The F Words

Family, Friends, Fun, and Fabulous Scenery!


That is what this last week has been for me! So much so that I ended up switching my flight to stay for one more day! :) So I will be spending my New Years in Seattle once again! And I'll be loving it!
Oh how I enjoy this place called home! (other than my ridiculous allergies that spring up when I'm here) Its a very lovely locus.

I miss the mountains...its always very calming to be able to look off into the distance and see the strong, soaring, snow-capped mountains. (Lots of kisses for blogless Jess!) They just look so cozy!

And the combination of the bare trees and the plenteous, leafy evergreens waving in the winds...just makes you smile :)

The serene and sparkling Puget Sound...one of my favorite spots here is to drive down to Sunset Ave and park by the water. Very tranquil and scintillating scene.

being forced to blog

just sitting on the couch minding my own business when the Queen handed me the laptop opened to my blog and said "update!"

So here I am...updating. Happy New Year!

Polka DOT

Happy end of the year fur-riends! Hope it has been a good one for everybody.





It is good to be home with the hounds! They are so loving, cuddly, cute, and not to mention ... they are all trained! :)



My favorites are the Girls! Abby and Lucy...look at how cute they are! Abby is the princess pupper! She's my baby! Lucy is also quite adorable, and I can love on her for hours!


Then there's the boys...they aren't half bad either! Dudder budder, and Beau-zo ...They are pretty sweet too! And if you have never had one, go out and find yourself a hound to smooch! Sloppy hound kisses are just that...great big puppy wet ones! P.S. I tried to find a photo of me and the old man together, but the only photos of him are joint pics with the other dogs...as The Queen stated, we don't have many pictures of Dudley :( We'll just have to work on that in the new year!



Whats not to love in a house filled with fur! :D

Have a happy new year!

Christmas In WA

Home again, home again, jiggity jig.

So I came home this past Thursday. This December, has been probably the busiest I have had yet...with more to come I'm sure. With trying to get things together for Christmas time, getting things done with the Littles, Making sure Sheila was OK for the time I am away, and being ready to take off again, I had my hands full...once again. (I seem to have a way of doing this...I think I learned it from my mom.)

Anyhow, I got things taken care of. I was able to finish Sami, and Gwen's scarves. I forgot to take pictures before they were gifted, but now I can get pictures of them using them and then put them up. I have finished one fingerless glove for Laura, and she isn't expecting them until we get to Florida on Jan. 9th. And all of the other hand-made gifts were cancelled...less stress to get me through the season.

Christmas, and this time being here in WA, has been priceless. I think that the biggest thing that has happened to me since I moved across the country to CT is that, I have learned, you have to appreciate your family and your good friends. There are only a handful of people who would do anything for you. Most of these people for me live here. And I cherish every moment that I get to spend with them. It may not be a ton of time, but it is the best time! And I know that I have them all the time in my hearts and in theirs. You have to love your family! Even your bratty siblings, and your parents who may tease you...it is supposedly out of love, and I know that the love is strong! The best present that I received this year, was one that I gave myself, time with my loved ones. I am truly blessed!

So although I have been very busy balancing time with friends and family, and I know that when I get home, I will want to nap for an entire day, it will all be worth it! So thanks to everyone of you that makes someone elses life special. They might not be able to say thank you every day, but the love is there, and it is strong and good. Enjoy every moment of it!


Wishing everyone the Merriest Christmas!

Munchkin Monday

Ok, so before I give you the funny kiddie story of the day, I would just like to state that I have been very busy, and therefore I haven't been able to update recently. I do have a ton to tell you though, so I will do this post and then later tonight or tomorrow morning I will post more!

SO a couple weeks back, Little Dan had come into my room, and wanted to watch Finding Nemo, so I thought, hey, good opportunity to get my room tidied up a little and get dressed, etc. While he was watching I went into my bathroom (which is attached) to go change. And then I hear him saying, "what's this?, Kistol, What's this?" So I came to see what he was looking at...It was a bra...and he was holding up 3 or 4 of them. He had his hands full! I had all of my clean laundry in a basket right by the bed...aparently he thought this was a treasure chest of fun, lol. Anyhow, I said "oh those are Krystle's, lets put them back." and I took them from him and placed them back in the laundrey pile. He then proceeded to grab one of them and run out of my room shouting "Stay there kistol! Stay there!" SO I gave him a few minutes, and then I come after him. When I went out the door, he was standing in the hallway with my bra on...I'm still not quite sure how he managed to get it on properly, and I was too conderned that he was wearing my bra...a two year old wearing d-cups...hahaha. Unfortunately I didn't think to snap a photo, but if you can picture it, its pretty great.

Happy Monday!

My favorite day has come again!

Well, its Tuesday...and it would be just as great as a normal day, except that over the weekend little Dan got a big boy bed!!! how exciting! But he didn't sleep at all last night and therefore slept until noon, and then was very cranky! So the crocery shopping and errands were pushed back, and I didn't get anything done yet. I am hoping that since he didn't sleep much he will still crash for a nap at a decent time, and then i can watch some tv and work on my holiday knitting.
I need to finish:
Scarf for Gwen...almost done!
Scarf for Sami...also so close!
Fingerless gloves for a friend...I picked out the yarn.. :/
Hat and scarf for Heather...also not started yet...

I think that next year I need to get started sooner....... These all may turn into early spring gifts :)

Here's hoping for great nap times all week long these next 2 weeks!

And the count-downs:
9 days until I go home for the holidays
14 days until Christmas
29 days until I leave for Florida!!!
30 days until my Birthday!!!!!

Munchkin Monday

So I am going to start doing a post every Monday on the littles. Whomever else out there in blog-land has little munchkins of their own, please feel free to do the same! Maybe we can ultimately start a separate page for it and do a similar thing to Dogs on Thursday....but for now, it will just be my Monday segment on my blog.

This past Friday, Little Dan and I went to the Children's Museum, in Norwalk. It is a wonderful place that we can spend hours in! And I especially love it because there are a ton of different areas to get different parts of the brain working...plus, by the time we leave, it is guaranteed nap time by the time we get home :)

Little Dan's favorite part is the water exhibit. He has been very curious about water, and how it works, rain, snow, thunder, rivers, etc. Basically everything about it excites him. Which is neat, so we usually spend at least 30 minutes in this area. They have a fog maker, an area to make thunder, a spot where you can change the course of a river and then send your boats down it, and then there is the water cycle, which is very cool! they have a gigantic umbrellas made out of glass and piping, that sits right at the entrance to the room, the pipes at the top of it, have little leaks springing up all over them (as rain), which then falls down the umbrella and into the PVC gutters. The gutters drain into a rain barrel, which has a spout pouring into a 'river'. This carries the water down and then it goes down a drain at the end, and through the floor, and a big PVC column (which is the handle of the umbrella) is carried back to the top, to come down as the rain again. The entire museum is very thought out like this, and I love it just as much as little Dan does, because I can see the things that it is teaching him!


This is clearly not the water cycle that I just so thoroughly described, however, it is the best shot that I have of little Dan in action. Here hes is playing with this big tower thingy, that is filled with all different colored golf balls, that go all around this wacky course, and then there are some different gadgets that the kids can control from the outside, that change the direction that the golf balls are traveling. Fun Fun!
We have also had a very exciting past week, with getting some snow. It has been very cold, but I have managed to suck it up to bundle up with the kids and take them out to enjoy it! but they have only

wild week wednesday!

Happy Wednesday....and sorry it has been a week!
I have been meaning to start doing a post every monday called Munchkin Mondays! And then there is always my favorite days...Tuesdays! But I have been busy! I am in the process of organizing my closet! And let me tell you...it is a BIG project! Take that and add a dash of holiday knitting, 5 cups of taking care of the littles, a pinch of a social life, and a handful of worrying about the queen, and you have one recipe for a busy life!

So that is basically what I have been up to...
But I would also like to say, blogfree Jessica, you need to change that to I have a blog, and my name is Jessica! Here are the reasons why (as the queen and I have discussed): 1.your life is exciting, and people would love to read about it! 2.You would have a place to display photos of your lovely new house. 3.You would have one guaranteed post every week--dogs on thursday! Hello...you've got to parade around your precious pups just like the rest of us! 4.you don't have to be technologically savvy, hey if I can do it, anyone can!
IN conclusion...start a blog damn it!

On another note....I have been using my cell phone as my camera to take photos, while I wait to check my camera back out from the tech-hospital! However, I need to actually send the pics from my phone to the internet before I can post them...so I promise there will be at least one picture on the next post!

I also hope that if any of you haven't had a chance to read the queens blog, you do so, and then follow your reading with postive thoughts, for a fast and healthy recovery! I love you mama! Positive spin on the situation, is that now there is nothing but time for holiday crafts, and naps, and doggie lovin!

Dogs on Thursday!

Happy four-legged thursday!

I am pleased to let you all know, that Katie has started her puppy classes! And with much dillegence she is actually learning and doing better! It becomes a little difficult to teach her when sh takes something of the littles, with all their yelling at her and screaming it gets quite confusing!
'Little Dan, stop yelling at Katie, Katie drop it, little Dan, let go of the toy!, Katie let go of the toy!' 'aaaahhhh, Katie has my toy! Its mine! bad Katie, BAD Katie!'
You get the idea! It has been pretty crazy around here lately! But it was worse in the beginning, so I do have hope for easier days to come! :) There are the good moments too, when the littles just love on Katie, and she rolls over, and allows the attention, and we all play together like one big happy dog-lovin' family! So, there is definitely a bright side!...The side that sounds more like 'aw, what a good girl Katie! Your just so cute...we love you little puppers! Good girl!'

Who knew you could be a nanny of the two-legged and the four-legged kids! But its all good!

Go Get A Job!!!

So over the weekend In NYC I was pick-pocketed! which is very startling considering that when it happened, I was walking with my purse zipped and over my shoulder...but I guess that the zipper was facing the back, and I was in a crowd of people, and it happened so quickly, I didn't even know that it had happened until someone told me they saw someone take something from my bag...which is another frustration..if you saw it happen why not say something to stop it! Anyhow I just don't understand what the point of stealing something from someone else is...Why not just go and get your own job, instead of taking the money that I worked so hard to earn for myself! Ugh!!!! But anyhow, they only got $50 in cash, and then they made a $24 charge on each card that was in the wallet. G already had the charges reversed on hers, and mine are all pending still, but easily enough the problem can be resolved...it is just a hastle to have to deal with it.

Anyhow, When this all happened I was in NYC visiting a friend of mine who was out from Seattle visiting his sister with his family for thanksgiving. So I had a fun day with Matt. We went out to lunch with his fam, and then wandered around some department stores, before heading to China town. I bought a new dress to wear that night to dinner, and then I bought a black pashmina to wear in this oh so cold weather! [insert pick-pocket rant here] and then after that whole ordeal, we caught a cab back up to Times Square to meet back up with Matt's family and to get ready to go out to dinner. We went to this amazing steak house called Del Fresco's And I had the best meal of my entire life! It was 5 courses! Oh I could go on about it for hours!! I love food, especially the worlds most delicious steak and seafood! But anyhow I just say that it was amazing, and leave it at that..

Then since I didn't have my ID, we couldn't go out, and I didn't have my return train ticket to get home, so we went back to the family's hotel room (one of those 2 bedroom suites) and Matt and I watched a live free or die hard and crashed there. We were at the W Hotel in Times Square...Also quite amazing! With a fantastic view, and it was very modern and chic!

All in all not a bad day! It'll just be a few days to clear everything up and get things re-issued and whatever...but I still love New York! :)

OH, and P.S. I will post pics as soon as I can, my camera is currently hating me, and I need to take it to someone who knows a little bit more than me, the not so techy princess that I am...lol!

Oh what a day!

My tuesday...wasn't the best...wasn't the worst...it just was.

I was aloud to sleep in b/c I have quite possibly the most understanding boss ever, and I was just getting over a 24 hour stomach bug. But I awoke at 9 to go take care of little Dan b/c G's mom had a heart attach over the weekend and she wasn't doing well, so G (understandably so) needed and wanted to go and be with her.*update* today she is doing much better, and she has all of her daughters taking very good care of her and visiting with her throughout the days! S was away for business, so I had the littles from 9a until 8:30p.......long day! But I was able to get some things done!

While little dan was napping, I watched a movie and got some knitting done, I paid some bills online :(, I caought up on some blogs that I haven't been up to date on since I was out of town over the weekend, and I updated my own blog.
And while I was catching up on blogs..I noticed that Nicole is still trying to achive her donation goal for the ASPCA...So I decided to help...and you all should too, and if not just from the goodness of your hearts, then you can get an entry in her contest for it!

Anyhow, after little ann came home from school, I twisted her arm to go to the grocery store (she absolutely hates the grocery store!!), so we went, and then we had dinner and did homework, and as a reward for doing well at the grocery store, we all watched a movie and the kids had ice cream, yummy while we all awaited S getting home.


All in all...not the best day, not the worst day...just another day!

Surprise!

So, I went home for this past weekend! It was mostly fun. I only clued in 3 of my closest friends, and not my folks, b/c I thought it would be a nice little surprise.

So I landed late on Thursday night and Kelsey picked me up...it wasn't too late of course to go out for a couple of drinks though, so we stopped by on of our fave local bars in down town Edmonds.
Friday morning it took us forever to find Kelsey's keys so we were very delayed in getting over to my parents house, and by the time that we eventually pulled up...the queen was out and about running errands. I had every intention of spending the entire day with here, but I didn't want to tell her over the phone that I was home, bc I wanted to see the look on her face. SO instead I called her a bazillion times, trying to pull every excuse out that I could come up with....eventually she came home!
It was really great to see her! (I'm such a momma's girl). So we spent some time chatting after the initial what the.......are you doing here!?! Then we put some puppy paws in some fresh cement. Followed by going to meet (and shock) Mr. Jay. He gave me the worlds most love filled hug! (which he is very good at)....The three of us proceeded to dinner.

Later I met up with some of my friends, and I stayed at Kelsey's again. On the way home the next morning the car that I was using died! Everyone was busy doing stuff, and I was freaking out (no thinking going on) so I just did as I was told and pushed the car over as far as possible with 2 girls in heels pushing a car in pouring down rain up a hill, and then Laura and I went shopping at the Nordy's sale! Fun fun! But no more than an hour later, when we were on our way home, I got a call saying that the car was being towed........yikes!

This caused a lot of huff....upset mom's and upset children are no mix....so I got home, and got into a fight and then had one of my friends pick me up. Desiree and I went out to lunch and then to the Nordy's sale...did I mention that I love Nordstrom's?...then she dropped me back off at home. Since we had had some cool down time, we discussed the issue of the dead car, and that it was nobodies fault, but I would pay for it b/c I didn't use my brain to think to use AAA.....oh well....that instantly turned my $250 trip into a $550 trip...not including my shopping, and eating out! Expensive weekend! Anyhow I had dinner with the folks and then hung out there for a while, later going out again! with my friends.

Sunday morning I came home, and then my mom, mr. jay and I walked the hounds to get some coffee. Then I went out to breakfast with my dad and my sister. Which was fun, b/c I had told my dad that we should have a conference lunch, so he was just getting ready to call me when I walked in! :) After lunch we went across the parking lot to Ross...another one of my fave stores, and then back to my madres to pick up by bags and off to the airport.


A very short but sweet weekend! (pics to come)

Rockin'

This title also comes appointed from the queen! Apparently I'm rockin'...and I can definately deal with that!

So here are some fellow bloggers that are also very rockin!

The Queen...even though she was already nominated...I'd say that she is a pretty rockin momma! (if you need more reasons please view the'birthday' post)

Also I would like to say (these people are also probably nominated) Nicole of Lapdog Creations, and Tonia. they are the people that I know are reading and commenting on my blog-stuff. I know that there are more of you out there, but y'all don't have blogs! Anyhow thanks for everyone's support! :)

Filled with Fun!

This past Sunday, I spent the day with my newest friend, Carly, and a group of her guy friends. We went quading (quads, ATVs, whatev), and it was a blast! At first they were all going really slow with us and being careful, which was good bc neither of us had ever gone before. About halfway way through the day, we were all taking a break, and then Carly asked Al if he would teach us how to drive them, and let us go around on our own. It was soooo much fun it was ridiculous! We were just driving around in this field, but it was so fun!!! Then we were all going to go again, and so I was going with this guy Dave (the crazy one)(not really just one of those boys with their toys things) he decided that I needed some mud on me so that it would look like I had actually been out there with them....so we wound up looking like this! (this isn't us, I just didn't want to bring my camera out there bc I didn't want to lose it so I found this pic) We were doing wheelies, and driving through gigantic puddles, and going off of jumps (small ones, bc that is all I would allow), but then we were going through the trails and all the bumps and curves, bc they make actual trails for this stuff! But it was soo fun! And so we will go again and again! Woo-Hoo!

Thank goodness for showers and washing machines! :)

Blast from the past!

(or just 2 weekends ago!)

My sis and our friend Casey came to town! It was a very relaxing weekend. Friday night we went out to dinner at Archie Moore's with my friends, and then later that night we went out to 'that bar' in New Haven...(it was the weekend before Halloween, and although they weren't having a costume party at the club, half of the people were dressed up..lol) To say the least it was an amusing night.

Saturday, we drove about town, and I was able to show them some local beaches (we even found a few new ones!), we had lunch at the firehouse deli in Fairfield (my favorite place to have lunch!), we drove down the center of town and it was great :)
That evening we decided to take it easy so we ordered take-out and rented movies, and had a little night in...it was nice and relaxing, just hanging out with friends.

Sunday we woke up and started a movie that we had been too tire to watch the previous night. While we watched Casey packed up his things bc he had to get back to school (at Vasser) that evening for a meeting. And then we drove (stopping first, of course, at starbucks) to Poughkeepsie, NY..which is about an hour and a half away. We hung out with casey for a while, and then we made our way back.

Jess stayed until Monday around mid-day. It was some good sisterly time. We got pedicures! hooray! I love stuff like that :)

Another successful and fun visit! :D

Happy Tuesday!

Good morning, Good morning!
Its voting day! Make sure you all vote if you haven't already mailed in your ballets....voting is one of the most important things you can do!

Anyhow, since that it is election day, Little Ann doesn't have school..and it is raining! Anyhow the Littles and I decided to watch a movie with little Katie before we start our day of errands.
Today we have planned: Grocery store (top priority bc our bread is moldy :/ yuck!), then I'll take the littles to the craft store so we can pick out something to do if this rain continues (which I'm sure it will), and then (if Little Dan isn't ready for nap time) we will go to the library where they have an awesome children's section complete with a castle, grocery store, and super cool fish tank...all of which is good for at least an hour of entertainment for the Little's!

So before I get back to the kiddies, I'll leave you with a funny story! This morning while I was changing Little Dan's diaper, he started singing about his wipe. So if you can imagine it, in this deep grisly voice, I started saying 'Wipe, wipe, wipe' and then he would repeat me in his impression of a grisly voice! 'Wipe, wipe, wipe' 'wipe, wipe, wipe'...and then with his clean diaper, and the same hilarious voice I sang 'diaper, diaper, diaper' and he reapeated 'diaper, diaper'...anyhow, maybe you had to be there, but I thought it was pretty funny and it made Little Dan laugh histerically! :D

Have a grand Tuesday!

Problem Solved!

So on Friday, I finally got up the nerve to talk to G about the puppy sitch. I asked her if we could talk about Katie, that she had become more of a responsibility to me than we had originally discussed. She said that she would talk to S and that we could come up with some sort of arrangement.

Later, she called me and told me that S would work on being with the dog more while he was home and that while he was away for work then I would be responsible for her. And they would pay me extra for my time. So we were decided...the dog is my new job, and I don't have to hate her anymore! Hooray!

So thank you to all of your helpful encouragement! I appreciate that you gals are here for me :)


And here is a lovely pic of our fall scenery :)

Mustard

So we got our puppy! (not the one I had originally shown) Her name is Caitlin, or Katie (which I don't understand...wouldn't the nickname start with the same letter--oh whatever, its not my dog)...she is 10 weeks old and as cute as a button!

But, despite the fact that I absolutely love dogs, I am sort of hating her. Which I feel really awful about! I'm not sure if I am purposefully detaching myself so that when I am done working and living here it will be easier, or maybe I really just don't like her. Ok, well I like her, but I feel stuck in my situation. When G & S were discussing getting a dog, they told me that I would not have to be responsible for it in any way shape or form. Well so far that is turning out to be a lie. Half the time she pees in the house is because I am off work, or in another room with little Dan, or out running errands, etc. Basically, if I am home, I am entertaining the littles and the dog, feeding the littles and the dog, and taking the littles and the dog to the bathroom and for diapers, and making sure that the littles and the dog have food (I do this for all of the household pets..they wouldn't eat without me).
Is it wrong of me to not want to deal with the responsibilities that go along with having a puppy? I just feel like we could have gotten a dog from the pound or a rescue organization, that was still young, but older; and already had some bladder control; and already knows not to bite the children; and is more calm; and that I could just be in charge of feeding, and playing with it if I wanted to, but wasn't the only one there to do so; and then they could walk it and do all that other stuff as a family.
I feel sort of selfish, but at the same time, this is not what I agreed to do, I feel like another baby has been thrown into my job, and now I have to care for it, which is fine, because like I said, I love dogs, but I feel like if they did have another baby (which they aren't...no worries) I would be getting paid more...but oh wow does that make me sound like a bitch!
Any thoughts on getting un-stuck from the training (or not wanting to train) the puppy situation?

But she is a cutie, and I will play with her either way!

Catch up again...

A few weeks ago, Gwen and Scott went to Jamaica for their anniversary...and I was stuck here playing mommy...yuck! So I had the kids starting on Wed. at 5am...until Friday 5:30pm (supposed to be at 4pm) when their Aunt Rebecca came to pick them up for the weekend, and then Gwen and Scott would be home on Sun. night. Well .. It was tiring, to say the least! And if I have kids, if, then I will be a working mom with either a husband that stays home, or enough money to afford some good child care!

On Friday (two Friday's ago) when I was done with the kids, I relaxed for about an hour before getting ready to head down to Philadelphia to visit a friend. I proceeded to sit in traffic for 6 hours!!!...it was only supposed to take 3 hours! (this is what 6 hours of traffic, and very little sleep will do to you!) So when I finally arrived, I picked up Rachel and we went back to her dorm and slept...well we talked for a few hours first, and then we slept.

The next day we explored Philly by phoot (haha).. we went to this really cool market, which was like pike place (for those of you who have lived in or visited Seattle), we had breakfast there, and then continued on to see the sights (within walking distance of Penn.)
Later we had dinner at this great restaurant called Tria (standing for 3: beer, wine, and cheese) We split a grilled panini, and then had some wine and cheese...it was delicious!! Then we went to a comedy show, put on by an all mens group at the college, it consisted of a bunch of little skits...most of which were funny, and then we followed that up with margarita's and a walk back to the dorms.

Sunday we slept through breakfast, and then had lunch at Rachel's work, before I set off home. It was really great to see her (it had been since New Years Eve!), we got a chance to catch up and we laughed way too much! It was a great visit!
On my drive home I was detoured around the Eagles stadium! Right at game time!! Which was neat! (Mr. Jay is a very big eagles fan, so this was exciting!) Unfortunately I had received a call from Gwen...their flight had been cancelled! So I had to be back to meed Aunt Rebecca and pick up the kids at 6...which then was pushed back to 7...Perfect, I got back just in time, however the kids were nowhere to be found...they eventually turned up at 8:15! How annoying!! I had to wait around for an hour and a half!!!!!! anyhow, so I had the kids for one more full day until G & S got home at 3am on Tues morn. What an exhausting week!

A gorgeous shot of the sun setting over the George Washington bridge on my drive to return to CT.

More to update tomorrow...and at some point we might be up to the present day... :()

Catch up #1

A long long time ago...Kelsey came to visit me! Okay so it was only a few weeks ago, but shame on me for not telling you all about it yet!

She got into NYC pretty late on thursday after some long delays due to weather. So while I was waiting I walked around the upper west side of manhattan for 2 and a half hours! I definately got in my excercise...and I was able to explore the area around our hotel so that it would be less confusing the next couple of days! Since she didn't arrive until 11:15, we only had time to grab a quick bite to eat before heading back to our hotel for bed! (we stayed at this really awesome hotel called the Marrakech Hotel...It was awesome, and had this really neat chair in the lobby!


Saturday we went to the Met(ropolitan Museum of Art). It was really cool...we were unable to go the when we were in NYC back in April. We visited all of the 3D exhibits, and none of the paintings, because there is just so much to see and we had already been there for more than half of the day! My favorite exhibits were the Roman sculptures, which are just so amazing with all for the details! And the African and Egyptian exhibits were awesome! I have a love for anchient Egypt, and all of that cool stuff!
Then Saturday night we went to this amazing Italian restaurant called Merridiana...and we had a romantic dinner for two! Fullly equipped with a bottle of wine, appetizers, our delicious main courses, and a dessert to share! It was excellent as always (we've been a few times)! After dinner we went to a bar that is apparantly owned by P-diddy...it was on the Upper East side and was a champagne bar called 'Flute'...as in the instrument that you drink champagne out of...not the instrument in which you play. We each only had 2 small samples of some wonderful chapagne that ended up being 'on the house' according to this handsome man across the room--who we didn't even talk to but gladly accepted his gesture to pay our bill :) ..!


On Saturday we returned to CT...and Kels was given the tour of my new casa (and she approves)...then we just sat around and relaxed until we had to get ready to head off to my friend Sami's house for dinner. Sami's great! She made us some much enjoyed pasta, and then we got advice from the gang on places where kels and I could go out dancing close to my house. We ended up going out to this bar called 'the field' where there was a live band playing classic rock, and an empty dance floor. Another bonus is that it is close to Fairfield U ( a local college)(with aparantly good looking attendees)(why was I previously un-aware of this?...hmmmm). So we danced to classic rock hits at 'the field'. (There was no alcohol included in this evenings agenda...the pic just displays how crazy we are together!)

Sunday, we had some sleep...maybe too much, but it was nice! Then we had a lite lunch and roamed around town, so she could see what this new place is that I live in. I drove her past the beach and showed her some of my favorite places...It really is a lovely town, although Kelsey says she could never live in a town this small...I don't know what she calls Edmonds (the aparently non small town she lives in at home)(j/k kels... (-: ) Then we went out to dinner with the whole lot of my friends...which was fun! (this is a photo of us playing the sugar game! So fun)

Monday Kelsey was supposed to go home but I convinced her to stay until Thursday...so she stayed and helped me out with the littles, and we got to spend a little more time together!

All in all it was a great trip! I am glad that all of my friends are coming to visit me and that they can all see my humble abode, and that I am doing well, I know that several of my friends and family were worried about how I would be doing across the country from everything I know and love...But I am learning all about this new area and I am loving everything about it!

Happy Birthday!

(October was a popular month for my grandparents!)

Happy birthday to Mr. Jay...the queen's hubby...and my step daddy!
He's really old! Like 49? (don't get offended by this I really don't think that he is that old, I just have to tease him!) He's a pretty awesome guy though..he is the opposite of hip (although I think that he just does this to embarrass me and my sister),
He fixes cars which is pretty neat...and now i miss that, bc my car started making this funny noise and so I'm going to have to take it in and since I'm a girl they are probably going to try to tell me that something is wrong that isn't...
He can fix up some of my favorite foods...including delicious lemon chicken, eggs benedict, and the world's best cheesecake!!!!
Occasionally he even walks the dogs with the queen!
He landscaped the most gorgeous yard ever, including 2 ponds with connecting waterfalls, beautiful flowers, and the works!

I love you Mr. Jay! Have a happy day!

Happy Birthday

To You!! They say its your birthday, da da da da da da....

It's the Queen's Birthday, so make sure to drop by with birthday wishes for her...she certainly wasn't looking forward to 'getting another year older' But I say she's still quite young. She is in her early forties ( I won't say the exact age or she'll have my head for posting it on the internet!), But by comparison, all of my friends my age have parents in their fifties, my mom is young and fun...
she goes to sporting events and shares beer with her daughter!...She is active in walking the dogs...She sews hip clothing...She looks a hell of a lot like me (or visa versa) and I sure as hell don't look 'old'...she is strong (mind and body)...she is smart...she'll keep you on your toes... Now I'm sure if you ask her about any of these things she will have an argument, but don't listen to her...she doesn't know what she's talking about...after all she's not 'old and wise'....
Anyhow I love ya mom! Have a good birthday!

Green & Gorgeous

I was watching the Today show this morning and was very impressed! They had a clothing segment on buying for a cause. The first cause (and one the most important to me) was the environment! I think that it is so great that more and more people are becoming aware of these things! Check out being green and gorgeous!

On another note...my weekend with kels was great! We didn't end up having a spa day, decided to save the $ and relax at home! But we went to NYC and visited the Met, and had delicious food and wandered about town! So far it has been a good trip..and she is going to stay until thursday! hooray!

Okay so as some of you may already know...we are getting a dog! An Austrailian shepherd named Keiffer. If you click on the link and then go to recent puppy photos on the right hand side of the page, you can see him. He's adorable!

Anyhow, I'm off to the grocery store! Happy tuesday!

Another Eventful Weekend!

Another one of my really good friends is coming to visit! Hooray!

Kelsey will arrive tonight around 5 or so, and then I will meet her in NYC...where we will be staying tonight and friday night! It is going to be a blast! We will head back up to Southport sometime on Saturday, and then just hang around my town...I can show her some of the beaches and the crazy mansions, and my favorite deli...then (and I think I am most excited about this part!) on Sunday we are going to go to the spa!! Just to get a massage, and mani's and pedi's! But I've never had a day of relaxation at the spa before!! I'm stoked!

Anyhow I hope everyone else has a great weekend! Mine is going to be awesome!

Ah, Tuesday!

I love tuesdays! They are my favorite day of the week!

Every Tuesday I get to take little dan out of the house and run errands and do whatever. Today we went to pay my cell phone bill, then to the grocery store, and then quickly to the library to drop off books. By the time that we return home little Dan is either already fast asleep or soon to be...so I unload everything and then get some free time! Woo-hoo!

Last week, I received the last box of my things from my sister. In it was my dvd collection...which she added too! So today I watched a movie while knitting away on my scarf (yes its still the same one! I'm slow) It was very nice! Now Little Ann is home from school and entertaining herself, as I update and get dinner ready (tonight we are having pizza bread...which is pizza just made on Ciabatta bread instead of dough).

It has been a very quick and very relaxing day! All I can say is...Ahh, Tuesday!

Pictures! Hooray!

I love looking at photos! And from the past 2 weekends of eventful fun I have taken something like 183 pics! So I am just selecting a sampling of them to post. The first set are of Laura and I on our road trip up to Boston, and then through RI!




The next set are from going up to NH with Jon, Leah, Dave, Amber, and Will. Amber and Will have a cabin up in Hill, NH (smallest town ever, good luck locating it on a map!). The weekend was a blast. We mostly hung out around the gigantic bonfire in the evenings. Saturday we went and bought fireworks and had quite the display that night! We also went to a hike to a beautiful waterfall!
Then we bathed in the ridiculously cold river!! Jon and I had fun doing sparklers!

We went off-roading...which was a blast! And the scenery was gorgeous! The leaves have started to change for autumn, (my favorite season!!) And so I couldn't resist a few photos of natures beauties!

All in all the first couple of weeks of October have been a blast! Good times shared with friends, and I am loving New England!

Oh...to catch up!

Things I have accomplished this week: I did laundry...I have successfully shown up to work everyday (aka..walked downstairs)..I have gone out with my friends toooooo much!!

Things I need to get done: I need to put away my laundry, pack for a weekend in New Hampshire (by 1:45 today!), I need to clean sheila's cage, I need to get back on track with my 'healthier way of life' (I refuse to be on a diet!), I would like to work on my scarf and get some card making done..maybe I'll bring my scarf this weekend and work on it in the car (not around the fire though it will permanently smell like smoke! And I know that there is more, but I can't think of it right now...oh I know...post some pictures for you all and send them to laura!

I think that this crazy need to always overload yourself runs in the family! Don't get me wrong, I am completely content having too much fun all of the time...but I just have this prick in the back of my brain saying...'don't eat that' 'you should be working on crafts right now' '...'

anyhow, I'm going to NH this weekend with some friends so I will try to update on monday with pictures of this past weekend, as well as pictures from NH. Have a good weekend!

498.3 Miles of Fun!!

Over the weekend one of my best friends came to visit!! Laura was only here for a few days but it was a blast!! On friday we went out with some of my friends from CT for Mexican food and Mexican Water...tequilla that is.

Saturday we drove to Boston! The city was great, all of the architecture was amazing, and the history was amazing. We walked around there all day. We did the freedom trail, saw the holocaust memorial (which was heart wrenching), went to boston common and walked around a bunch, had some food, did some shopping...basically the usual 'I haven't seen you in 2 months' stuff + some sight seeing.
Then we made our way to Rhode Island...We stayed in Middletown right near Newport, which was gorgeous! There was some really astonishing views of the ocean, and all of the cliffs. We didn't really do anything touristy there though. We were origianally planning on going to the Newport mansions on Sunday, but slept in and decided to go shopping on our way home. Saturday night however, we did experience Newport's 'great night-life'. We went out to a club called the Blue Rhino. It was really fun and we danced the night away!

Sunday we drove back to CT and stopped at several exits allong the way...we went to Mystic, and some other town that was supposed to have a starbucks, stopped at a mall...did some shopping, and the car talk was amazing! I swear if you want to know more about someone, drive with them for 500 miles! You will learn it all! (I love you still Laura!!)

But basically it was just a blast to see her and get to go out and dance, and shop with someone familliar! We used to see each other everyday, so a weekend wasn't enough, but it was a good fix! And there are pics to come!

A girl has got to accessorize!

Yesterday I spent 30 minutes de-tangling all of my jewelry from my move! I had just tossed it all in a bag because I was in a rush to get things done and I will never do it again!! It was a nightmare! So now I am going to buy one of those bead sorting clear plastic containers with separate compartments...I figure that it will be slim enough to pack when moving and then each peace will only ever have to be de-tangled from itself!

Here are some close-ups on my bags! (Bag-love baby!) The last pic wasn't so great...so here you go:











And here are some accessories for my room that I have added to make it feel like home! And I need opinions on weather or not we like the window-accessories...I can't decide.

mmmm...Yummy!

This week at the grocery store, I loaded up on grapes, strawberries, plums, peaches, a mango and apples for fruit...and for veggies I bought radishes, more green beans, mushrooms, a cucumber, and celery. I think that it is really turning into a good habit to chop up and wash all of the fruits and veggies immediately when I get home, so that when I am wanting something, I can go to them first. Plus it makes meal prep much easier! This morning for breakfast, I had diced radishes, mushrooms, and bell peppers, in scrambled eggs with toast.

Then for lunch I made a mountainous wrap! Including every veggie I've listed so far, as well as lunch meat and a sprinkle of goat's cheese, and a bowl of every fruit I've listed on the side. It was delish! But somewhat hard to eat. And very filling!



Over the weekend Dave, Amber, Will and I took a day trip to NYC. We went to Times square and wandered around a bit, then headed to china town, and then back to times square for a wonderful lunch at the Hard Rock before heading home...with a ton of wonderful new purses in tow! I purchased: A Chanel handbag with matching wallet, a Coach handbag, and a Versace handbag! It was so thrilling! They may or may not be real or stolen or whatever, but I love them anyway and could care less how they got into my hands! (Which is horrible I know, but can you blame a girl for loving her accessories!) I also found an amazing deal on some Dolce & Gabbana Sunglasses and D & G's new perfume 'light blue', which is slightly watered down, but I prefer it that way...so I am thoroughly satisfied from the retail world for a while!

I am also very proud because Tuesday was garbage and recycling day. When I first moved here, the family had at least 2-3 cans of garbage (one big one on wheels, and then 2 smaller ones) every week and one small bin filled with recycling. This week (and I was lame enough to photograph it!) We were down to just the large bin of garbage, and 4 small-ish boxes and bins filled with recycling!! It just makes me smile to know that I could effect that much of what was going into a landfill, simply by looking up the recycling laws for our state and county! So I think that it is wise to know what exactly can and can't be recycled in your area, and to post in on your fridge or somewhere handy...look what it did for our house!! :D