insurancemom

So long, farewell, adieu...

2008-12-02T15:01:00.003-05:00

I've been a bad blogger. I've had this blog for a little over 2 years - I think I started in November 2006 or so...and you've probably noticed I haven't been the best about keeping up with it. Between work, and home, and an increasingly active child, I find it easier to just post a quick one line sentence about me on Facebook (friend me!!) than write a post.

So, this is goodbye. I'm not good at good byes, and I'm not a huggy person, so I'll keep this short and sweet. I've enjoyed everyone who has stopped by, and will keep up with your blogs. And as I said, friend me on Facebook!

Hoping everyone has a happy holiday (whether you celebrate Chrismas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, Festivus or something else) and a healthy happy 2009....

Quiz, because I'm lazy

2008-11-04T14:25:00.000-05:00

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz...

You Are a Marilyn!

You are a Marilyn -- "I am affectionate and skeptical."

Marilyns are responsible, trustworthy, and value loyalty to family, friends, groups, and causes. Their personalities range broadly from reserved and timid to outspoken and confrontative.

How to Get Along with Me

* Be direct and clear

* Listen to me carefully

* Don't judge me for my anxiety

* Work things through with me

* Reassure me that everything is OK between us

* Laugh and make jokes with me

* Gently push me toward new experiences

* Try not to overreact to my overreacting.

What I Like About Being a Marilyn

* being committed and faithful to family and friends

* being responsible and hardworking

* being compassionate toward others

* having intellect and wit

* being a nonconformist

* confronting danger bravely

* being direct and assertive

What's Hard About Being a Marilyn

* the constant push and pull involved in trying to make up my mind

* procrastinating because of fear of failure; having little confidence in myself

* fearing being abandoned or taken advantage of

* exhausting myself by worrying and scanning for danger

* wishing I had a rule book at work so I could do everything right

* being too critical of myself when I haven't lived up to my expectations

Marilyns as Children Often

* are friendly, likable, and dependable, and/or sarcastic, bossy, and stubborn

* are anxious and hypervigilant; anticipate danger

* form a team of "us against them" with a best friend or parent

* look to groups or authorities to protect them and/or question authority and rebel

* are neglected or abused, come from unpredictable or alcoholic families, and/or take on the fearfulness of an overly anxious parent

Marilyns as Parents

* are often loving, nurturing, and have a strong sense of duty

* are sometimes reluctant to give their children independence

* worry more than most that their children will get hurt

* sometimes have trouble saying no and setting boundaries

Take Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz at HelloQuizzy

Autumn in New England

2008-10-12T19:00:00.003-04:00

Ok, so the winters suck, but weekends like this one remind me why it's nice to live here. Sometimes.

Some Weekend Pictures

2008-10-05T21:27:00.006-04:00

Drive by posting

2008-09-26T13:38:00.002-04:00

So I promise to be better about blogging, and I'm not. I should be better about getting work done at work too. Minor details.

1. $700 bln bailout? Where’s my bailout? I’m overleveraged with Citimortgage and the various credit card companies (let’s not even talk about Sallie Mae) and I’m too big to fail, so where’s my bailout? You think the local Mobil station wouldn’t suffer if I didn’t stop there every third day? Not to mention the Dunkin Donuts (even though they don’t seem to be capable of making a medium iced French Vanilla that doesn’t taste burnt and/or NOT French Vanilla).

That’s all I’m going to say about that because I don’t want to be a political blog. There are enough minefields being a mom blog (see # 3, below for additional detail). Just call me Forrest.

2. I am dreading the winter. No, not because of the increased energy costs. I’ve already warned the residents of the house that the thermostat will not be going above 65 degrees this winter. They both are warmer blooded than I so it doesn’t faze them. Me? It’s been in the 50’s a few mornings already and I’ve been freezing.

Where could I go live where there are seasons -spring, summer, fall, and maybe about a month of 50 degree weather before it starts warming back up?? And is there an insurance company there? (It doesn’t help that I was surfing the net looking for the local newspaper in my favorites folder and clicked on the Baton Rogue tv station by mistake – high that day – 86!)

3. I never thought I’d be one of “those” mommies. You know, the ones that look at another mom and pass judgment. I like to think I’m more tolerant than that – you know, live and let live? Ha. I was wrong. Last week was the first Home and School Association meeting of the new school year (Home and School is the Catholic school equivalent of the PTA I guess). Afterwards, finding ourselves without kids for the first time in a long time, a couple of the other moms and I went to Friendly’s for ice cream (it was 8PM, too late for coffee and we all had to work the next day so no pub crawl for us either!). We had a good time, laughing and joking, catching up, etc. when a family with small kids came in and ordered dinner (at 8:30. On a Wednesday night!) No words were exchanged, but it was pretty clear we were all thinking the same thing. Those kids should have been in bed.

4. And second grade is kicking our butts. Actually D’s more than mine. I’m not home in time for the homework struggles, although I did get to experience the “I’m not smart” routine last night. Fun times. I was like that in third grade – crying every night because Sister Christine hated me, I hated school, etc etc ad nauseum. I thought there would be one fun year left. But no, second grade is “hard” – there’s not enough play time. Sigh.

5. We did go to the Big E (Eastern States Exposition, all six New England states are represented). As I'm the only person in the family who likes animals, the compromise was that I got to see some of the horse show. I'm still trying to figure out where Clare came from, because when I was her age, it was all horses, all the time. None of this princess stuff for me. No sir. If I wasn't in my school uniform, I was in jeans and trying to figure out a way we could fit a horse barn in my parents backyard.

6. Powerball jackpot is $200 million. I know there have been shows about how lottery winners usually end up destitute, but I'll take my chances. Of course, I still need to buy a ticket. You have to be in it to win it! All it takes is a dollar and a dream! good luck!

Still here

2008-09-03T21:30:00.004-04:00

I'm still here - just have been in a rut this summer with work, traveling for work and trying to fit as much fun stuff as possible into the remaining time.

The travel's not over yet - I get to go to Dallas next week (and I am betting I will get stuck there since the hurricanes are lining up in the Atlantic and I have to connect through Charlotte), but once that trip is done I am pretty much done with my work travels until the end of October.

I think I was in the Marriott last week (with the inimitable Marriott smell (must be the cleaning products they use)) and it just crashed over me like a wave - I'm tired of traveling. Sure, when you first get out in the working world and get to travel new places it seems fun and glamorous, but then reality hits you in the face. You get tired of eating out all the time and just want some plain pasta with Ragu sauce (or insert your favorite comfort food here).

I am also tired of commuting but need to put my hands over my ears and say "la la la can't hear you" because that probably won't change anytime soon.

And, with all the traveling and commuting, I just feel boring. Get up, get ready, stop for coffee (which Dunkin Donuts somehow scews up 3 out of 5 days - how hard is a medium iced french vanilla, regular, to make correctly anyway?), drive, train, work, discuss politics (tired of that too and that's just going to get worse before it gets better), reverse commute...lather rinse repeat.

Boring. But still here. I'll try to be better once I get back from Texas.

On the road again

2008-07-11T20:39:00.002-04:00

I will post about my awesome 4th of July cake (courtesy of Pioneer Woman , who completely makes me want to quit my job, find a cowboy and move to a big square state and just cook and take pictures of my kids (I know, plural!)) but I’ve been busy.

June is a hugely busy month for the two agencies I manage (so much so that D thinks I have a second family in the Philly area) and add to that the fact that we’re supposed to audit a different agency once a year (thank you Mr Sarbannes & Mr. Oxley), I’ve been doing some traveling. I don’t mind, in fact I’m building up my bank of Marriott points so we can go away for a weekend this fall (almost have enough for two nights in Bahstahn! In a one bedroom at the Marriott vacation club!).

This past week I left for Denver. I love Denver. If Denver were closer to the ocean, I’d move in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, it’s not. I was hoping to time this trip so D and C could come with me and we could spend a long weekend, but the dates just didn’t work out this time (don’t worry, I’ve already started campaigning for the same audit next year).

So. I left bright and early Tuesday morning for Denver. Of course, leaving from our airport means you take the scenic route (ie. there’s a stopover somewhere) – I got to spend three hours in the Cincinnati KY airport (no, that’s not a mistake – it’s called Cincinnati airport but it’s actually located in Kentucky. Do I get to count both states for my “States I’ve been” map?). It’s actually a nice airport.

The flight from CVG to Denver left on time. I lucked out and there was no one in the middle seat of the row I was in (this will come in handy later, trust me). Flying time to Denver is only a little over two hours so I should be at the hotel and able to enjoy some time just wandering around.

Until the pilot comes on the PA and announces that there are thunderstorms over the Denver airport and we’ve been circling for almost an hour. The storms are moving to the East so we’ll “try to sneak in after them” otherwise we’ll be landing in Cheyenne. Circle. Circle. Circle some more.

Guess what? We’re landing in Cheyenne because we’re low on fuel now! And we’re fifth in line for refueling. Guess we’re gonna be here for awhile. The flight attendants just gave up and let everyone serve themselves, there was a mad dash for the lavatories, the headsets which were two dollars an hour and a half ago were now free (the better to watch the movie they were showing (Drillbit Taylor. Does that count as cruel and unusual punishment?).

Eventually we arrived in Denver. I checked into the hotel, ordered room service and went to bed.

Luckily the flights home were both on time and uneventful (although packed).

I think I’m traveling at least once a month from now through the end of October. It’s hard work supporting two families!

Really, I'm not crunchy!

2008-07-03T17:16:00.005-04:00

I went to college in VT - "crunchy" capital of New England. For those not familiar with the term (or if the definition has changed in the 18 years since graduation (which, holy cow, how can it be 18 years since I graduated?!) "crunchy" means someone who believes in environmental conservation and organic food - a modern day hippie, in other words. Now, I was never crunchy in college, and still am not crunchy (have you met me? I love the mall, drive way too far to work....you get the idea).

However, in my attempt to make the Barefoot Contessa's 4th of July cake (pictures will follow) I needed to get a few ingredients at the new grocery store in town:

If I start blogging that I like the smell of patchouli, someone come save me!

Good thing it's not the 30's anymore!

2008-06-16T12:40:00.001-04:00

As a 1930s wife, I am
Very Poor (Failure)

Take the test!

Dog days already?!

2008-06-09T20:40:00.002-04:00

So....hot enough for you? Today is day 3 of the heat. The weather probably shouldn't even be a blog topic, but when it happens this early, it is! Right now, as I post this, it's warmer here (83 degrees) than it is in Orlando FL (81 degrees).

Now, technically it's not even summer yet (June 21), and here in CT the average temp for June 9 is 79. Yet today, it was in the 90s. According to the car, it reached 102! On the Merritt Parkway. At 5:30 PM. In the shade. Granted, some of that is probably reflected heat from the pavement but still...

It's so hot schools closed early today - and will again tomorrow. Good thing the bus driver called D to let him know Clare was waiting at the end of the street. I remember when it got hot toward the end of school, the nuns would make us put our heads down on our desk. And maybe, if they were so moved (ok, young and not cynical yet) would turn the lights off. And God forbid you use a paper to fan yourself. You were just making yourself hotter. Although, to be fair, perhaps it never got this hot. It just seemed that way.

Today brought out the inner slacker in me in full force. It was too hot to do anything else. And the weather feeds into my inner fantasy that I'm secretly a southern belle just looking for a porch to swing on while sipping my lemonade the entire afternoon (as if I were in a Pat Conroy/Anne Rivers Siddons/Dorothea Benton Frank novel).

Thanks goodness for air conditioning!!

Monsters, or whatever gets you through the night

2008-06-02T20:30:00.003-04:00

Additional material for the things my child will be telling a therapist later in life:

Putting Clare to bed tonight, she says she's scared of what's under her bed...feigning ignorance, I ask her why she's scared of Princess Monopoly or "the cake game" (Clue Jr.). Not games mom! The monsters! Monsters under the bed.

Thinking fast, I tell her that when we bought the house we had a monster fence installed. And it makes a noise that only monsters can hear so it scares them away.

I asked her if she heard the noise. She looked at me all wide eyed and said no. I reply good, because if she heard the noise, that means she's a monster too!

Telling her to close her eyes because then the monsters won't be able to see her, I kiss her good night and tell her sweet dreams.

Physics Lesson

2008-05-08T15:43:00.001-04:00

I actually started this post way back in mid-March (after Darren’s mom fell but before it morphed into something completely different). C had a friend’s birthday party to attend, and it was being held at the roller skating rink in [nearby big city which is scarier to me than NYC]. Anyway, being good parents we took C to her friend’s birthday party.

And, seeing as in 7th and 8th grade I did a fair share of roller skating (and C having not done much, if any), I thought, what the heck, I can get out there and show her how its done. Ha. I get my roller skates (can you believe they now ask if you want roller blades or the traditional four wheel skates?) and manage to get them on my fat feet (yes, they are), and proceed to prove every single one of Sir Isaac Newton’s laws of gravity:

1. An object in motion remains in motion unless acted upon by an equal and opposite force

The object would be me, trying to roller skate (the motion). The equal and opposite force? That would be the floor.

2. Fnet = m * a
Force = mass times acceleration

Now, I’m not going to go through the actual, mathematical equations here (simply because I refuse to reveal my mass on the internet)…but let’s just leave this as…Force = A LOT!!!

3. for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction

The action (or lack thereof) would be the roller skating. The equal and opposite reaction would be the bruises (ohhh purple!! Green!! Pink!! So pretty!) from the force of my body meeting the floor. Who knew two objects couldn’t occupy the same space?

In addition to the lesson in physics as outlined above, I also learned that forty isn’t nearly as fearless as fourteen. Wow. Somehow the little momentum gained by attempting to roller skate felt too fast. There were visions of broken limbs and emergency rooms dancing in my head.

And when did they start playing what passes for music these days that loud? Goodness I sound like I should be sitting in some fussy room with a cup of tea and a cat on my lap!

In other news, nine (9) days until vacation!! I can’t promise I’ll post more (since there’s a business trip before then as well) but I will be back with vacation pictures!!

Bits N Pieces

2008-04-02T10:08:00.001-04:00

Sorry to leave all 2 of you hanging there (although Mrs. Big Dubya was on vacation – welcome back! Hope you had a great time!)…life has been pretty hectic since I last posted – D’s mom is still in the hospital, and he’s been busy trying to manage things here and with her.

I got the relatively easy part – I just had to make all the calls to reschedule vacation. I hope work doesn’t mind all those calls to the 407 area code, but life is so much easier when I can put the phone on speaker while I’m on hold and do something else. I still have a few more calls to make (one to C’s teacher too, since the new vacation dates are while school is still in session).

And in the process of making those calls, I discovered a couple things. Disney has great (for the most part) customer service people on the ends of their phone numbers. Everyone was polite, and UNDERSTANDABLE. USAir, on the other hand, well, at least the confirmation I printed off their website after “speaking” to one of their reps confirms we’re still going to Orlando.

I saw a robin this morning, but I still don’t think it’s spring. I’m sorry, but 34 degrees is cold. Heck, I still blast the heater in the car when the temp outside is showing 49 or 50. C wants to start wearing her new spring clothes in the worst way, but she’s stuck wearing the winter clothes she’s grown out of already because a. there’s no winter clothes in the stores anymore, and b. she’d get frostbite if she went out in her sundress.

I know I’ve moaned about being old (having turned a significant number in January) but I haven’t really felt old until just recently. A friend of C’s had a birthday party at a roller skating rink in the city a half hour south of us, so we all went. C has roller skates, but doesn’t really use them, so I said I would help her learn to skate. I thought, how hard could this be, I used to do this all the time in seventh/eighth grade. Hah! I ended up proving all of Sir Isaac Newton’s laws of motion. How sad is it when the little referee seems concerned about you? Luckily, the bruises are starting to fade (and only the one on my elbow was visible). And C wants to go again!

And finally, I have proof most guys are clueless. I know I’ve said before I work with mostly fiftysomething men. I had my hair appointment this past Saturday – and did something a little different with the color (ok, so C said I looked like Kim Possible. “Your hair is orange, mommy”. Thanks kid) – not crazy, but different. NOT ONE PERSON at work noticed (or maybe they did notice and didn’t say anything. Now I’m getting self conscious!). ARGH...

Sláinte!

2008-03-17T20:25:00.003-04:00

It is better to spend money like there's no tomorrow
than to spend tonight like there's no money!

That the tap may be open when it rusts!

My friends are the best friends
Loyal, willing and able.
Now let’s get to drinking!
All glasses off the table!

Here's to a long life and a merry one.
A quick death and an easy one.
A pretty girl and an honest one.
A cold pint-- and another one!

Here's to a temperance supper,
With water in glasses tall,
And coffee and tea to end with--
And me not there at all!

When money's tight and hard to get,
and your horse is also ran,
When all you have is a heap of debt,
a pint of plain is your only man.

Here's to being single...
Drinking doubles...
And seeing triple!

I drink to your health when I'm with you,
I drink to your health when I'm alone,
I drink to your health so often,
I'm starting to worry about my own!

An Irish man shows up in a pub one day and orders three pints of Guinness. He takes sips from each glass until they are empty and calls the bartender for three more. The bartender says, 'Sure it's up to yourself, but wouldn't you rather I was bringing them one at a time? Then they'll be fresh and cold.'
'Nah...' your man says, ' I'm preferrin' that ye bring 'em three at a time. You see, me and me two brothers would meet at a pub and drink and have good times. Now one is in Australia, the other in Canada and I'm here. We agreed before we split up that we'd drink to each other's honour this way.'

'Well,' says the bartender, 'that's a grand thing to do, all right. I'll bring the pints as you ask.'

Well, time goes on and your man's peculiar habit is known and accepted by all the pub regulars. One day though, he comes in and orders only two pints. A hush falls over the pub. Naturally, everyone figures something happened to one of the brothers. A group of the regulars corner the bartender and finally persuade him to find out what happened. With a heavy heart, the bartender brings the two pints and says, 'Here's your pints... and let me offer my sincerest condolences. What happened?'

The Irish man looks extremely puzzled for a moment, and then starts laughing.

'Oh, no, no, no! 'Tis nothing like that. You see, I've given up drinking for Lent...'

Deep in the heart of TX

2008-03-15T14:55:00.001-04:00

I ran away from home earlier this week. Sunday afternoon I left for Dallas – D and C went to church, and I headed for the airport. I wasn’t looking forward to the trip, since I dislike flying by myself, but once I get to where I’m going I’m ok.

A few tips about TX – everything in TX IS bigger. Including my hair for some reason. I didn’t do anything different, but somehow my hair had more body, and while not at the height attained in the 80’s, was noticeable (at least to me!).

Nothing is marked well – even the airport is on a need to know basis it seems. I didn’t get a GPS system for the rental car (I mean, this is America, eventually you’ll find your way) but next time I think I’ll spring for it (ok, technically the company will).

And I thought rotaries were only in Mass. Nope, TX has them too. Luckily the drivers there seem to be a bit more cautious (instead of whizzing through at 100 mph).

The best part? The weather! It was warm – we actually wrapped up early (3 pm) and headed back to the hotel before going to dinner. I spent about 45 minutes outside in the sunshine by the pool…just closed my eyes and recharged my solar batteries, listening to the birds sing and enjoying the warm breeze. Of course, when I landed back in Hartford on Wed, I drove home through snow flurries.

The part of TX I was in has some great restaurants – in fact, I’ve never been anywhere where there’s so many to choose from! We had steak (we’re in TX!), steak, and seafood (being “steaked” out by our final night).

And now I’m back. I can’t believe Easter is next week. I don’t know if I can last the 27 days ‘til vacation. Will it ever warm up here??

What’s new with everyone else??

This post brought to you by the letter W

2008-02-29T12:28:00.007-05:00

W for winter, which I am as sick of whining about as you are hearing me whine about it. (another 6 - 12 inches of snow tonight!)

W for warm, which I can't seem to get. That's what the pictures are for - to try to remind myself it will get warm again.

W for work, which isn't usually bad, but this time of year is bonus and raise time and I just get all frustrated by the process.

W for waiting, as in waiting impatiently for another 6 weeks until vacation. It feels like it's been forever since our last vacation.

W for weight - I had been doing well, getting up early and walking on the treadmill. For some reason, this week I fell completely off the exercise/watch what I eat wagon and can't stuff the chocolate/junk in fast enough.

W for winning. As in Powerball. $153M. I could become a travel writer and solve all my problems (whining, work and waiting) in one shot!

Anyone else having one of those weeks?

PS. Happy Leap Day!

I'm done, out, finished, finito....

2008-02-21T14:24:00.002-05:00

WITH WINTER! It is amazing how a distance of only 70 miles makes the difference between snow and rain. Here at work it hasn't really snowed, and when it has, it's been minor accumulations which melt the next day. At home - snow, followed by sleet/freezing rain (which makes it hard to shovel), which melts, then lather, rinse repeat. Right now we have a winter storm watch for the northern half of the state. At least the first thing my boss said to me this morning was "work from home tomorrow".

I am so ready for spring. 51 days until vacation!!

Stolen from Elle

2008-02-15T16:15:00.002-05:00

Your Candy Heart Says "Cutie Pie"

You always seem to have a hot date, even though you never try to meet anyone.

A total charmer, you have a natural appeal that keeps you in high demand.

Your ideal Valentine's Day date: multiple dates with multiple people

Your flirting style: 100% natural

What turns you off: serious relationship talks

Why you're hot: you're totally addicting

What Does Your Candy Heart Say?

What can I say? I wish it were true.

Valentine's Day dilemma

2008-02-10T14:26:00.000-05:00

The above picture reminds me of the little brother in “A Christmas Story” but this is not a post about the weather (snow, again. On top of the frozen precip that fell yesterday, it made shoveling the driveway more like making snow cones, but I’m sure you’re as sick of hearing about it as I am about living it!)…

No, today’s post is brought to you courtesy of the most anal retentive family in the state – mine. Thursday happens to be Valentine’s Day, and C’s teacher sent home the list of kids in the class on Friday. Since I’ll be out of town until Wednesday night, we decided we’d get a jump start on addressing the valentine cards since there are 29 kids in C’s class (plus her teacher and teacher’s aide) and C sometimes doesn’t like to print her name.

She and I had bought the valentines shortly after Christmas (don’t look at me like that, we were at the mall, Hallmark had special packages with an appropriate amount of cards for a surprisingly low price). Armed with the list, I was ready to just start addressing them so C could then sign her name. Captain Anal jumped in – the boys couldn’t get “girl” cards. Now, I don’t know about you, but when I was in grade school, I didn’t care what the card looked like, just that I got one. And sometimes that meant that I got a Transformers or Superman card; I don’t think I’ve been scarred for life.

It was eerily similar to a LSAT question – there are 32 cards. There are 4 designs on each of 8 cards (C chose High School Musical valentines – so the choices were: Sharpay, Gabrielle, Troy and whatever character Corbin Bleu was). There are 13 girls and 16 boys in the class. Assign the cards so the girls all get a girl card (Gabrielle or Sharpay) and the boys get boy cards (Troy or Corbin Bleu) and no one gets a card intended for the opposite sex.

D immediately starts making notes on the list of names – because of course the cards couldn’t be assigned willy nilly even if there were enough girl cards and boy cards. Certain friends needed certain cards – for instance, C’s friend J, got a Gabrielle card because she has dark hair just like Gabrielle does. What should have been a simple exercise turned into a list making, cross checking adventure.

And once we finished the cards, we had to put together the goodie bag. Oh yes, last year we (simple, naïve parents) just sent cards to school. C came home loaded with more candy than Halloween. It was ridiculous. So this year, we put together simple goodie bags (lollipop, M&Ms and a Kit Kat – healthy and nutritious!). I’m sure this year she’ll come home with just cards, but I’ve resigned myself to being a day late and dollar short when it comes to this parenting gig.

Happy Valentine’s Day!!

Public Service Announcements

2008-02-01T13:55:00.001-05:00

Today, Feb 1, is National Wear Red day – because too few people realize that heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women (and men). And part of the problem is that heart problems manifest themselves differently in women than in men – most people will experience chest pain, but women are more likely to experience shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting and back or jaw pain. I’m probably more sensitive to this issue because my mom died of a heart attack (just as my BFF is more sensitive to the issue of breast cancer since her mom is a survivor).

In Connecticut, next Tuesday Feb 5 is Super Tuesday (as well as Mardi Gras! Except we don’t do as well with laissez les bon temps roulez as our friends in Louisiana – actually I don’t think we do it at all. Where’s my king cake??) – 22 states (plus American Samoa) will hold their primaries or caucuses with 52 percent of all pledged Democratic Party delegates and 41 percent of the total Republican Party delegates at stake. If your state is holding a primary/caucus as well, and you’re eligible, please remember to vote. I don’t care who you vote for, just make sure you exercise your right.

And in case you weren’t aware, it is possible to become allergic to your contact lens solution. I have learned this the hard way and will now need to do mini chemistry experiments to continue to use my contacts.

Have a great weekend!

ARGH!!

2008-01-24T12:55:00.000-05:00

I know, I KNOW. I wasn’t going to look at my 401k balance. I wasn’t going to check what the recent stock market events were doing to my portfolio. Even though I just celebrated a milestone birthday, I still realize that I have a good 25 – 30 years left to work (which is depressing in and of itself)….I’m in this for the long haul. This is a buying opportunity…You’re not supposed to try to catch a falling knife.

But curiosity got the best of me. Today, I pulled up the information online. Today, the numbers were green. But the year to date was red. And the total number was 10% less than it was when I last looked.

(As an aside, I used to walk past that bull on my way to work in the morning….it was fun when a new stock was getting listed on the stock exchange, sometimes there would be free stuff handed out.)

Sorry for the disjointed post. Work has been crazy when there’s no need for it to be like that. Couple that with the fact that all the cold weather has me contemplating hibernation…I need a palm tree and umbrella drink!!

iPod Meme

2008-01-17T12:59:00.001-05:00

This looked fun, so I did it.

Here are the instructions:

1. Put your music player on shuffle.
2. Press forward for each question.
3. Use the song title as the answer to the question.
4. NO CHEATING.

Q: What does next year have in store for you?
A: New Sensation by INXS

Q: What does your love life look like next year?
A: Autour Du Rocher (live) by Jimmy Buffett (I hope this means I get to spend some time partying in the Caribbean!)

Q: What do you say when life gets hard?
A: Havana Daydreaming by Jimmy Buffett

Q: Song that reminds you of good times?
A: That’s My Story and I’m Sticking to It by Jimmy Buffett

Q: What do you think when you get up in the morning?
A: We are the People Our Parents Warned Us About by Jimmy Buffett

Q: What song will you dance to at your wedding?
A: 40 by U2

Q: Song that reminds you of your first kiss?
A: Whenever, Wherever by Shakira (uh oh – what does this say about me?)

Q: Your favorite saying?
A: It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere by Jimmy Buffett

Q: Favorite place?
A: Throwing it all Away by Genesis

Q: Most Missed Memory?
A: All this Time by Sting

Q: What song describes your best friend?
A: It Wasn’t Me by Shaggy

Q: What song describes your ex?
A: Let’s Get Loud by J Lo

Q: Where would you go on a first date?
A: Underneath it All by No Doubt

Q: Drug of choice?
A: Purple Rain by Prince

Q: What song describes yourself?
A: Brown Eyed Girl by Jimmy Buffett

Q: What is the thing you like doing most?
A: Knees of my Heart by Jimmy Buffett (that should light up the Google searches!)

Q: The song that best describes the president?
A: Last Mango in Paris by Jimmy Buffett

Q: Where will you be in 10 years?
A: The Waiting by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

Q: Your love life right now?
A: Defying Gravity by Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel

Q: What is your state of mind like at the moment?
A: Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole

Q: How will you die?
A: Nothin’ but a breeze by Jimmy Buffett

Yes, I admit I am a Parrotthead. I think the majority of the songs loaded on the iPod are Jimmy Buffett (which probably explains why some of the answers are a little funny).

I won’t tag anyone since I don’t know who does/doesn’t have an iPod.

Little lessons

2008-01-03T20:11:00.000-05:00

1. If you are making a standing rib roast for your Christmas dinner, get a good meat thermometer – one that you can leave in the oven with a monitor outside. This was the first year in the past 3 since we’ve hosted Christmas dinner that the roast wasn’t overdone.

2. When you use the fancy meat thermometer in your roast for Christmas dinner, make sure you don’t put the tip next to a bone. This will cause the temperature to register incorrectly (it will appear to be taking FOREVER to cook, when in fact it’s dangerously close to becoming too well done).

3. If you volunteer to host the breakfast for celebrating the birthdays in December, and 9 people are going to be eating said breakfast, you need more than a dozen eggs. The eggs needed to be rationed. There was more than enough sausage however, and the cinnamon crunch bagels from Panera were a big hit.

4. Do not believe your brother when he says he only spent x per person on gifts. He’s a liar. And while in theory I agree it’s kind of ridiculous for adults to give each other gifts (when you can go out and buy whatever you want yourself), it’s nice to get presents.

5. Snow is pretty the first time it snows before the holidays. After that, it’s a pain. Even if it’s only a few inches, shoveling every day gets old. Remind me again why I live in the only part of Connecticut that got any frozen precipitation this past week?

6. It’s nice to shut the Blackberry off and not look at it (except for use as a timepiece) every once in a while.

7. That my 6 year old daughter knew about “ripping” and “burning” cds through the computer to get onto the mp3 player. She knows more than I do!!

Happy New Year!!

2008-01-01T20:23:00.000-05:00

I have a post percolating about things I've learned this past holiday season, but it takes a back seat to filling up my new toy...I've gone through the gift card that came for Christmas and am still finding songs I want to add!!

Hope everyone has a happy, healthy and safe New Year!!

Merry Christmas to all

2007-12-23T21:23:00.001-05:00

Delayed adolescence

2007-12-21T09:07:00.000-05:00

Maybe I’m an 11 year old boy trapped in a late thirtysomething woman’s body (for the next month anyway!) but this headline made me laugh out loud:

Dog Blamed For Ripping One

It's that time of year

2007-12-19T11:59:00.000-05:00

Time for the annual Christmas freak out...

Elle asked how I was doing, in light of the recent weather events (as an aside, Good Lord am I boring, posting about weather?!)…I thought I was doing ok, until I looked at the calendar and realized that Christmas is in less than a week!

Presents bought? Mostly, still have some left to buy.

Presents wrapped? Nope.

Menu planned? (We host Christmas dinner for my family). Not really.

Tree up? Check.

Christmas pedicure? You bet! (it might just be my newest holiday tradition. Never mind that I smudged the polish putting my socks/shoes back on. I couldn’t exactly traipse over the snowbanks back to the car in those flip flops the salon provides).

And somehow, what should be a slow time for work is busy (I know, traditionally insurance is busy right before year end but what I do isn’t. Usually). I’ve been fielding more emails the last couple days than I have in a long time. I’ve even checked email from home and responded. Next week had better be quieter. I’m planning on organizing my office.

Luckily, the forecast for this weekend for once does not have snow/sleet/freezing rain/any sort of wintry mix in it (of course, now I’ve jinxed it!) so we should be able to accomplish any items left to finish and spend Monday morning relaxing before the Christmas Eve festivities with my in-laws.

And, just because C isn’t beside herself enough with the whole Christmas is in however many days, there’s a full moon on Christmas Eve. Fun times!

Am I the only slacker?

Let's Partay

2007-12-15T23:38:00.000-05:00

Maybe it's the two bottles of wine that we've drunk (in anticipation of the nor'easter we're supposed to be getting later tonight/tommorrow) but I think a party at Tim Burton/Helena Bonham Carter's place could be fun...I bet Johnny Depp would even stop by...

Before, and during

2007-12-13T15:08:00.001-05:00

Picture taken when I noticed the snow had started about 10:30 this morning:

Taken just about a half hour ago (about 2:30 EST)...

It's not supposed to stop until about 11 tonight, and there's a bigger storm predicted for Saturday night/Sunday morning! I need a palm tree and umbrella drink!

I got all the way to the train this morning when Metro North sent an email to say the wires were tangled up in Bridgeport and there was no train service. I forwarded the email to my boss, who told me to turn around and go home. Thanks boss!

Ice Ice Baby

2007-12-10T15:19:00.000-05:00

Pictures from today's ice event:

I had already scheduled today for a vacation day, so it was nice to listen to the radio, hear school was closed for C, and roll over and sleep until 8...

We're forecast for more yukkiness on Thursday night, but the office holiday party is on Friday and I'm not missing that!

Mother of the Year

2007-12-05T15:30:00.000-05:00

Some background: my mom was a nurse. Growing up, that meant that unless there was blood and/or vomit involved, the standard response to “I don’t feel good” was “ Go to school, you’ll feel better”. I swore, when I grew up and had kids, I would take them seriously.

Well, we all know what happens when you grow up and have kids. The things you told yourself you’d never say or do – you say or do! C woke up last week and said she felt “sniffly”…My response – “Go downstairs and get ready for school, you’ll feel better”…

Then, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, I had the day off (interview, went well but I’m not interested) and screwed up the morning routine by waking up later than normal, and trying to help. It was flurrying, so I hustled C through her routine (up, dressed, teeth brushed, etc.) and told her I’d drive her to the bus.

Except when we got outside, the bus was already backing up onto our street! (We live on a dead end street near the town line, so it’s easiest for the bus to back into our street to get C). I drive down the street, pull over (luckily our awesome bus driver saw us and waited) and tell C to hurry up and get out. She protests that she’s not finished her waffle and she’s “not taking the bus today”.

Oh yes you are. Get her out of the car, zip her coat, hand her her waffle and walk her to the bus door. Give her a kiss, tell her I’ll see her that afternoon, and off she goes, waffle in hand.

At least she have something to talk about in therapy when she’s older!

Thank you Judy Blume!

2007-11-28T15:54:00.000-05:00

In surfing the net, I found this awesome site – fun to play and for a good cause!

Free Rice will donate 20 grains of rice to the UN for every vocabulary word you get correct. I thought I had a pretty good command of the English language, but apparently not! My best level was 41.

One of my words was flense. And thanks to Judy Blume’s Blubber (which I read many many moons ago) I knew it meant to “strip blubber from”.

See? You learn something new every day! Now go play!

Enchanted

2007-11-23T22:46:00.000-05:00

Ok, I probably shouldn't post after a few glasses of wine...but we saw Enchanted today and it has become one of my favorite movies...I should mouth the feminist line and say it was empowering because the princess actually saved the guy for once, but screw that. I love Patrick Dempsey. (I probably have since Can't Buy Me Love. And he's one that's improved with age!) He's on the list. You know, the list - that list of people that you and your significant other can leave each other for (if that person ever showed up in your life and asked you to leave). What? You don't have a list like that? Just me? ok, oh well.

Anyway, a very cute movie that just hits when you're in the mood for some spun sugar confection - light, not filling but exactly what you want and need at the time. Everyone liked it. Could it be better? Oh sure, but life's not perfect either.

GO see Enchanted.

New Post! New Post!

2007-11-07T15:47:00.000-05:00

My poor neglected blog. I have ignored you, posted only quick, picture posts, and you still stay with me. I’m so lame I have nothing to post and have been falling asleep around 9 on the couch and you’re still here, waiting patiently.

How can I make it up to you?

Too late for NaBlopomoblopputy or whatever it is (the “post every day in the month of November” thingy). Besides, do you know how busy November is? Two birthdays and a major holiday, plus travel for work…Not happening.

I can’t be the only one who feels like this entire year has flown by much too quickly, can I? How did we get to November already? C’s birthday is tomorrow. I could try to dredge up some recollection of her birth story but it’s really not that exciting. Wake up wicked early, call the hospital, go in for induction, hang around for 18 hours, push baby out. I do remember that the night before she was born was one of the best nights’ sleep I had gotten in quite a while. Or maybe it’s that it was the last full nights sleep for the rest of 2001.

I finished a really good book last week (The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory). Historical fiction about Anne Boleyn and her sister Mary. I resisted picking it up for too long because I had read a few other of Ms. Gregory’s books and she’s not an author I have on my “must read every single one of her paperbacks” list. Now I’m onto Judith McNaught’s Kingdom of Dreams which is probably best termed romantic fiction. But it’s entertaining, so…although I do hate the fact that I get so “into” my books that I just want to hide away until they’re finished. And on the list for the next house is definitely a large master bath with a huge bathtub so I can soak and read. I miss that.

Election day yesterday – thankfully the candidate that won was one that was the better choice. I think the whole town realized that too, since the margin of victory was huuuuuge. And if I described the candidates you could totally figure out where I live, since they both were pretty unusual. And, I’d like to add, I really like the new optical scan machines CT used. I’m sure there’s some less technical people who hated it (I’m looking at the large elderly population in my city, yes them!) but I thought it was very easy to use – how hard is it to fill in a dot with the pen they provide and stick the whole sheet in a scanner?

C’s school had their annual silent auction last weekend – D and I dressed up and I let my competitive nature take over again. Although this time, there wasn’t as much “stuff” I wanted to bid on. Tickets to Wicked, sure, but the winning bid was what I could buy them for from Ticketmaster so I’m not too disappointed. We did end up getting a semester at the local ballet school for less than a semester would cost (along with a leotard and tights) so I thought that was a good bargain (and it will be part of C’s Christmas present).

Speaking of Christmas, the cafeteria at work was playing Christmas music today! I’m not ready! And I’ve already seen a few Christmas commercials…it’s too early! I haven’t even thought about shopping yet…

I will try to be better about posting!

Live from the corner of Ispwich & Boyleston

2007-10-30T22:19:00.001-04:00

Totally stole these from my brother (who did go to the parade and was at the above location) - I'll see if he has any more tomorrow.

Autumn in New England

2007-10-24T20:34:00.000-04:00

Not the best pictures (taken from our back deck) but the colors have been so pretty this fall:

Happy Monday

2007-10-22T13:16:00.000-04:00

As my friends from Bahstahn would say, I have a wicked cold. At first I was hopeful it was just allergies, but as this illness continues I must grudgingly admit it’s not. Sigh. And it’s not even a dignified cold, where I could just cough or sneeze quietly every so often, but one of those massive head colds like a little kid gets, complete with runny nose, sniffling, coughing and sneezing. I blame C – she’s got the same thing except not as badly. And that brings me to my next paragraph:

When did it become harder to get Sudafed decongestant than liquor? Of course I realize that meth is a problem (although why anyone with half a brain in their head would want to mix all the ingredients that make up meth and then INGEST it is something I’m not capable of figuring out today) but goodness – all I wanted was some Sudafed so C would stop sniffling and coughing. You have to take the tag from the shelf, bring it to the pharmacist, show id, have same id scanned, sign some sort of statement (someday I’m probably going to regret not reading things as closely as I should!) and then I could buy the Sudafed. And according to the nice pharmacist, apparently there’s a limit on how much decongestant one can buy in a certain time frame. What would happen if I had more than 1 kid (or I wanted kid and adult formula?), or if the pharmacy was closed when I was shopping? I know, greater good and all, but its still frustrating.

But in better news: the new Tarjay opened in town. Practically right down the street from us. WOO HOO! No more trips to the scary Mart of Wal! It’s big, it’s clean, it’s brand spankin’ new and I LOVE IT. We even went there on the “official Grand Opening” day and the hordes of people didn’t bother me. There’s a Starbucks - yes I know, my heart will always belong to Dunkin Donuts but sometimes you just gotta get a Pumpkin Spice latte. Or a peppermint mocha during the holiday season. I’m sure once those new baristas get up to speed it will be even more wonderful.

C’s birthday party with her friends was on Saturday. I’m sure D will have a coherent post on that experience soon. I’m just glad it was at the Y and not at home. And now, we have an entire battalion of Barbies. (I’m counting the High School Musical dolls as Barbies, because as soon as they are liberated from their wire/tape/plastic enclosures I’m sure they’ll be swapping outfits with the other 999 Barbies that live with us).

Foliage has been beautiful this weekend. I have some pictures, but they’re at home and I’m not, so I’ll try to remember to post those sometime this week.

And go Sox! Who’da thunk it? Not me (but it should be noted I’m not a big baseball fan, profess no allegiance to any specific team and am merely involved for the chance to sit outside with a beer and hot dog. I can’t tell you the number of Yankee games where the only way D and I knew it was over and who had won was whether it was Liza or Frank singing New York, New York). So anyway, GO SOX!!

For my brother, and all the Red Sox fans out there

2007-10-17T15:39:00.000-04:00

Our Father, who art at Fenway...
Baseball be thy game.
They Kingdom come,
Playoffs need to be won,
On Earth, then on to the Cask 'n' Flagon.

Give us this day, a perfect Papi,
And forgive us our losses,
As we forgive those,
Like Bill Buckner.

And lead us not, into desperation,
But deliver us from any losses.

For thine is the Power,
And the Glory,
To beat the Indians,
Forever and ever....the Yankees suck

A-men

Hail Mary
Full of fenway franks,
Red Sox be with thee.
Blessed art thou among baseball fans
and please bless the arm of thy man Beckett
Holy Mary,
Mother of God,
pray for us Sox fans now,
and especially after the fourth inning.
Amen.

Live from Central NY

2007-10-11T16:14:00.000-04:00

I've been a neglectful blogger lately. Life has been moving along, and there's not really been any one topic that's made me say "I've got to blog that!"...It's kind of a treadmill - wake up, get ready, get C ready, drive to work, work, drive home...lather rinse repeat.

Sure, we've planned C's birthday party for her friends, ordering way too much stuff from Oriental Traders, sending invitations, stressing that no one's been responding (at last count we have 7 kids, not counting C, and including one sibling of an invitee. Out of a class of 28!!)

C's been very cute lately. 5 has been the best year yet. I'm afraid of 6, which is less than a month away now. Not sure why....Maybe because it puts her one year closer to those dreaded 'tween and teen years. There's a new girl who will be joining her class towards the end of next month (the family is moving from WI). C mentioned that she saw the new girl's parents, and they sound just like us! (I'm not sure what language she thought was spoken in WI - or if she even knows where WI is! Ok, yes, a teaching moment, but it was cute!).

She made me a card and snuck it into my suitcase for this trip. I didn't find it until I was unpacking at the hotel. Yes it made me cry. I can't wait to get home to see her and D. And get a real meal....sigh...one more night!!

Five is getting dangerous

2007-09-24T21:50:00.000-04:00

Five is starting to get dangerous. For awhile, C has been getting up on the weekends and for the most part, going downstairs and watching tv while letting us sleep in a bit more. She knows how to work the remote, and can make herself some cereal for breakfast (it gets a little messy, but it's so worth it for the extra sleep!).

One Sunday morning she decided she'd like some cucumber for breakfast. Not a problem, it's a veggie, right? Except. She cut it up. Herself. With a knife. A butter knife, but a knife nonetheless. So we had the lecture about asking a grownup for help the next time she wants to use a knife.

The next weekend she gets up and goes downstairs. After a while she comes back upstairs and starts complaining that the "numbers are going too fast". Numbers? Going too fast? This is all too much to comprehend first thing in the morning. Apparently she saw a commercial that was selling cake decorating tools (Betty Crocker something) and wanted it. Because she wanted a cake that she decorated with a butterfly and grass. She actually pushed the chair over to the phone, got it and started dialing.

Today, D finds her one digit away from connecting to an operator to order AquaDots. You have to laugh, especially when you ask her where she would tell the person to send them, she's not 100 percent on the address!

Although, it might be a fun experiment to see if she actually could order something, not being 18 or having a credit card.

Roughing It

2007-09-18T19:11:00.000-04:00

I will be on a business trip in October that will be the longest I’ve been on since before I had C – if even ever (I can’t remember anything anymore!). I’m not worried that she’ll miss me (ok, maybe a little) and I’m a little excited to have time alone (although by the Tuesday of that week I’ll probably be feeling a little guilty and a lot homesick for her)…

So I will be packing my bag and heading to the middle of no-where (pretty much – it’s a 4 hour-ish drive through the Catskill mountains) and obviously being in the middle of no where the accommodation choices are a bit, shall we say, lacking? It’s a choice of slim and none. No big hotel chains (I need my Marriott points! I’m almost up to a whole free night’s stay someplace good!), and I’m not going to stay at a bed and breakfast either.

The hotel that everyone stays at when traveling to visit this particular agent is owned by a “name” hotel chain, it’s just not THAT name – kind of their version of the budget minded business traveler hotel. I check for rates online, and find that yes, I can stay there the whole week I need, and book the room.

I’m looking forward to the king size bed all to myself, the wireless high speed internet, the fact that I’m only responsible for myself for the week. However, I don’t think putting “curved shower rod” in the “for your comfort” column on your website is the greatest marketing ploy. At least for me it isn’t. Of course, I think this trip is the business equivalent of roughing it, so what do I know? Maybe that’s a big selling point for their customers.

Today, we are all New Yorkers

2007-09-11T20:50:00.000-04:00

I do not live in the five boroughs or on the Island or Upstate
I may live hundreds or thousands of miles away
Or I may live just over the GW Bridge
But I am a New Yorker

I am a New Yorker
Whatever took me out of New York:
Business, family or hating the cold did not take New York out of me.
My accent may have faded and my pace may have slowed
But I am a New Yorker

I am a New Yorker
I was raised on Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and Rockefeller Plaza,
The Yankees or the Mets (Giants or Dodgers) Jones Beach or Rye Beach or one of the beaches on the sound (Orchard Beach)
I know that "THE END" means Montauk.
Because I am a New Yorker

I am a New Yorker
When I go on vacation, I never look up, Skyscrapers are something I take for granted
The Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty are part of me
Taxis and noise and subways and "get outa heah" don't rattle me
Because I am a New Yorker

I am a New Yorker
I was raised on cultural diversity before it was politically correct
I eat Greek food and Italian food, Jewish and Middle Eastern food and Chinese food
Because they are all American food to me.
I don't get mad when people speak other languages in my presence
Because my relatives got to this country via Ellis Island and chose to stay
They were New Yorkers

I am a New Yorker
People who have never been to New York have misunderstood me
My friends and family work in the industries, professions and businesses that benefit all Americans
My firefighters died trying to save New Yorkers and non-New Yorkers
They died trying to save Americans and non-Americans
Because they were New Yorkers.

I am a New Yorker
I feel the pain of my fellow New Yorkers
I mourn the loss of my beautiful city
I feel and dread that New York will never be the same
But then I remember:
I am a New Yorker

And New Yorkers have:
Tenacity, strength and courage way above the norm
Compassion and caring for our fellow citizens
Love and pride in our city, in our state, in our country
Intelligence, experience and education par excellence
Ability, dedication and energy above and beyond
Faith--no matter what religion we practice
Terrorists hit America in its heart
But America's heart still beats strong
Demolished the steel in our buildings, but it doesn't touch the steel in our souls
Hit us in the pocketbook; but we'll parlay what we have left into a fortune
End innocent lives leaving widows and orphans, but we'll take care of them
Because we are New Yorkers

Wherever we live, whatever we do, whoever we are
There are New Yorkers in every state and every city of this nation
We will not abandon our city
We will not abandon our brothers and sisters
We will not abandon the beauty, creativity and diversity that New York represents
Because we are New Yorkers
And we are proud to be New Yorkers

(I don't know who the author of this is - if anyone knows please let me know!)

Dirty Laundry

2007-09-10T16:06:00.000-04:00

Over the weekend the whole brouhaha over the Vanessa Hudgens picture was the subject of various blog and message board posts (why yes, I do lurk on a Disney message board, it provides some comic relief during my day, thankyouverymuch). Admittedly I am not a big High School Musical fan, and have not paid much attention to the controversy.

However, after reading a bunch of posts about how “she’s no longer a role model I want for my children” from a few different people, I started thinking. First of all, naked pictures aside, I don’t think I want C to think of an actress as a “role model”. That’s not what I envision a role model to be – the same way I wouldn’t want her to think of a sports star as a role model either. If you’re using an actress/actor as a role model, I think you’re asking for disillusionment. There’s nothing wrong with actresses or actors, I just wonder why someone would think that is who you would want your child to be like? Are people confusing a role the actor/actress is playing with the actual person?

Because yes, the character this actress played in the tv movie was someone who should be emulated – smart, popular (I don’t want to say popular but I don’t see any way around that; the character was popular) and seemed grounded. But that’s the character she was playing people, not the actress herself!

And secondly, she’s 18. An adult. If she wants to pose for a picture for her significant other, it’s her right to do so. I did the same thing when I was 20/21 and in college, and in loooove. Are those pictures still floating around somewhere? I hope not, but can’t be sure. (I’d like to have them back if they are though; I was seriously skinny back in those days!) And while that’s probably not the most brilliant thing I’ve ever done, trust me, I’ve got plenty more stories where I’m not exactly acting like a brain trust at that age either.

Am I missing something when I think this is all much ado about nothing? Is it just because she works for Disney and she should be held to a higher standard? Help me understand, because I’m just not getting it.

Labor Day Weekend, in pictures

2007-09-04T21:03:00.000-04:00

Alternate title: Exhausting, but fun!

Saturday at the local fair:

Sunday at the beach:

Monday at Grampa's

First Grade!

2007-08-29T15:12:00.001-04:00

The hour was early...all was quiet in the neighborhood. No one should have been stirring yet, but today was the first day of first grade! I can't believe there's a first grader in our house (for those of you from different parts of the country, CT has a cut off date of 5 prior to the Jan 1 of the year they start kindergarten. So it made the decision a little difficult last year (in starting kindergarten - C's one of the youngest in her class!)

But in dropping off her supplies this morning (after getting her on the bus and waving goodbye - no following the bus this year; we almost couldn't get pictures because apparently first graders are too cool for that!) she was already at her desk busily coloring when we got there. There was only one little girl who was resisting going into the class, and everyone else was there.

It's a big first grade class this year - 28 kids. Everyone seems concerned when I mention the number of kids, and as I can only compare to my experience in grade school, am left wondering why. My teacher/pupil ratio was 1/30 for the majority of the 8 years I was in grade school - sure it fluctuated year to year, but was always around the 30 number. With only one nun to keep the order. Is that the difference? They don't make those sorts of nuns anymore? I guess we'll see. The first home school meeting is later this month, along with the meet the teacher night.

And so far, so good. No homework yet, but we did receive the first fundraising catalogue. (We decide to write a check for our obligation which makes life a lot easier). I hope everyone else has a great first day as well!

Penultimate Weekend of Summer (unofficially)

2007-08-26T23:01:00.001-04:00

First grade starts Wednesday, so this is the unofficial second to last weekend of summer. It's dark now by 8 pm, and we're trying to get back into some sort of routine so 6:15 am for a 7:00 am bus isn't a horror show for some of us (who shall remain nameless but live in the same house as me and have been staying up late/getting up late). Ahem.

Saturday we went to the beach - in Rhode Island. The waves were big (no red flags this time, but an interesting assortment of people). We got "rocked" a few times (this summer's new slang term meaning the wave crashed into us and pushed us all the way down - "breadcrumbing" is the other new term, meaning when the child gets out of the ocean and promptly rolls around in the sand).

No pictures were taken on Saturday - I forgot the camera, and sometimes, it's nice to participate in the activities versus taking the pictures. We spent the better part of the afternoon there, until the waves reached our blanket (and one actually soaked everything!). We went to the little amusement area across the street from the Water Wizz where C enjoyed the carousel and another ride. We tried to play some games at the arcade but most were sadly not working.

Hopefully we'll get back to the beach at least once before it gets too cold (and weekend activities, birthday parties and friends from school start monopolizing our time). We'll have one more weekend for the pool at my dad's (because, in the great tradition started by my mom back in 80-whatever when they put the pool in, it gets closed right after Labor Day).

Today was some errands and the back to school haircut. Then home for some hanging around time and bike riding before bed. Our last two free days (since I have this week off) will be filled with another trip to the uniform store and the back to school picnic.

A dollar and a dream

2007-08-22T16:14:00.000-04:00

So the Powerball lottery is up to $245 million for tonight. A co-worker and I have spent many minutes discussing the mechanics of what we'd do if we won...

I know my mom always used to say things like "you'd only have problems if you won that much money". I think it was her way to make herself feel better because the odds really aren't with you to win. However, she was also the first to call dibs whenever we said we'd bought a ticket.

And yes, I know that there's been some study saying most lottery winners end up bankrupt or near it, but I like to think I'd be smarter than that. Set up trusts, pay off bills, make some charitable contributions, live off the interest, that kind of thing.

Besides, having those discussions are a good way to pass 15 minutes on a slow August day in work!

PUI

2007-08-10T23:31:00.000-04:00

I've been a neglectful blogger lately....something about the summer, and how warm and humid it's been, and really, no one wants to hear about the weather (again! Although I do like how the Weather Channel hypes "it could happen tomorrow" - of course it could. Anything could happen tomorrow. Doesn't mean it will!)

And I've have thoughts floating lazily around in my head (because August? In the insurance biz? S.L.O.W.) yet don't think to write them down and post a coherent post. In fact, you're getting this post courtesy of the 2006 Garnacha de Fuego (an "old vine" Spanish red). So I apologize in advance for any typos, etc.

The Godfather is on Bravo (again). I somehow always manage to only see the same parts over and over - it's either the wedding scene in Godfather 1 or the First Communion party in II. D gets mad at me because I can't get the quote right - supposedly it's "Leave the gun, take the cannoli"...but that makes absolutely no sense to me. Why would you leave the gun? It would have your fingerprints on it! Take the gun, leave the cannoli. Or, better yet, take the gun, eat the cannoli! Maybe because I'm not Italian, I can't understand that logic.

School starts in a few weeks, and somehow I'm now living with a first grader! How is that possible? I remember first grade - Sister Francine - a real live NICE nun. The first and only one of two nice nuns that taught (way back in the late 70's)...now there's only one nun at C's school and she's in the administration - doesn't even teach.

We have a few fun things left to do this summer - need to go to the beach at least once more, some more mini golf, definitely more time to be spent in granpa's pool... why does summer seem so much shorter than winter?

Questions

2007-08-01T16:15:00.000-04:00

Why can I compose all these great (in my mind anyway) blog posts on my way home from work, and yet when I sit down to type them out, they vanish into the ether?

Is it me, or does John Travolta’s eyes in the Hairspray poster freak other people out too?

Why is 5 and a half kicking my butt? Everything is a drama (or at least a minimum of a half hour of crying huge tears while rolling around and throwing things – especially when overtired and/or hungry)…

Why is it already August 1 and we haven’t done half of the fun things on our to-do list for the summer?

Why is it already August 1 and school starts the 29th? When we haven’t yet gone to get measured for uniforms or tried on last year’s to see if any will still work? Or started shopping for school supplies?

Why do I read certain message boards and freak myself out about things like airfares, when I know perfectly well it will all work out because it’s vacation, for crying out tears?

Move along, no spoilers here

2007-07-26T13:37:00.000-04:00

I pre-ordered the latest Harry Potter from Amazon way back in the late winter/early spring…Midnight is too far past my bedtime these days, and given how hectic our weekends are I didn’t want to take the chance we wouldn’t be near a bookstore either.

Is there anything more delicious than an opened, long anticipated, nice fat book? I’m sure there are some things, but I love reading. I have since I was a little kid. I can remember all the nights during the summer when I’d have my nose in a book, tucked into bed with just the light on the table next to me and the cat for company, and coming up for air to realize that it was almost 2 in the morning? Or the long, lazy afternoons floating in the pool with a book (I never dropped one in, but did get lots of water spots on them in those days).

Unfortunately those days are long past – now jobs, and family and everyday obligations take up much of the time that was spent reading in the past. Last week on vacation, however, I was reading a couple books that I stayed up to keep reading long after D and C were in bed (don’t ask about the sleeping arrangements in the “cottage” we rented. It was almost comical). It also made getting up early a bit hairy, but I managed (although I did fall back asleep on the couch one morning after C got up extra early and came in to wake me up).

And on this past Saturday, when we got home, the mailman dropped off all our mail for the past week, and the Harry Potter! I didn’t immediately dive in, wanting to savor the anticipation for a little bit. But I couldn’t hold out that long, and started reading after dinner. I wasn’t able to spend all night reading, and put it down a little before the half way mark Saturday night. Sunday was spent at my dad’s, in the pool (so Harry has some of the waterspots too!) and I finally finished Sunday night before bed.

It wasn’t the same as when I was younger, but for now, it’s enough.

PS. For those enquiring minds – the books on vacation that kept me up were: My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult (excellent! The ending was not predictable at all), and White Hot by Sandra Brown.

And we're back!

2007-07-21T18:12:00.001-04:00

We're back from a week of sun, sand, surf and too little sleep (someone was so excited she woke up early every. single. morning.!) Some pictures below:

Building sandcastles on the beach:

Chasing seagulls (because she wants one for a pet):

Getting buried in the sand:

And very tired at the end of a long day:

Off to catch up with everyone soon!

Hollywood East?

2007-07-13T14:47:00.001-04:00

I had seen the electronic signs earlier in the week - "Route 8 closed between exits 23 & 24 July 12 & 13 between 7 PM /5 AM"...I thought nothing of it - after all, I live in Connecticut, the construction state. I figured the state Dept of Transportation was doing some major construction between those hours and it was easiest to just shut the highway.

I knew Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg had been in New Haven filming the new Indiana Jones movie.

What I didn't realize was that this summer, Connecticut appears to be the setting for a few films! Besides Indiana Jones, apparently Martin Lawrence has been filming a movie in the Bridgeport area, and, I have been commuting through the set of yet another film - Revolutionary Road starring Kate Winslet and another little known actor - Leonardo DiCaprio....

I had wondered why a farm stand had appeared on the shoulder of the highway earlier this week too...it's actually part of the set. And that part of the highway is picturesque too...I think we might actually have to go see this movie when it comes out!

Promises not kept

2007-07-12T21:08:00.000-04:00

After 9/11, I had made certain promises to myself. I would never let a piece of paper become the most important thing to me, I would always trust my instincts, and I would always evacuate if a fire alarm sounded in the office (false alarm, malfunction or otherwise)...

And yet today, on a sunny, blue sky day similar to that day in September almost 6 years ago now, I am ashamed to admit I was busy with 2008 budget spreadsheets and didn't want to walk down 5 flights of stairs. I kept working, quickly trying to save as much of my work as I could, in case there was something really wrong and I didn't want to have to start the process over.

It was nothing serious, the fire department never even showed up (so it must've been a malfunction) and we were let back into the building after a short while outside...but how easily that promise to myself was forgotten.

Happy 4th of July!

2007-07-04T21:09:00.000-04:00

A bit damp for us this year:

The Polly Pockets were having a "boat race" :

And it's always fun to splash in puddles and get wet:

I hope everyone has a fun 4th!

Uh oh!

2007-07-03T13:01:00.000-04:00

I just checked the rental listing for the cottage we'll be staying in for a week in the next few weeks....

Air conditioning - check
Cable TV - check
Dishwasher - check
Washer/dryer - uh oh....

No washer and dryer! And I have a fashionista that changes clothes multiple times a day....let's hope it'll be warm enough that we spend most of our time in our swim suits!

Summer thoughts

2007-06-25T20:47:00.000-04:00

I love the weather this time of year....the hazy sunshine, the slightly humid air, the potential thunderstorm in the atmosphere, sunsets close to 8:30pm, the smell of freshly cut grass.

And then someone in work said: "Only six months 'til Christmas!"

Not to worry, I'm still registered Republican

2007-06-24T19:33:00.001-04:00

I've been feeling very burnt out lately, and I'm not sure why. Maybe it's the melancholy I feel when I leave in the mornings now, and no one else is even awake. And during the calls home I get to hear a play by play of all the fun things done or planned, and I'm stuck dealing with insurance.....

But this Saturday we did something a little different. We went to karate, sure, but then we went to the Farmers' Market held in the parking lot of a shopping plaza every Saturday....I'll be the first to admit I'm not "crunchy" in the least - I hate the smell of patchouli in the morning and greed is good (since my annual bonus is based on results)...

However, it makes me feel good when I buy something that's come from a local farm. We bought strawberries from a farm one town over, some organic lettuce, and some homemade bread and dip for having with the wine later that night.

The strawberries were incredible. Much better than you get at the grocery store - I didn't even need to put some sugar on them to make them juicy for the shortcake (I wonder what kind of google searches that last sentence will get me?)....

I realize we're pretty lucky - we have local farms that supply the produce, and the means to purchase it...and I want to keep trying to do my part, as little as it is, for as long as I can...

Look - something shiny!

2007-06-20T20:45:00.001-04:00

Sorry for the lack of posting recently....it's been busy...so here's what I've been up to, in pictures:

(There will be a review on the Whinery of this wine, soon - it's D's turn for the review so he gets to write it).

And there was a business trip in there too....

Book meme

2007-06-08T14:02:00.000-04:00

Elle tagged me for a meme about books:

Next 5 books to be read:

1. Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill….Stephen King’s son – enough said.

2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling – the last Harry Potter! I can’t wait…this has been on order from Amazon since the release date was announced.

3. All the Kings Men by Robert Penn Warren - I had to read this for one of my high school English classes and want to go back and see if it “reads” differently now that it’s been twenty years. Plus I’m a sucker for any literature set in the South. Pat Conroy is another favorite author – he just hasn’t written anything new in too long!

4. Baby Proof by Emily Giffin

Typical fluffy fare for the train ride….

5. Whitney My Love by Judith McNaught

I believe the proper term for this book would be “bodice ripper”….bought on a recommendation from the nice clerk in the Barnes & Noble – I’ve read a couple other books by the same author (except those were set in the present day).

Last 4 books I’ve read:

1. Someone to Watch Over Me by Judith McNaught

The same nice Barnes & Noble clerk recommended this one and it was pretty good – perfect for the train and an interesting story.

2. Full of Grace by Dorthea Benton Frank

A Jersey girl goes to live in South Carolina, near where her parents retired. Funny and light fluffy reading.

3. The Same Sweet Girls by Cassandra King

Southern chick lit again….I told you I had something for the South!

4. Sick Puppy by Carl Hiaasen

He writes funny crime stories, usually set in FL….they’re so improbable but funny.

Last 3 books borrowed:

I must confess, I’m not in the habit of borrowing books. I don’t like our library in town and one of my favorite things is to spend an hour or two wandering the aisles of a bookstore, looking for old favorites and trying to find some new friends. Gift cards to a bookstore are my favorite presents.

Last 2 non-fiction books read:

1. Babyproofing Your Marriage…. By Stacie Cockrell, Cathy O’Neill and Julia Stone. D received this as part of some “book tour” and I skimmed through it quickly. It was ok, but not helpful because D is way more hands on than some of the dads that were described in the book.

2. ?? I’m not big into non-fiction – that’s more D’s thing, although his summer reading list has been the same for the last two/three years. Oh wait! I just caught sight of my bookcase in my office – that would be the 2007 Cancellation and Non-renewal Handbook for the 50 states and District of Columbia, as published by the fine folks at National Underwriter. Exciting, I know.

1 book everyone should read:

I don’t think it should be limited – I think everyone should read whatever interests them, as long as they read!

Consider yourself tagged if you haven't done this meme before!

Luck o' the Irish

2007-06-06T21:34:00.001-04:00

Tonight was the last Home School meeting of the year - the kids were going to sing and there would be ice cream after, and the "big" raffle drawing would take place. I left work early to be sure we arrived on time - C ran off to join her friends and D and I met up with another mom and went to sit in the bleachers for the meeting.

The powers that be were handing out raffle tickets as everyone walked in - not for the "big" raffle, but for some leftover items that were discovered somewhere. The first ticket pulled won generic orange powder drink mix (one of the kids won that). Next up, a mom from C's kindergarten class won a bottle of Italian dressing.

D won too. Hellmann's Mayonaise in the "easy out" bottle.

The best part? He hates mayonaise.

The even better than best part? The mayonaise was past it's expiration date.

Odds n Ends

2007-06-04T14:09:00.000-04:00

We’re in the very early planning stages of our Summer 2008 vacation. Since it will be our 10th anniversary and our 40th birthdays, we’re contemplating something different than the usual Disney or Rhode Island trips. Since C is coming with us it will still need to be family friendly, etc – hopefully all inclusive and somewhere in the Caribbean or Mexico. C is lobbying hard for Hawaii, but that’s not happening. Not next summer at least.

So we’ve got some travel brochures from a travel agent and have selected a few places for further review. Sometimes I think life would be so much easier without the internet. I checked some out (that looked good based on the pretty pictures and descriptions in the brochures) on a couple travel sites and now my head is spinning. I realize that people tend to be less “editorial” on the net (anonymous and all that) but how many times can reviews contradict each other?

I had Friday off – C had a birthday party to attend at one of her classmates’ houses (and let’s face it, any excuse for a day off!) and it was too hot to really get anything done outside. I got to take a nap! Yes, you heard me correctly – a nap. Bonus points to D for not bothering me and keeping C from waking me up. It was an hour, and it was heavenly. I felt like a slacker and loved it.

Excitement in the neighborhood yesterday – there were two bears sighted in the neighbor’s yard (apparently trying to get at their bird feeders on their deck)….I don’t usually like C to play outside by herself but now there’s a new reason to worry? Yikes.
And there’s no bear catcher to come round them up either.

And in the “you’re a horrible parent” news, the NY Times had a big article (I read online) about “redshirting” kids for kindergarten. Apparently the new trend is to keep the kids in pre-school an extra year so they’re older when they start kindergarten and have an advantage. I could have kept C home (she has a November birthday) but she’s been in daycare, I didn’t want her to be bored in school and she seemed ready. She has some issues with sitting still and paying attention, but when she puts her mind to it, she gets 100’s. Again, I need to stop reading the internets.

Future Shock

2007-05-30T13:24:00.000-04:00

I have seen the future, and it scares me.

We took C to see Cinderella at the high school this past weekend. It was the typical high school production (D had a critical eye on everything, until I told him to shush because the kids were so enthusiastic and when he was in high school plays I’m sure it wasn’t any better), with the high school orchestra providing the music.

No, being in a high school wasn’t what caused the shock. It was the reaction of the teenagers afterward that made me shudder to think of C in ten years. The girls were weeping (I’m assuming because they were seniors and this was their last show) and hugging each other like they were heading off to war, never to be seen again.

I’m not against emotion – heck, I even got a little misty eyed my senior year of high school during my last home game of the basketball season. But viewed through the lens of twenty years of perspective, it seems a bit misplaced. I realize, to those girls, this felt like the end of something special that would never be duplicated. And maybe it won’t. But for some, college should provide them different experiences that feel just as (if not more) special.

What really made me shudder was the thought that in 8 short years, C will be in high school. She’ll become one of those hormonal, overly emotional teenagers. And I will not know how to handle that phase. Oh sure, she promises she’ll still like us, but I was a teenager once, I know the drill. The eye rolls, the dramatic sighs, the Academy Award winning sad looks (although we get those sometimes now, should I be scared?)….and she’ll want nothing to do with D or me….

Tomorrow

2007-05-24T12:31:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow at 11:30 am I get to see this movie...C has school all day (field day, and it's supposed to be 90. I won't be surprised if there's a note home today that field day is postponed until sometime next week. It's not usually 90 in CT this early!)

I read one review (the NY Times review), full of large SAT vocabulary words, and the reviewer just didn't "get" that this is not SUPPOSED to be a serious movie. It's just a fun movie. There's nothing wrong with that.

[edited to add - the Washington Post review was good]

It's kind of the way the English majors had to interpret literature. I never understood that. Let me get this straight - you think you KNOW what the author was trying to say? What if the author was saying exactly what was written? Ever think of that?

But anyway, tomorrow is Pirates, and this weekend is the unoffical kick off to summer, and I hope everyone has FUN!

Catch up

2007-05-21T15:51:00.000-04:00

Hello? Anyone still out there? Sorry for neglecting the place for so long. Life has been rushing along, the days speeding by, and yet, nothing out of the ordinary…

A quick summary of things:

A day trip to NY to see Tarzan (including a stop at Columbia for t-shirts for D & C )

Star student for C last week which involved us going into her classroom to read a story

Open house at school for C – she got to show off her diorama

Flick n Float at the Y which was cancelled, yet no one remembered to tell us

Seeing Shrek the Third (C’s first movie at night! Ok, 6:45. Close enough for her)

Chatty Cathy on Saturday morning at 6:15 am (and yet, I have to wake her up during the week. WHY???)

C “cooking” with M&Ms on Sunday – M&M sandwich, and tropical drinks made of watered down M&Ms (and as a special flavor treat she used the laundry measuring cup to measure the water!)

A business trip to Pennsylvania for a few days (that was actually good – chocolate martinis and funky restaurants).

D wrote a post about wine for the Whinery - I was supposed to, but fell asleep after the first glass (c'mon, it was the same day chatty cathy showed up!)

And the usual assorted craziness that goes with being me.

How are things with you?

Happy Birthday D!

2007-05-10T21:51:00.000-04:00

Today is D's 39th birthday....so below is a virtual present for him:

First, we'd take the train into NYC, where we'd have reservations for the weekend at a hotel. (We're going to assume we have someone who'd watch C for this particular weekend).

We'd head to some old favorite places:

Where we'd have pitchers of these (Harp for me, thanks!):

After spending far too much time there, we'd head down to:

And we'd end the night up here:

We'd probably need several days to recover, but it might be worth it!

Spring Break Day 6 - April 20

2007-05-09T20:37:00.000-04:00

This was it – our last day in Disney. Not even a whole day even though our flight didn’t leave Orlando until 4:55 pm. Thursday morning we awoke to find the Magic Express paperwork for our return attached to our door – we had to be at the front of the resort for the bus to pick us up at 1:30 on Friday.

We decided to spend some time at Downtown Disney to get breakfast at the Earl of Sandwich, then D took C to look at the ‘pineapple’ which had fascinated her all week (it’s the Gloria Estefan restaurant. She was convinced it was Spongebob’s house). I ducked into the World of Disney for some last minute shopping (we had Disney reward dollars left that would expire in December. I know I could have used them at the Disney store in the mall, but it wouldn’t be the same.).

After meeting back up, we head back to finish packing and change into swimsuits for a final swim before lunch and getting Magical Express back to the airport.

We land in Westchester right on time and head home….dreaming of our next Disney vacation…

Spring Break Day 5 - April 19

2007-05-04T22:05:00.000-04:00

This was it – what everyone was waiting for – a day at the Magic Kingdom. We arrived a little before 9 am; there were extra magic hours that morning, and it was open until midnight (don’t worry, we weren’t going to spend the entire day there). D likes to hear the opening song (which we somehow missed anyway) and we enjoyed many rides before the lines got too long. On our quick trip on Monday night we had enjoyed Mickey’s Philharmagic and Pirates of the Caribbean, so those rides were checked off the list already.

C was excited for Splash Mountain – it was all she had talked about all week. “Wanna go on Splash Mountain” was all we heard, no matter which park we were in. We got Fastpasses for Splash Mountain and went on some other rides (Pirates, Small World, Peter Pan) until it was time for Splash Mountain.

Right before we headed back to ride Splash Mountain, we checked the line for the teacups. Manageable, but probably not enough time to wait in line for that, ride, then get back to Splash Mountain before the FastPasses expired. Executive decision time. C and I waited in the shade, watching the cars on the Indy raceway while D went to get us FastPasses for Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. Then we headed to Splash Mountain.

Poor D ended up sitting in the very front of the log – and he’s not a big fan of heights. Last year C and I shared that seat, but this year she didn’t want to sit in the very front. And she chose to ride with me. Splash Mountain is one of our favorite rides – for me I think because it’s longer than I feel most of the other rides are. C likes the big drop down the ‘mountain’. D likes it because of the Song of the South storyline.

After Splash we rode the teacups, then it was time for our Buzz Lightyear ride. That was a pretty cool ride too – like being in a videogame! After a disappointing lunch at Columbia Harbor House (near the Haunted Mansion), D went for a haircut at the barber shop (I think he should have told him it was his first haircut, but he didn’t want to play along). C and I got some postcards and wrote them out while we were waiting. When D was done with his haircut he took C back into the barbershop for some “pixie dust” for her hair. She was thrilled.

After a quick dip in the pool we got ready for dinner – Artist Point at the Wilderness Lodge. We really liked the way the Wilderness Lodge “felt” – it was comfortable and relaxing. (We were actually supposed to stay there this trip but switched to Saratoga when we bought into DVC). We wandered around a little until the restaurant was ready to seat us. What a cool place! And dinner was yummy – I had the salmon and D had the buffalo steak. Definitely would go back.

The only way from the Wilderness Lodge to the Magic Kingdom is via boat, so we waited for the one to MK (it stopped at the campground first before heading to the Magic Kingdom). Once we arrived at the Magic Kingdom we took the train to Mickey’s Toontown, where C had a blast playing in the little playground there and seeing Mickey and Minnie’s houses. She also got her face painted.

We caught the train back to Main Street and watched the tail end of the Spectromagic parade (we saw the entire parade back in August, and C didn’t complain too much about missing it). D decided he wanted a shirt he saw back at the Splash mountain gift shop, so C and I waited on Main Street for the fireworks to start. We watched the fireworks and waited for D to get back to us, then called it a night. C passed out on the bus ride home and we tucked her right into bed when we got there.

Spring Break Day 4 - April 18

2007-05-02T19:02:00.000-04:00

Since we didn’t have the greatest time at Typhoon Lagoon the previous day, we decide to try again. The water park has extra magic hours in the morning, so we make sure we arrive there shortly after it opens to the resort guests.

We had a short wait for a raft on the family raft ride, and even got to ride it again since there was no one in line when we got to the bottom. From there we went to the tube rides, then over to the slides. C is having a blast, even on the slide (I would go down first and wait for her at the bottom, and D would follow.).

Then we went into the wave pool for awhile – C had a blast bodysurfing on the big waves…after a quick trip in the lazy river, it was already time for lunch. As we were walking to Typhoon Tilly’s (where we had lunch) C spied the tattoo person. Yes, my daughter loves tattoos. Not the permanent kind, but give her any kind of temporary tattoo and she is happy. After lunch we had to get her a tattoo. She chose Minnie Mouse. D chose Goofy on a surf board. I didn’t get one. Maybe next year.

After the lunch and tattoo’ing we caught the bus back to the resort to relax awhile before heading to Animal Kingdom. We had reservations for dinner at Jiko at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, and we got to Animal Kingdom with enough time to watch Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle parade before catching the bus to the Lodge for dinner.

Dinner was interesting – I had steak with macaroni and cheese, C had macaroni and cheese and D had the pork tenderloin. While it was a very good dinner, I don’t think it’s a place we’d say we had to go back to. C had fun making s’mores for dessert, then we wandered around the Animal Kingdom Lodge before catching the bus back to Animal Kingdom for extra magic hours there.

We probably should have planned things a little better since C could only go on certain rides due to her height/interest, as only some of the rides were operating during extra magic hours. Obviously, even though she said she wanted to ride Expedition Everest, the height requirement was an obstacle she couldn’t get around. That, and the fact that she’d have been riding it by herself, since D doesn’t like roller coasters and I’m not too sure I’m ok with them anymore either.

But, we were able to ride our favorite ride – Kali River Rapids. We rode this twice in a row and got completely soaked. We had to buy a new shirt for C so she wouldn’t shiver to death. D and I thought about buying ourselves new shirts but when we realized we wouldn’t be there much longer decided against it. She and D rode the Triceratops Spin, and then we called it a night.

Spring Break - Day 3 April 17

2007-04-30T20:32:00.000-04:00

We make sure to wake up earlier today – we’re having breakfast with the princesses in Epcot!! Plus it’s extra magic hours in the morning at Epcot, so we want to be sure we get in ahead of the crowd.

We arrive in plenty of time and make our way to Norway (where the restaurant for the Princess breakfast is). After we check in with the nice person at the front, we stand in line with C to have her picture taken with Belle. Belle in her yellow dress. And C in her yellow dress….it was very cute, how could we not buy the professional picture that the smiling man brought around to our table during breakfast?

During breakfast, C got to meet Cinderella (again!), Snow White, Sleeping Beauty (Aurora) and Mulan. I kept urging her to go up to Mulan and do the horse stance (hi-yah!) from karate, but C was scared Mulan would really do karate on her (since Mulan apparently has a black belt).

Breakfast itself was pretty good – semi-buffett (in which you got up and chose from a variety of fruits, some native Norwegian cheeses, smoked salmon, etc. but they also brought big platters of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and potatoes to the table as well).

After finishing breakfast we wandered around the World Showcase. D and C were on a mission to finish getting all the countries’ stamps on C’s mask, while I wanted to buy a present for my brother in one of the shops in Germany. We called it a day right after lunch (fish and chips in England) and decided to go to Typhoon Lagoon.

That was a mistake. Never go to the water parks in the afternoon. The lines for the rides weren’t horrible (by theme park standards anyway) but still long. And there weren’t a lot of chairs (definitely not two together)….Now, we love the water parks, so this was a bit disappointing for us. Especially C – she’s part fish, I think. We head back to the resort for a quick dinner at DTD and to re-group.

Dinner was a Wolfgang Puck Express – WOW that was an incredible meal. D and C went to the Once Upon a Toy store to get a Little Pony for C’s best friend, and I wandered around the World of Disney store. C was getting very cranky by this point, so we headed back to the room to call it a night.

Spring Break Day 2 - April 16

2007-04-26T20:23:00.000-04:00

C woke us up relatively early – 7 am-ish (she really is a semi-morning person, unfortunately!)….we stayed in bed a bit deciding what we should do (originally the plan was to go to Typhoon Lagoon, but the weather was a bit too chilly for that) and determined we’d go to Epcot.

We arrived at Epcot shortly after the gates opened. D ran to get us Fastpasses to Soarin’, while I arranged a stroller. (I know –C’s 5, she should walk, but trust me…it wouldn’t have been pretty if we made her walk all day). D came back to say that Soarin’ was down, but the Castmembers were giving out Fastpasses and we had some for around 1. Which was good – gave us time to wander around and look at all the pretty flowers and landscaping.

We went on the new Nemo and Friends ride in the Seas pavilion. That was pretty cool – C and I shared a clamshell, while D was behind us. The ride took us through parts of the aquarium, and some of the Nemo characters were actually shown in the aquarium.

And of course, my camera batteries died on me shortly thereafter. Since I didn’t bring any extra with me that day, I had to purchase them. Disney owes me a kiss at least, for what they charged me for stupid AA batteries! I don’t care that they were lithium. (I do have the rechargeable ones – next time I must remember to always pack them with me when we go someplace!!)

D and C go to an exhibit on vegetables and flowers while I hunted for the batteries. C got to decorate a box that the nice ladies put some flower seeds in for her to take home and plant. After finding them, we went to see if we could find “Tinkerbell’s Fairy Garden” on the path from Future World to the World Showcase. We did – it was a cute little area with a topiary Tinkerbell, a path to a playground for kids aged 2-5, little fairy houses scattered around, and a few tubes to climb through. C loved it! The only way we could get her to leave was to promise to go look for Minnie’s Butterfly Garden.

We spent some time wandering around the countries once the World Showcase opened. C got a mask and started collecting the stamps and other things that each country attaches to the mask in Mexico (after we rode their ride – which was ok, nothing to write home about). We ate lunch at the Mexican cantina, outside overlooking the lake, then went back to use our Fastpasses for Soarin’.

Fastpasses are so great. I don’t know why people stand in line (of course, maybe we tend to “do” the parks a little differently than other people). We got right to the beginning of the line for Soarin’ (a 60 minute wait at that point) and got ready to go on. Unfortunately, by the time we got to where the seating was lined up, we couldn’t all sit together. C and I got to sit in the first row (that goes up the highest) while D was two rows back. What a great ride! It really was like you were “flying” above California!

After that we caught a bus back to the resort for some pool time before dinner at Cinderella’s castle in the Magic Kingdom. Dinner itself wasn’t the greatest but worth it to be able to see C get to meet Cinderella.

She was pretty tired even though dinner was early, so we went back to the resort after dinner and tucked her in to bed.

Spring Break Day 1 - April 15

2007-04-24T20:00:00.000-04:00

Sunday started out dark and rainy. The phone rang with our wake up call at 5:45 am. We groaned, got ourselves up and ready, and headed out the door by 6:30 (we stayed at the Westin in Stamford that night, in order to be closer to the airport. The Heavenly beds? Not so much. Unless you like sleeping on a really soft bed. We don’t.)

We arrive at the White Plains airport and quickly find a parking space. Never having been in that particular airport, I was surprised at how small it is. Somehow I thought it was bigger. Only 2 gates! We made our way through security and waited for our flight to be called (it was still showing as “on time” on the monitors). Once our flight was called, we made our way to the gate and through the walkway, out onto the runway to get onto the plane (I felt like I was in one of those old movies where you see the actors walking up the stairs onto the plane). We get on, get ourselves settled, and get ready to take off.

Once we were mid-air and comfortably above the cloud layer (35,000 feet!) it was a nice ride. We watched the tvs Jet Blue so thoughtfully provides, and C watched old cartoons on some channel called Boomerang where she learned about Smurfs. Darn you Jet Blue! After landing safely and on time in Orlando we made our way to the Magic Express desk. Having used this service several times before, we knew to send either D or myself in line to have our paperwork verified while the other occupied C. C and I sat down in the chairs thoughtfully provided to wait for D to finish. It didn’t take him too long and we were off to wait in line for the bus to take us to

We changed into flip flops and headed to Downtown Disney (a short walk) for a quick lunch at the Earl of Sandwich. D wanted to look for shorts so I took C into the Once Upon A Toy store, where she discovered the stuff a box with My Little Pony way in the back (you get a box, and there’s a huge amount of outfits and accessories that are sized to fit the My Little Pony you also have to stuff in the box (I guess you don’t actually have to include the pony if you’re like us and have twenty of them at home already, but then they aren’t Disney My Little Pony).

Dinner was at the Turf Club and Grille right at the resort. YUM. D had a mint julep (in keeping with the horse-y theme) and I had something called a Side-bet (which was dark rum with oj and something else and delicious and if C wasn’t there I would have moved outside and enjoyed several more of them on the patio). After dinner we changed into our swimsuits and went swimming (we had packed our swimsuits in our carryon since the luggage tends to take a little longer getting to you when you use the Magic Express. All our luggage had arrived by the time we were heading to dinner. The groceries were another story).

After swimming, we went back and got C to sleep. The nice thing about the one bedroom was that while she went to sleep in the bedroom, D and I could still watch tv in the living room. When we were ready for bed, he opened up the sleeper sofa and carried her there.
She woke us up the next morning, ready to go to Epcot.

And, we're back....

2007-04-22T19:48:00.000-04:00

We're back!! We made it out ok on Sunday morning (thank you Jet Blue!) and considering the weather up and down the entire East Coast (with tornado watches thrown in for effect in FL) it wasn't a bad flight. I've had worse with better weather. The big sigh of relief came mid-air while watching the Weather Channel on the tv (again, thank you Jet Blue for the distraction of satellite tv in flight!) seeing that there were 4 hour delays already from the various NY airports.

We landed uneventfully and had the quickest trip from the airport to the World - while checking us in for the "Magic Express" service, D learned that the reason it wasn't busy was that many flights up and down the coast had been delayed/cancelled.

I'll post a more thorough report later in the week (weather was incredible - sunny and high 70's/low 80's most of the week) but want to ask one question: WHY, if I did laundry twice during our trip, is there still mountains of laundry to do now?? WHY?

Rainbows and Unicorns

2007-04-13T23:12:00.000-04:00

All is rainbows and unicorns now. It would be puppies too, except the puppies imagery is being reserved until Sunday turns out ok.

I know Jet Blue has gotten a bad rep lately, but after waiting on hold for 15 minutes, I was able to change our flight on Sunday to an earlier time. And an entirely different airport! For no charge! So instead of leaving at 11:40am from JFK, we're leaving at 8:55am from White Plains.

And Teresa from Jet Blue tells me the storm isn't really supposed to get bad until Sunday evening (I'll reserve judgement on that)...

ARGH!!!

2007-04-13T19:31:00.000-04:00

We leave Sunday. Right now in the middle of the country is a storm taking shape...guess where it's tracking to be on Sunday?!

Add to that the fact I've not yet started packing, tomorrow is fully booked with normal Saturday craziness, and ARGH!!!

Leavin' on a jet plane

2007-04-11T10:58:00.000-04:00

We’re heading back to Florida for Spring Break next week. C’s, not mine. We’ll be spending some time in the house of mouse (our first visit “home” after our purchase of the Disney time share). We made the mistake of telling C we’re going. It has to be hard to be 5 – a week must feel like a year to her.

She’s been busy packing for her trip – she has a very small Princess wheelie suitcase, an Ariel backpack, and a small rolling suitcase that was part of a set we have. So far she’s packed:

• Ducks and a whale, for her bath tub time
• 2 swimsuits
• A wand and a crown “for when she meets the Princesses”
• Band-aids (“because I have a cut on my finger, mom”)
• 2 DVDs – Spongebob and Barbie
• 4 pairs of underwear
• A doll dressed like Minnie Mouse
• An Ariel doll

Each day she adds something else that she "just can't leave home without". Although, I have to give her credit. I don't think I would have packed my own suitcase at her age. I'd have left it up to my mom to do.

Next time somebody remind us not to tell her until the day before we leave?

Happy Easter!

2007-04-08T20:17:00.000-04:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter - full of chocolate bunnies, peanut butter eggs and everything good.

The Easter bunny left tracks!

High Stakes Weekend

2007-04-03T20:33:00.000-04:00

This weekend was unusual. Unusual in what way? Glad you asked. Oh sure, we still had to do the running around to karate and swimming and a hair cut for C, but Saturday night was going to be different.

Oh wonderful Saturday night. A night that used to contain such promise, such excitement. Usually Saturday nights are spent on the couch, maybe some wine involved, probably me falling asleep and D telling me to go upstairs because I’m snoring.

This Saturday night we had made arrangements for C to go to her friend’s house while D and I went to her school’s silent auction fundraiser. I didn’t have the highest hopes, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was held at a banquet place not far from home, and after dropping off C we weren’t horribly late (more like fashionably late).

We check in to get our table assignment (table 16 – like the organizers somehow knew we should be in back!) (and of course, it would have made too much sense to organize the list of attendees alphabetically so it took two people about 3 minutes longer than it should have to find our names) and a program. There were two auctions – the silent auction and a live auction.

Dinner was to be held in one room, and the silent auction items (over 150!) were in another. Wait staff walked around passing hot hors d’oeuvres. Conversation was a dull roar. Adult beverages were plentiful. No one ran around bumping into people or things!

D and I agreed on a basic strategy. We’d get a glass of wine, wander around and look at all the items. Then we’d decide what we’d like to bid on (if anything). Now, I’m a gambler. I mean, even insurance is gambling (the customer is betting he’s going to have a loss, I’m betting he’s not) if you want to look at it that way. So you can probably see what’s coming, right?

There were only 4 sets of parents from C’s class in attendance. Two of the moms are ones who spend a lot of time with the class, doing creative stuff and helping out…Since they donate their time, it’s only right I donate money, right?

Each class had put together a basket of items for the silent auction. C’s class did “Reading is Fun – Classic and Award Winning Children’s Books”. The opening bid was a bit high, but nowhere near the actual cost of the basket and items (seeing as we had to send in $10 to fund the basket, and there’s 19 kids in the class, you can do the math). It wouldn’t do to not bid on that, so I quickly wrote my name and the minimum bid.

The teachers and staff each contributed things, and there were three baskets full of fun things. One basket in particular seemed to have a lot of Disney related items in it, so I wrote my name and the minimum bid. There was a beautiful basket that was referred to in the auction catalog as “Let’s play dress up” - 2 children’s gowns, tiara, jewelry, and a jewelry armoire. The gowns (what we could make out from the tulle the basket was wrapped in) were exquisite – almost too good for dress up. D thought C would absolutely love that, so more writing. I (unbeknownst to D) bid on a package that included 2 passes to Lake Compounce (I figured since I knew I wanted to go this summer at least once, why not get the school some benefit too?). We bid on a table and chair set that was painted prettily with dragonflies….we bid on a wall hanging and fireplace thing. Dangerous, I know…

Bids were sealed at 7:00 pm and dinner was served. We were seated, in the back with other kindergartners’ parents (we knew everyone already, from birthday parties and D’s having grown up in town). After dinner, the live auction started. There were some really cool things being auctioned off (I’m not talking about the golf or dinner with the priests) – there were things like a ride to school on a fire truck, or a garbage truck (insert obligatory Teamster joke here – we did!), mayor for the day, different kinds of birthday parties (at the fire house, a CSI party at the police station, princess, spa, etc.)…

The evening ended around 11:15, at which point we had to settle up. We had successfully bid on five items (one during the live auction – a pair of sunglasses that no one had bid on during the silent auction – I just wanted the evening to end).

C slept over her friend’s house (her first sleepover!) so you would think I slept really well once we got home. Not! I kept waking up thinking something was missing. So, I can’t win.

Now I just have to convince more parents to come with us next year and have even more fun!

Short Term Memory

2007-03-30T13:41:00.000-04:00

I used to be able to remember everything. My friends would say I even had a photographic memory. Useless, odd bits of trivia would get lodged in my brain and remain there until needed, to be produced when discussing weighty matters (weighty to a teenager/young adult anyway).

Now? I ask D the same question several times. He accuses me of not paying attention. Some of that might be partly true, but I think some of that has to do with the fact that my mind is racing to try to figure out the best way to accomplish the other sixty odd things that need to get done before (insert date/activity/time here).

I think I’m finally starting to understand some things. Guys are simple (maybe not exactly Forrest Gump simple) but they are tasked to do something and they do it and then move on to the next thing. Simple. They’re not thinking as they do that one thing, ok, I need to pack the karate clothes and swim suit and towel and some extra clothes, we’ll drop him off at the Y, go to breakfast, go to karate, go back to the Y then go to the grocery store, do I need a list?, is there time to get home between the grocery store and birthday party?, don’t forget the present for the party, do we have time to stop for card, would it be easier to make a card, call dad, ask about where Easter will be and what time….

Then you put that on top of the sleep deprivation that took place about five years earlier, which you are still trying to make up for, you can understand why the memory’s not what it used to be.

And yet, driving to the train station a couple mornings ago, listening to the satellite radio tuned to the 80’s station, I still remembered every single word to Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy”.

I think I'm in love

2007-03-28T16:48:00.000-04:00

As you know, my car went to the great junkyard in the sky recently. Since we really only need one car right now, there's no great pressure to replace it immediately (although I really do hate having to stop at the gas station every other day, it is cheaper than another car payment!). I've been putting off doing research on new cars, because the one pictured up there is one I really really want.

Even though VW quality may have gone downhill in recent years.

Even though it's completely impractical. (Both D and C said "get a convertible!")

And so I went to the VW website and "built" one. Sigh. Sure, it starts out at a semi-reasonable price (ok, the most I would have ever paid for a car, to date) but then when you add all the options in - because really, I'm liking the satellite radio. Then you can add a DVD player for the backseat. And, the sport package. And so on and so on until you get to your summary page and you're looking at almost a year's tuition at a private college.

Sigh. It's nice to dream though.

The Fungibility of Money

2007-03-26T08:56:00.000-04:00

I was going to post about how working in insurance makes me more aware of hazards (ie. I always check where the exits are located, I pass the 18 wheeler trucks on the highway a bit more carefully, don't get me started on permission slips) but I was even bored by that.

This weekend was another very busy weekend, per usual. Saturday we went to a birthday party at the bowling alley here in town. That wasn't so unusual. What I found interesting was in talking to a mom, one topic that came up was her way of budgeting her money. She separates her money into different enveleopes (one for gas, one for Dunkin' Donuts, etc.). I've heard of people doing this (I think my MIL does this also - is it an Italian thing?) but I've never understood the reason. The mom also didn't have a debit card. Maybe that's it? I can just debit everything I need? But why wouldn't you have a debit card? It's coming right out of your bank account, so your money stays in and earns interest until you need it. Granted, it may only be a penny of interest, but "a penny saved is a penny earned", right?

And the topic then moved to dads watching their kids - this same mom got to go to the mall - ALL BY HERSELF - on Saturday morning. Her husband called her twice! to ask questions. And not like "Our son is bleeding what should I do" type emergency questions; questions like "what is there to eat?". I guess I'm lucky - the few times I get to go do something by myself (and it's not all D's fault I don't do more on my own, it's my own darn guilt complex) D hasn't called me to ask questions. Even the very first time, when she was only about 6 weeks old, I went to the mall for Christmas shopping by myself, he didn't call.

And what were the kids doing while we had all these deep discussions? They were supposed to be bowling....however C rolled the ball (painfully slowly - even managed to get it stuck between the bumper and the lane!) once or twice and gave up and went to try to play pool. Silly girl! Doesn't she realize she needs at least a beer (or two or three) before she'll be any good at shooting pool (or thinking she's good at shooting pool)?

Amazing Grace

2007-03-23T09:47:00.000-04:00

My mom absolutely hated the hymn “Amazing Grace”. For whatever reason, she just hated hearing it in church, and especially if more than one verse was sung. She said it was “Protestant” – whatever that meant in her mind. So we used to jokingly threaten we’d have it played at her funeral. She would tell us if we did that, she would come back and haunt us the rest of our lives.

A little background first – my dad comes from a Protestant family. They’re Congregational (you know, the pretty white churches usually on the town greens in most New England towns). When he and my mom got married, he converted for her (to become Catholic). I don’t think that went over well with his family (not that I ever noticed anything, just from my parents saying something when we were older).

And, the few times I’ve been in the Congregational church that most of that side of the family attends, it’s not hugely different than the Catholic mass. Sure, there’s none of the aerobics that goes on at Mass (stand, sit, kneel, stand, kneel, sit…) and they take Communion once a month (versus every Sunday if you’re a Catholic in good standing – unlike myself who is convinced that I will go up in flames since I haven’t been to confession since 1990). So, different, but not much.

When she died three years ago (March 25), my dad had to choose the readings and songs for her funeral mass (because it was so unexpected nothing (and I mean nothing) had been planned. I’m trying to get my dad to start thinking about what he would want, but that’s a whole different post). My mom’s boss had a daughter who was an opera singer and offered to sing at the mass, so the songs that my dad choose were beautiful (I shouldn’t make it sound like he made all the decisions – my brothers and I did get some input).

I lobbied hard for Amazing Grace. Why? Because it was such an emotional time I honestly wanted to see if she’d really carry through on her threat to come back and haunt us. Because to this day I am still having a hard time with how unexpected it was, and how much it hurt. And because part of me wants to have some proof there is a heaven, and God. You would think after 16 years of Catholic school (grammar, high and college) I’d be confident in that there is heaven and God, and everything else in the Baltimore Catechism. I’m not. I wish I could be. I envy my dad – he sincerely believes that my mom is in heaven and he’ll be with her someday.

I ended up getting the Ave Maria instead. At communion, I think. My memories of that whole week are pretty hazy.

Even scarier

2007-03-22T14:49:00.000-04:00

And I totally forgot to mention in my last post, the principal got up and said that there were only 57 school days left in the school year! (56 now, since school's already out today)....C will be done with kindergarten in less than 3 months! Then she'll be in FIRST GRADE!

Probably not helping these panic-y feelings about time flying by is the fact that for the last two nights I've barely seen her before her bedtime. Tuesday night I had to go drop off the keys to the car with the mechanic we sold it to, and last night was the Home/School meeting. When I got home last night, she and D were finishing up the "cake" game (Clue JR). Tonight should be a little better - hopefully I'll arrive home close to the normal time and we can spend some time together before bed.

Time just seems to be gathering speed again..how do I make it slow down?

High School Never Ends

2007-03-21T20:33:00.000-04:00

The video isn't safe for work - just warning you.

Tonight was the second Home School Association meeting of the school year. Someone owes me an hour and a half of my life back. I don't know if I could stand up there and explain things any better than the people who were trying to, but c'mon.

The treasurer was going over the financials and one parent felt the need to stand up and say things like "the Catholic High school does it this way instead of the way you're trying to do this" and "other Catholic grammar school with a larger, more wealthy parish makes X times what we do on this other thing". And why are some things counted toward the fundraising goal for the parents and others not counted (by things done by the development office)...

ARGH!! I felt like standing up and saying LOOK. This is the total amount the archdiocese says we have to raise. Either divide by the number of families attending the school or find some other way to raise it if you're that unhappy with the current structure.

And their attitude about the school needs some work too (I'm talking about the officers). "We can't really push because the parents have a choice as to where they send their kids"...Umm yeah, and they chose this school. There's only one other Catholic grammar school in the area. The elementary schools in the area are either acceptable or not and maybe that's a selling point. Let's not start on the public high school in the town....

Pirates of the Caribbean

2007-03-20T16:45:00.000-04:00

This is a "just for me" post - to see if this really will show some info about the new Pirates movie coming in May....

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2007-03-17T15:11:00.000-04:00

Can you believe, on Wednesday it was 70 degrees here??

After clearing the driveway, we called the Y to see if swimming lessons were cancelled (they weren't). Now we're making lamb stew in honor of the holiday, watching the parade from NYC, and making a special cake for dessert (green food coloring in the cake mix!)...

Thought this was cool (can you tell I'm not at work?)

2007-03-16T13:46:00.000-04:00

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

One of my favorite St Patrick's Day songs

2007-03-16T12:47:00.000-04:00

It's St. Patrick's Day tomorrow, and one of my fondest memories of the day involves friends, a pub and some sing along songs. We even had a whole routine that went along with the words (we're teaching C, of course. She shouldn't have to wait until college to learn this stuff! And as songs go, this one is "safe" to teach her.)

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!

A long time ago, when the Earth was green
There was more kinds of animals than you've ever seen
They'd run around free while the Earth was being born
And the loveliest of all was the unicorn

There was green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees
Some cats and rats and elephants, but sure as you're born
The loveliest of all was the unicorn

The Lord seen some sinning and it gave Him pain
And He says, "Stand back, I'm going to make it rain"
He says, "Hey Noah, I'll tell you what to do
Build me a floating zoo,
and take some of those...

Green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees
Some cats and rats and elephants, but sure as you're born
Don't you forget My unicorns

Old Noah was there to answer the call
He finished up making the ark just as the rain started to fall
He marched the animals two by two
And he called out as they came through
Hey Lord,

I've got green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees
Some cats and rats and elephants, but Lord, I'm so forlorn
I just can't find no unicorns"

And Noah looked out through the driving rain
Them unicorns were hiding, playing silly games
Kicking and splashing while the rain was falling
Oh, them silly unicorns

There was green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees
Noah cried, "Close the door because the rain is falling
And we just can't wait for no unicorns"

The ark started moving, it drifted with the tide
The unicorns looked up from the rocks and they cried
And the waters came down and sort of floated them away
That's why you never see unicorns to this very day

You'll see green alligators and long-necked geese
Some humpty backed camels and some chimpanzees
Some cats and rats and elephants, but sure as you're born
You're never gonna see no unicorns

Beware the ides of March, or, RIP Hans....

2007-03-15T13:51:00.000-04:00

As if this week weren't stressful enough, this morning, as I'm racing to the train station, the car loses power. Of course I'm in the left lane. It was only by some divine intervention there wasn't a massive accident (that, and the fact that there's not a lot of traffic at the hour I'm out).

Coasting to the side of the road, trying desparately to make it down the exit ramp, my thoughts are already racing. "Great, as if there wasn't enough reason for my big boss to hate me, now I'm going to miss his monthly meeting." Try as I might, the car would not start. Put the flashers on, start making calls. Call my boss, leave him a message (not like he'd actually be in his office at 7!), call D, tell him the situation, call a tow truck.

Waiting for the tow truck, a state cop pulls up behind me. Actually, she was very nice - just wanted to be sure I was ok, and she said she could call and tell them to hurry the tow truck up. But the tow truck pulled up about 5 minutes after she did (after I had already spent the better part of an hour sitting by myself!)....Hook the car up, hop in the tow truck and off we go!

Flash forward to lunch time. In addition to my not being at work, our laptops were switched yesterday and for some reason I can't even access my email from home. Blackberry still works luckily, so I can accomplish a couple things. My phone rings, and it's the mechanic. If they ask if you're sitting down, that's not usually a good sign.

The timing belt broke and blah blah cylinder heads, blah blah blah....$3800 estimate, and that's just an estimate (they make sure to emphasize that). I was hoping for something around $1,000 - just something so I could justify the expense since I really only need the car to last one more year.

Alas, with 195,600 miles on it, it appears the car is totalled. Kelly Blue Book estimates the value at 3,000 (for a fair condition vehicle)...since mine doesn't run, obviously it's worth less. Sigh...it was a good car.

Insert Witty Title Here

2007-03-12T20:03:00.000-04:00

It’s review time at work and while I’ve known what my raise and bonus would be for a few days, I haven’t seen the actual review itself until this morning. Full of buzz words. Actually, full is a stretch. For some reason, I get remarks when my reports are brief, but this review is more like a short list! “Pro-active”….I need to be more “pro-active”…and some of it might be warranted (because let’s face it, who wants to stir up "trouble"? Or perhaps the better buzz word there might be “issues”) but, I don’t see where I do anything differently than any of the other guys I work with.

So I screw up my courage (because I don’t like confrontation unless I’m sure I’m 100% correct) and go to talk to my boss. Can that man tap-dance or what? He should teach classes on how to say something with out actually saying something. He’s ‘in my corner’, and ‘so is dotted line boss type’ and my personal favorite: ‘vent – that’s what I’m here for’. As far as I can tell, the bottom line is something like “You stay on top of things and you are the star!” Ummm ok, so basically I need to be working at an above average level to be promoted to where everyone else is (as far as I can tell) average?

Sigh. And here’s where it gets all wound up inside. Once upon a time, I really did want to be an executive vice president. There was enough room at the top of the organization chart of the company I was with at the time to even see how it could happen. Then, I had C, and well, my priorities shifted. I had to decide – EVP or her? How could I not choose her? And I thought I was doing ok with my decision (less travel, a less demanding job in the same field with more pay) but every so often something like this happens and I get all COMPETITIVE.

And yes, I could say “screw you company, if you don’t appreciate me I’ll find someone who does”. Except, that would mean moving somewhere else. And I don’t want to uproot again if we absolutely don’t have to. And other than this, because even the miniscule salary increase and bonus are still enough for us to maintain our lavish lifestyle (that last part’s a bit sarcastic, k?) the company is actually very good about time off for doing things at C’s school, etc. I can’t complain about that. So while the grass may be greener, being fat dumb and lazy is wonderful for my 401(k)…

Then (because really, did you expect it to be an either/or situation? This is me – must overanalyze everything. To death.), I start thinking, someday C’s going to be in the business world and hopefully things will be different, as long as I keep making some noise about things…..

Some days I wish I could just be a pirate. Drink rum and sail the Caribbean. It’s got to be better than insurance.

Just asking...

2007-03-09T11:43:00.000-05:00

Why is it, when I'm having a particularly tough day at work, and take 5 minutes to shoe shop at Nordstrom.com, the only shoes that call my name cost the most?

Play Ball

2007-03-07T21:41:00.000-05:00

It's been cold here the last couple days...and we're forecast for a few more days before we turn the corner and hit the 40-50 degree mark...but tonight, for an hour and a half, it was summer. The local PBS station showed a documentary about the Red Sox-Yankee rivalry. We've tried to go to at least one of those games during the regular season (easier before the tickets got wicked hard to buy, and before we had C).

I don't know what it is about baseball. Maybe it's sitting outside, in the sun, with a hot dog and a beer. Maybe it's that sometimes, you can actually see the Little Leaguer in the professional ballplayer. Or maybe it's the show that the fans put on in the stands. Sometimes that's even better than the game itself (especially in the Bronx).

My brother is a huge Red Sox fan. My dad gave up after having his heart broken by the Sox time and again. D is a Yankee fan. Has been his whole life. Me? I just like the sitting outside with a beer, watching people.

But, the 2004 Series still makes me cry.

When did this happen?

2007-03-03T21:21:00.000-05:00

D and I are watching the Travel Channel with their "Beach Blast Weekend" this weekend....and one hour is devoted to Florida's Best Beaches. Number 8 was Panama City Beach, which is apparently a huge spring break destination (population goes from 5,000 or so to 500,000).

The big place to stay is a Holiday Inn right on the beach. D says "how many kids have gotten hurt falling off those balconies?"

Next is a club where all the spring breakers go to party when they're not at the beach. Shown is this huge pool filled with spring breakers drinking. I remark "You might as well swim in the toilet"....

When did we get this old?

It's a small world

2007-02-27T19:16:00.000-05:00

I know – horrible song to have stuck in your head. But it’s true! (and not just ‘cuz we’ve drunk deeply of the Disney kool-aid).

While C was taking swimming lessons at the Y one session, D and I thought we saw someone we graduated high school with there also. But since it’s been twenty years, and we didn’t know this person in high school, we weren’t quite sure.

The opportunity to say something to her just didn’t come up, and we didn’t think much of it, until the beginning of kindergarten this past fall. Because….drum roll please….her son was in C’s class!

Now, I didn’t really have the greatest high school experience. I’m sure it could have been worse, but it was high school…Take every awkward moment in a John Hughes film and magnify it. That’s what it felt like for me, anyway. I can’t speak for D. College was much better.

She was a cheerleader, and one of the clique that was “popular” in high school. We weren’t in the same classes (even the classes where the honors and non-honors level students mixed (religion and gym)). She was (is) one of those petite people that intimidate me (because I’m tall and apparently still think of myself as gawky). Plus, there’s no way she would even deign to talk to me because I still think of everyone in high school as ‘frozen’ that way (even though I know they’re not).

So imagine my surprise when she recognizes me (not personally, just recognized the fact that I was familiar looking) – I think she recognized D officially, first – since they might have been in the same homeroom at some point over the four years of high school. And she’s nice!

And to top it off? Her son totally loves C. And they’re so cute together because he’s this little peanut, and C is tall for her age (even though she’s 10 months younger than he is!). We joke about them all the time. Probably inappropriate, but hey, that’s what therapy’s for.

For Elle - Snow Day

2007-02-26T20:20:00.000-05:00

It snowed again last night/this morning. I did take pictures (D actually took this one, it was still dark when I took some and they didn't come out very well).

Do people who live where it doesn't snow send Christmas cards with snowy scenes on them? Or am I the only one who wonders such weird things?

Shoveling snow is somewhat theraputic for me. Seriously. You think I kid, but I'm serious. You push the snow to the side, you scoop it up and toss it to the side - there are results! Maybe it's lame, but in insurance, any change takes months and/or years to see results. Shoveling snow (or raking leaves or mowing the grass) produces instant results. And no one is standing over your shoulder telling you that the line you shoveled wasn't perfectly straight or didn't move enough snow.

And, I'm at the point in the winter where I'm sick of it and don't care. It's snowing? Roads aren't the best? Who cares! I'm getting where I need to go. So the kids don't have school and this city doesn't believe in putting their plows all the way to pavement. I'm leaving. I have places to go, people to see.

Weekend Miscellaneous

2007-02-25T17:44:00.000-05:00

Why do the two weekend days go by so much faster than say, Monday and Tuesday? It's not right. Saturday we ran around doing errands, but C and I got to go to breakfast while D was at the Y. We "have" a restuarant that we go to for breakfast on Saturdays - conveniently owned and operated by the parents of one of C's bestest friends too.

So we drop D off at the Y and head to the restuarant for breakfast. C's bestest friend is already there, sitting at the counter with her step-sister and another little girl who had been in the same daycare as both C and L. So C joins them at the counter and I end up with the mom of the other little girl. I'm not that great at small talk, but manage ok. Except when I mentally review the conversation later, I think I've talked too much about me and not reciprocated. I really wish I could make that critical voice in my head shut up.

Saturday afternoon D and C go swimming. The Y was supposed to have "Flick and Float" which is the best thing ever - they show a movie on the wall of the pool and the familes can just float around - except it was cancelled when no one signed up. I work out while they're swimming (and manage to not embarrass myself too much - it's been 6 years since I worked out with any regularity, and I'm going to try to get back into a routine).

Today is already almost over, and there's really nothing to show for it except a Wal Mart run and shopping at the fabric store. I know, I'm not a crafty person, but the fabric store is going out of business (at least the one in the strip mall by us, which is more a function of the fact that it's going to be wrecked down and a new Lowe's put up)and we're planning on doing some Easter projects. I'll let you know if and how they turn out.

Please please let someone else have had a more exciting weekend, and tell me the details?!!

Thanks for the memories

2007-02-22T20:48:00.000-05:00

Dennis Johnson
1954 - 2007

I think I missed that memo

2007-02-15T22:17:00.000-05:00

Since yesterday's slush storm cancelled school, Valentine's day was celebrated today (after a 90 minute delay). Last week C's teacher sent home a list of all the kids in her class so we could write out Valentine's cards.

Being a good mom, we bought Tinkerbell cards - those little perforated ones that fold over and get shut with the sticker...wrote out everyone's name, and C printed her name on most of the cards.

I was feeling pretty good about this - C went to school this morning with a birthday card for her teacher and all her Valentine's. I figured they'd have made something to put all the Valentine's in, and maybe the teacher (or another parent) would bring some cupcakes or something. Was I wrong!

Apparently, it's now acceptable to hand out as much candy on Valentine's as on Halloween! She came home with a bag of candy (and no chocolate, which is just wrong for so many reasons!) that some kids passed out, along with their cards.

When did this start? What's wrong with just handing out cards? Why must every holiday turn into some sort of candy fest?

Half full or half empty?

2007-02-14T09:27:00.000-05:00

So, the predicted amount of snow (even as of last night's 11PM news, which I actually stayed up for!) did not materialize. Instead, we got about a half inch of snow (I'm feeling generous) and it has been sleeting all morning. Probably all night too, but I was asleep so can't actually confirm that for certain.

I'm glad I didn't have to commute today though. Just the thought of driving the miles to the train station was exhausting. School was cancelled, and I'll bet at least be delayed tomorrow. It's not worth trying to clear the snow yet, since the freezing rain (sleet - freezing rain? Is there that big a difference? I should have been a meteorologist) will just make the driveway a skating rink.

I like this working from home gig. I'm still in my jammies, got to sleep in until 6:45 this morning, and C made me an "office" from her Mega Fort stuff.

I was going to take pictures of all the snow for Elle. Next winter, Elle, I promise.

Oh, and HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE!!

ARGH!!

2007-02-13T14:15:00.000-05:00

There was light at the end of the tunnel that is winter - now this!!

I live in the corner where it shows 8 - 12 inches. I work in the corner that shows 2 -5 inches.....

Reunited

2007-02-12T15:27:00.000-05:00

How big a geek am I that I am excited that two bands I loved during high school/college are getting back together and touring this summer? (even though the cynical me thinks it's all about the money?)

I saw Genesis when I was in college when they played the Centrum in Wistah, MA. We roadtripped down from VT, went to the concert and then to Cape Cod. In February. Ok, the guy who drove was from the Cape. I was so tired on the way back I started to see things (because back then I wouldn't sleep during any sort of travel. It was a thing, what can I say?)

I saw Sting (not The Police - I almost typed policy, what an insurance geek!) during the summer of '89 - the local amusement park (actually the one where it was discovered that Milli Vanilli were lip synching!) was a venue back then - all general admission, so I was able to get very close. He was very nice to look at.

So while I would love to go to either of these shows, the odds don't look that great. Oh well, I'll just have to live vicariously through someone else.