Life, Love, and Wine

Oh. My. God.

2010-09-16T12:11:00.002-04:00

No seriously...ohmygodohmygodohmygod. I want this IN MY HOUSE.

SELF-SERVE WINE TANKS COMING TO SUPERMARKETS

Where oh where have I been?

2010-07-02T09:13:00.003-04:00

Oh bloggy buddies. I've been wanting to sit down and write to tell you about all of my adventures lately...but life has been so crazy!

In early June we did a lot of work on our veggie garden, lots of biking and hiking and having fun. The weekend of June 12th my best friend from high school married my best friend from college and I was a bridesmaid in the wedding. We went up to Manchester, NH for the bachelorette party on Thursday night, rehearsal dinner and party with the boys (my friends from college) at the hotel on Friday night, and wedding Saturday morning. Erin looked absolutely gorgeous. She was smiling, glowing, and radient all day, and I was so happy to see her so happy. I had a wonderful weekend with friends that I hadn't seen in months or even years.

The following weekend another of my best friends from high school and her husband came to visit. We showed them around Providence, grilled up some burgers for dinner, and spent a lot of Saturday night at Dave and Busters. They left the next morning and Geoff and I headed to a local lake for a couple of hours of swimming and sun.

Last weekend Geoff's cousin and her boyfriend came down to visit. They arrived Saturday morning and we went out to lunch before coming back to the apartment to relax for a good part of the day. We played several different card games and dominos, grilled up some chicken and hot dogs, then headed downtown for a beer and to catch the end of the Red Sox game before taking them to check out Waterfire.

Tonight we are heading up to Maine. We'll get there very late and crash at Geoff's mother's place because she's awesome and she loves us. Saturday we are going to a big party for a friend's 30th birthday. It starts at 1pm, there's a pool, a keg, and a bonfire, and we are all supposed to bring our tents to camp there for the night. Sunday we will probably visit Geoff's dad and I need to see my brother (the 21 year old Marine) who is home on leave as it's my last chance to see him before he gets deployed again. We come back to RI on Monday.

Erin and Patrick (the couple that got married and live in Texas now!) will be back up here this week and will be stopping by RI to see us on Tuesday, then I have another friend coming to visit us next weekend from Friday to Sunday.

Anyway, those are my excuses for not writing more. I do miss you all and hope you're doing well. I suppose I could be writing instead of watching marathons of The Hills on my Netflix player. (Oh my god I never watched that show, but I just got hooked and CAN'T. STOP. WATCHING. OHGODPLEASEHALP!!!).

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend. What are your plans?

Dad

2010-06-20T19:43:00.002-04:00

I miss you.

I miss the way things used to be. I miss being excited to tell you what was going on in my life. I miss being able to cry on your shoulder and know that your shoulder rubs and words could make everything feel better again. I miss joking with you about how crazy our family is. I miss seeing you in your "spot" on the sofa on Christmas morning. I miss picturing my wedding day without worrying if I should invite you or not. I miss having a solid foundation in my life. I miss long conversations with you when you weren't drunk. I miss long conversations with you where you didn't twist my words around later. I miss long conversations with you where I didn't realize halfway through that your brain doesn't really work anymore. I miss not having so much pain and worry in my heart when I think of you.

Today you are sitting in the same motel room that you have been living in for almost 6 months. As far as I know, you only leave once a week to deposit a check in mom's account and probably to buy booze. Alcoholism has broken your mind and you are too paranoid, depressed, and sick to live a normal life now. The you I remember from a few years ago and the person you are today are two completely different people. I never imagined that the strong man that I loved and depended on would end up being so weak and broken. I am heart broken that you've done this to yourself and to our family. I call you every now and then, but I end up regretting it half the time. I called this morning but kept it short and sweet, which I worry may have hurt your feelings and I hate that, because you break my heart every. single. day.

Happy father's day, Daddy. I hope that today was as good a day as it could be for you. I love you.

Soaked

2010-06-03T10:14:00.005-04:00

Well...it's Thursday and I still haven't done my weekend recap...go me!

We had a really nice long weekend. Saturday we went out to breakfast at noon (what?) and then ventured to the East Side of Providence to get Geoffrey some new bike brakes at the bike shop. Somehow we did not know that Brown University's graduation was that day and that part of town was PACKED. We managed to find parking and walked around a little bit before being overcome by the crowd and the humidity. Once we got home we decided to take Bandit on a little hike. The weather said that there was a 30% chance of scattered thunderstorms starting around 6pm, but we got to the trail at 4pm so we figured we were all set. You see where this is going, right? We got about 30 minutes into the woods and the skies openned up and sheets of rain came pouring down on us. Now, I actually like hiking in the rain, especially when it's as hot as it was this weekend. I do not like being in the middle of the woods while it's thundering and lightening. I may have been a little panicky. I may have almost cried a little at first. Geoff may have had to force me to stand under a tree for a few minutes waiting for the storm to pass to keep me from running in the other direction screaming. Anyway, we thought it would pass quickly because of how extremely hard it was raining. I mean...it almost hurt it was raining so hard! Alas, we started hiking back to the car and were poured on the entire way. Poor Bandit, who had been having so much fun on the way into the woods, was not happy that we were "forcing" him to stay outside in the rain. We made it to the car...all very wet.

After dinner, Geoff dropped me off at the Comedy Connection so that I could start "girl's night" with a friend, her friend, and her sister. I had been iffy about going as I was really tired and wasn't sure I would be up for going out, but after getting dressed up I was pumped and ready for the night. Unfortunately, the other girls had spent the day at the beach chasing 2 small children around and were wiped. After the show (9:30ish?) they wanted to go home and go to bed. LAME. I called Geoff and we went out for a drink before heading home for chips and guac and beer in our pajamas. The night turned out a little differently than I had planned, but it was still awesome.

Well that seems long enough for now, so I will fill you in on the rest of my weekend later.

How are you all doing? Anyone like hiking in thunderstorms? :)

Ready for the Weekend

2010-05-28T13:41:00.002-04:00

Is it 4:30 yet?

That's when I get to go home and start my long weekend.

This week has been both fun and annoying.

FUN
Geoff's father was in town all week for a work training. He was staying in a hotel nearby and took us out to dinner on Tuesday night. We ate outside and enjoyed appetizers, salads, soup, and then a couple of bites of our dinners before we were too full. Wednesday he took us out to an Irish pub for some yummy beers. Both nights were very enjoyable, Wednesday especially. It was fun to see Geoff's dad get a little tipsy and I am always up for beer, good conversation, and laughs.

Last night was yummy as I made zucchini/bean/rice/other veggie burritos for Geoff and I...mmmm.

ANNOYING
Oh my god will this week end already??? It has been so looooong. I have gotten almost nothing done at work because I've spent all my time just wishing I was outside laying in the sun with a cocktail in one hand and a good book in the other.

Yesterday morning I got in my car to go to work and realized that I was almost out of gas. There isn't really a gas station on the way to work, so I have to go a little out of the way and I was already running late. Great. So I finish pumping the gas and as I'm putting the nozzle back on the pump I drip gas on my shoes. Not much...but still. Great, again. I get in the car and find a full water bottle and a napkin and start trying to clean my shoe off. It still smelled like gas so I took it off and set it on the seat next to me until I could get to work and figure something out. I put the full bottle of water in the cup holder, sans cap, and headed on my way. My next right hand turn WHOOOSH! The bottle tips over is pours water all over my work pants and feet, filling up the shoe that was still on. "Ahhhhh!" I almost went off the road. I righted the bottle then laughed at myself. I knew that I should have stayed home! Needless to say I got to work with wet pants and a shoe that smelled like gas. At least I didn't catch on fire, right?

Today is going much better. It's Friday, so that's a good start. I took a nice walk on my lunch break and sat by the pond on campus while chatting with an old friend that I haven't seen/talked to in forever. It was great.

This weekend I am going out on Saturday night with some girls for a 25th birthday celebration. Sunday I am shopping while Geoff helps a friend move. Those are my only two plans. I can't wait to see what else the weekend will bring.

What about you?

Haiku Monday

2010-05-24T14:21:00.002-04:00

(Haiku Monday idea stolen from Jules)

Groundwork for new blog
Margaritas on my porch
Laughs with Geoff and friends

I will be back later this week with another vlog answering more of your questions!

My first vlog!

2010-05-21T17:20:00.009-04:00

Hey readers!

It's my first vlog! I decided to finally get around to answering some of those questions that you asked me awhile back, and I thought it would be more fun to do it vlog style!

I apologize ahead of time. This is my first vlog and I know the sound sucks. Any helpful hints for future vlogs will be greatly appreciated!

Vlog #1 from lifelove'n'wine on Vimeo.

So there you have it! Look for more vlogs as I work my way through your questions in future posts.

The Big 1-0-0

2010-05-13T09:53:00.005-04:00

Sorry! Again...

I know, I know. I've become a failure as a blogger. I hope that someone is still out there reading.

This is my 100th post guys! The pressure was just too much I guess.

Actually, I have been very busy again. April is one of my busiest months at work so I was putting in extra time there. The weekend of April 16th we had friends come down from Friday-Sunday night. The following weekend my youngest brother, Grady, came down from Friday-Sunday.

Meanwhile, I had been planning my mother's 50th birthday party which was held in Maine the weekend after my brother came down to see me. It was a success and even though I had been stressed about it for weeks, everything ran smoothly and we had a great time. We stayed at Geoff's Mom's new place (which is located on a fairground in Maine by the horse stables...neat!) and the party was held at my uncle's. We had a nice family bbq and my mom was very surprised when she arrived. She even cried a little. As the group gift, we got her a nice digital camera since she was the last person on the planet without one and she always harrassed everyone else to email pics to her :). For the party I made a yummy 7 layer dip, a pasta salad, and a chocolate cake with strawberry frosting. Oh my god you guys...the cake was to die for. Here is the link to the recipe I used for the cake: http://www.joyofbaking.com/ChocolateButterCake.html and here is the link for the frosting: http://southernfood.about.com/od/icingrecipes/r/r70225c.htm. I got a lot of compliments on it, and I have to say I gave myself a big ol' pat on the back for this. It came out so decadent and delicious.

Last Thursday, Geoff and I went to the Red Sox v. Angels game and got to be on the Green Monster!!! For those of you who are not Sox fans, you might not understand the awesomeness of this...but the rest of you know. We had Standing Room Only tickets for up there, which is still awesome because for a fifth of the price of the Green Monster seats you get almost the same view, a big shelf to lean on and set your food drinks, etc, your own concessions and bathroom. The people sitting in front of us left during the 6th inning and we took their seats. It was amazing. The Sox won 11-6, the view was great, and we were so happy to be up there. I hope I never forget how much fun I had that night.

We were literally standing next to the concessions...no lines or missing the game when we needed another beer or hot dog!

I've missed you all. And will have the answers to all the questions you asked in my next post. If you'd like to add any questions...feel free to leave them here!

What do you want to know?

2010-04-08T12:22:00.006-04:00

Ello, lovely (and handsome?) readers.

I have ~~bravely~~ decided to hand the reigns over to you. I know I've been a lazy, bloggy girl lately only sharing weekend updates and Friday Fill-In stuff. So I want to know...

What do you want to know???

Ask me anything, and I promise to answer you honestly. Come on...you must have some questions. Right? I mean...you totally spend your down time wondering about me and my life.
Don't you?

Well don't you???

I thought so.

Ask away in the comments...the questions can be funny, serious, whatever your little heart desires.

(I'm scared.)

Remembering Maddie

2010-04-07T10:20:00.006-04:00

I first heard about Madeline Spohr last April.

I wish I had heard of her sooner.

Maddie left this world on April 7, 2009.

From the little bit that I knew about the Spohr family, I knew I wanted to learn more. I started reading Maddie's mother, Heather's, blog and her father, Mike's, blog...both from the very beginning.

Poor little Maddie had it tough from the start. Heather was only 29 weeks along when Maddie was born, and the little baby spent the first two months of her life in the NICU. She was poked and prodded with needles, underwent medical procedures, and had rock hard abs because she had to fight for every breath. But that little girl was tougher than most adults I know today. I know she was stronger than I am. She made it home from the hospital, and started a wonderful life with her parents.

Maddie had a few scares after that, and at one point had to be on oxygen at home. But she fought every battle she faced with a brave face and a smile, and always came out on top. I loved reading about her life and the funny stories that Heather and Mike would share. As I went through the blogs I found myself laughing and smiling thinking of Maddie. But as I neared April 2009, each laugh I had for her ended with sadness. I already knew how her story ended.

But the truth is, Maddie's story didn't end on April 7, 2009. She was only a year and a half old when she was taken, but she has inspired more people in her little life than most people could hope to in 100 years. Maddie has thousands and thousands...possibly millions...of fans around the world. She has taught us all to be stronger, to be braver, to enjoy our loved ones just a little more. I mean if a tiny baby can go through so much pain and still smile at her nurses...I'm pretty sure that I can handle whatever life throws at me.

Though we would all give anything to have Maddie back, her little life has served to help so many other babies and their families. Thousands and thousands of people have marched and donated money to the March of Dimes in Maddie's name. She has given other babies a better chance at survival. Her parents have started a non-profit organization called Friends of Maddie, that helps parents who have babies in the NICU. Heather and Mike are just as amazing as Maddie; not many people are able to turn such horrible pain into something that can help others.

I know we all lead busy lives. I know you don't know the Spohrs. But please today, just take one moment to remember Maddie. We can all learn something from her.

Bliss

2010-04-05T12:14:00.004-04:00

I had the most glorious weekend. I know it will probably sound like the same old same old to all of you, but I just felt so happy the whole time, Geoff and I felt blissful together, and the whole thing was just perfect.

Friday night we rented Julie & Julia (on the condition that next week we rent Ninja Assassin...la sigh) and I thought it was so cute! I mean it was by no means a wonderfully made movie or anything, but I really liked the story and it put me in a good mood before bed.

Saturday morning I slept in, then did Yoga while Geoff went to the library to get me Julie & Julia to read. Why did I send him? Well you might remember my little problem with "borrowing" books and movies from places. Long story short, I owe the library $14, that I swear I'll pay back some day...but for now I just have Geoff use his fee free card. STOP JUDGING ME! Anyway, I'm already halfway through the book and I really like it! It's very different from the movie, a quick fun read, and it makes me happy.

After my yoga session and Geoff's trip to the library we enjoyed a nice brunch (weekends we have breakfast between 11 and 12:30 so I guess it's considered brunch by then) while lying in the sun on the porch. It was SO WARM. Hot even! I had a tank top on and shorts and I didn't feel even the slightest chill. It was fabulous.

In the early afternoon we took Bandit up to the park and let him run around while we played some frisbee. I knew it had to be hot because our normally energetic and crazy dog spent his time rolling in the grass then lying still in a shady spot. I brought water for him but it didn't seem to give him any of his usual spunk...poor guy. After lunch Geoff and I grabbed our bikes and rode downtown. We took lots of back roads, stopped to check out a little carnival we saw, and rode along a river for a little while to check out the flood damage. It was crazy.

We ended up at a mexican place and split a pitcher of margaritas at a table outside. We walked our bikes for a little while after that before riding again...by then it was early evening and the air was a teeny bit cooler and oh so refreshing as I sped along wind in my face. Amazing.

When we got home we fired up the grill for the first time this year (woohoo!) and enjoyed some burgers and asparagus for dinner. That night we did some more reading and relaxing and Geoff hit the hay early after our long bike ride.

Sunday morning was much like Saturday, but Geoff did yoga with me! He was better at it too...ass. My arms aren't very strong so anything that requires me to hold myself up that way is almost impossible for me at this point...but he did great at all of it. We had brunch on the porch in the sun again, and then headed to Home Depot for gardening supplies. We needed a shovel and seeds. Once we got home we spent almost 2 hours in the garden redigging the whole thing up plus more of the yard as we are going bigger this year. It was hard work...so many rocks to pull out! Our plan is to have tomatoes, green beans and cucumbers again this year along with zucchini, onions, and peppers. We will have to wait until later this month to plant as New England weather is iffy this time of year.

We finished in the early evening and were dirty, sore, and tired. After a quick shower we were ready for our Easter dinner: a pot roast and veggies that I had tossed in the crock pot earlier. It was delish. After dinner I enjoyed some more sun on the porch with my book, then cleaned the apartment...it had been pretty neglected this weekend. That night we enjoyed some chips and guacamole while listening to the Red Sox beat the Yankees on the radio.

It was all pure bliss. Thank you Geoffrey, for a perfect weekend.

How are all of you?

Friday Fill-Ins and Floods

2010-04-02T09:02:00.003-04:00

1. All you need is love, sunshine, and wine.

2. My favorite shows, my friends, my doggy, my boyfriend, and my nieces fill(s) me with laughter.

3. Each generation, as it grows up, must face the problems left to them by generations before, and must do their best to leave less problems for generations of the future. Unfortunately, that last part rarely happens...

4. My father's disappearance, and my youngest brother's increasing pain is something I have a hard time dealing with.

5. A trip to anywhere else (preferably Jamaica, Europe, or South America) is what I need.

6. When you give your time and love to others, you will feel the happiness it brings to you and you get back.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to yoga, a sunshiney afternoon, and relaxing with Geoff, tomorrow my plans include hitting the library, relaxing on the sunny porch, working in the garden, going for a bike ride, enjoying some margaritas and Sunday, I want to repeat parts of Saturday and then watch the Red Sox kick some ass!

I know, it's such a cop-out. Sorry! It has been a relatively uneventful week here. Rhode Island has had major flooding issues, but we are very lucky and were unaffected. I feel so bad for all of the people who's homes and businesses were damaged though. This state has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, and now even more businesses (including a mall with untold amount of retail workers) will be shut down until they can get the funds to repair the damage. It's sad to see people who are already struggling have to struggle even more, and it makes me thankful for the luck that Geoff and I have had.

Are you on the east coast? Did you get any flooding? What are your plans for the weekend?

Of Yoga and Booze

2010-03-27T11:25:00.002-04:00

It's been awhile so here is one of those bulleted posts:

Our weekend in Maine was great. Friday I had a nice lunch with my mom, then went grocery shopping for the party, picked up decorations, went to Home Depot for plywood for the beer pong/beer die tables, then went to our friend's house (where the party was to be held) to help clean up/set up the basement. Saturday Geoff left early to go snowboarding with his friends. It was a perfect day with temps between 60 and 70 and they all had a blast. I spent the day in his mom's kitchen making food. I prepared 7-layer dip, crockpot meatballs, sausage stuffed jalapenos, chex mix, veggies, chips, dips, etc. At about 4:30 I was pretty stressed because I still had to pack the jeep (we borrowed it from Geoff's dad) with all of the food, party supplies, sleepover supplies, etc and go pick up the keg. His mom helped me load everything up, I got the keg without a problem, and arrived to the party house at about 5:30. Everything was set up without a problem and people started to arrive around 7. We had a great night. Lots of games, drinking, eating, laughing, and fun. Geoff's brother, B, came and I was so happy to see him having a good time. I got lots of compliments on the food which made my night as I had worked so hard to set everything up. About 10 of us spent the night and all went to brunch in the morning. Delicious! I was also amazed and relieved at my lack of a hangover as I had a lot of cleaning up, packing up, and driving to do that day. We got back to RI that night and I have been exhausted all week.

Work has been crazy and stressful lately. I am so sick of all of the drama that people there stir up every. single. day. I really need to try harder to just stick my nose to the grindstone and get my work done without letting all of the gossip/ridiculousness stress me out. Some days are easier than others.

I haven't been doing very good at keeping myself healthy. I haven't run since February and while I eat pretty healthy I do tend to have pig out sessions at night. I got a great idea from Life in Pink to do a 30 day yoga challenge. I have been attending my yoga class at work once a week, but it seems more like a meditation class than a yoga class...which is fine, but I wanted something a little more challenging. Also, it's hard to train myself to meditate if I'm only doing it once a week. She mentioned a website called yogadownload.com that is great! You can download free 20 minute yoga classes! I have been wanting to sign up for a more traditional yoga class, but they are all way out of my price range (i.e. they cost money). This is a great solution for me right now. So, on Thursday after a horrid, drama filled day at work I stopped at TJ Maxx and bought a yoga mat (I also bought some cranberry juice and vodka on the way home but that is beside the point). I downloaded my first "class" and did it yesterday and this morning. My goal is to do it everyday for 30 days for strength, flexibility, meditation, and my overall well-being. Wish me luck!

Sorry for the long post. What have you all been up to?

He's 30

2010-03-18T11:07:00.002-04:00

Today is Geoff's 30th birthday.

Last night I made him a boiled dinner of corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, and carrots. YUCK. But, it was out of love...what can I say?

I am leaving work today at noon to meet him for a birthday brunch, and then while he is at work for the afternoon I can bake his cake (Guinness Chocolate Stout Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting...I will post the recipe if it comes out yummy!), and pack for our trip to Maine. We will leave tonight after dinner and stay at his dad's. In the morning we will borrow his dad's jeep and leave our Bandit behind for the weekend. I will meet my mom for lunch in Portland, go grocery shopping for the bday party, drop our stuff off at Geoff's mom's, meet a friend at Home Depot to buy boards for the Beer Pong and Beer Die tables, and head to the house where the party will be held to drop off some stuff and help clean the basement. On Saturday I will cook/prep food, pick up the keg, and bring everything to the "party house". At 7pm the party will start and I'm hoping it all goes well! We have about 25 friends coming so it should be a good time!

Sunday we will have breakfast with everyone who has spent the night, then clean up, head to Portland to pick up stuff from Geoff's mom's, drive to his dad's to drop off the jeep and get Bandit, and then head back ti RI. I will be very tired at work on Monday...but it will be worth it!

Geoffrey, happy birthday. I love you more than you could know, and I look forward to many more years of adventures and fun with you.

What has been your favorite birthday so far?

Friday Fill-Ins: Sorry!

2010-03-12T10:41:00.002-05:00

Sorry that this post is kind of a cop out, but things are pretty crazy right now! Here's a Friday Fill-In:

1. I am so looking forward to our trip to Maine for Geoff's birthday celebration next week.

2. I am going to try to rent Up in the Air from the Red Box later.

3. When you get some time to yourself, it's a great time to relax and destress.

4. My family is a big part of my life.

5. If you need anything, like someone to talk to, I am always here.

6. I am really antsy to start planning/working towards a trip.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a movie night with Geoff, tomorrow my plans include finishing up the planning for Geoff's party, having friends over for burrito night, and going out for a drink, and Sunday, I want to relax and read my book!

I hope you all have a great weekend! Does anyone have any plans?

True? I think so.

2010-03-09T14:49:00.002-05:00

I saw this quote while surfing the internet today, and it made me smile...then laugh. I'm not sure of the original source, but I thought I would share it anyway:

"Whatever you give a woman, she's going to multiply. If you give her sperm, she'll give you a baby. If you give her a house, she'll give you a home. If you give her groceries, she'll give you a meal.If you give her a smile, she'll give you her heart. She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her. So, if you give her crap, you're gonna get a bucket full of shit."

Basking in the Sun Always Puts Me in the Margarita Mood

2010-03-08T14:14:00.004-05:00

I am in such a good mood today. Finally, the sun and warm weather (ok warm for March...low to mid-50s) have come to New England. Geoff, Bandit, and I had a wonderful weekend enjoying it.

On Saturday, I got up and made pumpkin bread for breakfast. I know that it is more of a fall/winter thing, but I had a craving, a can of pumpkin, and it is so easy to make. Geoff woke up around 11 and made coffee and we took our mugs and bread out to the porch to bask in the sun. We hadn't been out there since fall, and as my long time readers know, sitting on my porch in the sun with a coffee is one of my favorite things to do.

We chatted about our plans for the day and relaxed in the warmth before taking Bandit for a walk. We brought him over to a nearby cemetary where he can run free after squirrels and sticks. He enjoyed that...until I caught him eating another dogs...um...droppings and had to hall him away. Dogs are pretty gross.

When we got back we took off for the mall. I have an event at work this week and needed to buy a nicer blazer and skirt. Geoff needed a new bike tire so after dropping me off at the mall he headed to a bike shop. I actually had a really good time trying on clothes...I so rarely go clothes shopping. I was very successful and got a skirt and blazer that look really cute...exciting! By then Geoff had dropped off his bike and walked the mile back to the mall to get me (he'd left the car up there). We walked back to pick up the bike and after we had it in the car we walked to a nearby restaurant for some margaritas to celebrate the warm weather. We ended up splitting a pitcher of them along with some chips and guacomole. Delicious and wonderful.

After the pitcher, we both had a pretty good buzz and had to walk it off before driving home. We walked back to the mall so I could try to find a top to go with my new suit. I was unsuccessful and so we walked back to the car. By then it was dark, but still warm...it was so nice walking around with no jackets. That night we watched Gran Torino (from the Red Box!) and made chicken fried rice for dinner.

Sunday morning went much like Saturday. We lazed on the porch reading with our coffees and pumpkin bread. When we were ready we leashed Bandit and walked down to Stop & Shop to return the movie and then took a walk on the bike path. It was so warm and sunny out again and I was in heaven. I couldn't stop smiling and just felt giddy from the Spring weather. By the time we got home it had been a couple of hours and about 4-5 miles and we were hungry again. We made eggs and toast, I read some more, and then we headed to Kohl's where I finally got a cheap top (hey, I'm poor) to go with my suit. When we got home I went back out to the porch with my book to enjoy the remainder of the day's sun. That night we enjoyed a mexican casserole and lounged around the living room. Great weekend:)

The sun is still shining and rumor has it that it plans to stick around for a couple more days. I couldn't be happier. :)

What did you do this weekend?

Caleb

2010-03-05T10:24:00.003-05:00

Today is one of my favorite people's birthday.

His name is Caleb. I first met him my junior year of college when he became roommates with another of my best friends and my ex. I liked him right away. He's one of those laid back, hippy-type guys and is one of the nicest people I know. He can always make me laugh. He's easy to talk to, and I find myself unintentionally being more honest with him than I am with most people in my life. He writes music and I love listening to him sing and play. He wrote a song for me once...part of it involved my love for wine...it made me smile.

One of my favorite memories of Caleb was when my ex, his roommate, broke up with me for someone else. I was so sad and really needed my friends to help cheer me up. I was also worried because I was still friends with his roommates and didn't want to stop hanging out with the great people I'd met in that dorm. Caleb would invite me over to watch My Name is Earl on his computer...I'd never seen it and would laugh so hard. Once when we were watching it we heard my ex and his new person come in...I think my face fell because the last thing I needed was to hear them laughing together. Caleb looked at me and slammed the door to his room shut and I laughed as I turned back to the show. For some reason that silly thing meant a lot to me and it makes me smile to think of it.

We also used to turn on some B-52s and dance like crazy with friends in the dorm. The group of us would flip between dancing and jumping like crazy and doing corny dance moves like the "shopping cart". Laughing and dancing and B-52s are some of my favorite things.

I have a lot of good memories of Caleb. I am so thankful that we're friends.

Basically what I'm saying is, Caleb is one kickass mother fucker. Also? When he's a famous musician I'll get to say I knew him when. Maybe I'll even score some free concert tickets...

Happy birthday, Caleb. I wish I could be there to celebrate with you, but you can be sure I'll be sitting in my apartment chugging red wine for you tonight. Ok, mostly for me, but some for you too.

If only I could carry a pen in my boobs...

2010-03-04T15:25:00.003-05:00

It's Thursday and I haven't done a weekend update yet!

This weekend was great! Friday night I got the movie Inglorious Basterds from the Red Box at the grocery store. Geoff and I never watch recent movies. We really just can't afford a night at the movie theater (this may have something to do with my NEED to have a big bag of movie popcorn) and renting movies doesn't make for a cheap date either. The last movie we saw in theaters was The Dark Knight, and like I said...we never rent. We just watch whatevers available to download on our Netflix player which is mostly tv shows and indie movies or older movies. Anyway, $1 movie from Red Box = Joy! It was a good, albeit gruesome, movie. I heart Quentin Tarantino's style.

On Saturday, Geoff and I went to the Chili Festival at the Rhode Island Convention Center. We got to sample LOTS of chili, see a chili pepper eating contest, and met up with some friends. After about four hours of chili eating I just couldn't take any more, so we headed to a local bar with our friends Mark and Jennie.

After a couple of drinks, somehow the topic of Hooters (the restaurant) came up. I mentioned that I had never been to one before and so the other three decided that we must go. It was in Warwick which was only about 15 minutes away. I was really excited because everyone talks about their wings all the time...but I ended up being pretty disappointed. The place was packed (Saturday night...oops!), but we got a table right away and ordered our food. It left a lot to be desired...their wings weren't disgusting...but they weren't that good either. Oh well, we got a cheap pitcher of beer and our waitress carried her pen in her boobs so at least there was that. As Geoff said, "It's not about the food, it's about the scenery."

On the way home we stopped to return Inglorious Basterds to a Red Box and ended up getting The Hangover too. We watched that on Sunday...SO FUNNY! I kind of want to see it again...

Sunday was great. We had no plans at all so I was able to tidy up the apartment and then laze around all day. After we watched the movie we turned on the Olympic hockey game, but I just surfed the interwebs instead of paying attention. It was so nice to just relax and enjoy each others company this weekend instead of having visitors or visiting others. Yay!

What have you all been up to? Any fun Hooters experiences? Seen any good movies lately?

P.S. Don't forget to vote.

How They Find Me - Take 2

2010-03-03T11:27:00.002-05:00

It's time for another installment of "How They Find Me"! Here, we take a look at what some people enter into their Google Search bar that brings them to my site. Be afraid.

has been keeping me up for days - What has? A scary movie? The fact that the US lost to Canada in hockey? Global warming? This is in no way a complete thought, and it's pretty rude of you to make Google's job that much harder.

wine fills a glass of love - While this doesn't really make sense, I will still agree with you because "wine", "love", and "fills a glass" are all in the same sentence.

persnickety people commercial - I believe that this post brought this person to me. Also, I hate the word persnickety.

gag wine - Wine is never a joke people!!! I mean is there a more cruel prank to pull on someone than "gag wine"? You sir, are an asshole.

red wine burrito - Hey, I'll try anything once. Where can I find one of these?

difference between yogurt and cake - Are there really still people out there who don't understand this? I thought I covered it in the post linked above, but apparently there are some lost souls out there. Let me make it clear one more time: The difference between yogurt and cake? Is EVERYTHING!!!

cook oat bran in microwave - I don't recommend it.

Oat Bran Fart - That. Is. Disgusting. And why do you need to google this?

no! those pants are ridiculous, this is just weird - What's weird is you having a conversation about clothes with Google. It doesn't wear pants...it's a search engine.

the morning after costume - Ah, the morning after costume. I'd say it looks like smeared mascara, a flushed face, a torn dress, ripped stockings, and stilletos that weren't meant for walking home hungover in. Not recommended for women with any self respect, but probably inevitable for most women at some point in your life.

no pants sit on glass table tops - EWWWWWWWWWWWWW. Why why why why would anyone do that? Why???? Oh, I see...hahahaha. But still ew and not ok. Tables are for setting your wine glass on, not for sitting on naked.

i'm gonna make you gag - If you're the same person who googled the above item, you already did. Either way, what the hell?

That's all I have for today, but I think that's enough...don't you?

Also, don't forget to go here and vote once a day for the Game Changers project! It's a program that Geoff works for that helps teach kids about nonviolence and healthy relationships. Thanks!

Favor?

2010-03-02T10:32:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone! I hope you are all doing well...I promise to do a real post later today or tomorrow, but for now I have a favor to ask. It'll just take 2 seconds of your time and I would really appreciate it.

Geoff works for a non-profit called the Sojourner House. They seeks to end violence through grassroots approaches that address the root causes of abuse. The program he works with helps to teach teens and their parents about healthy relationships. One of the main things they are working on right now is "The Game Changers Project" which is a partnership with a software developer and a youth group to find innovative, youth-driven ways to build safe and peaceable communities. This non-profit and especially this particular program are short on funds, but we can help! All you have to do is vote for them here:

http://www.refresheverything.com/gamechangers

to give them the opportunity to win a lot of money to make this project bigger and better. You can vote everyday through the end of the month. Let's help kids make this a more peaceful world, shall we?

Thank you in advance! I love you all!

Oh, HI!

2010-02-23T09:23:00.004-05:00

Hello?

Hellooooo?

Is anybody still out there?

WAIT! Turn back! Don't go! I know I've kept you waiting for a long time...but look! Here I am! Please don't leave!

Sorry bloggy buddies...if you're still out there. I don't know what has gotten into me!

Because it's been so long since I've written, I will do this post with bullet points of what I've been up to lately...then you'll be mostly caught up on my life.

*I started taking a yoga class the first week of this month. It's offered free to employees at the college I work at, and it meets every Tuesday night. I really like it! It's very meditative and relaxing and I am so glad that I am doing it. The first night of yoga I went back to the faculty/staff locker room after class to grab my coat, etc. A professor was in my class and she was changing and was talking to me while I got ready to leave. Now I for one do not feel comfortable changing in front of people that I work with...I use one of the stalls. Well this woman has no fear! We're chatting away and then WHOOSH! Off comes the bra and out come the boobs while I was STANDING THERE LOOKING AT AND TALKING TO HER! I tried not to react, but I was pretty surprised I have to say. Good luck getting that image out of my head...

*We had a long weekend over Valentine's weekend, and it was the beginning of my 14 yo brother, Grady's, vacation so we had him come for a visit! It was his first time coming down and his first time travelling alone. I picked him up in Boston at South Station so that he wouldn't have to transfer buses. Geoff, Grady and I wandered around Boston for a while and got some lunch, then headed home and went to Dave 'n' Busters that night. On Sunday we wandered around different parts of Providence to show Grady the town, but it was very windy and cold so that didn't go as planned. That night we went to the pool hall down the street to play some pool and darts, and on Monday we dropped him back off in Boston to catch a bus home. Geoff and I ended up heading into China Town that afternoon for lunch...yum!

*Since starting yoga, I've been trying to get back into being healthy (as far as exercise) again. I started trying to run again, but have only gone twice...it's cold out there! I'm hoping I can increase my workouts as the days get longer. I hate going to the gym...I love doing the outdoor thing!

*Geoff turns 30 next month! I know, right? He's so old! Haha, I love teasing him about it. I'm planning a big party for him up in Maine for the weekend after his b-day. It's not a surprise since he would have guessed anyway when we planned to go up there for the weekend. One of his friends offered up their house and there will be a keg, games, LOTS OF FOOD, friends, and fun. I am really looking forward to it! Partly because I hate planning parties so it will be nice to just have the day get here already!

*We went to Maine this past weekend so that Geoff could go snowboarding. We arrived Friday night (late) and left Sunday night. Saturday was such a beautiful day, and we went to the dog park with Bandit. It was so nice out that I didn't have to wear a coat! We walked around in sweatshirts...in Maine...in February! Glorious. Bandit had fun too...he rolled and ran all around the open field. Unfortunately, this resulted in him getting dozens of little burrs wrapped all in his fur and Geoff had to cut them out...good think it was just his tail and belly because it is a choppy looking haircut. Geoff's nieces ended up coming over to his mom's where we were staying so we got to play with them for awhile...so cute! That night our friends hosted a "family fun night" with mexican food and drinks in honor of our visit. It was so much fun! Sunday I met up with a friend for tea/coffee and then relaxed while Geoff was up snowboarding. We both had fun!

I guess that that is enough of an update for now...there is more, but I'll save it for a later entry. I will work very hard to make sure that happens sooner rather than later. I miss you all! What have you been up to?

Short. But spicy.

2010-02-01T15:21:00.002-05:00

Geoff is feeling better!

This is good not only because I love him and don't want him to be sick, but because now I don't have to freeze my ass off walking the dog in subzero temperatures. You see, I love walking the dog...when it's warm out; when the wind doesn't whip through your clothes and sting your skin and make you wonder if your frozen body will be found in the street in the morning. It's Geoff's job to walk Bandit on winter nights. But being the loving, amazing, sweet, gorgeous...oh sorry...girlfriend that I am, I have been walking Bandit for every walk of the day during Geoff's ~~cold~~ serious illness.

Anywho, after a weekend hiding indoors beneath a blanket of tissues we are ready for a fun night out! We are heading to a local brewery for yummy beer and 30 cent wings (they have these nuclear wings that are painful, but oh so delish) after work tonight...can I get a hell yeah?

HELL YEAH!

In my experience, beer and wings can always cure a case of the Mondays. How are you recovering from your Monday?

Winter Un-Blues

2010-01-30T12:18:00.003-05:00

Poor Geoff is sick. He is sitting next to me on the couch, sniffling and coughing away as he reads. It's one thing I hate about this time of year...all the coughing and sneezing that everyone does. It makes me edgy. People at work are sick, Geoff is sick, and I'm exhausted. I'm pretty sure my body is in an all out war with billions of little germs. Hopefully it wins.

Though this time of year is far from my favorite, this winter has been much better than last year. Last winter was very hard on me. We had just moved to RI in the fall, and we were flat broke. We were behind on all of our bills (something that bothers me to no end...I always pay them on time!), we didn't know anyone, and we had no money to go out anyway. Right after Christmas I came down with a stomach bug that lasted 12 miserable days. I had no sick days or insurance so I had to go to work anyway for the last half of it. There was no way I could afford to miss that much work. The very day that I finally felt better I slipped in the hallway at work (I was one of 4 to fall that day. They waxed the floors when it was snowy outside so we had wet shoes and waxy floors...) and sprained my foot. It was a pretty bad sprain, and it took a whole week for me to get through all the red tape to have it x-rayed what with the no insurance thing. It was so stressful and awful. I spent most of the winter in our apartment feeling anxious and depressed.

This year so far there are no major illnesses or injuries. I've gotten a grip on my anxiety issues, we know more people down here now, and have been caught up on bills for quite some time. We even have money to go out and have fun from time to time.

Life is never perfect. Things with my dad are still not going well, and I woke up from a horrible dream about it last night and started to cry uncontrollably. I'd say that reaction is from lack of sleep lately and possible PMS. Yes, things are far from perfect, but I am in a much better place than this time last year. I feel happier. I am able to look at life differently than I could then. I am more in love with Geoff everyday. Life is hard, but life is good.

Still...I sure can't wait for Spring to visit again!

How are all of you faring this winter?

Beer and Boston!

2010-01-19T09:47:00.004-05:00

I had a wonderful long weekend with Geoffrey. Saturday we went to the Boston Winter Jubilee Beer Festival. I had gotten him tickets for Christmas, and it was a great gift for both of us! We took the train up from Providence which I was a little worried about, but it turned out fine. The ride was very quick and I had my new ipod to keep me occupied.

We arrived in Boston a little over an hour before the festival started, which turned out to be a good thing as we weren't really sure where we were going. We finally found the place about 15 minutes before the doors opened and ended up being pretty close to the front of the line. Once inside we hit the coat check then headed straight for the Gritty's table. I ended up going back there twice more before we left. Oh my gosh you guys, it was so much fun! There were UNLIMITED samples, a 2-man band playing everyone's favorites, food, and 52 breweries! I ended up getting buzzed very quickly and had to hit the food table about 3 samples in, haha. Silly me going to a beer festival on an empty stomach!

(Excuse the poor quality photos...took them with the cell phone!)

Oh no! Empty cup!

Going for a walk in the park...a leeetle drunk...after the festival

Even though it was crowded, the lines were extremely short. I think the longest line I stood in had 3 people in front of me...awesome! I can't remember all of the breweries I sampled from, but I know had had some from Gritty's, Sebago Brewing Company, Shipyard, Long Trail, Geary's, Kennebec River, Redhook, Widmer, and Union Station. Delicious!

After the festival we took a stroll in a nearby park before hitting a burrito joint. We were STARVING! We then grabbed some Dunkin' Donuts coffee and hit the bar at South Station to watch some football and have another beer while waiting for the train. Ok...Geoff had another beer...I was done. It was such a fun day, though. We love Boston and talked again about moving there. It's expensive, but such a great city. I don't know why we don't visit more often!

Sunday I made some delicious Chex Mix which the two of us finished off throughout the day...holy crap...so much food. We watched the football games Saturday night and Sunday as well and all of them (except for the NYJ v San Diego game) ended predictably. It's not as much fun without the Pats still in it. I also watched the Golden Globes on my laptop while watching the San Diego game on tv...ah, lazy Sunday.

Monday I actually motivated myself to do some dishes and clean the apartment before breakfast. We lounged around more after that before taking Bandit on a loooong walk that we all needed. It was pretty chilly out, but the crisp, fresh air felt so good. I made chicken curry for dinner as well as some pasta sauce for our dinner tonight and then hung out on the couch for more tv for the rest of the evening.

All in all, it was a great weekend. Geoff and I really enjoyed each other's company and I smiled to myself last night while falling asleep because, man...being in love is awesome.

(I know...gag...deal with it!)

Friday Fill-ins: The honesty edition

2010-01-15T10:14:00.003-05:00

1. The lesson I learned yesterday was sometimes ignorance is bliss. My boss made an awful comment about the Haiti tragedy that I'm glad I didn't hear. A lot of my coworkers were upset by it, and I haven't asked and don't want to know what she said.

2. I have found that here in RI, Twin Oaks is where friends and family meet.

3. All these years I have wanted to travel and never have. Geoff and I made a plan last night. We're working towards saving enough money for at least a month of travel in South America for next year. It has to happen.

4. I had to stop for gas this morning and was late for work. I was a little worried about this, but only 2 other people were here when I arrived.

5. The truth is my father is an alcoholic. He was sober from 1995-2006, but has been drinking since then. My parents divorced that fall, he doesn't work anymore, and he's a mess. He's my daddy, I love him...but he's caused a lot of problems for our family in the past few years, mostly in the past month. It's hard feeling so sad and angry toward someone you love so much. It's hard worrying about someone over the age of 50 because there is nothing you can do to change him. It's just heartbreaking sometimes.

6. Geoff and I went to an outdoor wedding on one of the hottest days in August 2009. Stopping at a lake, stripping off our dressy clothes, and jumping into the water is what I remember most from that day.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing, tomorrow my plans include going to a beer festival in Boston (YAY!!!) and Sunday, I want to stay in my pjs and watch football!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-01-13T13:05:00.004-05:00

Geoff's nieces:

Excuses, excuses

2009-12-31T12:59:00.001-05:00

I'm still sorry guys. I keep trying to get the energy to write a nice post, and I just can't do it. A lot has happened in the past couple of weeks involving my family, and I'm really pretty depressed about it. I might write about it at some point, but it's all so sad and depressing and embarrassing that I don't know if I can. It's really hard to write a post about anything else though with so much on my mind. I just don't know what to do at this point.

Still reading you. Miss you guys.

Oops...

2009-12-21T07:48:00.002-05:00

I'm sorry that I have been MIA, blog buddies. I miss and love you all and am still reading you. Work and life are just very busy right now and I haven't had the energy to post during my free time. I have 3 days of work left before my 11 DAY VACATION(!!!) so I will be back very soon. Wait for me?

In the meantime: Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas. I wish you all the best this holiday season and I can't wait to start blogging with you guys again.

See you soon!

I'm baaaaack

2009-12-03T10:09:00.003-05:00

I suck. I'm so sorry that I have abandoned you all for so long. I missed you, I swear! Because it's been so long I will make this post in list form so that I can clear the clutter from my brain and start anew tomorrow.

- Thanksgiving/my birthday weekend was awesome. Geoff and I each had two dinners and were STUFFED by the end of Thursday, but we got to see lots of family so that was nice. I also had an extra visit with my dad and brother on Friday, before going out to the Old Port for drinks with two of my friends. It was so good to see them and I got to wear a cute new sweater dress that Geoff's mom got me for my birthday. Saturday morning my mom took us out to breakfast and that night we went to a big party for one of Geoff's friends. It was so great to see everyone. Four days was a nice amount of time to be there. I didn't feel so rushed like I usually do and while we did a lot and visited lots of people, I still felt like we had plenty of relaxing down time.

- Though the people at my job drive me up the wall (every. single. day.), some great things have happened at work that I am so thankful for. My benefits FINALLY kicked in (I waited a year) and this university offers a top notch health insurance plan that's pretty inexpensive as well as vacation and sick time, holiday pay, etc. Also, because we didn't get raises this year and things have been so dismal what with budget cuts, we got two great Christmas gifts:

Four extra paid vacation days at Christmas. This means that I will have from December 24-January 3 off and still get paid in full. Freaking awesome.
Earlier this week we got a surprise bonus check. This place has never given out holiday bonuses before and these were REALLY decent checks. We're not talking $50-100 here. I was sky high the day we found out. Now I can afford to get Christmas gifts for people and to go out for New Year's Eve with friends! So happy.

- I'm pretty upset about Obama's plan to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. Not only because it will cost us $30 billion a year that should go to helping people here who have lost jobs and can't feed their families, but because that means people I know are going to be sent overseas sooner than expected. I found out yesterday that the first to go will be 1,000 Marines from where my brother is stationed and they will leave before Christmas. My heart sank. I spoke to him last night though and he's pretty sure that he won't be sent until later since he just got back 6 months ago. That made me feel a little better. I do feel for my old college roommate though. She just got married and moved to Fort Drum with her husband who is in the army. A large group from there will be leaving in January even though originally they weren't supposed to go until October. It'd be a terrible surprise for her if he got sent so much earlier than expected so here's hoping he doesn't go quite yet.

- What. The. Hell. Patriots? Geoff and I went to a bar to watch the Monday night football game since it was on ESPN and we don't have cable. It was ugly. Luckily there was pizza, buffalo wings, and beer to make it a little better, but it still sucked. Tom Brady's lackluster performance also seriously hurt my Fantasy team so it was a double blow. Freakin' football.

- I can't wait to decorate for Christmas! I'm trying to get into the Christmas spirit right away since it always goes by so fast and I really want to enjoy it. I love this time of year, but it just blows by so fast every year. I've gotten some shopping done but still have quite a bit to go. It helps that I have a week and a half vacation to look forward to along with it! Also, Rudolph was on CBS last night so watching that was fun. Why are these specials on so early now though? I totally had no idea that it would be on and I would have been so sad if I had missed it. I know, I'm weird...but I love those specials!

What's new with all of you?

This will Probably Make You Gag. You've Been Warned.

2009-11-25T09:38:00.004-05:00

I am at work right now, working a half day (yay!) and then I have a 4 day holiday weekend. After work I am heading home to clean, cook, and pack for our trip to Maine. We will leave after Geoff gets home around 7pm, and I am so excited. We are celebrating Thanksgiving and my birthday this weekend so yeah...awesome.

Tonight we will arrive at Geoff's mom's condo in Portland around 10pm. Diane is working all night but Geoff's brother, B will be there (sans our nieces unfortunately). Tomorrow Geoff and his brother will have dinner at their father's place and I will have dinner at my dad's. That one will be small as it will be my grandmother, my dad, my youngest brother, and myself. Hopefully Dad and I will get some football watching in and lots of eating before I leave. Then I will pick up Geoff and we will head to my uncle's house for another dinner with my mom's side of the family. That one will have probably about 15 people. I'm going to be very full and very tired by the end of the day! But that's what Thanksgiving is all about, right? Oh...and being thankful.

Friday will be a relatively relaxed day and I am hoping to go out with a couple of friends to the Old Port (where all the bars are) to celebrate my birthday which is on Saturday. Saturday I have breakfast with Mom, a quick visit with Dad, then we're off to a huge surprise 30th birthday party for one of Geoff's friends. I'm so excited for a party on my birthday even if it's not my own...we still get to see everyone!

Sunday I will hopefully not be nursing a hangover as we drive back to Rhode Island.

Having divorced parents is hard as I'm sure many people know. Geoff and I both have parents who divorced, so it makes the holidays really crazy and frustrating sometimes. This will be the first Thanksgiving that we're actually having a dinner together since we're usually pulled in so many directions. It could be much worse though. We are so lucky to have parents who love us and big families full of wonderful people. I wouldn't trade them for the world. I know it's sappy and cliche, but I am going to do a quick bit on thankfulness.

I am thankful that I have a boyfriend who loves me and who treats me so wonderfully. He has stuck with me through some very hard times and I'm in awe as to how I am so lucky. He is an amazing man who really cares about others and who makes my world and others' a much better place. Also, he's pretty easy on the eyes so...I'm one lucky woman.

I'm thankful for my family. Yes they drive me crazy most of the time and yes we have our fair share of problems, but they love me and I love them. They will always support me and be there for me and for that I am forever grateful.

I'm thankful that my brother is stateside this holiday season and not fighting in Afghanistan like last year.

I'm thankful for my cuddly doggy. He makes life better.

I'm thankful that Geoff and I both have jobs and can pay our bills this year.

I'm thankful that I was born in a country that for all it's problems and ridiculousness...still is one of the best places to live. I have so many freedoms, rights, and opportunities that others in the world don't have access to.

I'm thankful for my friends. They are amazing people and make my world so much brighter.

I'm thankful for a million things that I can't possibly fit into one blog post...but I think these top the list.

Oh yeah, I'm also thankful for good wine and food. Bring on the turkey, pies, and booze. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

What are your plans?

More than You Ever Needed to Know About Me...but I'm Awesome and Superior so Deal with It (please?)

2009-11-23T08:56:00.009-05:00

Anyway, last week I was given two awards by two lovely bloggers! The first is the awesome blogger award and it was passed along to me by Smileyfreak. She is a very nice girl and always leaves me wonderful comments. Thanks Smileyfreak!

The rules of this award are:

1. Thank whoever gave you the award.

2. Copy and post the award to your blog.

3. Tell your readers 7 things they don't know about you.

4. Give the award to 7 bloggers.

5. Keep being awesome.

Alright, let's start by talking about me, because apparently I am awesome! Here are 7 things most of you probably don't know about me:

1. One of my best friends from high school and my best friend from college are marrying each other in June of 2010. I'll be in the wedding, and I'm very happy for them! I'm also a little worried about them as they tend to do the on again off again thing every now and then...here's hoping they'll have a long, happy life together!

2. I love helping people and I want to get back into working in non-profit organizations. My dream is to someday open my own non-profit and travel the world helping others. I was lucky enough to be born in a country where I have freedom and many rights that others in the world do not have. I believe that since I've been given this chance it is my responsibility to help others who are less fortunate.

3. My brother is a Marine and he will be home for Christmas this year!

4. I am terrible at hiding how I'm feeling and I'm also a very emotional person. I cry at commercials, I'll laugh at most anything, and I get irritated easily. Whether I'm happy, sad, or angry...you'll know it. Which is why I can never do the "What's wrong?" "NOTHING." thing with Geoff as my "NOTHING" always sounds like something.

5. I LOVE camping. It is one of my favorite past times. I don't mean on a nice campground with a pool and a playground, either. I mean in middle of the Green Mountain National Forest of Vermont with no one around for miles but Geoff, Bandit, me, and the mountains and river. It depresses me to see that other people leave their trash and belongings behind in this beautiful landscape. I hate cleaning up other people's garbage...but I hate seeing this amazing land treated like a dump even more. I can't even explain how much I adore the tent, the campfire, and the great outdoors. Talking about it now makes me wish the camping season wasn't so far away!

6. I love playing Mario Party but hate most other video games.

7. I grew up in Maine but have never been skiing or snowboarding and as much as I'd love to learn, I'm pretty sure that I'm too much of a wimp to ever actually do it. I'm not very athletic or coordinated so sliding down a mountain on my feet probably wouldn't end well for me.

Now to pass the award along to others!

Amblus - She is a fun, quirky read. I love her biking stories as well as the funny things in her day to day life. You must at least check out the post about the greatest butternut squash you'll ever see.

f8hasit - I love her blog! She is a wonderful writer and always has a good post to read. She also has a great sense of humor. And she does a "Follower of Note" segment that can help you find even more great bloggers! Go see her!

From the Inside...Out - Kathryn is fantastic. She is always good for a laugh and her posts are all so creative! You really never know what you're going to get...but it's always worth your time and you'll be glad you stopped by. Plus in her welcome section she invites you to pour yourself a glass of wine and join in a toast...so yeah. Awesome.

Picture Imperfect - Penny is an amazing photographer. All of her posts are accompanied by beautiful photos she has taken. I am so jealous of her talent, but so thankful that she shares it with others. She is also a fun read. Thanks for blogging, Penny!

Ok, I am only passing this award onto 4 people as you can see, but it's because I also got presented with another award, and I'm too lazy to pass these on to so many people.

This award came from Dreamfarm Girl, and it's the Superior Scribbler award! As she said, I already have one, but I'd love to have two! Thank you so much! Before you finish reading this post (or when you're finished, whatever) go visit her. She's delightful!

The rules are the same as the other award above so here are 7 more things about me (gah! the pressure!):

1. I am an absolute sucker for holiday specials. I watch the same ones every year, and it drives Geoff crazy (he's not so much of a fan). Of course there are the Peanuts specials...Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, but I don't stop there. I also have to watch Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph, Garfield Christmas, A Christmas Story, and It's a Wonderful Life (though I do miss that one from time to time). Every year, without fail, you will find me spending the weeks leading up to Christmas watching these. Yes, I'm a sap. I don't care.

2. I am constantly battling between wanting to move back to Maine and wanting to move far away (the west coast? Europe?). I can't seem to think of a happy medium between my strong desire to travel and my serious homesickness.

3. Geoff and I met at work in the summer of 2006. We were both working for the same nonprofit and discovered that we also had the same major at the same school and would have two classes together the upcoming semester. I had just become single for the first time in a long time that spring and was planning on staying single for awhile. Geoff was supposed to be a summer fling at the most. Obviously it didn't quite work out that way. :)

4. I am turning 25 the Saturday after Thanksgiving. That is less than a week away. I am not super happy about this.

5. I play fantasy football. I've been a football fan for quite a long time, but I usually would watch all of the Patriots games and only a handful of other games each week. This year Geoff and his friends needed another person to join their fantasy league so I signed up. I love it. I have become way more interested in all of the NFL games and I listen to sports radio more often so I can get updates on players. My record so far is 8 wins 3 losses. I'm kicking some serious ass on those boys! I actually played Geoff's team last week and won...he was not too happy. His friends made fun of him...but I've won against most of them too so I don't think they have much room for talking.

6. I'm not much of a pie person. I love most desserts...cakes, cookies, brownies, etc. Pie...not so much. The only kind of pie I actually do like is pumpkin pie, and that is one of my all time favorite desserts. Yum.

7. I love to learn. I am really such a geek. I love science, politics, international studies, sociology, psychology, literature, and so much more. I always was a great student and while no part of me misses homework, I do miss school. I will have to go back sometime soon.

And now to pass this on to others!

Island Roar - I actually just started reading this blog very recently...and I found her through f8hasit's Follower of Note section! She's also an amazing writer. When reading her words I feel like I'm being transported the the time and place that she's describing. Good read. Go!

Lost in Thought - I found Meg when she started following me, and I'm so glad I did! If you're a dog lover like myself, you do not want to miss Furry Fridays when she posts pictures and stories from the dog shelter she volunteers at. If you're just looking for a good story, check out her Travel Tuesdays where she posts about her travels in Europe. Those ones always make me laugh:)

Jen's Voices - I was actually just noticing that Jen has received a lot of awards lately...but she deserves it! I am always so excited to see that she has a new post waiting to be read in my Google Reader. Her PSAs are the best!

The Checkout Girl - Some of you may have been lucky enough to have already discovered TCG. If not, this is your lucky day. TCG's blog shares the humor and ridiculousness in everyday life as a...well...checkout girl. Having worked in retail and food for minimum wage myself, I find so many of her posts to be funny and true. She's such a great writer that I actually read her entire blog last week. Yeah, go see her.

That's all for now! I'll try to do a post about my weekend later today. How is everyone? I know I've been blogging less lately...I miss my bloggy buddies!

Confession

2009-11-19T08:58:00.004-05:00

Hi, my name is Jen and I am a semi-thief.

I can almost NEVER return something I've rented on time.

This might sound like a minor problem to you, and of course in the grand scheme of things, it is. But guys, I'm seriously bad. I can name two libraries and three video stores that I can no longer borrow books or rent videos from and I'm thisclose to adding another library to the list.

I've mentioned before that I am the queen of procrastination, so that has something to do with it. "Oh I'll return it tomorrow." There are only so many tomorrows before you get a letter or email stating the ungodly amount of money you owe and a suggestion that you "Fine just keep the damn thing, but send us our money!" I mean, I use the library because I am broke and I can read their books for free, so how is it that on more than one occassion I have ended up owing them more money than the book is worth? How does that happen?

This all started when I was a teenager. I would borrow books from the library and then forget to bring them back for over a month. This resulted in me being unable to borrow from our hometown library anymore, and because I used my mom's card...she couldn't go either. Sorry Mom!

I managed to rack up a couple of late fees at the local video store as well, but I usually kept it under control. Until my freshman year of college. I was home on break and rented Basic with John Travolta. I left it in my closet at my mother's house and returned to school later that week. I couldn't remember where I'd left it and my mother kept calling to complain that the video store was calling her house wanting the video. It ended up being returned about 9 months later. What with the large sum of money I owed, I also can't go back there anymore. And for Basic? That movie wasn't worth a toenail. Sigh. Also, because I used my mom's card...she can't go there anymore either. Sorry again Mom! My younger brother went there with his girlfriend about a year after the video got returned and tried to get a movie. He had a card from my mom's account as well...and they practically tossed him out of the store. When he called my mother to see what the hell that was all about, she explained that his sister is hell bent on getting the whole family banned from every rental place in the area. I didn't know my plan was so obvious.

As the years went on I opened up my own accounts at video stores and libraries and similar things happened. If it wasn't them banning me it was me being too embarrassed to face the people behind the desk. I know what they were thinking. "You owe us money, lady. You owe us retribution! How hard is it to return something ON TIME?? Loser." I mean, it does get old to be reminded that you owe money every time you reach the circulation desk and have to mumble an apology as you thrust some singles at the librarian and push your way through the crowd head down, red-faced, as they glare at you, shaking their heads in disgust.

I thought I could start fresh after our move to Rhode Island...but I don't know who I was kidding. I had been doing so well at our local library...but I just got an email reminding me that the three books I took out are two weeks overdue. I could go home after work and take them to the library but I have a bunch of other errands to run, and I see the same thing happening tomorrow. Hopefully I'm still allowed in there by the time I finally drag my ass back over. It's doubtful though.

Do they have a help line for this?

How They Find Me and Weekend Happiness

2009-11-16T09:14:00.007-05:00

Geoff and I had a pretty uneventful, but nice weekend. Saturday it poured and we did absolutely nothing all day except for cook, eat, and watch more stuff on the Netflix player. Yesterday morning we went out to breakfast at a little place Geoff had noticed on his way to work. Breakfast just might be my favorite meal, and it's definitely my favorite meal to eat out. Geoff had an italian omelette with pepperoni, olives, onions, garlic, mozzerella, and marinara sauce with a side of toast and home fries. It looked delicious! I had french toast, home fries, an egg, and bacon. We sat and chatted while sipping our coffees and enjoying our food. It was glorious!

After breakfast I had to go get measured for a bridesmaid dress (joy) before heading home. We enjoyed a lovely walk with Bandit, and it was so nice to have fall weather in the 60s again. Then we planted ourselves on the couch for the rest of the day to watch some football. Dammit Patriots! What was that all about??? I'm still disappointed this morning.

Anyway, I've noticed that from time to time other bloggers will post about the funny ways that people stumble upon their blog through Google search and I thought I would do the same! Below are some of the things people have typed into their Google search bar that led them to my blog. I've grouped searches that had similar themes together.

Love and wine and Wine Love - These make sense.

Pin the Part on the Old Fart and Old Fart Picture - These are a little strange but I'm pretty sure that they refer to the game from this post. If not we have a serious problem with the elderly in this country.

Kids Boyfriend Life Wine - How does one fit everything they love into a happy life? Perhaps that is what this searcher wanted to know.

Why is Wine Keeping Me Up at Night? - Good question. You probably aren't drinking enough.

I love camping - Good for you. Me too.

Who is the woman who talks to the cake in the yoplait commercial? - I'm not sure, but it doesn't really matter. She's obviously delusional and we don't need to associate ourselves with people who think yogurt and cake are the same thing. Also, who talks to Google in complete sentences?

Special Life and Love in Turkey - I'm really not sure how I could have helped this person. I've never been to Turkey, and I'm really not sure what "special life and love" are.

Wine and its effects on love life - If you're having problems with wine affecting your love life, you obviously need to prioritize. He's not worth it.

Dangers of Bran - I was happy to see this. I thought bran was only out to get me, but I guess I'm not alone.

What to bake when you have the munchies - Seriously? Ok, well I think anything would probably do the trick, but it's probably best not to bake when you're stoned. I would just open up a bag of chocolate chips and go for it. Otherwise you could very well forget about whatever you put in the oven and start a fire. Also, opening a bag of chocolate chips takes very little effort so it's a win all the way around.

Be careful what you Google...someone may be watching you. And laughing.

The Time I Almost Got the Boot

2009-11-13T14:32:00.003-05:00

As life has been pretty uneventful lately, I figured I'd share with you another adventure from my Subway days.

During my summers as a Sandwich Artisit, I was often chosen to either open or close the store as I was more trustworthy and more all around awesome than the other kids that worked there. That's right. I actually cared a little about my Sandwich Artist duties.

In the summertime we were open until 11pm or midnight, and because it was a small store I was often working alone for the last hour or two. This was fine, but sometimes a little creepy. While the store was in a plaza, everything else there was closed by 9pm. This store was in a small town in Maine and there really wasn't a lot going on around me. At times it felt a little eerie walking to my car across the empty parking lot. Working inside the store alone didn't bother me too much, however, as most everyone that came in at night was a regular, a teenager, or a frantic mom.

One night I had a group of camp kids come in right before close and I wasn't able to get them all served and out the door until about 15 minutes after close. Because I was in a rush, I forgot to lock the door. A few minutes into my closing duties, I heard the bell go off indicating that someone was entering the store. "Shit" I thought to myself as I scurried back to the front.

When I got to the register my jaw dropped. A short and stout older man (who looked like a hobo) was walking toward me wearing a winter hat, raggedy smelly clothes, a long snarled beard, and a few layers of grime. He was carrying a boot. A tall rubber looking boot.

I thought, "Holy crap I'm about to get robbed. This is it. There's probably a gun in the boot." That was the only logical explanation...right? Right?

"I...I'm sorry sir, but we're closed."

"That's ok. I'm not here for a sandwich."

(ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod! I should push the panic button. Should I push the panic button? ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod)

"I...I'm sorry?"

He reached the register and set his boot on the counter in front of me.

"Can you tell me how to get to (insert place I've forgotten here)."

"Um...sure...it's (insert random directions here)."

The conversation went back and forth like this...he wasn't understanding my directions, but a lot of the things he was saying just weren't making sense. I was sure I was about to be murdered. After what seemed like a long, twisty conversation, he picked up his boot.

"Ok, thanks."

"Y...your welcome!"

He left.

I was still shaken, but wasn't really sure why. I felt bad that I had just figured this smelly old man with the boot wanted to rob me just because he looked homeless...but the "I'm not here for a sandwich" line really set off the *FREAK OUT NOW* alert in my head for some reason. I finished closing up still feeling nervous, and was wondering if he'd be waiting outside in the parking lot for me. He wasn't.

Looking back I'm pretty sure he was just a drunk, homeless dude lugging booze around in a boot. Hopefully he and his booze-boot got whereever it was they needed to go.

The Many Dangers of Oat Bran

2009-11-10T10:10:00.003-05:00

Well I'm still sick and actually feel worse today than yesterday. What the hell, cold?

This morning I had too unfortunate incidents with oat bran.

Now, I like oat bran, but not oatmeal. I think it's a texture thing. It just tastes so yummy with cinnamon and brown sugar. So this morning I decided to have some for breakfast before work instead of my usual peanut butter toast. I figured it would feel better on my throat.

Unfortunately, after making this decision I realized that both my small pots and all of my bowls were in the dishwater. Dirty. Yeah, I'm a domestic goddess. To improvise I decided to cook it in a tupperware bowl in the microwave. Win!

When the microwave beeped I scurried to it, excited for my breakfast. Upon opening the door I found that my oat bran had all boiled over and was puddled on the tray. I mean there was nothing left in the bowl, but there was stuff oozed all over the outside of it. I looked at it, sighed, and went over my options. I didn't have enough time to make another breakfast. Our microwave tray is covered by this thin protective mat that is easy to remove and clean.

Ours is white

So...I wiped the bowl down with a paper towel, placed it in front of the microwave, peeled off the mat with both hands, and funneled the oat bran back into the bowl. It all slipped right back in! This is only a little gross...right? I mean it can't have been that long since I cleaned the thing. Riiiiight. Stop judging me!

Next I sat down in front of the computer with my bowl. I was happily reading emails, sipping tea, and eating my breakfast when I suddenly had to sneeze. I tried to finish chewing and swallowing my I couldn't...this sneeze was coming. I plugged my nose (I don't know why but many times when I sneeze I do this) and sneezed. I opened my eyes to see oat bran all over the computer monitor. Awesome.

How was your morning?

No Use Crying Over...Burritos?

2009-11-09T14:01:00.002-05:00

I still have a cold and have been feeling rather crappy lately, so I don't have a whole lot to write about.

Geoff had a meeting for work Friday night and wasn't getting home until 9pm so I had to amuse myself after work and grocery shopping were done. I made myself some Kraft mac'n'cheese (I know, I know...but it's a guilty pleasure. I only ever buy or eat it when I'm feeling down and when I'm alone), changed into sweats, and decided to catch up on some of my Netflix movies.

I haven't watched a movie in quite awhile. We have a Netflix player and can download movies onto it...but I almost never watch them. In my weakened sick state, however, I managed to watch 4.5 movies from Friday night to Saturday night. Yeah.

Friday night I watched Seven Pounds. Holy depressing, Batman! I turned it off when Geoff got home. Once he arrived we snuggled on the couch for the night.

Once in bed, I could hardly sleep. My nose was runny, I was coughing a lot, nd I just felt miserable. I finally pulled myself out of bed at 7:30am. On Saturday morning. So not right. Geoff and Bandit stayed in bed snoring away and I hit the couch to finish the movie. After that I started watching Mad Money. It was cute, but far from great. A few minutes into it I couldn't stand the boredom of a quiet morning anymore and dragged Geoff and Bandit out of bed. It was after 10am by then anyway. Geoff made breakfast and tea while I snuggled back down on the couch to watch the movie.

Later that day Geoff went to get my tire changed finally. I have been driving around with the little donut on my car since my tire blew out on the way home from NH 3 weeks ago. I am the queen of procrastination after all, especially when it comes to car stuff. Oops! While he was gone I started watching Mr. Holland's Opus. Love that movie. I remember loving it as a kid too which is why I wanted to watch it again. The end always makes me cry. I was about halfway through with that when Geoff got from the tire place. Being as it was around 2pm I decided to shower and get us out into the beautiful fall weather that we were blessed with this weekend. I quickly showered and then got caught up watching the first half of Righteous Kill with Geoff before we ventured outside.

We headed to Providence where there was a Rock 'n' Roll Yard Sale going on. We weren't sure what to expect but the weather was nice and it sounded fun. Upon arriving at the building we found 'Gansett Girls selling beer, live music and DJs, and tons of people selling vintage records, clothes, and handmade everything. It was really neat! We browsed for about an hour before the insane crowdedness of it got to us. It was a very small space with lots of people and lots of tables. Still a good time though!

On the way to the car we stopped for burritos. Very yummy and a nice treat. Being as broke as we are we usually only have about $10-$20 worth of "fun money" for the two of us each week. These burritos were HUGE! While we were sitting down eating a woman ran over to us looking frantic.

Woman: (whiny voice...looked about to cry) "Do you have $6.99???? I ordered my burrito and I don't have my wallet and now I can't pay for it!"

Geoff: "Sorry, no"

Me: "We just used all of our cash on these."

Woman: (Sounding annoyed with us!) "Well do you have a credit card or something???"

We shook our heads. She sighed exasperated and went to another table. They told her the same thing and she KICKED MY CHAIR then ran out into the streets. I was apalled. What the hell lady???

She came back about 5 minutes later with a guy. I guess she had been out on the street begging for burrito money and this guy was nice enough to come pay for her. I felt a little bad for her at first but seriously who cries over a burrito? And who asks pissed off when complete strangers won't pay for your food?

Anyway, we headed back home where we finished watching Mr. Holland's Opus and then watched Out Cold.

I actually got a good amount of sleep that night and we spent the first half of Sunday lounging on OUR PORCH IN THE SUN!!! Finally! A day warm enough to go sans sweatshirt and get some rays. I love reading in the sun:)

We spent the rest of the day watching football, eating chips and guac, and enjoying the fall season. I pretty much did not move from the couch once I sat down. I'm still nursing this cold, but am hopeful that it will go away soon. I hope I get an energy boost in the next day or two because the apartment is a mess!

How was your weekend?

The Time Veggies Taught a Five Year Old to Condemn Me For All Eternity

2009-11-06T14:39:00.004-05:00

I'm sorry I haven't been blogging much this week, but I've been battling a cold that's left me in kind of a tired/bad mood. For the same reason, this will be quick.

I was just reading a story that reminded me of something kind of humerous that happened to me years ago. I worked at Subway during high school and if I had been blogging then I would have endless stories to tell you about the crazies I worked with and the crazies that came in. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I had this conversation:

Customer: Can I get a (insert type of sandwich here) sub?

Me: Do you want a footlong or a six inch?

Customer: I dunno...how long is the footlong?

or

Customer: How long is the six inch?

These were serious questions and I kid you not, I was asked this more than once a day. I probably heard it as much as "no pickles". And I had to be all customer servicey and answer with a straight face.

That's not the story I set out to tell though.

One night while working the sub counter a little girl, probably about five years old walked in. She was very cute and sweet looking and had come in without her parents. When I asked her if I could help her she said "My mommy is at the grocery store and told me I could wait in here til she comes for sammiches." This Subway was in a plaza and the grocery store was one store over. Still weird.

Anyway, she sat at a table and since no one else was around I chatted with her from behind the counter. I don't remember what we talked about but she ended up talking about "Veggie Tales". I had seen it on PBS or something before and I think it's a cartoon where different veggies act out different parts of the Bible.

Little Girl: Do you watch Veggie Tales?

Me: No, I don't. Do you?

LG: Yup. (insert random commentary about the veggies and their adventures) Why don't you like Veggie Tales?

Me: I don't know...I just don't watch it...

LG: Do you believe in God?

Me: (unsure of the appropriate way to answer such a question while at a place of business) I don't know...

LG: (jaw drops and a look of horror fills her eyes) YOU'RE GOING TO HELL!!!

Me: Um...

Just then the mother walks in.

Mother: Hi! How are you today?

Me: Well apparently I'm going to Hell...

Mother: (turns to daughter and yells) Janie! What have I told you about preaching????!!!???

Haha, never a dull moment working in customer service or the food industry!

Not the Way Life Should Be

2009-11-04T08:43:00.002-05:00

I usually try to keep my blog very non-political so as not to offend any of my readers. This is hard for me sometimes as I was a Political Science major in college and have great interest in many political and social issues. Today, I have to break the trend. I hope that I don't lose any readers after this. If you are afraid you might be offended by this post please skip it and come back tomorrow when we return to our regular programming.

As most of you know I was born and raised in Maine. I just moved to RI in September of 2008. Earlier this year the Maine state government passed a law that legalized gay marriage. I was so happy and proud. I have several friends and a family member who are gay and it meant a lot that they were finally granted equal rights in my home state.

Let me just say for the record that I respect everyone's personal opinions. I know that for religious (and other) reasons some people don't support gay marriage. That is your right and that is fine. But just because you disagree with something for personal reasons doesn't mean that it should be made illegal. The government shouldn't be able to decide who gets married and who does not. I have heard the arguement that allowing homosexuals to marry will destroy the sanctity of marriage. Bullshit. I don't see how two people of the same sex marrying for love can harm the institution of marriage more than all of those who get divorced, those who marry for money, those who marry because they got knocked up, and those who marry for convenience. That argument does not work.

Anyway, in Maine they have what is called the "people's veto". This means that after the state government passes a law any group that opposes it can collect signitures to have the law go to referendum to be overturned. As soon as the state legalized gay marriage, people took action. They gathered the number of signitures needed, though several of them lied to get them. Many people I know were approached by people with clipboards saying "If you support gay marriage sign this petition!" Luckily, many of my friends know to read things before they sign and also had the intelligence to question why they would need to sign a petition for something that was already a law. It was a trick. The anti-gay marriage campaign was using any means necessary to gather signitures, knowing that many citizens just don't take the time to think about what they are doing.

Once they got the signitures it was time for both sides to campaign. Thousands and thousands of people came out in support of homosexual rights and held news conferences, public meetings, and created tv ads. Most of the "No on 1" (the side that wanted to keep the law in place) ads were based on accepting different kinds of families. They begged the question "if you can marry, why can't I? What makes you more of a citizen than me?" One particular ad showed a man knocking on someone's door. An older man answered. The younger man said "I'd like to ask for Ashley's hand in marriage, and I need your blessing. The older man gave it to him. Relieved the younger man thanks him and leaves...only to knock on the next door and ask the same thing. It shows him travelling from town to town knocking on doors asking for permission from strangers to marry the woman he loves. Heterosexual people do not have to do this. This year homosexual men and women in Maine did.

The "Yes on 1" ads were completely different. The stated that if gay marriage were legal it would be taught to elementary students in school along with "gay sex education". Yes, of course if gay marriage is legal we will start teaching kindergarteners about gay sex. Obviously. (Are you kidding me??? Do people believe this crap???)

Well, the "Yes on 1" campaign was smart. They know that scare tactics work. Yesterday, Mainers voted to repeal the law legalizing gay marriage, stripping rights from people who had only held them for a short period of time. It was very close. 53% to 47%. Over 200,000 people voted to embrace equality for all Mainers. Unfortunately, over 250,000 people did not. There is supposed to be a separation of church and state in this country. I can't quite see how this doesn't contradict that. Besides people's religious beliefs...why?

I am heartbroken for my friends and family who have lost the right to equality this week. Heartbroken. They are amazing people. They don't deserve to be treated as second class citizens. Maine is supposed to be "the way life should be". Today, it is not.

Why Going out in Costume the Day After Halloween is Always a Good Idea

2009-11-02T17:26:00.005-05:00

Halloween weekend. What fun!

Geoff and I knew we wanted to go out and do something for Halloween, but until October 31st we didn't really know what. We still don't know many people down here, and those we do know didn't have any set plans. Last Halloween we had been here for about one month and didn't know a single soul. As it turned out, a friend of ours knew someone down here (Emily) who was having a Halloween party and connected us through Facebook. Emily kindly invited us to the party being thrown at the house she shared with some friends and we decided to attend. Don't get me wrong, I am a shy person and was pretty anxious about going to a party where the only person I had ever even seen before was Geoff, but we dressed up and went anyway. It was a blast! Three floors of crazy fun. I'm so glad that I was brave enough to go.

This year there were no such plans in the works. In the end we decided to attend Waterfire with our friend from college, Mark, who just moved to RI with his girlfriend, Jenny. As of Saturday morning I had no idea what I was going to be. I spent a good part of the day pulling random items of clothing out of closets to try to put something together. This is what I ended up with:

(Note: Pics taken on Sunday night and thus are costume is not as cool as it was on Halloween)

Geoff was a zombie and used ripped clothes for his costume and a red marker ink/toothpaste/cocoa mixture for blood. It was pretty good...I don't have pics unfortunately.

We met up with Jenny and Mark downtown a little after 9pm. It was about 70 degrees but SO WINDY. We're talking serious wind people. And of course it started raining as soon as we got out there...not too hard for most of the night though. They had never attended a Waterfire before so they thought it was pretty cool. It seemed strange to us as the city was pretty deserted. Usually on Waterfire nights you are shoulder to shoulder and heel to toe with people walking along the river. After we walked the length of the river we walked to another part of the city for beers at Trinity. Yum. Mark was sick so they were ready to head home after that. Geoff and I decided to find more fun. He called his friend Peter and we met up with him at a club across town. I had never been there and probably won't go again...it was pretty sleazy. But it was Halloween so who cares? We finally made it home around 3am and made drunk nachos. They were delicous and exactly what we needed.

Sunday, as usual, was a lazy day. We spent most of it on the couch watching football and eating...yeah that's how we roll. Around 7:30pm I was flipping through the Providence Phoenix and saw an ad from the pool hall right down the road from us. It said that if you came in costume on Saturday or Sunday you could play pool for free until 10pm and get a free, one-year VIP membership (which means discounts and stuff). Also there would be a costume contest with cool prizes. I mentioned the ad to Geoff and we thought man...that's cool...too bad we're too tired and lazy to do it! A few minutes later we looked at each other and decided "What the hell? Let's go!" We gathered the pieces of our costumes once more and dressed up for another night out. This is big for us guys...we never go out anymore...too broke. When we got to the pool hall we found that we were the only ones dressed up! Some people were looking at us like "Ummm...Halloween was yesterday?!?" but others were like "You guys rock!" We got in a couple of hours of free pool and got our memberships as well. Two other people showed up in costume while we were there...Death and Little Bo Peep. Cute couple.

Just as we were leaving one of the beer girls (or whatever the girls dressed in Catholic School Girl uniforms who brings me beer are called) came over caring a big case of beer.

"Hey guys, thanks for coming dressed up tonight! Since there wasn't really much competition the owner wanted to give everyone who dressed up some gifts."

Me and Geoff looked at each other and then her. "Sweet."

"He wants you guys to have this case of beer (!!!) and gift certificates too."

"SWEET! Thanks!!"

It was pretty funny walking out of the pool hall in our costumes carrying a case of beer. People driving by were probably a little confused.

While it would have been great to be back in Maine celebrating the weekend with our friends, this weekend turned out pretty well if I do say so myself. What did you do?

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to have one of my (free!) beers.

Desertion

2009-10-29T10:21:00.002-04:00

When Geoff and I moved to RI last September we didn't know a single person down here. We spent most of our first several months here holed up in our apartment, enjoying only each other's company. Eventually, we got to know the upstairs neighbors and began hanging out with them regularly.

Tony is in his mid-thirties, Italian-American (like most of the Providence area) and kind of a badass. Really nice guy, always welcoming, offering us food, drink, cable television (we don't have cable in our apartment), etc. Mel is also in her mid-thirties, Portugese-American (I think) and has an eighteen year old daughter and a ten year old son. Their apartment is on the 3rd floor of our 3 apartment building and there is NOT enough space for all of them. They still manage somehow.

It started out during the Super Bowl last year when they had us up to watch the game. After that we came up to watch several different sporting events (mostly baseball and football games), drink beers, watch random television shows, and stay up until all hours of the night. We even began playing poker every Saturday night with them and their family/friends last winter. Lots of fun...seriously. With us being too broke to go out much and not knowing many other people it gave us something to look forward to every week.

Whenever me or Mel bake, we send some of the goodies up to the other one. When either of us needs to borrow or use something, we simply knock on each other's doors to ask. It's been nice. They are pretty different from us. Tony has been in jail on more than one occassion for minor offenses. He hasn't worked or seemed to be looking for work since we've known them. He actually almost never leaves the apartment. He acted kind of like a teenager in many ways, kind of immature humor/personality. He and Mel seemed more like roommates than a couple. But they are always welcoming and invite us up for this and that all the time. Tony especially has always been a really fun person to hang out with.

A few weeks ago, when we were in Maine, Tony left for Florida to visit friends. It's been pretty quiet since he left as he was the one that most often came down to invite us up and was always making noise laughing, etc upstairs. He was supposed to return on Saturday by bus, but never arrived. Yesterday after I arrived home from work I was just finishing changing into more comfortable clothes when there was a knock at the door. It was Mel.

"Do you guys have any super glue?"

"No sorry...just tape."

"Oh that won't work...I broke my glasses."

"That sucks...sorry we can't help!"

She stood there for a moment in silence.

"Tony's not coming back."

"...Ever?..."

"Nope. He called me yesterday to say he's staying down there."

"Oh my gosh Mel...come in."

We stood in my kitchen while she talked. She's a mother of two children living in a cramped apartment having trouble holding onto jobs in the state with one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation. She's behind on her bills. I already knew all of those things. Tony was a nice guy, but was never affectionate to her. No hugs, no kisses...rarely anything more. He helped out with the bills he helped accumulate by donating his unemployment checks to the household each month...but that was it. He never left the apartment to help her with anything. This stuff I kind of knew too. But I didn't really know how bad it was.

Tony liked to gamble. That was the only thing he left the house to do. "I don't know what I was thinking being with him" she said. "I've always been smarter than this. I haven't been happy since we've been together." They'd go to the track from time to time with the little money they did have and come back more broke than before. She owes our landlord a lot of money. And the gas company. And the electric company. Her car is toast (we knew that part too). He basically was a lump in her apartment who never lent a helping hand, never contributed to the household by looking for a job, and invited friends and family over all the time without consulting her. And she never confronted him about it. "That's not me," she said. "I honestly don't understand what I was thinking."

When he left for Florida he told her it was to pick up an inheritance from his aunt who had died: $32,000. He told her when he got back they'd get caught up on all the bills, get a better car, and start getting everything on track...the way it hadn't been since she took him in. She wasn't happy, but she felt pretty stuck. She had wanted to end the relationship a few times as she wasn't getting much out of it, but for some reason she didn't. Then she got the call. "I'm staying in Florida."

"I don't know how to start figuring out what to do," she said. "I don't want my kids and I on the street, but I have no money, and now even the little income he was bringing in won't be here anymore." She's hoping she can keep the gas on until November 1st when in New England they can't shut it off until spring, but that won't do her much good if she can't figure something out with the landlord.

"The Mel you guys know isn't me," she said. "You'll see the real me now. I smile sometimes you know. I'm not always flat and sad. I can be really happy. I can also be a demanding bitch. You haven't even met me. I wasn't myself with him. I'm not so upset about the relationship ending, but while he's down there basking in the sunshine, he's left me and the kids in this situation. I gotta figure something out."

I hope she does. I feel so bad for her and for her little son especially. I'm pretty angry with Tony, even though he was "fun". I knew he was childish and had no sense of responsibility, but I'm so disappointed in him. Mel is better off without him, I know that. I just hope that she is able to pull out of this financial mess sooner rather than later. For her sake and the kids. I wish there was something I could do.

Geoff and I have our own share of financial troubles, and crazy dysfunctional families too. But I am so lucky. I'm with a good man. A real man, and we both come from families who would do anything to help us if we ever couldn't make it on our own. For this, I am thankful. For so much in my life, I am thankful.

Tasty Tuesdays - Falafel Dinner

2009-10-27T20:57:00.002-04:00

Tasty Tuesdays? What happened to Munchie Mondays? Well I have found that on Monday I just want to write about my weekend, so I've altered my format a little bit. I'm crazy like that.

Speaking of being crazy, last week I decided to make falafel. I've never even eaten falafel before much less tried to make it, but Geoff loves the stuff and I'm a big fan of chickpeas so I figured I'd like it too. I was right! I know it doesn't look to pretty, but this is really yummy so this is one of those times that you don't want to judge a book by its cover, ok? In case you're wondering I found the recipe here.

Ingredients:
1 cup chickpeas (I actually used one can which was probably more than 1 cup...oh well)
1/2 large onion, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley (mine was right out of our garden!)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro (mine wasn't fresh)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2-1 teaspoon dried hot red pepper (I used cayenne)
4 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon baking powder
4-6 tablespoons flour
Soybean or vegetable oil for frying
Chopped tomato for pita filling
Diced onion for pita filling
Diced green bell pepper for pita filling
Tahini sauce (I actually used guacamole...I'll explain later)
Pita bread

Instructions:
1. Place the drained, uncooked chickpeas and the onions in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the parsley, cilantro, salt, hot pepper, garlic, and cumin. Process until blended but not pureed.

2. Sprinkle in the baking powder and 4 tablespoons of the flour, and pulse. You want to add enough flour so that the dough forms a small ball and no longer sticks to your hands. Turn into a bowl and refrigerate, covered, for several hours.*

3. Form the chickpea mixture into balls about the size of walnuts, or use a falafel scoop, available in Middle-Eastern markets.

4. Heat 3 inches of oil to 375 degrees in a deep pot or wok and fry 1 ball to test. If it falls apart, add a little flour. Then fry about 6 balls at once for a few minutes on each side, or until golden brown.

5. Drain on paper towels. Stuff half a pita with falafel balls, chopped tomatoes, onion, green pepper, and drizzle with tahina thinned with water**.

*Ok, probably because I used too many chickpeas my dough did not form a non-sticky ball. I also did not refrigerate the mixture...I used it right away. Everything turned out fine! It was a little more difficult to roll the mixture into balls as it was pretty sticky, but they stayed in shape and fried up nicely.

**I went to three different grocery stores (including Whole Foods) looking for tahini and could not find it. I figured I'd make my own since all you have to do is roast sesame seeds and combine them with oil in a food processer. I did this, tasted it, and gagged. I am NOT a fan of sesame seeds or anything flavored with sesame so why I thought I'd like a sauce made almost entirely of sesame seeds is beyond me. I tried mixing the paste with garlic and seasonings but it still wasn't up to par. This was a little frustrating since I'd spent hours of my life searching for and then making it, but oh well. Instead, I made my famous guacomole (avacado, mayo, salsa, garlic, onion salt, black pepper) and spread it on the inside of the pita pockets. Geoff liked my tahini mixture so he stuck with that.

Falafel? Is yummy! It had a nice kick to it because of the cayenne and came out so great. I really recommend you try it...it's worth it! There was even enough for lunch the next day...it sure beat my usual PB&J!

Enjoy!

Fall Weekends = Friends, No Pants, and Google Sucks

2009-10-26T17:38:00.005-04:00

Today is one of those beautiful autumn days that I love. Sunny, temps in the 60s, and beautiful foliage everywhere. Yesterday was like this too...wonderful.

I had a pretty nice weekend. Friday night we went to a dinner party with people that Geoff works with. His friend Peter was the host and had everyone over for chicken, pork, potatoes, salad, rice, and drinks. Peter and Geoff weren't very excited about the whole thing as most of the people they work with at the YMCA school program are girls ages 18-22ish, but the girls had asked them to do this. It was a little strange hanging out with a group of college girls...I felt so old! Especially the 18/19 year olds. They were all so loud and crazy...cute and nice...but wow. Two of them weren't wearing any pants. That's right. No pants. You know how right now the "in" look is an oversized shirt or mini dress with leggings or tights?

Well one of them kind of did it right and wore sheer gray tights with her big shirt or mini dress (not sure which it was). The other? No tights. No leggings. Just what looked like an extra large, baggy, sequinny, tank top and nothing else. I happened to be sitting next to her in the living room and saw her ass several times as she reached toward the table for chips. She was a cute little thing...but oh my god honey...wear pants! The evening got a little nicer once everyone left and it was just Peter, Geoff, and I hanging out and chatting.

Saturday we slept in pretty late and had coffee and breakfast in bed. We ran a couple of errands and then I baked a yummy pumpkin pie (mmmm...my favorite!) for a dinner we were going to that night. A guy we went to college with just moved to RI and we are SO EXCITED to have someone we know living here! It will be nice to not have to drive all the way to Maine just for a social life. Anyway, they live about 30 minutes from us in an hour we have yet to visit. I printed directions from Google Maps and we headed out into the dark, rainy night. What should have taken us 30 minutes took us over an hour and a half. The directions I got were oh so wrong. We drove by the correct road about 10 times. Not only was it dark, raining, and hard to see, but the directions had led us to believe that the road we were looking for was on the opposite side of the road than it actually was and that it was called something completely different. The hell Google? I don't remember doing anything to you! Asshole.

By the time we finally arrived I was upset, carsick, and HUNGRY. We had a nice time though. The guy and his girlfriend had made chicken with cranberries, broccoli, acorn squash and rice and had beer on hand. I was pleasently surprised by the squash. I strongly dislike most squash but had never tried that kind before...so good! Geoff was happy that we'd be able to incorporate this into future meals.

We sat around their kitchen chatting for hours about life since college. They had moved from Maine to Utah and lived there for a year before running for their lives back to the east coast. Sounds like an interesting place with a cool outdoors scene at least. We'll hopefully be seeing them again soon.

Sunday we slept in again and had breakfast in bed...again. I know, we're lazy. We went to the store and bought a pumpkin that morning and then watched football all day. We made a pizza for lunch/dinner and had leftover pumpkin pie (seriously guys...soooo yummy). That night we carved a jack-o-lantern:

Bandit stared at us the whole time begging and trying to sneak bites of pumpkin guts. Gross. He kept running off with a mouthful and I'd have to grab it from him as he tried to slurp the stringy goo into his mouth. Geoff and I roasted the seeds and it will make a great snack to take to work this week!

It was so nice getting to hang out with people down here and enjoy ourselves without having to run home to Maine. Last winter was a really hard one for us...me especially...and I'm hoping that this one will be better.

How was your weekend?

Yogurt is not Cake and Other Reasons I Covet the Mute Button

2009-10-23T11:25:00.006-04:00

≠

Usually during commercials I mute the TV and ~~get a snack~~ read, talk to Geoffrey, or snuggle Bandit. From time to time, however, I find myself watching them. Some I like (Coors commercials...hahahaha...you guys are so funny!!! But your beer sucks). Most don't affect me one way or the other. But some? Some make me want to stick a knife in my ear and scratch my eyes out.

Subway commercials - Really Jared? Really? Have you no self respect? No standards? The worst is when he's singing about subs with those 2 football players and they are pretending that Jared is the one with the really deep voice and then they all laugh really hard because ohmygod they're so funny. NO YOU'RE NOT FUNNY! YOU'RE WEIRD AND ANNOYING AND NOW I'LL NEVER BUY ANOTHER SUB FROM YOU. Except I will because you have a sub shop right on the campus where I work, but still! Just shut-up! Gah!

Yoplait commercials - These drive me crazy. What is wrong with these women? They are comparing chocolate cake and Boston Cream Pie to a cup of yogurt!!! I'm sorry, but as I said on Twitter last week: Anyone who thinks that yogurt is as delicious as chocolate cake has completely lost all touch with reality. In fact, watching these commercials has made me afraid to eat Yoplait yogurt because apparently everyone who eats it becomes a brainwashed Stepford freak who can't tell the difference between a cup of dairy and a yummy slab of cheesecake. I like yogurt as much as the next guy, but I'd prefer to enjoy a rich, ohsobadforyou piece of cake ~~everyday~~ on my birthday and I would NOT be just as happy to see a candle stuck in a cup of yogurt thankyouverymuch.

Lamisil and Mucinex commercials - Seriously. So. Gross. Do the makers of these ads not understand that sometimes people are eating while watching tv and we really don't want to see fungus and mucus incarnated? Even when I'm not eating I gag thinking about these ads. In fact, I'm gagging right now just thinking about it. Blech.

So faithful readers, what commercials grind your gears? What ads make you say "are you kidding me right now? Or, if you'd rather, which ones do you really like?

The Kid's Bringing Home the Bacon...err...Turkey

2009-10-21T14:18:00.004-04:00

I called my mom's house to talk to my 14 year old brother, Grady last night.

*Ring Ring*

(extremely deep voice) "Hello?"

"Hey, how are ya?"

"Good."

"That's good. What's new?"

"Nuthin'."

*Roll my eyes at the total lack of verbal skills held by teenage boys*

"Mom told me you had a hunting story to share..."

"Oh. I got a turkey."

"You killed a turkey??? Wow! What's the story?"

"Nuthin'."

"There's always a story...come on!"

*He lets out a deep sigh*

"Dad and I went hunting for turkey's on opening day and had given up because we didn't see anything. Then we stopped the truck at this clearing just to walk around and take one more chance. As soon as we walked out there we saw three turkey heads look up. Then they started to run. I chased after them down this hill and shot the slowest one just before it got into the bushes behind the others."

"WOW!!! That's awesome!!! What did Dad do?"

"He laughed and thought it was cool."

"Cool. How big was it?"

"14 pounds."

"Holy crap, that's big!!!"

"Yup."

"Did you eat it?"

"No we're saving it."

"For Thanksgiving?"

"Yup."

"Sweet! Can't wait! Who's cooking it?"

"Probably Mom."

"Oh...hmmm..."

So I'll be eating the turkey my brother chased down and shot for Thanksgiving. As long as Mom doesn't screw it up anyway. (Mom, if you're reading this I'm just kidding. Kind of.)

My brothers and father love hunting...mostly for deer, sometimes for birds. Usually with a bow and arrow so it's more of a sport, sometimes with a rifle. I could never do it myself, but I'll happily eat what they bring home (mmm...venison). Do you have any crazy, red neck hunters in your family?

How Lovely!

2009-10-20T14:57:00.004-04:00

I completely forgot to write about this, but last week Penny at Picture Imperfect gave me this award:

It was a lovely surprise, from a lovely lady. Go check out her blog!

Now I am to pass this award on to 5 other bloggers.

Meg at Lost in Thought - I found this blog after Meg commented on one of my posts. I love reading her posts, especially Furry Fridays! She's a dog lover and so am I, so if for nothing else at least go check out the cute puppy pictures!

V at *uncorked - V lives a crazy life and has crazy stories to tell about it. She's a funny gal, go read!

Kathryn at From the Inside...Out - Amazing posts. Kathryn is so creatively funny and you will love her writing! I guarantee you at least a laugh a day over there!

Sami at *Herding Cats* - Ok, so I'm not a cat person. I still love Sami's blog! She's a great writer and I enjoy reading her posts. Especially the recent one about the flood in the garage.

Claudia at Life In Scribbletown - Great writer. She has fun stories to share about day to day life with her daughters. She also has a recipe page that you don't want to miss!

Please go check out these wonderful ladies! I would never lead you astray:)

Fun, Cuteness, and 2 Blowouts

2009-10-19T10:09:00.005-04:00

Warning: This post is long. But there are cute pictures at the end.

Well, I had a nice weekend.

Friday morning I threw chili together in the crockpot and let it cook all day. It started off a little busy after work on Friday. Geoff was still at work and his brother, B, was at our apartment watching Season 1 of Lost. They had gone to the Patriots Hall of Fame earlier in the day and had a good time. As soon as I got home I walked Bandit, threw the guest bedding into the washer, and began baking B a birthday cake and frosting...from scratch. I've never done a cake from scratch before. It wasn't too hard, but it didn't come out as well as I had hoped. The frosting was great and the cake tasted pretty good, but the texture of the cake was a little dry and stiff. I'll have to try something different next time.

Anyway, I left the cake baking in the oven while I went to pick up Geoff and had B pull it out for me when the timer went off. When Geoff and I came back we all sat in the living room with our bowls of chili and ate. So. Freaking. Delicious. Seriously. Just thinking about it now is making me hungry.

We had a nice time eating, drinking black and tans, and chatting. I've never gotten to hang out with B without his kids around so that was nice.

Saturday morning B had to leave early to pick up his girls. Geoff and I slept in VERY late (11:30ish) and it felt really nice. I can never sleep past 8am, even on the weekend, so it was great to get caught up on some sleep. After breakfast and packing we headed up to B's house in NH with the leftover chili and cake in hand. We didn't get there until a little after 4pm, and the girls (R is 4, M is 2) stood in the door and yelled "HI UNCLE GEOFFREY, HI AUNTIE JEN, HI BANDIT! HIIII!!!!" So cute and a nice welcome.

After collecting our hugs and kisses we hung around playing and chatting until there was a knock at the door. The couple from the other side of the duplex were building a fire in the fire pit and wanted to know if we'd all like to join them. We bundled the girls and headed out side. Geoff, B, and the kid from next store tossed the football around, the girls alternated between building sand castles in the driveway and throwing sticks into the fire, and Bandit ran circles around the property. The place is very rural and set back into the woods with a beautiful view of a pond and fall foliage. We stayed outside until a little after dark and then headed indoors for leftover chili.

After the girls were in bed, B left for the store to get food and beer. Geoff and I played Wii sports (I won at tennis, he kicked my a** at boxing) until he returned. At that time we all played Mario Party 8 on the Wii. I was terrible, but it was still a lot of fun. By the time we went to bed at 1am Geoff and I (and Bandit!) were exhausted.

Sunday morning we were awakened by the girls crying for their daddy to come get them up. We had a yummy breakfast of whole wheat pancakes and then headed downstairs to the couch. While the girls and B watched Snow White Geoff and I did a crossword. When football started we hardly moved from the couch except for a delicous lunch/dinner of steak, broccoli, and rice that B made for us.

The Patriots kicked major butt! They won 59-0. It was great to watch, though I couldn't help but think of how we had to drive through the snow that they were playing in that night. Yikes! We hit the road around 7:45 and couldn't believe the snow once we hit Massachusetts! There had to be 1-2 inches in some places...on October 18th! Unbelievable.

We were about 45 minutes from home when we heard a sound indicating that one of our tires was getting low. Geoff felt sure that we'd make it home no problem. I wasn't so sure as the sound seemed pretty loud. About 25 minutes later the tire blew and we had to pull over. I felt about one moment of panic (it was after 10pm, we were tired, had to get up early for work, and OMG would we have to wait for AAA? We all know how that goes!), but then collected myself. We had all of the supplies we needed in the car and Geoff is very handy. I grabbed our emergency kit and Geoff got the jack and the spare tire. He set up the little orange triangle to warn oncoming traffic that we were there, I held a flashlight for him, and he set about changing the tire. About fifteen minutes later we were back on the road. I love that man...he's just plain awesome. Right now I have the spare tire on the car so I will have to get a new tire put on this week. That kind of sucks as we are already very broke, but it could have been worse!

All weekend the girls were just adorable. M repeats a lot of things (or tries anyway) that R says and it is so cute to see her try to be like her sister. R talks A LOT and comes up with silly games to play. It was so great to see them. R is so tall now, long and lean, and such a kid...not a baby anymore. M is a peanut like she has been since birth, and is the size her sister was at age 1 except with smaller features. The cuteness is multiplied by the tininess on that one! The fussing and fighting was reaching full throttle by the time it was time for us to leave, however, and we were happy to leave the girls behind with B, haha. I can't wait to see them again!

I know I promised to take pictures, but we all know I never do. I did get my hands on some pics from R's birthday party last week, however.

M being held up so she can play air hockey.

M going crazy with Whack-a-Mole

M being ridiculously cute.

R loving her big girl bike

R playing air hockey

Too cute, right?

How was your weekend?

Friday Fill-Ins - Chili, Family, and New England Weather

2009-10-16T13:42:00.003-04:00

1. So are we going to New Hampsire? Probably.

2. My 25th birthday and Thanksgiving is (are) what's up ahead.

3. I love to read while relaxing in the sun or on my couch, spend time with friends laughing and having a good time, go out with Geoffrey for drinks and fun!.

4. I really need to get a second job of some sort.

5. I walk a lot during the summer and almost never during the cold weather. Sorry Geoff and Bandit, looks like you're on your own!

6. Laughter (or wine?) is the true elixir of life!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to eating the chili that's at home cooking in the crockpot and seeing B, tomorrow my plans include driving to NH to see the nieces and Sunday, I want to watch football and eat leftover chili!

I had to take matters into my own hands yesterday and basically force the plans on Geoff and B. I texted B and said "I'm stopping for chili ingredients on the way home, you're coming over for dinner tomorrow and staying the night". Later I made Geoff call him and now it's all set. We tossed together the chili ingredients last night and this morning I put them in the crockpot before leaving for work. Mmmm...I've been thinking about it all day! B and Geoff are at Gillette Stadium visiting the Patriots Hall of Fame and then Geoff is going to work until 6pm. B will be at the apartment when I get home and I will bake his birthday cake before going to pick up Geoff. Then we can all eat chili (yum!), relax, and enjoy the evening. Tomorrow we'll drive up to his place in NH and see the girls. Very exciting!

This has been a cold week in New England. Today it even snowed a little...WTH? It's much to early for this. Much. Too. Early. I finally cracked yesterday and turned the heat on. Our goal was to make it to November 1st like last year, but too many days in a row of below 60 degrees in the apartment was getting to me. It's not as bad at night when I can throw on several layers and a blanket while watching tv, but I was tired of literally shivering while getting ready for work in the morning. So, for two days in a row the heat goes on to 68 when I get out of bed and I shut it off when I leave. I'm a little disappointed in myself, but I hate being cold!

How is everything going for all of you? Any plans for the weekend? How's the weather where you are? (Anyone who is living in a part of the country where it's sunny and warm need not reply...just kidding...kinda).

Beautiful Girls

2009-10-15T12:45:00.003-04:00

This weekend we are supposed to go to New Hampshire to visit Geoff's brother (B) and nieces (R & M). These girls are SO CUTE. I will post pics after this weekend as the most recent ones I have are at a birthday party and their mouths are full of pizza.

R just turned 4 this past Monday and M turned 2 last month. I love these girls to pieces and wish I could see them more often. We see them about once every two months, sometimes less often. At this age so much changes so quickly. Apparently M is quite the chatterbox now where as before she never said a word. Probably because her older sister did all the talking anyone could handle, haha.

The original plan was that we would leave Friday night and come back Sunday evening. Geoff talked to his brother yesterday and now the plans are more up in the air. B just brought the girls to his ex-wife (the whore-sorry, can't help but add that everytime I mention her) and won't have them back until Saturday afternoon. Now he might come down to RI Friday afternoon and go to Gillette Stadium with Geoff. Then he might stay for dinner? He might stay the night? We might leave Friday or we might leave Saturday? This drives me crazy. After their phone conversation I asked Geoff what the plan was. "I dunno," he said.

"Well, is he coming for dinner Friday?"

"I dunno."

"Are we leaving Friday or Saturday?"

"I don't know! Who cares??? Why are you freaking out???"

"I'm not freaking out. I'm just wondering what the plan is." Sheesh.

I really hate that. It's not the end of the world I know (and I AM NOT FREAKING OUT), but I like to know what to expect. If we're not leaving until Saturday, I won't start packing tonight. If B's coming over for dinner tomorrow, I want to plan something nicer than the spaghetti I originally planned. If he's staying over Friday night, I need to wash the guest bedding and make sure there are enough clean towels and yummy breakfast food. If none of these things are happening I'd rather not do extra chores. Geoff is a very fly by the seat of his pants type of guy...I'm more of a planner. When we have guests I like them to feel special and comfortable...not like we weren't expecting anyone. Also, I hate being told I'm freaking out. I swear I asked very calmly and nicely. Sigh.

But! I do know that I'll be seeing the cutest girls in the world! Ok, here is a pic of R at dance class. I'll post one of the two of them after this weekend.

Pin the Pfft! on the Old Fart and other Maine Tales

2009-10-13T12:07:00.004-04:00

I have to say I wish I was still in Maine. Every time we go back for a visit it gets harder and harder to make myself come back to Rhode Island. Almost all of our friends and family are back home and everything is so familiar. Geoff would be fine with moving around forever...but I miss my Maine.

We arrived in Portland around 10:30 Friday night and enjoyed snacks and laughs with Geoff's mom. I ate WAY too many cookies, but I didn't really regret it.

Saturday we lounged around the condo until it was time to go to the party at 5pm. I was so excited! There were about 20 of us there and we had a blast. The food was amazing...homemade guacamole, buffalo chicken nacho dip, cupcakes, homemade carrot cake with real vanilla beans, etc. Awesome. When we arrived one of the birthday girls was well on her way to being drunk which was pretty funny. We laughed, talked, drank (a lot!), sang, had a dance party in the kitchen, and played Pin the Pfft! on the Old Fart. There was a picture of our friend who was turning 30 as a face of an old man, and you had to pin the Pfft! on him in the correct area, haha.

We ended the night with 10 (or more?) rousing rounds of Flip Cup. It was so great seeing everyone and I didn't want to leave.

Needless to say, Sunday morning was painful. I made it from the guest room to the couch, and then didn't move for a few hours. I couldn't sleep, but I couldn't move either. Ouch. Geoff and I watched the first round of football games from there and then went to a friend's house for the Pat's game. We stopped at the place where the party was to get our car and all three of our friends who lived there were in their jammies on the couch at 4pm, haha. I guess we were all feeling the same way. Then we headed to another friend's house for the game. The Pats lost and so did the Red Sox, so overall it was a sad day in New England sports.

That night my friend Caleb stopped by for a visit. It was great to see him (I think it had been over 6 months?) and we had fun just chatting and catching up.

Monday I met my mom for lunch and we had a nice chat. It was good to see her even though she only had a half-hour lunch break. That afternoon Geoff and I took Bandit to the dog park in Portland. It's HUGE and so beautiful. Acres and acres of open field (fenced from the road) for him to just run free. There aren't really any dog parks in RI that we've found, so it was nice to go back to this place. Bandit loves it there. We arrived back in RI around 9:30 last night. Sad:( I'll be headed up again for Thanksgiving though...only 5 more weeks!

On a side note, remember that crazy girl I told you about that was at the wedding last month? Well a bunch of the girls and I had a little gossip fest at the party. Oh my gosh you guys, she's worse than I thought! For the sake of this conversation we'll call her A. Apparently the first time everyone met A was when the girl who's boyfriend she stole took her out to the bars in Portland with a bunch of our friends (obviously this was before she realized that A was sleeping with her boyfriend). On the way out of the bar, A grabbed every single guy's...ummm...package while walking to the door. This includes guys in the group (who almost all have wives/girlfriends) and strangers that were at the bar. WHO DOES THAT??? Also, she was married at the time. Yeah.

All in all it was a fantastic weekend and I can't wait to go back again. How did you spend your long weekend?

Friday Fill-Ins - Maine Bound!

2009-10-09T12:32:00.003-04:00

1. Sweet dreams are hard to come by; my dreams are usually cah-razy.

2. When I was younger my dad built a room designed especially for me.

3. Silliness is part of what makes life so grand! I love acting crazy with my friends.

4. I'm a little bummed that we don't really have any plans for this Halloween.

5. Outstanding or not President Obama did not deserve to with the Nobel Peace Prize...not yet anyway.

6. A stress/anxiety free mind is what I want right now! Also some new clothes...

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to leaving for Maine, tomorrow my plans include hanging out with family, then going to a birthday bash for friends and Sunday, I want to kick back and watch football with them!

Tonight, Geoff and I leave for a 3-day weekend in Maine. I am so excited for this weekend, and have been looking forward to it every since we came back from our last trip there in September. It's so great when we get to see our family and friends since we don't really have anyone down here. Saturday night is a party for three of our friends who have birthdays this month. There will be grilling, beer, and plenty o' wine. I probably won't post again until Monday, but I will miss you all until then!

What are your plans?

Simply Fabulous

2009-10-07T17:54:00.003-04:00

What a great week! I'm honored to say that the wonderful woman over at f8hasit has presented me with an award! I love her blog, she's funny and anyone can relate to her posts. Thank you!

Isn't it great?

The rules for this award are that I have to list my 5 biggest obsessions and then pass the award onto 5 other fabulous bloggers. Here goes nothing!

I can't say that these are actually my BIGGEST obsessions...but they're the ones I can think of right now...

1. Wine and Margaritas: I'm sorry, but nothing tops of a long day or revs up a good night like a glass of red wine or a perfect margarita. Love these things.

2. Muffins: Yummmmmm. I love muffins...pumpkin, coffee cake, chocolate chip...mmmm. Especially this time of year!

3. Cuddling: I know, gag, right? Can't help it...I love to cuddle. Whether it's snuggling in Geoff's arms at the end of the day, experiencing the joy of my dog curled up in my lap, or even just leaning my head on a girlfriend I love to cuddle. It makes me feel good, ok??

4. Talking politics, global issues, etc. I keep this stuff out of my blog so as not to offend anyone...but I'm opinionated and love to debate. I was a Political Science major in college and am a real "bleeding heart" as they say...these discussions get me going...and it's hard to stop once I start!

5. Water and mountains: I know that's technically two but I don't care. Hiking mountains, laying on the beach at the ocean, kayaking a river, swimming in a lake...all of these things make me feel at one with nature and are an instant stress relief.

Now onto the awards ceremony!

1. Boots at You Think it's EASY Being This Awesome? Go read her. Right now. She's so funny and inspiring. This girl just moved from Maine to London all by herself to start an amazing journey towards her Masters degree. I love her stories, she cracks me up.

2. Kathryn at From the Inside...Out. I can't explain to you how funny Kathryn is, so you will just need to go find out for yourself. She was recently a Blog of Note and totally deserves it...she's completely fabulous.

3. Courtney at Sticky Lipgloss. We pretty much don't agree on anything except that people are ridiculous, but I love the way she "funnies up" her opinions anyway.

4. Jules at Night Notes on Napkins. Great writing. You don't want to miss Haiku Monday or the latest Night Notes!

5. Lisa at smacksy. I very recently started reading her and am so glad I did. The stories she tells about her son are so funny...a recent favorite is a post she wrote about two nannies at the playground. Go see!

That should do it! Congrats everyone...you deserve it!

Celebrating

2009-10-06T19:16:00.003-04:00

Hi all! I'm sorry that this won't be much of a post. Work was crazy today and Geoff is sick so I'm afraid I don't have a lot of time to write. I will say that I got some really good news today that I will share with you later this month. It is a great relief and takes a lot of stress and anger away.

Tonight I finally caught up on some housework that I've been slacking on and am making an easy dinner of spaghetti and marinara. At this moment I'm having a glass of red wine to celebrate my good news and the fact that the apartment looks better.* I haven't felt this happy and relaxed in weeks.

I promise to write tomorrow and will share today's news in about two weeks (it's nothing major and probably won't matter a lick to anyone else but it's something I've been waiting a year for).

*I never actually need to have a reason to drink red wine, and I have a glass or two almost every night. The only difference is this one tastes like sweet victory:)

Lazy Days

2009-10-05T09:05:00.008-04:00

I had another very lazy weekend. I'm forgiving myself for it as the next two weekends (at least) will be very busy and crazy. I was worried that a couple of lazy weekends in a row would lead to a little antsyness and depression from not being productive...but it was actually nice! Friday night I had planned on being alone until 9pm as Geoff had a meeting scheduled for after work. He called at 6pm to say the meeting was cancelled and he was on his way home! We made a pizza, enjoyed some Gritty's Halloween Ale that I had found at a local liquor store, and watched some old episodes of Lost. I think I fell asleep on the couch around 9:30, haha.

Saturday I woke up and made pumpkin muffins and coffee then went back to bed with both and woke up Geoff. We laid there for quite awhile eating, drinking, reading, and snuggling...perfect for a rainy day. Later I made pumpkin whoopie pies (delicious!) and then probably didn't move from the couch for a few hours. That night we went to the pool hall down the street for some beers, calamari, and pool...this is our standby thing to do as it is about 2 minutes down the road and pool is fun! When we got home we went upstairs and hung out with our neighbors for a little while before finally going to bed.

Sunday morning was pretty much a repeat of Saturday morning. I grabbed us some pumpkin muffins from the kitchen, Geoff made coffee and we met up again in bed to eat and read. When we finally got up around noon Geoff made eggs and toast and then settled in on the couch for a day of football. The Patriots were great! It was a little stressful at the end, but Brady seems to be shaking off the rust and our defense really picked it up. I think the season will only get better from here.

It was a beautiful day with sunny skies, 70 degree weather, and colorful leaves everywhere. It was nice to have the door and windows open again! I made chop suey for dinner and then we enjoyed the Sunday night game upstairs with the neighbors. We'll be back up there tonight for the Monday night game as well...yay football!

What did you do this weekend? Anyone else baking yummy fall treats?

Munchie Mondays - Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies!

2009-10-05T08:45:00.005-04:00

I was in an autumn mood this weekend so on Saturday I made pumpkin whoopie pies! Geoff's mom has a great recipe that I need to get, but for this occasion I just googled a recipe (I forget what website I got it from now) and they came out great!

Cookie Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ginger, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, 1/8 tsp all spice or cloves)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Filling Ingredients:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar

Instructions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F
2. Combine flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Combine brown sugar and 1/2 cup butter in large bowl; beat at medium speed until creamy. 4. Add pumpkin, milk, egg and vanilla; beat until well mixed.
5. Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture. Beat until well mixed.
6. Drop batter by level measuring tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned around edges. Move to cooling rack and cool completely.
7. Meanwhile, combine all filling ingredients except powdered sugar in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, until smooth.
8. Gradually add 4 cups powdered sugar, beating well after each addition until creamy.
9. Spread 2 teaspoons filling onto bottom-side of 1 cookie. Top with another cookie, bottom-side down. Repeat with remaining cookies and filling.

Now the recipe said that it made 2 1/2 dozen mini whoopie pies, so I cut the recipe in half and ended up with eight...not sure what happened there. These are the perfect fall dessert and I am looking forward to going home this afternoon and having another one! Please try this...so good!

Enjoy!

Friday Fill-Ins - It's Fall!

2009-10-02T12:38:00.003-04:00

1. I have a history of stress and anxiety.

2. How to play guitar is something I wish I knew.

3. I'm eating (or recently ate) homemade chicken/veggie curry.

4. I love to sing along to all my favorite songs when I'm on the road.

5. So that's it, that's how you're choosing to live out the rest of your life...sad.

6. Being able to put food on the table and a roof over our heads is certainly better than nothing!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing, reading and wine drinking, tomorrow my plans include making pumpkin whoopie pies and searching for a second job and Sunday, I want to watch football!

Unhealthy Conversations

2009-10-01T13:12:00.002-04:00

I originally wrote this entry on my old college blog back in May of 2006. I was reminded after reading this post over at From the Inside...Out. WARNING: Apparently I used to swear even more back then than I do now...you've been warned.

So here is a public service announcement: DO NOT put off writing a paper/project until the very last second because your printer will choose that exact time to quit working. Today I worked on a project ALL DAY that was due at 4pm, and I was only gonna be a little late for class...I know I suck. I typed the last word, added a punctuation mark, smiled to myself and thought "Success!" I clicked on the print button and was prepared to run out the door paper in hand. Unfortunately, all did not go as planned. The damn printer refused to print. Here is a synopsis of what transpired between me and my printer:

Me: Haha Printer, very funny. Ok, now print.

Printer: No.

Me: This isn't funny...you're making me later for class.

Stupid Printer: Oh well.

Me: God dammit!! You are stressing me out!!! COME ON!!!

Fucking Printer: No, YOU are stressing you out. If you hadn't put this off until the last minute you wouldn't have a problem now, would you?

Me: I really don't have time for this...just give me my paper and we can talk about this when I get back, ok?

Stupid Fucking Printer: Um...no.

Me: WHAT THE FUCK??!!!!?!? I NEED MY PAPER AND I NEED IT NOW!!!!!!!!

Stupid Fucking Jackass Printer: You would have it now if you had started it long ago, like you were supposed to.

Me: LISTEN YOU PIECE OF SHIT!!! I DON'T NEED YOUR HOLIER THAN THOU ATTITUDE...I KNOW I FUCKED UP!!! JUST GIVE ME MY PAPER!!!!!!

Stupid Fucking Jackass Crappy Piece of Plastic Printer: Do you realize how stupid you look right now? Dude, you're talking to a printer.

Me: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *Karate chops printer*

Motherfucking Piece of Shit Printer That has a Death Wish: Ouch. Yeah, violence is no way to solve your problems. Now your hand just hurts and you still aren't getting your paper. What have we learned?

Me: That HP just wasn't the way to go...and not to procrastinate. Give me my paper.

Printer: No.

Yeah, so Printer and I are SO fighting right now. But I managed to email myself the paper and print it off in the computer lab, so all is well, no worries:)

HAPPY MAY EVERYONE:)

Signs, signs, Everywhere Signs

2009-09-30T13:25:00.002-04:00

After work on Friday I went grocery shopping as I do every week. I had our meals for the coming week all planned out, the list in hand, and cash in my wallet. The cart got a little more full than usual as I needed to restock some of my baking supplies (flour, brown sugar, etc.). The workday had been long and I was exhausted, cranky, and hungry. I had trouble finding the enchilada sauce so this trip was not going as quickly as I wanted it to.

When I came to the registers I was happy to see that all of the lines were shorter than normal. I chose a lane with only two people in it: a woman who was just about to start the paying process and a man with only one item. Score!

I began unloading my cart onto the belt. Eggs, bread, lots of veggies, some cans, etc, etc, etc...lots of stuff! I had to pause and wait until the belt moved forward to make more room. At this time the kid working the register, who honestly looked not a day over 12 and a half, looked at my stuff, looked at me, then looked at the light with the aisle number.

"Hey Zack! Zack!" He yelled to a co-worker across the store. "You turned off my sign!" And with a flick of his hand a new light appeared above his register.

12 Items or Less.

He returned to helping the woman who was paying. I looked at the sign, looked at him, then looked at all of my items. Not even close to twelve. Closer to 40 or more.

"Um...excuse me? Excuse me!"

The kid looked up.

"Um...that sign wasn't on when I got in line."

He waved his hand. "Don't worry about it, I'll still take care of you."

I smile and laugh nervously, "Yeah...but now I look like a jerk."

He finishes helping the lady then the man in front of me. I frantically look behind and all around me to make sure no one is staring at me. Because now I'm one of THOSE people. You know the ones...they take 20 items into the express lane because, well, it's close enough right? I can't STAND those people! And now...I look like one of them. A really bad one.

When it's finally my turn the kid starts slowly running my items across the scanner. There is no bagger so I hurriedly, with no method whatsoever, begin tossing everything in bags, still frantically looking behind me at those who are surely judging me.

Great, now there's a young Latino guy in line behind me with 2 items and a woman behind him with 1. GREAT! I'm sweating now trying to throw items in bags, throw bags in my cart, and hand over coupons, cash, and my store card all at once.

Why is this kid going so slow??? Can't he see there are very nice people following the 12 item or less rule behind me? Can't he see that they must hate me? CAN'T HE SEE?

Finally, red faced and sweaty I turn to the guy behind me.

"ThesignwasntonwhenIgothereImreallynotanasshole"

"What?"

I laugh nervously and point to the sign.

"The sign. It wasn't on when I got in line. I'm really not an asshole."

He laughs. "The thought never crossed my mind."

I take my change and receipt and run away with my loot. Damn kid with the 12 Items or Less Light, what the hell?

Then I laugh. It was pretty funny.

And because we're broke as hell, Geoff and I are getting second jobs to get us through the winter. I work in a self-funded department at a college that doesn't pay enough and he works for the YMCA. We're hoping to find meaningless, flexible jobs that we can just quit without feeling guilty about when we've gotten what we need. Now I'm thinking working at a grocery store would be fun so I can pull this on other people...mwahahaha.

Stolen Pictures

2009-09-29T12:05:00.003-04:00

I finally stole some pictures from the wedding I attended a couple of weekends ago and am sharing...shhhh.

Bride, Groom, and our friend who married them

Geoff and I

And as always when you combine alcohol, music, and the boys...there was a dance off.

Good times!

Someday I will be queen.

2009-09-28T09:03:00.005-04:00

I had a pretty good weekend. There were a lot of things going on in Providence on Saturday and the weather was nice so Geoff and I headed downtown. First we hit up the 1st Annual Sustainable Living Festival. It was ok, and I'm sure it will get better as the years go on. There were dozens of tables set up in the park all from different non-profits and companies offering information, etc on sustainability. It was a little ironic though as everyone handed out tons of paper pamphlets and fliers...oh well. There was good live music and cool people. Also there were three people dressed in these crazy alien type costumes. They told me when they come back to ~~take over~~ visit Earth that I would be their queen. Sweet.

There was also a street painting festival a few blocks over so we wandered that way.

These people are amazing. There were painters who ranged from age 10 to age 30something and they were all incredible.

Of course, since I can hardly draw a stick figure it doesn't take much to impress me, but still. Really awesome.

We spent about 4 hours downtown wandering back and forth between the two festivals...it was a good time. When we got home I made no bake cookies AGAIN. Oh my god it's so bad you guys...once I start making them it's so hard to stop.

Sunday I never changed out of my sweatpants. I sat on the couch and switched off between reading A Thousand Splendid Suns and watching football all. day. long. I got a little antsy by the end of the day, but overall it was nice. It was one of those cool, rainy fall days perfect for hiding indoors and watching football. The Patriots looked better this week so that was nice. I made our first Shepard's Pie of the season along with some corn muffins and we were quite content. It was pretty depressing once evening came and I knew the weekend was already over. It never lasts long enough.

You may have noticed that I haven't mentioned running in awhile. That's because I haven't run in over a week. Very bad. I really need to force myself to get back into that whole thing and stick to it. I'm already feeling a bit of the "winter blues" set in and it's only September. Last winter was so hard. It was our first winter in RI and I missed my friends back home so much. We felt trapped inside and couldn't go out much as we were broke as all hell. I hope this year is different. I need to make this year different. You guys will help right? Right? Just an encouraging word every now and then...k?

How was your weekend? Do share the details! Also I will post a recipe tonight. I am trying an enchilada casserole. If it comes out good I will share it...otherwise I'll post something else.

Sunny Surprises

2009-09-25T12:46:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I walked into the apartment after work, and a few minutes into my "home from work" routine I noticed this:

I love yellow flowers. They are sunny, happy, and brighten up any room. Geoff knows this, and before he left for his 2nd shift of work for the day he went looking for some.

He biked around and found the perfect flowers for a beautiful surprise bouquet. Here is a pic from this morning...the buds are blooming!

Love.

How I came to embarrass myself in front of 500 people or the time I kind of got hit on by Bill Clinton

2009-09-23T15:46:00.006-04:00

I met Bill Clinton in October of 2006.

Back in college I was a member of the USM College Democrats. In the fall of 2006, Maine's governor was campaigning for reelection and Bill Clinton came to speak at our college as a fundraiser. There were only 500 tickets and they were very expensive. Although I had loved Bill for a long time, there was pretty much no chance that I would get to see him.

About two days before the big event, our club president informed us that we were going to get to stand on stage behind Bill while he spoke. OH MY GOD ON STAGE MERE FEET AWAY FROM BILL CLINTON!!!! I was elated.

The day of the rally, we had to be on campus and ready to go at about 9am, even though the speech wasn't happening until early afternoon. Security was VERY tight so our group of 20+ was pushed into a small, windowless room with no food, windows, or drinks and not enough seats for everyone to sit while we waiting for the event to start. We were in there for HOURS. We were hot, hungry, thirsty, and tired. But we were going to be on stage. BEHIND BIG B.C.! I could hardly contain myself.

Thankfully, about an hour and a half before we were to be officially released to the stage, they allowed us to go to the small snack bar in the building next door. I got water and some crackers and returned to the tiny ~~holding cell~~ room to wait.

FINALLY an aide came to retrieve us and told us to quietly, in a single file line, head out onto the stage and arrange ourselves on the three rows of risers. There we got to stand for about an hour as different local politicians gave their speeches (including the governor). We stood there under hot lights in a crowded auditorium knowing that soon enough we would be staring at the back of Bill Clinton's head.

After what seemed like an eternity of ~~yawn inducing political drivel~~ inspiring campaign speeches, the moment finally came. Bill Clinton stepped before us and took over the mic. Such an exciting moment in our lives!

Of course, it would have been easier to feel excited if I wasn't sweating from the lights, hungry, thirsty, and tired from standing for hours. As I tried to focus on Billy C's words I began to feel extremely nauseaus. "Oh dear god," I thought to myself. "Please don't let me throw up right now. Please." The wooziness continued, and as I stared at the back of Bill's head, I was slightly alarmed to find that it felt like I was looking through a dark tunnel that kept getting wider and smaller, wider and smaller.

Now let me just say, that until that moment I have never fainted in my life, and I never have since. But of course the one fainting experience in my life would happen while I'm on stage in front of 500 people and camera crews and behind the glorious myth that is Bill Clinton.

That's right, I fainted. Luckily not many people in the audience even noticed, and there was not mention of it on television. I was standing in the middle of the three rows and it happened very quickly. I fell back on the guy behind me and sank, he and another person caught me just before I hit the floor. I opened my eyes shocked to see my fellow College Dems looking down around me and stood up. A woman came over and waved me off stage. I went to her.

"Oh my gosh are you ok???"

"Yeah..um, I'm fine I think."

"Here's some water, has this happened before?"

"Thanks. No, never."

"Come over here and sit down."

Bill was almost done with his speech. I knew when he was through he'd turn and shake all of our hands. I didn't want to miss that.

"No I'm fine."

"I really think that..."

"I'm fine! I'm ok! I need to get back out there!"

I skulked back onto the stage and stood on the side of the risers just as Bill was getting a standing ovation. He turned and shook all of our hands...it was amazing.

After that he was quickly ushered away by security and we were all ready to leave the stage. Just then an aide with an earpiece came running out.

"Where's the girl that fainted?!?"

We were all silent for a moment.

"Bill wants to see the girl that fainted!"

I was in shock and still pretty woozy and confused from the whole passing out incident. Some friends pointed to me and the aide grabbed my arm and led me into a small area that Bill and the governor were in.

Bill looked at me and chuckled. "Are you ok?"

I nodded.

"Haha, I didn't know I could still make young girls faint!"

I shit you not that's exactly what he said.

I laughed stupidly, completely in shock. He gave me a hug then yelled out "Someone get me a camera!"

The aide that had retrieved me ran off and returned a moment later with a camera. I stood in between Bill and the governor and had my picture taken. Then they just walked away...with the camera.

So somewhere out there in the great wide world is a picture of me looking all flushed and sweaty with Bill Clinton and governor Baldacci by my sides. If I didn't have so many witnesses, I'd swear this never happened.

But it did.

Dancing the night away! (but I forgot the socks)

2009-09-23T12:05:00.005-04:00

My apologies, loyal readers, for being MIA so much this week. I'm still tired and trying to catch up at work from this past weekend.

Speaking of this past weekend...it was great! We drove up to Maine on Thursday night and stayed with Geoff's mom. When we arrived I made some no bake cookies and they came out DELICOUS. We all agreed they were a perfect snack for 11pm. The next day we didn't do much at all, just relaxed at the condo. Geoff and I went out to Gritty's, a local Portland bar that brews it's own yummy beer, for a couple of drinks that night.

Saturday morning Geoff's dad came to Portland to pick up Bandit. He was our designated dog-sitter for the wedding portion of the weekend. I was a little sad and worried...it's silly, but we've only spent a handful of nights away from the little guy in his 3 years with us. As I was getting ready for the hotel I kept thinking I'd see him out of the corner of my eye, but it was just a pillow or a heating pad...sigh. He had a blast though, running around with Tia (Geoff's dad's dog) off leash as they were in the middle of no where. He slept the whole way back to RI on Sunday because he was so worn out! It was fabulous.

Back to Saturday. We departed for Sunday River, a ski resort area about 2 hours north of Portland, around noon. The wedding was at a hotel that we were all staying at up there. The wedding was at 4pm so after arriving and checking in we started getting ready. By getting ready I mean sat around watching cable (we don't have that at home!), eating crackers, and drinking beer. But around 3:30 we started getting ready. That's about the time that Geoff scolded me for forgetting his black socks. I brought them to Portland but forgot them at his mom's condo. I'm sorry...shouldn't a 29 year old man be able to remember his own socks? Didn't he wear socks before we got together? No? Ok...I'll try harder next time.

The wedding was VERY fast which I loved. The weather was beautiful. Low 60s but sunny...great fall weather! The reception was SO. MUCH. FUN. We drank a lot but didn't have to pay for a thing all night. The bride and groom had paid for a keg and 12 bottles of wine at the bar, and there were 2 more kegs back in one of our friend's hotel rooms. Sweet! It was amazing seeing everyone...I MISS OUR FRIENDS! We danced (and sang) the night away with them all and I can't even explain how wonderful it felt to be with our lovely people again, if only for one night. Alas, I left my camera in my purse most of the night, so you'll have to wait until I can steal some pics from some of my more camera happy friends before I can share them with you.

There was a bit of an after party in the "keg suite" after the reception...but it wasn't much of one. Everyone was too drunk by then and there was this girl there (a semi-new girlfriend of one of the guys) that no one can really stand. She is an attention whore (literally) and spent that part of the evening asking the guys if they wanted to see her boobs, flashing one of our married guy friends, sitting on another guys lap while his girlfriend was across the table, and massaging Geoff's head. We just ignored her crazy antics, and Geoff and I eventually went to bed at about 3something in the morning.

Needless to say, the drive on Sunday was miserable. I was hungover and carsick...blah. I took a nap at Geoff's mom's and awoke just in time to watch the second half of the Patriots game. WTH Pats?!?!? I hardly recognize you anymore. :-(

The drive back to RI was better and we were happy to be home, though we already missed our friends. I can't wait to see them again, but until then the memories of this weekend will keep me happy.

And the winner is...

2009-09-21T12:59:00.004-04:00

Me!

While on my lunch break today I was catching up on some blog reading and found that the lovely and always hilarious Kathryn over at From the Inside...Out has given me two awards! These are my first blog awards and I am so thankful and happy. I wasn't expecting this so early in my "blogging career". Definitely go check out Kathryn's site, she's always great for a laugh and is an amazing writier.

The first is the Superior Scribbler Award, and while I don't think my scribbling is superior I really appreciate the recognition and want to pass on some of the love! The rules say that I am supposed to pass this along to five people...so without further ado I would like to present this award to:

Claudia over at Life in Scribbletown: I can't remember how exactly I found this blog, but I am so glad I did. Claudia shares great stories about her life with her girls and has been known to share some delicious recipes along the way as well!

Debbie over at Starting my life at 35...: Debbie is another great writer who is sharing her journey as she works toward new goals in her life. I love reading about her experiences and enthusiasm for this new path she's travelling!

Zoe over at Zoe Rights: Seriously, so funny. This woman has a real knack for telling a story and leaving you with a big smile on your face. Love the sense of humor.

Alex over at You Think It's Easy Being This Awesome?: I actually know Alex in real life, and she is one of the most hilarious people I have ever met. She starting blogging around the same time I did, and she's lots of fun to read. She just moved to London last week and I am looking forward to reading about her adventures!

V over at *uncorked: V has great stories to share and a real way with words. I don't know if it's her sarcasm or her love of the booze, but something about her keeps me coming back for more.

The second award is the Kreativ Blogger award. I'm not sure about the rules for this one so I'll just wing it! The winners for this award are:

Tiffany over at Electric Boogaloo: This was the first blog I ever started reading religiously. I found her years before I even thought of starting my own blog and I. Love. Her. Blog. She is an AMAZING writer and so funny. Her children are amazingly brilliant and supply or with many blogworthy stories.

Allison over at Tales From LaLa Land: Allison writes on a variety of topics and is always interesting. Whether it be a Top Chef review or tales from the life of a newlywed I always look forward to reading her posts.

Please stop by and visit all of these wonderful bloggers...you won't regret it!

Munchie Mondays - No Bake Cookies

2009-09-21T12:21:00.004-04:00

Hello everyone! I'm sorry for my brief hiatus but I am back from Maine and will post about my fun weekend very soon.

In the meantime I thought I would share a quick and easy recipe that I got from Geoff's mom last year for No Bake cookies. They are not at all healthy, but oh so worth it!

Ingredients:
1 stick of butter
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
4 T cocoa powder
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups oats

Instructions:
1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in sugar, milk and cocoa powder. Stir continuously until boiling.
2. Remove from heat once mixture has boiled for 1 1/2 minutes. Add peanut butter and vanilla. Stir until peanut butter has melted.
3. Stir in oats.
4. Use a spoon to drop on foil. Cool and eat!

So easy...so yummy...I make them ALL THE TIME in the fall and winter. They are a perfectly easy cold weather treat. Geoff LOVES them. I will post a picture next time I make them.

Enjoy!

3-day weekend!

2009-09-17T16:22:00.002-04:00

Sorry I didn't write much of a post today. I had a busy day at work as I am out tomorrow. Geoff and I are heading to Maine for a friend's wedding. I'm really looking forward to some relaxation, time with our friends, and a big party afterwards! I'll try to take pictures and will update you all next week. We are leaving tonight so I probably won't be here until we get back.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Oh boys

2009-09-16T09:36:00.003-04:00

Boys.

So dumb.

My mom told me a story about my brother a couple of weeks ago that I want to share. My brother Bobby is 20, loves fishing, is a Marine stationed in North Carolina for the time-being, and has a girlfriend who has been with him since their junior year of high school. We'll call her C. C is a good girl. She's smart, going to college, active in lots of sports and clubs, and isn't much into drinking and partying. Despite all of this she puts up with my brother who chose to go into the military and LOVES to party. And fish. Let's not forget that he has always loved to fish.

Obviously with her in school in New England and him stationed anywhere from North Carolina to Afghanistan they don't get to see each other very much. When the times come that they do get to visit, they both get very excited.

C had been in Maine all summer and Bobby has been in NC dealing with military crap during the week and fishing with his buddies on the weekends. They got to see each other a little in early July when he was home on leave. C went back to school in southern New England starting Labor Day weekend, and they were both excited as they had made plans for Bobby to drive up and visit her because of the long weekend.

On the Friday of that weekend Bobby called my mom and related the following story to her.

Apparently, for two weeks only there are these HUGE fish that run through where my brother and his friends have been fishing. He got to spend one weekend catching them, but the next weekend was going to overlap with a previous engagement.

He called C the day before (maybe even the day of) he was supposed to leave to visit and said "Hey, I'm not coming. I'm going fishing."

C doesn't swear. C doesn't get upset easily or freak out. C is a very understanding girl.

C lost her shit.

"Bobby, you are coming up here! You made plans with me and my friends and you are f***ing coming! Don't you dare even THINK about going fishing instead!" There was more...but I'm pretty sure it all sounded a lot like that.

Bobby told this story to my mom as he was driving up to see C (haha). My mom scolded him for being such a jerk.

Bobby: "I didn't think it would be a big deal! I didn't know she'd get so upset!"

Mom: *Sigh*

Hopefully it's a lesson well learned for that boy. C...you go girl!

Apples, raspberries, and football, oh my!

2009-09-15T10:01:00.007-04:00

This past weekend was pretty fun. Saturday was our anniversary and we went out to breakfast. I LOVE BREAKFAST. I had french toast, eggs, bacon, home fries, and coffee. Mmmmmm. Geoff had an omlette with pretty much everything in it. We were both happy with the deliciousness. We were pretty lazy for the rest of the day, except for a failed attempt to find the Trader Joe's in Warwick that I keep meaning to visit. We'll try again someday.

That night we went to the pool hall down the street for beer and...pool. The bartender was a complete ditz...as were the little bar maids that walk around in their little plaid skirts. Don't get me wrong, usually they do a good job. But lately there have been a lot of new people and these girls were ridiculous. The beer was delicous but it took FOREVER to get a refill...even though the place was not that crowded. Oh well. We still had fun drinking beer, eating fried ravioli, and playing pool. I actually didn't suck too bad! I've gotten better over the years...I used to miss the cue ball sometimes (don't ask) but now can make even some tricky angled shots!

Sunday after breakfast we went to a local orchard to pick raspberries and apples.

I swear it's too expensive now. Shouldn't these bags of apples be LESS expensive than in the grocery store? I mean I have to pick them myself! We had fun despite the cost, and it was a beautiful day for it too.

(I know the boy needs a haircut and a shave...I'm on it)

We got lots of delicious apples...I love them fresh! So sweet and tangy. Our raspberries are also a nice change for us and very sweet and delicious.

The rest of the day was devoted to football. It's so great to have the NFL season back in full swing! We drank beer and watched the teams. I wish the Pats had played that day, but we got to see them last night anyway. What a stressful game! I was so happy all weekend though. We love playing pool, apple picking was a delightful fall activity, and football is back.

What did you do this weekend? Any football fans out there?

Munchie Mondays - Ravioli Lasagna

2009-09-14T09:55:00.002-04:00

Hello all! I hope you had a fabulous weekend. I know I did, but I'll share that in a later post.

Today I will share a recipe for Ravioli Lasagna that I found over at *uncorked awhile ago. I tried this recipe a few weeks ago, and while I ran into a little trouble it was DELICOUS. I know I say that about lots of recipes...but I wouldn't share them with you if I didn't love them!

I did things a little differently than she did, so I'll post the original recipe here and then share the changes that I made.

Ingredients:
1 24-26 oz. jar of marina sauce
2 20 oz. packages of refridgerated cheese ravioli
1 10 oz. box of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess liquid
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spoon a thin layer of sauce into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
3. On top of the sauce, layer a third of the ravioli, half of the spinach, half of the mozzarella, and a third of the sauce; repeat.
4. Top with remaining ravioli and sauce. sprinkle with parmesan.
5. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until cheese is bubbling, 5-10 additional minutes.

Yum! Ok, now for what I really did. I always make my own sauce, and I use diced tomatoes, onion, garlic, tomato paste, pepper, oregano, olive oil...sometimes some other seasonings. I also substituted hamburger for the spinach because me and the boy are meat eaters...hard core. So while the ravioli was cooking I made my own sauce while cooking up some hamburger with garlic and oregano.

Next time I will make a less chunky sauce because oh my god. While this ended up delicious it was a pain in the ass to put together without the proper type of sauce. It was too chunky to spread and I was having major difficulties. I ended up not having enough sauce to cover the whole thing so I had to add a tiny bit of jarred pizza sauce as an emergency substitution. Everything came out fine though and Geoff and I were both pleasantly surprised by the final product. It smelled and tasted AMAZING. I can't wait to try it again.

Enjoy!

Friday Fill-Ins and randomness

2009-09-11T10:07:00.003-04:00

1. That's a horrible, ignorant, and insensitive way to be.

2. Sometimes I feel ignored...and like someone else gets a lot more attention; I'm over here!

3. The possibilities include: staying at my job and taking classes for free, quitting my job and finding one I actually find fulfilling, saying screw it to jobs and going on a cross country road trip...with no money.

4. Mac'n'cheese casserole is one of my favorite cool day recipes.

5. How will you know how much our family needs and loves you when we don't know how to tell you and can't be there for you enough?

6. One of the most beautiful things is the combination of a sunset and a stormy sky.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to making pizza and relaxing, tomorrow my plans include going out to breakfast and out for drinks for our anniversary and Sunday, I want to go apple picking, make apple zucchini muffins, and sit on the porch drinking coffee!

Wow...that was a hard one!

So the weather here is cold and sad. I love fall, but I really am not ready to let go of summer yet. With the 2 months of rain we had, it didn't feel like we had a summer at all. Now it feels like time for sweaters, warm socks, and comfort food. Geoff and I are planning on going apple picking this weekend if the rain lets up. Then I can do some baking and we'll have nice healthy snacks for the week too.

I'm really looking forward to the weekend. Even though this was a short work week, I really need a break again. Nothing like wine, books, coffee, and rest to make me happy again!

Yesterday's run SUCKED! It was partly a mental thing. For all of my other runs I've been all pumped up and looking forward to them. This time I had to force myself to go and I really wasn't in the mood. My breathing felt off and my leg muscles HURT. My calves kept tensing up and then I got a cramp in my foot. Also, the weather was cloudy and cold. I did the whole work-out though so I guess that says something. I know sometimes people just have bad runs, so I'm not giving up. It will get better again! I'm giving myself the next two days off though. It's no fun running in the rain anyway.

What are your plans for the weekend? Are you ready for fall or still grasping on to the final bits of summer?

3 Years

2009-09-10T12:40:00.006-04:00

This weekend Geoff and I will celebrate our 3rd year of being a couple.

We met in the summer of 2006 while working for a non-profit, and found out we went to the same college, had the same major, and would have two classes together that coming fall. What started out as a fun summer fling turned into a serious relationship.

We have been through a lot together, right from the beginning. And though I know it hasn't been easy, he has stood by me through everything. He's my best friend, and I am his. I can't wait to go on more adventures together and there isn't anyone else I'd rather have by my side when facing the tough battles life has thrown and surely will throw my way.

I love you Geoffrey.

That dog? HAS A BAG ON IT'S A**!

2009-09-09T09:29:00.007-04:00

Really...I don't even know what to say about this...so here's a picture to get us started.

Seriously? It's bad enough seeing dogs walking around in sweaters and such...but are you freaking kidding me here? Do these dogs have no dignity? They are walking around with a BAG ON THEIR ASS! No self respecting dog would be caught dead in this contraption. And no self respecting owner should want to be seen with a dog wearing a BAG ON IT'S ASS! Honestly? This is worse than just picking up the poo yourself. If I had to wrestle this thing on Bandit before every walk we'd both end up too tired to go out. And I'm pretty sure we could only walk at night when no one would see us because oh my god! That dog has a BAG ON IT'S ASS! Come on people!

In other news I am still running. I ran last night and it was my first day of week two, which means running for a minute and a half than walking for two minutes for a total of twenty minutes. This was my best run yet. It's getting easier! I don't feel like dying at minute 5 anymore. I'm very proud of myself for keeping the motivation and happy that my body seems to be responding.

What's new in your world? Seen anything crazy lately that you just have to share?

How is it that even long weekends go by too fast?

2009-09-08T15:13:00.003-04:00

I had a great time during Diane's (Geoff's mom) visit. She arrived Friday night with peanuts and a bottle of wine (LOVE!) just as I was pulling the pizza out of the oven. We sat around the table laughing, drinking, and eating. It was delightful. The next morning I made blueberry muffins (fresh blueberries!) while Geoff made eggs and homefries (with the potatoes picked from our garden!). It was DELICIOUS. Then we all relaxed on the sunny porch with our coffees for a good part of the morning.

Once we got the urge to move, we went to Benny's so that Di could get a gift for Geoff's niece's birthday party. They had these great wagons there that she wanted to grab...lift up seats for storage and seat belts! She also bought me a pie plate (my other disappeared during the holiday season last year) and a rolling pin! No more using wine bottles to roll out dough! I'm ecstatic.

When we returned home, Geoff put together the wagon and I made the coconut custard pie that I mentioned in my last post. We all drooled over the smells from the kitchen until it was finally time to eat. Later, we went to the pool hall down the road for a beer and then headed to Waterfire since Diane had never been. We had a great time there as well and enjoyed some wine while watching a jazz band. Di got some good pictures of the fires to show people back home.

Sunday morning Di had to leave by 10:30 to make it to Madison's 2nd birthday party back in Maine. We had leftover blueberry muffins and omelettes made with cherry tomatoes from the garden...YUM! We like food around here...can you tell?

After she left, I went for a run. I'm proud of myself for keeping it up this long. I know, it's only week one but this is me and running we're talking about here so making it a whole week is a freaking miracle. It was pretty hard this time as I'd taken both Friday and Saturday off, but I did it. I just wish my neighborhood wasn't so hilly!

We spent the rest of the day reading, relaxing, and being lazy. Same with Monday. Though we did go "biking for booze" Monday evening, haha. We wanted to get more wine and go for a bike ride, so we biked about 3 miles to a liquor store then stopped at a neighborhood bar on the way home for a ~~rest~~ beer. Upon arriving home Geoff made some TASTY burgers (love you worcestershire sauce!) and we cracked open the wine.

It was a glorious weekend and I wish I could go back and relive it as today has been pretty annoying. I have a serious case of the Mondays (yes I know it's Tuesday) and I'm already looking forward to another weekend.

How did you spend your long weekend?

Munchie Mondays-Coconut (Custard) Pie

2009-09-07T19:31:00.003-04:00

Sorry this post is so late in the day...it's a holiday, ok? Better late than never, right?

I found this recipe on the Betty Crocker website earlier this summer, and was amazed by how simple it was to make. It said it was a coconut pie, and I was picturing something more like a coconut cake. This was really more of a coconut custard pie. Though I wasn't expecting it, I LOVED it. I made it again this weekend since it's the last weekend of summer and I think of this as more of a summer pie. Geoff and his mom are also big fans. We finished it off in about 24 hours. I wish I'd made it more often...it's so easy AND yummy!

Ingredients:
1 cup flaked or shredded coconut
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup Bisquick mix
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 cups milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs

Instructions:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9-inch pie plate.
2. In medium bowl, stir all ingredients until blended. Pour into pie plate.
3. Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until golden brown and knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cover and refrigerate any remaining pie.

Doesn't that sound simple? It hardly takes any time to prepare, and while the bake seems like a long wait, it's so worth it. Enjoy!

Friday Fill-Ins

2009-09-04T09:16:00.002-04:00

Happy Friday reader(s)! I have lots of work to do, so it's time for another Friday Fill-in!

1. I feel content, relaxed, and happy.

2. Going out for breakfast is always fun.

3. Right now, I can hear these things: typing, chairs moving, and office chatter.

4. I feel really good this week and I'm glad I've taken up running.

5. The last time I saw my friends was MUCH too long ago.

6. I have really been looking forward to this Labor day weekend.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing and preparing for Geoff's mom's arrival tonight, tomorrow my plans include going out to eat, hanging out with Geoff and his mom, and probably going to Waterfire and Sunday, I want to make a big breakfast, go for a run, and relax!

I'm very excited for this weekend and have been looking forward to it for awhile. Geoff's mom is coming tonight and staying until Sunday morning. We'll make dinners and breakfasts, check out some local fun, go out to eat, and have fun! I love that woman...she's da bomb dot com yo! (I've been wanting to say that for awhile now...don't judge me!) And since it's a long weekend, Geoff and I will still have plenty of time to relax and do whatever we want.

Also, I went for another run yesterday! Woot! It was hard because I was tired, sore, and it was hotter outside...but I did it. That's two of the last three days! Who am I???

Have a great weekend everyone! What are your plans?

Jen the...runner?

2009-09-02T09:47:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I ran.

This might seem like nothing to you people...especially when you find out how much I ran (not much). Let me give you a little background. I HATE RUNNING. People who run for fun confuse me because running? Not fun. I make fun of those people. Why run when you can sit around eating? I've only ever tried it a few times and in my experience everything they say about it is one big fat lie. It doesn't give me more energy, it makes me more tired. It doesn't make me feel good, it makes me feel sick. It doesn't help me sleep better, it makes me sleep the same (not much) only then I'm sore. RUNNING SUCKS! Also, though I like to bike and hike I like to do so leisurely. I may be thin, but I am VERY out of shape. The slightest bit of exercise leaves me pretty winded.

So let me repeat myself.

Yesterday. I. Ran.

And I didn't hate it.

In fact, I kind of LIKED it.

And I plan on running again...maybe even REGULARLY.

I was inspired by a post I saw over at PooBou.com, where Cindy (the blogger there) started the Couch-to-5K running plan. I checked out the site and was all...I could TOTALLY do that! So I stopped at Target on the way home yesterday and bought a sports bra (yes, that's how much I work out...didn't even own a sports bra) and a cheap little watch with the stop watch/timer capibilities. When I got home...I ran. Only a little, but still. This being my first week I'm supposed to switch off between running for 60 seconds and walking for 90 seconds for twenty minutes. I know, I know...soooo easy right? Not for me. Actually, it was both easier and harder than I thought it would be. But you know what? I felt GOOD after. Ok...really I felt sweaty, a little shaky, tired, and a little sore. But I felt happy! Proud even! I motivated myself to run even though I was tired after work...and I didn't give up on the running parts even at the end when it was getting really hard (because hills? OH MY GOD I HATE THEM). I was all...whooo! I'm so awesome! I'm a runner!

Well, I will be.

Someday.

Today, my poor leggies are pretty sore...but I like that! I plan on running again tomorrow. My goal is to run in the Beach to Beacon (that's a 10k!) in Maine next summer.

Hopefully my legs will have stopped hurting by then.

Brawling Baby Ball Players

2009-09-01T11:15:00.002-04:00

While reading the latest post over at Zoe Rights, I was reminded of an article I read recently in the local paper, The Valley Breeze. The title of the article, "Babe Ruth Season Ends in Controversy", doesn't do the story justice. Basically a bunch of 13-15 year old ball players and their parents turn a fun, end of the year championship game into a near all out brawl normally saved only for the major leagues. Here are some of the highlights:

The incident, which saw moms and dads scurry onto the field to physically restrain some players,
broke out during ninth inning of the winner-take-all championship game between Barone's Construction
and Angelo's Hair Salon.

Garceau protested the play to the umpire, maintaining that the batter had stepped across the plate.
The umpire ruled differently, and when Garceau persisted, he was tossed from the game.

That drew a strong protest from his players, several of whom left the dugout and began shouting.
Almost simultaneously, one Barone's player charged the Angelo's dugout in an apparent attempt
to reach an opposing player, and both benches emptied. A coach restrained the player, and other
players were contained by parents and other coaches.

The umpiring crew tossed the player who charged the dugout, and when the matter did not quell
immediately, ended the game and awarded a forfeit win to Angelo's...But some parents were still
upset and began shouting at the other side, prompting someone to call police. Police responded
and the problem disappeared, and so did the season.

I mean what's baseball without a little drama and fighting, right? The full article can be read here.

I don't remember too many instances of such dramatics back when I played softball. Most of the parents and kids were pretty well behaved. I do remember one time when the opposing team's coach (his name was Tux and he was a grade-A asshole) made the female ump cry. After the game my mom (who has a lot of sarcasm and attitude in her little 5'4" body) made a comment about what a jerk Tux was. His daughter, who was a grade ahead of me and more popular I might add, overheard and stormed over to us. "Don't talk about my dad like that you, b****!" I was too embarrassed to speak. My younger brother, Bobby, who was ten at the time, didn't care and took action.

"Don't talk to my mom that way!"

It went on from there, but I slowly skulked away and hid in the car. Hey, I was 13 at the time and easily embarrassed! Today it's hard to say whether I would have informed all of them of how ridiculous and rude they were being or if I'd join in...depends on what day you catch me!

Do any of you have interesting stories from your days of childhood sports or extracurriculars?

Weekend update

2009-08-31T14:15:00.002-04:00

This weekend was pretty uneventful, but got better as the time went on. Friday night we watched some football upstairs with the neighbors while drinking Coronas and eating brownies. That was a good way to start the weekend for sure!

Saturday it rained and rained and rained. I got up and made blueberry muffins for breakfast (Geoff had picked the berries last week at the camp he works at). Then I proceeded to do nothing but read and play online until late afternoon. Geoff had to go to the post office so we did that and stopped for sandwiches at a place called...Geoff's. They had tons of unique sandwich options. Geoff got some sort of pastrami and bacon combination and I had chicken salad with cranberry sauce, cheese and veggies. They need to put their sandwiches on italian rolls however, because it was almost impossible to eat. Everything kept falling off of the bread and it wasn't as good as I'd hoped. Of course, I had been in the mood for a burger so that wasn't really their fault.

Later I had a chocolate craving so I made brownies, but they didn't come out so great. I realized after that I had used unsweetened chocolate instead of bittersweet chocolate...oops. They were still ok, but definitely not sweet enough. That night we went back upstairs to watch baseball and drink more beer.

Sunday Geoff's friend, Jeremy, Jeremy's wife, Steph and their 16-month old daughter, Claire came down from Massachusetts for a visit. We chatted a little and watched the baby play with her toys and our dog. Then for lunch we grilled up a steak and some burgers, made up a batch of Tangy Cauliflower, and sliced up a cucumber from the garden. Everything was deeelicious!

After lunch we walked up the road to Rhode Island College. They have a playground there and we figured a good walk and some playtime for Claire was in order. It was fun watching her on the slides, but I wasn't expecting the weather to be so hot and was pretty uncomfortable in my jeans and t-shirt.

Jeremy and the family left upon our return to the apartment, and Geoff and I took the time to relax with a glass of wine. We recently got hooked on the show Californiacation on the Netflix player so we watched a couple of episodes. We felt pretty antsy and bored though as this was our second weekend with not many plans, so we headed over to a park on the East Side to watch the sunset. The air was nice and cool by then, and we took Bandit with us. We sat on a bench overlooking the city and enjoyed the cool air and the pretty view. Once the sun was out of sight we wandered around with Bandit for a bit before heading home again. It was a great way to end the weekend.

The next few weekends should be fun, and I'm definitely looking forward to them. Geoff's mom is coming this Friday-Sunday, the following weekend is our anniversary so hopefully we'll go out some, and the weekend after that we are heading to Maine for a wedding.

What did you all do this weekend?

Munchie Mondays - Southwestern Chili Pasta

2009-08-31T08:58:00.002-04:00

Happy Monday everyone! About two weeks ago I found this recipe for Southwestern Chili Pasta on Delish.com and knew I had to try it. Geoff and I love southwestern food, chili, and pasta...so perfect! (I have a picture that I'll add later)

Ingredients:
1 package (16-ounce) wagonwheel or ziti pasta
2 teaspoon(s) vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium red pepper, chopped
1 pound(s) lean ground beef
2 tablespoon(s) chili powder
1 teaspoon(s) unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon(s) ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon(s) ground cinnamon
Salt
1 can (14- to 14 1/2-ounce) stewed tomatoes
1 can (15- to 19-ounce) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup water
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
Sour cream (optional)

Instructions:
1.Boil water, add pasta and cook as directed.
2.Meanwhile, in nonstick 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat until hot. Add onion and red pepper, and cook 8 to 10 minutes or until tender and lightly browned. Transfer onion mixture to small bowl.
3.In same skillet, cook ground beef over medium-high heat 3 to 4 minutes or until browned, breaking up beef with side of spoon. Discard any fat from skillet. Stir chili powder, cocoa, cumin, cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon salt into beef in skillet; cook 1 minute.
4.Return onion mixture to skillet; stir in stewed tomatoes, beans, and water. Heat mixture to boiling over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook 5 minutes, breaking up tomatoes with side of spoon.
5.Drain pasta and return to saucepot. Add chili mixture to pasta in saucepot; stir until combined. Serve pasta with cheddar and sour cream if you like.

This was so yummy! I used diced tomatoes instead of stewed as that's what I always have on hand, and I also used garbanzo beans instead of black beans because that's what I had. I also left out the sour cream because blech...we are not big fans. It came out great, though next time I'll do both garbanzo AND black beans. I also had to used penne instead of wagon-wheel pasta which was disappointing...I think the wagon wheels would have been more fun!

Enjoy!

Friday Fill-Ins

2009-08-28T12:12:00.002-04:00

I'm at a loss as to what to write about today. To be honest I'm overtired and feel like crying, and I guess I don't feel like writing all about why. Instead, I'll do a Friday Fill-In, because better something than nothing, right?

He was a funny man and a big part of our family. I can't believe it's be so many years...

Changing leaves and football are what I look forward to most this time of year.

My best friend and I are having troubles.

I feel so sad lately to be honest with you.

Appearances can be deceiving (everything else I thought of was just another way of saying this...sorry for the cliche)

The last person I gave a hug to was Geoff.

And as for the weekend, tonight I'm going to go grocery shopping and to a bbq, tomorrow my plans include going to the Heritage Festival if the rains aren't too bad and Sunday, I want to make a delicous breakfast and enjoy some sun.

You should play too!

How I ended up on the side of the road in my bathing suit for 9 hours or How Lake Champlain stole from me Part IV-The Finale

2009-08-26T12:50:00.002-04:00

I was relatively sure that we would be spending the night sleeping on the ground by the car.

One thing I realized I forgot to mention before is that our dog, Bandit was home in Maine being watched by Geoff's mom. She was supposed to drop him off back at our apartment in the early afternoon since we planned on being home by late afternoon. So our little dog was stuck in our apartment and I had no way of contacting anyone to say "We're stranded! He needs food! Water! A walk!!!" I was worried sick. At this point it was about 9pm.

Just as I had given up all hope of ever being rescued, a big truck pulled up...with Geoff and the locksmith inside! I jumped up excitedly, filled with relief. Geoff got out of the truck, followed by a middle-aged man who looked a little on the crazy side. But he also looked like he had the tools to help us, so I pushed that thought out of my mind.

"So...you guys dropped your keys in the lake, huh?"

"Yeah," I laughed embarrassed.

Geoff said, "The girl at the gate said they're closing the park at 10pm, but if for some reason we're not out by then she showed me two houses on the street that have a key to let us out."

"Ok...hopefully it doesn't come to that!"

The first thing Locksmith did? Unlock the doors!! I immediately grabbed my cell phone and had Geoff call his mom to tell her what was going on and to go rescue Bandit. When Locksmith went back into his truck for a moment I grabbed the necessary equipment from my purse and ran into the woods to take care of the period situation. When I came back, Locksmith and Geoff were having a conversation about how on earth he was going to make us another key.

"You SURE you don't have any spares on you?"

"We're sure."

He began sticking different tools into our ignition trying to get information for key-making I guess, while Geoff and I raided our cooler and began making roast beef sandwiches. We. Were. Starving. We offered Locksmith a sandwich, but he declined. As we ate, he talked to himself, complaining about how he didn't think he was going to be able to make a key. Our car apparently, is made differently than most. We have a Chevrolet Cavalier...who knew?

As he was struggling with the tools he kept repeating a code that the tools were telling him our key must be. "But that's impossible," he said. "That pattern just doesn't make sense for a key code. I'm going to need a picture of the key."

"A picture...of the key?" Geoff asked.

"Yeah. If I can get a picture, I can try to mold a new key using it."

"Um...we have a spare at our apartment back in Maine. We'll make some calls."

The first person we thought to call was Geoff's mom since she was going to our apartment to rescue Bandit anyway. Luckily, she had a friend with her, because trying to explain to Diane how to take a picture with her phone and send it to us? It would probably be faster to hitch hike to Maine and do it ourselves.

Poor Di. She sent us three pictures and after each one Locksmith said, "Tell her to get a closer shot with more light. I don't need the whole key, just the part with the ridges." Finally she sent one that he thought should work. We thanked Di for helping us and told her she could take Bandit and leave our apartment now. She was free.

After several minutes of using more machines/computers/the picture Locksmith said, "This still doesn't make sense. The picture is kind of blurry but this looks like the same code as I thought it was before and that just can't be." The feeling that we were in fact, never getting out of this place returned.

Locksmith needed a new picture. Geoff called his friend, Mike, one of the only one's not at the camp party that we were not going to make it to, and asked him for a favor. "Can you go to our apartment and take a picture of our car key and send it to us?"

"What???"

Geoff explained the situation and Mike heroicly took a perfect picture of the key on his first try after arriving at our apartment. We thanked him and waited for Locksmith to do his business.

"Wow, I just can't figure this out. This code just doesn't make sense! I'll try it anyway though and we'll see if it works."

He made the key. He sat in the driver's seat. He put the key in the ignition and turned it. We all held our breath. The car started.

Geoff and I let out a loud "WHHOOOO!!!" Oh my god I cannot explain to you the joy of hearing that engine. Of course, we could have been spared this whole hour and a half with the locksmith if he had tried this code THE FIRST TIME he thought of it instead of exclaiming over how it didn't make sense.

Locksmith then made us five spare keys and told us to give some to family members and at least put one IN the car so worst case we would just need our doors unlocked (duh). He also printed off a copy of the key code so that if for some reason we dropped all five keys in the lake, any locksmith could quickly make us a new key using this code. We paid him with a credit card as we had promised AAA girl we would do, and began to drive away.

Then we got to the locked gate. "Oh yeah," Geoff said. He got out of the car, hopped the fence, and went to find a neighbor to unlock it for us and Locksmith. Twenty minutes passed and I began to worry. He finally came back with an old woman in her nightgown. Apparently at the first house he tried no one answered. Luckily this woman was still awake, and answered the door for a tired-looking stranger in only a bathing suit and t-shirt!

We drove home mostly in silence from Burlington, VT to Portland, ME. When we finally arrived after 2am we were both exhausted and relieved to be home. It had been a long, tiresome day, we'd missed out on fun with our friends and we missed our poor Bandit. We definitely slept well that night, and now we have a crazy story to share!

People. NEVER GO SWIMMING WITH YOUR KEYS!!!

How I ended up on the side of the road in my bathing suit for 9 hours or How Lake Champlain stole from me Part III

2009-08-25T13:05:00.002-04:00

For those keeping track, our time on the phone with AAA was hour ONE OF NINE.

I handed the cell phone back to the kindly staff girl and apologized for how long I had used her phone. Geoff and I then sat on a log on the side of the road by the entrance to the park and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Most of this waiting was done in complete silence. Geoff never once said "How could you DROP THE KEYS IN THE LAKE??? YOU'VE RUINED OUR DAY!!" I'm pretty sure he could tell I felt bad enough all ready.

"I hope we make it to Brad's camp tonight" I said. We were supposed to drive back to Maine that night and party with his friends at one of their camps on Sebago Lake. It's always one of the top three get-togethers of the summer.

"Me too. We'll just get there late...no problem."

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, I had Geoff ask the staffer that had just relieved cell phone girl for the time. It had been 2 hours since we got off the phone with AAA.

"Should we call them back?" I asked him. He asked the girl if there was a phone anywhere at the park. There was...by the beach. The beach it took us forever to walk up from. Geoff left to go make the call while I stayed by the road to wait for the truck.

I have to say I felt pretty ridiculous sitting on a log, in my bathing suit, watching people come and go from the park. But I had more pressing matters on my mind.

Almost an hour later, Geoff came back. "They found a locksmith but he's not sure he wants to drive over here on a Sunday. We might have to stay at a hotel or something tonight and he'll come in the morning."

I wanted to cry. "Ok...what about the AAA truck coming to unlock the car?"

"They said they'll be here as soon as they can."

"We've been waiting almost three hours!!!"

"I know, babe."

Silence. We waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Another hour had passed. It started to rain. Only a small shower, but still. I looked at Geoff and almost burst into tears, but laughter came out instead. I couldn't believe it. After another couple of minutes Geoff walked back down to call AAA.

I watched more people come and go, feeling ridiculous. One guy who had arrived just after Geoff left and was leaving before he came back approached and asked if I was ok.

"I'm just waiting for AAA, thanks."

"You sure? Do you need a ride or a phone?"

"Thanks, but my boyfriend is on the phone now."

I was appreciative that someone thought to ask if I was all right. Geoff finally came back. "Grab your towel, we're going to the car."

"What's going on?"

He shook his head in disgust. "I called again and after 5 minutes on the phone the agent said, 'Oh! You need someone to come unlock the car??? We thought you just needed a locksmith! We'll send someone right away!!!""

I stared at him in disbelief. "Are you f------ kidding me? What the hell is wrong with them?"

He shrugged. "They'll be here any minute and the locksmith said he'll be here in about 2 hours. They want us to wait with the car instead of by the side of the road." The car was halfway between the entrance and the beach. We walked. Then we waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And then, I kid you not, I started. My. Period.

I got very teary. Luckily I had a towel and it wasn't too bad.

We continued to wait.

"Oh for F---'s sake!" Geoff grumbled before heading back down to the phone.

I waited alone.

He returned awhile later kicking rocks and fuming.

"What??"

"I asked where the hell they were and they said 'oh our truck got to the park entrance but no one was there waiting for it so it left about 10 minutes ago.'"

I burst into tears. "I thought they wanted us to wait by the car?!?!"

"They did. They're morons. Anyway, you stay by the car. The locksmith should be here soon. I'm going to the gate to wait."

"Oh..ok." I sniffled.

Geoff stormed off.

I waited.

And waited.

I hadn't peed in hours. I finall hid behind the car and squatted. It would have been nice to have a GoGirl then! At this point it was dark outside, and I sat on the grass and leaned against my car, head in my hands. I was relatively sure that we would be spending the night sleeping on the ground by the car.

Munchie Mondays - Tangy Cauliflower

2009-08-24T12:53:00.005-04:00

Hey all! I'm interrupting the story of how I ended up on the side of the road in my bathing suit for 9 hours, to introduce a new segment to my blog. Welcome to Munchie Mondays! I will try to post a new recipe that I have tried recently every Monday. I have a few that I have tried recently and a few lined up so hopefully I can keep this going.

Last week while searching for a recipe for cauliflower that didn't involve just dumping melted cheese on it, I came across this recipe for Tangy Cauliflower on About.com.

Ingredients:
1 medium cauliflower, broken into flowerets
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons chopped red bell pepper (I used more-1/2 a pepper)
2 tablespoons chopped green bell pepper (I used more-1/2 a pepper)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions:
1. Steam cauliflower or cook in a small amount of boiling salted water for about 8 to 10 minutes
2. Meanwhile In a small saucepan, combine vinegar, melted butter, red and green peppers, sugar, and salt. Cook over low heat for 5 to 7 minutes
3. Drain cauliflower and put in serving dish. Pour pepper mixture over hot cauliflower. Cauliflower recipe serves 4 to 6 (Geoff and I ate it all)

(Crappy picture because took with cell phone - too hungry to go grab camera!)

I really enjoyed this recipe. It was extremely quick and easy, and tasted great, although the peppers do pick up a lot more of the flavor than the cauliflower does. I'm thinking of adding black pepper or more vinegar next time for a stronger taste.

Enjoy!

And feel free to join me by posting Munchie Monday posts on your blogs!

How I ended up on the side of the road in my bathing suit for 9 hours or How Lake Champlain stole from me Part II

2009-08-21T09:49:00.006-04:00

The keys were gone.

At this point I was near tears, but I had not yet fully realized the reality of this situation. Our laughs and smiles gone we continued to swim toward the beach in silence. When we finally arrived we stumbled across the rocks and looked at each other. "What are we going to do?" I ~~whined~~ asked calmly.

"We'll walk up to the front gate and see if they have a phone we can use to call AAA."

So in our wet bathing suits, carrying our wet towels, we started trudging up the hill to the gate which was about a mile away. By the time we got there we were hot and more sad than before. There was one girl about my age working in the tiny stall. Slowly I approached her and said "Hi. Um...is there a phone we can use?"

"No, we don't have a phone here, sorry."

"Oh." Pretty sure I got a little teary-eyed here.

"Is everything ok?"

"Well...um...we...we dropped our keys in the lake."

Silence.

"You...dropped your keys in the lake?"

"Yes," I sniffled. "And our phones, clothes, food, wallets, etc. are locked in the car."

"Oh my gosh! You can use my cell phone if you want!"

"Really? Thank you so much!" I felt a little better now. Soon everything would be resolved.

I used her phone and called AAA. This is where all the fun begins.

An agent answered and listened to my story. He seemed sympathetic, but when I gave him our location he said "WHAT??? I'm in California! How did you get this branch?"

Taken off guard I muttered "I...I have no idea! The person's cell phone I'm using must be a CA number."

"I'll transfer you to your local branch and they'll help you with everything ok?"

"Thanks!"

Then I was on hold for about 5 minutes. Finally a girl who sounded about 16 answered the phone. I briefed her on the situation and told her we needed someone to come unlock our car and a locksmith who could make us a new key. All seemed well and fine...then she asked for the address.

I turned to the staffer who's cell phone I was STILL using. "What's the address here?"

"Well, there isn't really an address. It's just Red Rocks Park. We're off of (something) road."

I repeated this information to the agent...who was in Maine by the way. We were in Vermont remember.

"Um...oh...um...I need an actual address to give to the driver."

"I don't have an address to give you. Anyone in Vermont will know where this park is...just tell them we're at the entrance to the park."

"Ok...um...I need an address."

Sigh. I gave her directions to the park from the main road in Burlington. This apparently was still not enough. After more back and forth she said "Let me put you on hold while I talk to my supervisor."

SIGH!!! "Ok."

Another 10 minutes go by. I am STILL on this poor girl's cell phone. I keep repeating how sorry I am and I'm not sure why it's taking them so long, etc. The AAA Agent finally returns.

"Hi. Ok, and how will you be paying the locksmith?"

"We'll use a credit card."

"Ok, what's the credit card number?"

Silence.

"My wallet is in the car. Which is locked. I can call with the information once one of your trucks comes to unlock the car though."

"Oh...um...hmmm. Well I'm supposed to get the payment information ahead of time."

"Ok...I don't really know what to tell you. My wallet is locked in my car."

"Uhhh...ok. Let me put you on hold while I go talk to my supervisor."

"Can I just talk to your..." Too late. I'm on hold. And...the battery on the cell is starting to die. I had been EXTREMELY polite to the girl, though I wanted to cry and scream in frustration. 15 minutes later, she returns.

"Hi. Ok. Umm...I still need an address for the truck though."

"I...I...Are you..." I handed the phone to Geoff as I was shaking too much with frustration to finish the conversation and I didn't want to yell at the poor girl.

After another 15 MINUTES on the phone (this cell battery was miraculously awesome btw) Geoff finally hung up. "She's sending a truck to unlock the car and it will be here in about an hour. They have to try to find a locksmith that we can get towed to or that will drive here on a Sunday."

"Ok."

For those keeping track, our time on the phone with AAA was hour ONE OF NINE.

How I ended up on the side of the road in my bathing suit for 9 hours or How Lake Champlain stole from me Part I

2009-08-20T10:21:00.006-04:00

Every summer Geoff and I go to Vermont for the Vermont Brewer's Festival. Last year started out great as always, but ended on a very sad note.

On our last day in Burlington, Sunday, we decided to go to Red Rocks Park for a swim in Lake Champlain. While there is a beach there, farther along in the park are these huge cliffs you can jump off of into the water.

Stole this pic from the internet

I won't lie...I'm too much of a baby to jump from one of the high ones. Geoff will usually climb down to a lower rock with me and we'll leave our keys, clothes, etc on the rock while we swim. On this particular day we had no clothes...just our bathing suits, towels, and keys. The part where we were swimming was VERY deep. It was such a lovely day that I suggested, "Let's grab our keys and towels and swim all the way over to the beach!" This was a very long swim, but Geoff was game. He hung the key ring so it dangled from his sunglasses and we swam with the towels, not caring if they got soaked.

About halfway into the swim I said, "Give me your sunglasses. I'll hold them so you can swim under water for a bit." Geoff happily obliged, and handed me his sunglasses. As he went under I had a MAJOR BLONDE MOMENT and put the sunglasses on my head so that the keys FELL OFF and into the water. "Plop!" I was in such disbelief that I didn't react at all for a few seconds. Then I went into full panic mode and starting grabbing for the keys with one hand while still clinging to the towel with the other. WHY OH WHY DIDN'T I LET GO OF THAT STUPID TOWEL??? I never claimed to be at all useful in a panic situation. I tried to grab the keys until it was too late. They had sunk out of sight. All of this happened in under a minute. Geoff popped up from underwater looking refreshed and happy. Until he looked at me and my sad, sorry face. "What??" he asked.

"I...the keys...I dropped them."

"Oh babe, you didn't."

"I'm sorry!"

He swam under water trying to reach for the bottom. It was no use. It was too deep. The keys were gone.

What has been keeping me up at night

2009-08-19T15:06:00.003-04:00

For the past week or so I have been unable to fall asleep at a reasonable hour. This is actually pretty normal for me, I rarely get a good night's sleep. Lately, however, instead of the normal tossing and turning and glaring at Geoff as he snores away, I have been kept awake by The Kitchen God's Wife.

No, there is no spirit of any sort keeping me awake. It's a book! A wonderful book!

I remember how I had enjoyed Amy Tan's the Joy Luck Club back in high school, so I tried another of her novels and was not disappointed. Most of this book is about a 70-something year old mother telling her daughter all of the secrets of her past. She was born and raised in China and the story follows her life from childhood through her mid-twenties which includes WWII and the beginnings of Communism in her home country. Her personal struggles with her mother, family, and evil first husband match the turbulance of China during that time.

It starts out slow for the first couple of chapters, but then it becomes a page turner and I highly recommend this to all of you women out there! What about you, what's keeping you up at night?

This is going to be awesome

2009-08-18T15:50:00.002-04:00

Rush Limbaugh and Karl Rove are going to be on an episode of Family Guy this season.

This should be good.

Vacationland

2009-08-17T18:02:00.002-04:00

As you know, Geoff and I returned to Maine Thursday night for another long weekend. It was glorious, and I'm very angry with myself for not taking any pictures. I remembered to pack the camera...but it never left the suitcase:(

We stayed at Geoff's mom's (Diane) again and it was nice, but not as nice as it could have been. His uncle Mike is staying with her this month and he is a TALKER. Very conspiracy theory, always talking about how useless humanity and the government are, etc. Don't get me wrong. He engages you in very interesting conversations...but that's ALL he talks about and the conversations NEVER end. So if you're tired, or in a hurry, or just not in the mood...it's annoying. Also annoying was that he had the guest room and we had to sleep in the living room. That guy gets up EARLY and Diane gets up a lot in the night so there was very disrupted sleep. It was nice to have a place to stay though!

Every morning we lounged around the condo drinking coffee, making breakfast, and chatting with Di and Mike. Friday we headed down to Old Orchard Beach where my dad was staying in a hotel on the ocean. This was our first ocean/beach trip of the summer and it was wonderful! Laying on a blanket reading a book, listening to the waves, soaking up the sun, and eating onion rings from the snack shack...awesome. Strangely enough, the water, which is usually ICE COLD as in MAJOR PAIN UNTIL YOUR BODY GOES NUMB was pretty warm, like lake water! Geoff and I spent a good amount of time jumping waves and swimming. That evening Dad took us to the Clambake restaurant for seafood and beers. Geoff and I shared the Fisherman's Platter which is haddock, clams, shrimp, and scallops all fried. Yummy! That night we headed to a friend's house for beers and chit-chat...also nice.

Saturday was Tara's wedding. It was on the beach at Sebago Lake and it. Was. So. Hot. Both the ceremony and the reception were outside and it was about 90 degrees. Ugh. Still fun though and Geoff and I stopped at a lake on the way home for a swim. That felt soooo goood. Saturday night was more beers with friends.

Sunday we just hung out until it was time to hit the road, then stopped at a spot on the Saco River for more swimming. Bandit liked this...except that there were other dogs there and he kept barking at them. He's about 15 pounds and was yapping at pit bulls and labs. Not the brightest pooch sometimes. We call him Joe Pesci because he's small with a huge attitude. No fear (except of cats). He sees a big dog and is all "You talkin' to me??? What you think I'm funny??"

All in all it was a great weekend with friends, family, and more swimming than we've done all summer. I've been dreaming of laying on the beach at the ocean ever since...

Well isn't this nice...

2009-08-17T13:55:00.003-04:00

I promise to write about my trip to Maine very soon. But for now I will post a link to a news story about already exisiting Maine and New Hampshire Social Security numbers being issued to Pacific Islanders. The best part is how the government knows there is a problem and hasn't done anything to fix it yet.

So I wonder who else out there might have my same SS#?

On the road again...

2009-08-13T17:09:00.002-04:00

Though we just returned from Maine less than 72 hours ago, we are heading back there tonight. My friend from high school is getting married and we decided to make a 3-day weekend of our trip home to make the trip more worthwhile (because 3 hours is soooo hard).

We'll get to Portland between 10-11pm, so we'll probably stay in tonight. Tomorrow we'll probably swim and see some friends then my dad is taking us out for dinner and beers at the Clambake Restaurant...YESSSS!!!! Lobstah and steamahs!

We'll head back to Portland after dinner for more time with friends. Saturday is Tara's wedding and I get to see her marry the loser she's been dating since the end of high school. I won't even start on that guy (high school drop out, can't hold a job, lazy, etc....oops). That night it's MORE time with friends (hey there's lots of people to see back home!) and Sunday some relaxation, friends and a drive back home.

I'll try to remember to take pics during this trip so I can share them with all of you. Have a great weekend!

Time marches on...

2009-08-13T09:26:00.007-04:00

When I was home in Maine last weekend, I got to see my youngest brother, Grady again. It's incredible how much he's changed in the past few years...or months even. I was 11 when he was born on the first day of 5th grade, so to me he's always been the baby. Cute little baby freckles and big blue eyes and one of the best things that's happened to our family. Here he is at Christmas less than 4 years ago:

And then on vacation the following summer:

Don't they look happy?

This is him a few months ago at his 8th grade graduation with my mother:

He's grown, A LOT. Filled out quite a bit. His hair is all shaggy, his freckles are disappearing, his eyes aren't as big and bright. His voice is deep and cracks sometimes still. When he answers the phone I mistake him for my 20-year old brother even though I know he's not living there. His cute little kid demeanor and innocence has been replaced by that of a sarcastic, crazy teenage boy. What happened?

Don't get me wrong, I still love the kid to pieces. He's still my little brother. But what happened to the little kid I knew? The baby I brought in for show and tell in 5th grade? (Yes, I did this...mom helped, don't worry). Time moves too fast.

Back in RI

2009-08-11T13:32:00.002-04:00

Hello readers! Did you miss me? I missed you too!

Geoff and I left for Maine Thursday night and returned to RI last night. All in all it was a good trip, though it wasn't all that I expected. Thursday night we hit traffic, because it's summer and of course we need to close 3 of 4 lanes on I-95 for construction. We finally reached Portland at about 11pm and arrived at Geoff's mom's condo where we stayed for most of the weekend. She works nights so we had the place to ourselves. This meant opening a bottle of wine and being drunk and silly and watching all of the late night shows that we are NEVER awake to see. Jimmy Fallon is on NBC now? Yeah...we're in our twenties and go to bed in the nines...so what?

After finally going to bed at 2am, we slept in on Friday. It was awesome! We did pancakes for breakfast then visited with Geoff's mom, Diane before heading to Gray where his aunt has a camp on Little Sebago Lake. We had planned on having fun in the sun and doing some swimming but it was cold and windy by the time we got there so there was none of that. Instead we had fun visiting, chatting, and eating with family.

Saturday we did not go hiking OR camping really as we could not agree on a place to go, were too lazy to get moving early, and I wasn't feeling too well. We did find a nice spot at Steep Falls on the Saco River to swim and drink some beers with no one else in sight but us and our dog. We then headed to Hollis to camp in Geoff's dad's backyard. We had to be there Sunday for his little brother's birthday party anyway...so why not? We arrived to find a strange car in the driveway and placed bets on how old/what the name of the probable new girlfriend would be. She was nice but I'm sure next time we visit there will be someone else to meet so I won't get too attached.

That night was fun. Geoff's dad is a good host and a great cook so we had margaritas, steamers, chicken, and steak aplenty. The next day was filled with the craziness of the birthday party, and while it was good to see grandparents, brothers, and nieces I was so ready to leave by the time we finally did. We hung out at Diane's Sunday night and Monday morning, then headed to my grandmother's for the afternoon. My mom had the day off so I got to see her, Grammie, and Grady and go swimming in the pool. I also enjoyed the delicious greasiness of Cole Farms hamburgers and onion rings before making the trek back to RI.

Thursday night we are heading up again for a three day weekend and Tara's wedding. She's one of my best friends from high school. That weekend will be more about friends than family as I think we got pretty family-d out this past week.

How was your weekend?

The way life should be

2009-08-06T09:37:00.002-04:00

Today is my last day of work before a 4 day weekend. Geoff, Bandit and I are leaving for Maine tonight and we're not coming back until Monday...yay! I cannot tell you how excited I am.

Friday we will spend the day at his aunt's camp on Little Sebago. Friday night we will spend time with friends in Portland. Saturday we are boating out to Jewell Island and camping there for the night. Sunday we will be in Hollis for Geoff's little brother's birthday. His dad has a pool and makes these AMAZING margaritas and is a great cook so it will be fun. Sunday night we'll be back in Portland for more friend visits, and Monday we will hopefully see my mom and youngest brother before heading back to RI. I CANNOT WAIT!

Also, we have Monday off because RI is the only state that still celebrates Victory over Japan day. Yeah, this state is pretty crazy...but I'll take it!

Biking: You're doing it wrong

2009-08-04T14:05:00.002-04:00

So I went biking again yesterday...by myself! I decided that I'll go at least 4x a week for at least 30 minutes so I can have the endurance and cardio strength of at least a 60 year old semi-fat man instead of an 80 year old fat man.

There were lots of hills on this particular ride, so I figured my legs would be sore this morning. My legs feel fine. But my sides? Are killing me! I guess it's good that something feels sore...but I'm not sure that this is right...

Mmmmm...tortellini and veggies

2009-08-03T20:43:00.005-04:00

Tonight I made three-cheese tortellini with onions, green peppers, zucchini, summer squash, and cherry tomatoes all tossed in a garlic butter sauce.

It was awesome.

And there's still some left for tomorrow:)

UPDATE: As requested, here is how I made it...very simple!

Ingredients:
1 large package Bertolli 3-cheese tortellini
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1 summer squash, chopped
1 large handful cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3/4 stick butter

Instructions:

1. In a large saucepan, boil water for the pasta and cook as directed (I let it cook about 10 minutes after adding the pasta). Meanwhile, in a large pan (I used a deep wok) melt half the butter over medium heat.

2. Add onions and green peppers, saute 3 minutes.

3. Add zucchini and squash, saute 3 minutes.

4. Add garlic and rest of butter, saute 1 minute

5. Add tomatoes, saute 2 minutes

6. Strain pasta and add to wok. Mix all ingredients together well and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Done! Very easy and very yummy. Also easy to make different variations according to your tastes. Enjoy!

Huffing and Puffing

2009-08-03T09:15:00.002-04:00

Geoff and I went on a bike ride on Sunday. It was a great time.

Now, Geoff rides his bike to and from work almost every single day. We only have one car, and he works closer to home than I do. Also, I'm way to lazy. And I work in an office where I'm supposed to look professional and not all sweaty. Anyway, depending on the time of year he bikes 10-20 miles a day. Yeah, he's the man.

Until this past fall, I had not been on a bike since I was a kid. There are some AMAZING bike paths here in RI, and once we moved down here I got me an old used bike that Geoff fixed up and started to ride with him sometimes. I love it. But, I'm a baby. While we did some good rides this spring/early summer, I haven't been on it since June what with all the rain and humidity. I mean, biking in the rain is no good because ah! Puddles and stupid drivers and slipperyness! Even Geoff backs me up on that one. And humidity? Ew. Ready to die after two miles. Also, I hate running and most other forms of exercise so I am OUT OF SHAPE. Very.

So, Geoff and I biked downtown yesterday. It was a really nice ride. We went one way to get there and a different way back. I was great on the way there. We got a doughboy at the mall then headed home. Right off the bat was a HUGE, STEEP hill. I was all whatevs, I got this. I passed Geoff then almost to the top almost passed out from the effort, haha. I was all huffy and puffy for the next couple of minutes. I recovered just in time for the SECOND big hill, gah! From there it was mostly downhill until the end which we walked. Because it had gotten quite humid by then and I'm a baby. But we were both sweaty and tired.

Good times though. I've got to start taking my bike out more often so I can stay in shape! I'm like an 80 year old fat guy! Well, I don't LOOK like one, but I FEEL like one during a good workout. Yeah.

UPDATED: So someone has the same blog title as me...

2009-07-31T11:37:00.004-04:00

What the hell? And ALMOST the exact same URL. How did I find this out? I was writing a comment on one of The Bloggess' posts, and I put my website in wrong. I wrote lifeloveandwine instead of lifelovenwine. Yeah, I'm that on top of things today. So! The comment posts and it shows a link to a post titled "On the Road again..." and I'm all...what??? I don't remember writing that!!! But we are talking about me here so maybe I DID write that and forgot? So I click on the link and no! No I did not post that, someone else did on her own blog called Life, Love, and Wine and now I've commented on a popular blog impersonating her! Ah!

So I followed that up with a comment begging to have the previous comment removed because oh my god I'm so blonde and it's Friday and I haven't slept in 2 weeks (but that's another story) and I don't want to be an impersonator!

I am anxiously awaiting what will happen next. Can we say major Friday FAIL?

Also there was a post-it note on my phone from my boss this morning reminding me to forward my phone to voicemail at night because apparently I forgot ONCE so obviously I need a post-it because I must be so stupid. I hate post-its right now.

Can we say TGIF?

UPDATED TO ADD: So...both comments are there on the post. The one where I'm an accidental impersonator and the one where I'm all wait! That's not me! Delete! This is me! I love looking awesome. Oh well, at least now the internets know the real me!

How do I still not have one of these?

2009-07-30T09:49:00.003-04:00

Oh my god. I heard about this device months ago from not that you asked, and knew right then that I had to get me one of these.

Ladies, let me introduce you to the GoGirl.

What exactly is a GoGirl? It's a lovely silicon device that you can use to PEE STANDING UP. Yes, that's right. Why would you ever want one of these you ask? Well I can think of SEVERAL situations that I have been in during the past couple of years where I would have almost killed for a GoGirl. Well, maybe not that drastic, but still. For example, Geoff and I LOVE camping and I'm not talking about some comfy campground with actual bathrooms. No. I'm talking about middle of nowhere, deep woods of Vermont, no building or other people around for miles camping. This is all well and fine until it's time to pee. I HATE squatting. And depending on the terrain (I'm about to get a little graphic you may want to skip ahead) there can be some serious splatter and then I have pee on my shoes or even my pants. So hot. But with a GoGirl? I'll have better aim and less splash!

How about bar bathrooms ladies? Or most gross public bathrooms/porta-potties for that matter. Again, no more hovering over the seat and hoping for the best while your leg muscles get sore or your drunk self is swaying. GOGIRL! Its small and comes in a nice transportable carton that fits in your purse! Amazing right?

Road trips? Geoff and I were stuck in terrible traffic once and I HAD TO GO RIGHT THEN OH MY GOD IT CAN'T WAIT. I had to run from the car to some sparsely wooded empty parking lot with nothing to balance on and I can't quite explain the circumstances but I could hardly pee and I got some on my pant leg (what is wrong with me???). If I had a GoGirl? Life would have been so much better. And cleaner.

Got kids that you don't want sitting on public toilets? GoGirl. Are you a skier who doesn't want to leave the slopes to pee? GoGirl. Ever wanted to try to write your name in the snow like one of the guys? That's right. GoGirl.

I am so buying myself one (or more!) of these. Laugh if you want, but I'm pretty sure it'll revolutionize the way I live. You know you want one too.

The day Erin came to town

2009-07-28T18:20:00.008-04:00

(NOTE: All pictures in this post are several years old as I have no recent pics of my lovely lady and I together)

This is Erin (the one on the left). She is one of my BEST friends in the whole world. We met freshman year of college, and life hasn't been the same since.

I have wonderful memories with this girl, from coffee dates, to reading girly magazines, to bitching about how dumb men can be, to collapsing in laughter on the floor of the GAP. If there is one thing I can ALWAYS count on her for, it's a good laugh. I love it!

Until yesterday, I had not had girl time with Erin in YEARS. In fact, in the past two years I have hardly seen her at all. Something about her having to be in Montreal for grad school being sooooo important. Well, now she's moving to Texas with her fiance, so I knew I had to have this girl all to myself for at least one day of fun before she left for the south.

Erin came down yesterday around 1pm, and it was like no time had passed. I cannot even begin to tell you what a great day I had. We pretty much spent our time doing what we do best: eating and shopping...but not buying much because we're too damn broke. We also laughed and talked A LOT. We started the day on the East Side of Providence, where we visited the little shops and had a lunch of greasy deliciousness at Johnny Rockets. After a few hours of that we ventured downtown for a stroll along the rivers and more little shop visiting. We got some DELICIOUS margaritas at a little bar/coffee shop called Tazza. They were verrrry strong. Halfway through we were both swaying and giggling a bit too much. She sucked hers down like a champ, and I had to leave a bit in my glass to make sure that I could survive the rest of the day. I still ended up having the hiccups for almost an hour afterwards, causing her to oh so lovingly call me "Drunky".

From there we hit the mall. The GINORMOUS Providence Place mall with it's several floors of fun. We were there for 3.5 hours! I haven't shopped that much in ages. I was good and only bought some new lotion to replace the one I just ran out of and a new shirt for work. She was good too and only bought a bath ball thing from Lush. Lush is also where we were totally sold on buying some great, organic face masks only to find out they were sold out of the kind they recommended for us. Disappointment. We made ourselves feel better with more shopping and eating.

At about 7:30 Geoff called us to see if we wanted to meet up with him and his friend Peter at Trinity for beers and $1 wing night. Though we were exhausted from the hours of walking, talking, and trying on clothes, we agreed. It was a good time, but we were very happy when we finally made it back to the apartment at about 11pm. We recalled the days when we could stay up late without feeling like we'd been hit by a truck. Then we passed out and slept the night away. We finished our visit off with blueberry scones and coffee this morning, and I felt very teary eyed as I drove in to work this morning, wishing our visit could have been longer.

She's been gone for less than twelve hours, but I already miss her like crazy. I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard, almost unable to stop. It felt great.

Erin is one of a kind. Sweet, hilarious (I cannot stress that enough), smart, talented, and of course beautiful. I know she's a life-long friend, and I look forward to many more adventures together. Thanks for a great girls day, Erin! I needed it more than you know, and I can't wait for the next time. Look out world!

Love<3

Mmmmm...blueberry scones!

2009-07-28T09:02:00.003-04:00

Geoff and I went to a farmer's market in Pawtucket on Sunday. My intention was only to get some corn and some peaches, but I was talked into buying some blueberries as well by a sweet old lady. That night I was pondering what to do with these berries. Back in Maine, blueberries grow small and sweet. Here they are much larger and juicier, but don't have as much flavor. The Maine ones I like on cereal or by themselves, these large ones not so much. I came across a recipe for blueberry scones on the Joy of Baking website, and at 9pm Sunday night, went about making my first ever scones. The recipe is below.

BLUEBERRY STREUSEL SCONES

Scone Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
6 T chilled, unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 large egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk or cream

(NOTES: I used salted butter as it's what I had on hand, and just left out the 1/8 tsp salt. I also used whole milk instead of cream and it worked fine.)

Streusel Topping Ingredients:
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 T chilled, unsalted butter, cut into pieces

(NOTES: Again, I had to use salted butter, and I added a little extra cinnamon and brown sugar to keep it as sweet as possible. It came out fine, but I'm sure the most desired effect would be achieved with unsalted butter)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place rack in middle of oven. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

For the Scones: In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs.

(NOTES: I do not have a pastry blender so I used two knives. Being new to the baking scene I wasn't exactly sure what to do, but I basically used the knives to cut the butter into smaller chunks within the mixture while stirring it through. It worked fine so I guess I did ok!)

Gently fold in the blueberries. In a small measuring cup combine the cream, beaten egg and vanilla. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until the dough comes together. Do not over mix the dough or the scones will be tough.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead the dough gently four or five times and then pat the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches (18 cm) round and about 1 1/2 inches thick. Cut this circle in half, then cut each half into four pie-shaped wedges (triangles). Place the scones on the baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with a little cream or milk.

(NOTES: I found it a little difficult transferring the scones while keeping their shape. The dough was pretty sticky! Some turned out pretty...others were a little funny. I think with practice it will get better.)

For the Streusel Topping: In a small bowl mix together the sugar, flour, and cinnamon. With a pastry blender or two knives, cut in the butter until crumbly. Top each scone with a teaspoon or two of the streusel mixture. Cover and refrigerate any leftover streusel mixture.

Bake the scones until nicely browned, about 18 - 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a scone comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly. These are best eaten the day they are made but can be covered and stored for a few days.

Makes 8 scones

I had some trouble unsticking the scones from the paper as the blueberries had leaked and were sticky. They came out soooo delicious! Geoff and I split one when they came out of the oven, then refrigerated the rest for breakfast. They were soooo soft and delicious Monday morning, and only a little more chewy this morning when we finished them off. I think next time I will add more streusel to each scone as I like things sweet. Overall I call it a success! Please try these...they are actually pretty easy and so worth the little effort!