgang Pucks. I crocheted some, and we boarded a flight to JFK at 2:20 - takeoff at 2:50.

We landed at JFK at 4:00, and made a mad dash across the entire airport (we actually had to get onto a shuttlebus) to our next flight, which boarded at 4:10 to leave around 4:40 to get to Pittsburgh. We sat on that plane for at least 1/2 hour before it took off.

We landed about 6:45 in Pittsburgh, picked up our luggage and car, and made for the hotel. Which sounds easier than it is, because 1/2 of the streets to our hotel were blocked off because of the baseball game at PNC. (who really watches the Pirates and Astros anyways??) We finally got here, and when I opened my bag, I found that my contact solution bottle had opened and leaked about 1/4 of the bottle all over some shirts and other clothes and papers in my suitcase. At least it was just basically water, instead of my sunscreen or hairgel, or anything else that could have been a WAAAY bigger mess!

We went to the restaurant that is a part of the hotel (you can enter from the street or the hotel), called SoHo. It was pretty good. I had a Midori sour, and we split artichoke and spinach dip for an appetizer. I had a mesculin salad for my meal, and we split a piece of chocolate peanutbutter pie for dessert.

Now, I'm off to read a chapter (or crochet...one of the two...) before I hit the hay.

Birthday

My birthday (the big 27) was last Sunday. The boy bought me a new MP3 player, because my old one (that he bought me 2 years ago for Valentine's Day) was only 500-something MB, which isn't a lot of songs, and it didn't hold a charge very well. This one is a Creative Zen V plus. It is pretty good, and is WAY cheaper than an IPod, but is just as good. It can hold photos and video as well as MP3s. He also took me to a Japanese Steak House in Concord (next door to Papa Razzi). We were the only ones in the restaurant, it was really good. I had salmon and scallops, and he had chicken and steak.

My college roomie came over yesterday to bring me my birthday present: 3 shirts from Life is Good.

This shirt is definitely me...especially when I am driving!!!

I could have used this last weekend! My uncle and aunt DEFINITELY would have appreciated it (considering the weather they had for the past 2 weeks)

This one though, is my FAVORITE! Isn't it adorable? I'm going to wear it to NVCB tonight. :-)

Carnival Glass

I went to my grandmother's house on Saturday, and she had me up in the piping hot steaming attic with her for at LEAST a 1/2 hour. It was nasty. She sent me home with two boxes though. One contained a punch bowl set (which I forgot to take pics of). The set had 7 glasses, and the bowl was kinda small. The box also contained 16 other glasses that matched each other, but not the bowl or other cups. I'm thinking of trying to find a punch bowl somewhere without any glasses and buy it to go with the other cups.

The other box contained all these pieces of carnival glass. I didn't take a picture of it all together, I probably should have. There's a LOT of pieces. My little brother's gf and I agreed that having one or two of these pieces would be cool, but who needs a whole set?? I certainly don't want to get rid of any of it, so I left it in my sister's bedroom at my mom's house for her to look at. If she doesn't want the whole set either, we might split some of it up between us and our brothers if they want it. It would make for some cool accent pieces, but it's a little too much orange for an entire set for me.

Slippery Rock

This is down the road and a walk in the woods from my uncle's cabin. We call it Slippery Rock, because the water's current moves quickly, and the rocks become very slippery. (pretty self-explanatory, huh?). The other two labs are my cousins'. The big white was is Acadia, and the other chocolate lab is Sammy. Sammy has a black collar, and is bigger than Kylee in her green collar. The dogs had a great time. I don't have a photo of it, but my cousin tricked his dog Sammy into going down the waterfall. We tried with Kylee, but she just gave us the "are you kidding??" look.

Road Trip with Kylee

So last week I kidnapped the family dog, and we went out to my uncle's cabin on Piseco Lake in NY. I picked the doggy up on Thursday and we had a slumber party at my apartment. We took off the next morning for Piseco (a 4 1/2 hour trip). We got slightly off-course, and went a good hour out of our way, but we got there. Who knew that the NY Thruway changed routes? We started on 87 and it changed to 90....oops...I stayed on 87. Well...now I know...

This is a big navy plane that was out front of a small airport in NY. I thought it was cool...right on the side of the road.