Nobbin' with all the muckety-mucks, I'm blowin' my dough and goin' deluxe

Yes, Newsies fans, I was in New York to see Al, and we saw the show!  What can I say, I am a lucky girl.  

If you follow me on Instagram [yes, I got an iPhone and have joined the 21st century!] you have seen some of these teasers.   Let me show you some more while I further delay my full recap of 5 days in The Big Apple.

Nothing quite like arriving at Penn Station via NJ Transit on a Thursday night.

Girls night out!  Drinks and apps at a wine bar in the East Village.  

Melissa [our auxiliary sis and Al's roommate] took the photo

Selfie on the Brooklyn Bridge - my first time into the borough! 

Newsies at the Nederlander Theater

We totally took a photo during intermission despite the rather LARGE no photo signs.   

Whatever - it was the mezzanine and the stage was empty.  No regrets

Just a normal day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Recreating the Full House opening scene as I test out hair options for our upcoming race.  

Instead of Michelle, I got a Fat Bison

Top Ten Reasons I Love Working From Home

So aside from my quick anniversary post, I've been spacing on blogging.    Sometimes I don't have anything to say [ok, admittedly for a chatter box like me, that's pretty rare] but most of the time I am unmotivated to put it down into a coherent format.  You know… to actually write!   I'm reading the archives of one of my favorite blogs and came across Top 10 lists, which she was running about once per week.   That seems manageable.   I can write a list.  I love lists.  So to kick things off…….

Top Ten Reasons I Love Working From Home

1) No commute
I work ten steps from my bedroom.  One flight of stairs from the kitchen.  I cannot even calculate how much money and gas I have saved by not driving to work.  The downside is I don't have time to read on a train [loved that in DC!] but it's a small price to pay.

2) Casual clothing
I am sitting here in a tank top and shorts.  Barefoot.  No one knows and no one cares.  I am comfortable!

3) Lazy Head
Messy hair, glasses, no makeup.  That sounds like me when I get out of bed.  And also when I start working at 7am.  I do always make myself  look presentable by 8 am in case I have to answer the door.  But presentable to answer the door is a tad different than presentable at the office

4) Saving Time
When I was in NY last week, I went to the office.  You know, working next to people.  Human interaction!  I had to get up earlier so that I could get dressed, fix my hair and makeup and eat breakfast.   And, you know, get to the office!   I also had to spend time driving back to the hotel.  Not a ton of time but when you work 5 days a week, these things add up.

5) Unlimited access to tea
I know, you can make it in the office.  But it's different in your own kitchen with the canister of teabags and the sink right there.

6) Less interruptions
We use instant message to stay in touch, but an IM is different than a colleague at your desk.   I can ignore it for a few seconds without being rude!

7) Quiet
I spent a lot of time on the phone.  All of my teammates do.  When we sit in close proximity it gets LOUD and can be hard to hear.  My home office is blissfully silent except for my own blabbing.

8) Space
My desk is small, but the office is spacious enough.  Anyone who has studied with me since the mid 90's know that I tend to spread thing out on the floor in a circle from where I am sitting.  It's a hazard when working in a traditional office.   It's no biggie here.   Well, unless the cat decides to nap on a binder, but that's another story

9) Flexibility
Last Thanksgiving I actually worked part of a day FROM THE CAR!  I kid you not.  I had a live chat with a guy in Africa while Michael drove north on I-95.  Very Marty McFly/ Back to the Future.  I need a laptop and internet to work, and can work anywhere.  I don't even need an office!  

10) Saving Money
This relates to several points above, but I don't have to buy gas for my commute, I don't have to buy business appropriate clothing [or take to the dry cleaner].   I don't have to buy as much make up or hair product because I don't 'get ready' every day.  Some of these are obviously more minor than others, but a penny saved is a penny earned! 

Tribe in Tampa

Earlier this month we took an overnight trip to see our beloved Cleveland Indians take on the Tampa Bay Rays.   It was a nice break from the work week, and allowed us to see a new stadium while rooting for the Indians.   Below, a few highlights


We stayed at the Hotel Indigo, a boutique hotel in downtown St. Petersburg.

Source

It's centrally located downtown, so we walked to Tropicana Field on Wednesday night, and were able to take advantage of the free stadium shuttle afterwards.

Check out the adorable rooms. . . .

I was smitten with the bedding and color scheme; you can barely see the checkered bed skirt and shams, which also included navy blue.   It was intense, but I liked it!

The halls were a bit busy, but again, it worked.   The building used to be a local inn back in the day, so it has a funny layout, and the folks who run it decide a quirky decor would be a good idea.

Initially known as the Heritage Inn, this building was built in the 1920.   I asked Michael to stand by the sign that explained it was one of the first hotels to offer a chilled ice water system to their guests.  Guests could refill the pitcher from their  room with chilled water before retiring for a relaxing night's sleep.   Naturally I tried to turn on the spout.   Michael explained that modern hotels featured ice machines and cold water in the bathrooms so this feature has been rendered obsolete.   Right.   Good call, Cornellie.

Time to go to the baseball game!   Tropicana field is a dome, so it's climate controlled and full of big lights. 

Our seats were very good; we were seated about 5 rows up on the third base side.  

Most importantly, I had a great view of my boyfriend, Michael Brantley, because he bats left handed.

The Tribe ended up winning the game, 10-6 overcoming shaky pitching.   Our section had a smattering of Cleveland fans, which made the end of the game that much more fun!  There was a bit of trash talking among some silly guys, but it's a sporting event.  What do you expect?

It was a late night, but we got back to our funky hotel room around 11:30 and were asleep around midnight.   The 3 am fire alarm (seriously!) was unwelcome.   We were jolted awake, only to stand outside in 80 degree heat and excessive humidity.   Thankfully there was no fire - especially because it took the 7 fire trucks more than 10 minutes to arrive.   Sheesh.  We were all allowed inside after about 30 minutes, but I was not amused.

We had a little free time the next morning so we went for a stroll along the bay.   I was evidently channeling my sister, because I came upon a stray kitty cat sleeping on a picnic table.   So I took a picture and talked to her.

We headed back to "The Trop," this time remembering to take a photo.   The sidewalk leading up to the stadium depicts fish and sting rays and other Florida motifs.   Just as you'd expect!

Since we got in so darn early, we took some time to explore the stadium.   The Sting Ray tank is a highlight but there was a crazy line, so we headed up to the 'bleachers' and got a birds eye view instead of walking right in front of them.   We even found a guy to take our picture with home plate behind us.

Sadly the Tribe was shut out 6-0 on Thursday afternoon.   We were glad to have had the opportunity to see our home team in a new stadium, and even happier to see them win one night.   Seeing any kind of live baseball is always a great way for the two of us to spend a few hours!

This is what they eat in heaven

Not that there was any doubt, but I have the best sister in the world.   Thursday afternoon the doorbell rang.  I was not expecting a delivery; for once I was not ordering shoes!   [This should probably be noted on a calendar somewhere: Jules did not order shoes this week]  Despite not being done with work for the day, I got up from writing my 100th email of the day -not exaggerating- to investigate.   Everyone needs to stretch her legs, right?

On the doorstep I saw a box with the return address of Momofuku Milk Bar and a "Keep refrigerated" sticker on the outside.    Oh my gosh.    I opened the box, which held a smaller box, tied with a cute silver ribbon.   My suspicions had been confirmed.    BIRTHDAY CAKE TRUFFLES.   

It was not even my birthday!   Now, we all know I have an obsession with desserts and most items loaded with sugar.  These truffles, however, are on another level.  For those of you keeping score, this does, in fact, mean that I ate two of my favorite desserts - EVER- in less than one week: Magic Cookies & Momofuku Milk Bar Truffles.

source

Have you ever had a birthday cake truffle?   If you have not, try to plan a trip to New York in the immediate future.  Then make time to go the store and buy some.   Or, have them shipped to your home.   Better yet, have your sister send them to you!  Enjoy with a latte or a glass of milk and you will be a happy camper.    Here's why:  

These truffles are made with a vanilla cake base and sprinkles (think Funfetti cake mix) and coated with a white chocolate glaze.  Then!    They are dipped into a layer of cake crumbs.   Are you serious?    Yes, my friends.   I am.

America's Pastime

I didn't know it at the time, but my world changed on May 20, 1990.  

A mere 12 days earlier, I had turned 7, and my mom's sister (aka Auntie) decided to take me to my first baseball game.   There were four of us in the group:  Auntie and Benita, me, and my just turned 5 year old sister.   I am almost certain that Al and I spent the night at Auntie and Benita's that Saturday (in Cleveland Heights) and drove together to Cleveland Municipal Stadium on the shores of Lake Erie.  It was glove day; a ploy to get families to come out to the Mistake on the Lake in order to take home a 'free' souvenir and fill in a fraction of the seats in Cleveland Municipal Stadium on what could be a beautiful late spring afternoon, or what might also be a frigid day with strong winds blowing off the lake.  The box score shows that it was a  rather successful promotion, with more than 20,000 in attendance.   (It doesn't mention the weather, but I think it was a pretty nice day)

Sadly, we didn't stay til the end (Tribe lost 8-7) because my sister was ready to go before the 9th inning came 'round.   Three hours is a long time for a pre-schooler to sit still, and ballparks did not have play lands at that time.    I do remember not wanting to leave, and will forever remember Benita 'directing' the nonexistent traffic as we crossed over a bridge to the parking lot.

Note: this photo was not taken the day of the game, but it was taken that summer and gives you an idea of our ages

Lucky for me, Auntie took me to many, many, many more games in my youth and into adulthood.  She always explained what was happening when I was small, teaching me about the ball/strike count, why a runner could steal a base, and what a double play meant.  As I got older, I learned about specific players, legends and goofballs alike.  Somewhere along the way I taught myself how to keep score, and taught Auntie what was likely the only tidbit of baseball she didn't yet know.

I learned the history of the Cleveland Indians.  Sports fans will know this can be a bit of a painful history, and might question why we'd talk about it, but "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."   One might argue that we both remember AND repeat the past in Cleveland but that's a story for another day.   Auntie was a fan starting in the 1960s.  A fair-weather fan she was not.  Auntie's favorite player as a child was Max Alvis, and she still has his baseball card.   Through lows, highs, and mostly lows, Auntie is an Indians fan.   She has said, numerous times, that before she dies, she'd like to see the Indians win the World Series just once.   (Auntie was born in 1955, so while I'm hoping they'll have a lot of time to win, I am also hoping they'll win many times in that timespan!)

I realize that I lived through some of the most exciting years of Indians history, and they came during the 'formative' years when I was becoming a fan.  I went to playoff games, and even saw a World Series game in 1997 (yes, when it snowed).   I attended the All-Star game workout day in 1997 and watched the home run contest.  My dresser was full of Indians t-shirts, my bookcase stocked with baseball books, and I never went to a game without my Tribe hat.   After the powerhouse diminished slightly, my enthusiasm did not wane.  I went to night games in April when the thermometer was 38 at game time.

I sat in the bleachers in August in full sun.  My then-boyfriend (now husband) and I drove to Detroit and Chicago to see our team play in other ballparks.   When we moved out of northern Ohio in 2005, we subscribed to MLB.com's sports package so we could follow the Tribe every day, no matter where we were.  Our subscription continues to this day, and without fail every day we watch a Tribe game.

What I'm trying to say is that my first game opened the door to what has become a huge part of my life.  When I was in grade school it allowed me to spend a few uninterrupted hours with my Auntie.  In middle school and high school being a baseball fan gave me something interesting (and legit!) to talk to the boys about, and keeping score was a great conversation starter.   Almost every night during baseball season I fell asleep with the radio on, listening to Tom Hamilton call the play-by-play of my Tribe.  For me, summer was swimming and baseball.   When I was in college, Auntie and I took a trip to Cooperstown, NY, a mecca for baseball
nerds
fans.

It's probably better if I put this into context.   Auntie went to her first baseball game in the early 60s with her dad, brothers, cousins and uncle.   She was the only girl.   She kept the ticket stub, and still has it, to this day, displayed in her home office, which we affectionately refer to as The Shrine.   You see, Auntie has been collecting baseball memorabilia (almost exclusively Indians related, spanning 100 years) for more than 50 years.  The Shrine is chock full of books, pennants, bobble heads, tickets, and even seats from Cleveland Stadium, and a turnstile from League Park.

Seriously, aren't these seats great?  Appropriately, I am sunburned from sitting outside at a baseball game

Alison holding a vintage ticket while walking through the old turnstile.  

You can see the Cleveland Stadium seats behind her

Some items are of value, and others, like her first ticket stub, are purely sentimental.   Lucky for me, she kept the stub from my first game because, as she said just this week, "these things are extremely important"

I couldn't agree more.

Turn 29 and Ride a Dolphin

For serious!  As you know, I spent the first day of my 29th year enjoying a birthday gift experience, which just happened to be swimming with dolphins.  More specifically, I swam with them, rode one, and kissed another!   [Disclaimer: This is a long one.   Grab a snack or at least your favorite beverage before settling in]

First of all, to call Discovery Cove a theme park is a complete disservice.  It is a beautiful oasis of tropical plants and animal life.  The park is owned by SeaWorld, so you can imagine that the focus is on interacting with marine animals.   As you might imagine, the dolphin swim is the highlight, but Discovery Cove also includes the opportunity to interact with - and feed! - exotic birds (NOTE: My sister would run screaming for the hills), tropical fish, stingrays, and some other critters as well.

Let me give you a little snapshot so you can try to include it in your next trip to the Sunshine State.  To start off, DC is different in that admission is all-inclusive.  It includes unlimited food and drink.  Breakfast is ready when you get there, and it's not just toast and coffee.   Hot breakfast fit for a king (including eggs, yuck) and then of course tons of food options for lunch, but the snack bars all around the park are included too.  Even the beer!  And frozen rum drinks!  Oh my gosh!!!!

In addition to the smorgasbord, you are provided with a snorkel/mask, wet suit, neoprene vest, and unlimited towels.  You also get a decent sized locker to stow your stuff.  DC itself is amazing, but they sweeten the deal by including admission to SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica, and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay within a 14 day window.   (This may not be as amazing if you are vacationing here for a long weekend.   But for those of us living here... that window is just lovely)

And one more tidbit that makes DC unique: advance reservations are required, and the park limits capacity to 1000 guests each day.  This results in a top notch, boutiquey experience.   It kind of feels like you are at the spa.  But with animals in salt water.  Truly, the bathroom facilities are quite spa like, with their Crabtree and Evelyn products scattered about.

Alright, my commercial for Discovery Cove has ceased.  I mentioned the dolphin swim is the highlight,  and it's where we ended up first.  When you arrive in the morning, you are assigned a dolphin swim time.  Ours happened to be the first of the morning.  Nothing like starting the day with a bang!  You also pose for a 'complimentary' photo; ours is below.  Not bad for 8am and no hair and makeup if you ask me.

The main attraction and highlight of DC is the dolphin swim.  You're in the water for about 30 minutes, which as you may guess, goes by in a flash and doesn't feel near long enough.  Michael and I are posing with Cindy, the oldest dolphin at the park (she is in her mid-40s).  We also each got to ride her!   Cindy is  a champ and did all the work.  All I did was hold on to her dorsal (top) fin and left pectoral flipper and let her tow me to shore.  It was a blast.

After everyone in our small group of 8 enjoyed a ride with Cindy, we got to meet Hurley.   Hurley is just a baby; he's 2 years old and too small to ride.   He is still learning his tricks, but was able to show us several moves, including spinning, making various sounds, waves, and my favorite, splashing us in the face with his tail fluke.   In addition to these talents, Hurley was quite the social butterfly.   He posed with everyone, and even let us all kiss him.   I got to kiss him twice- I don't really know why, but I did not complain!  We got along splendidly.

By the time we had to say goodbye to Hurley, it was only 10 am and our day had just begun.   We made stops at SeaVenture which is sort of hard to explain, truly.  It's described as an underwater walking tour.   Which it is.... but there's a little more to it.  Basically, participants wear ridiculous looking helmets in order to be able to breathe while going into deep water (without needing SCUBA equipment or training).  The helmet is weighted so that you stay on the bottom of the pool and are able to walk among various fish and stingrays.   SCUBA certified divers go with you, and they let you hold sea urchins and sea slugs, and also release a bunch of fish food in front of your face, so that fish come swimming around you from all sides.  I kind of felt like I was walking on the moon, but underwater with fish.   Does that make sense?  It's cool. Trust me.

After the dolphin swim and pretending to be Neil Armstrong under water we were ready for dry land.  Lucky for us the aviary was near by.  Unlike the more typical bird walk throughs, DC's is designed for interaction.   Upon entering, you have the opportunity to pick up a cup of fruit and nuts so that the birds will come and eat from your hands.  I am thinking that my sister, who has a known fear of birds, would opt out of this experience.  It seems I am in the opposite camp.   The first few minutes we were in the building, three different birds landed on me and Michael called me Snow White.  That's ok; she's cute.

This is Chandler, a Guira Cuckoo

There are many Guiras flying around named Monica, Ross, Rachel, Joey, and Phoebe.  The second generation includes Gunther, Janice, Carol, etc.  You get the picture

Michael claimed to be 'scared' of the Great Curassow, but they got along just fine.  

This Green Aracari landed on me out of nowhere and scared me big time.  He's quite large 

The Lady Amherst's Pheasant had the most gorgeous feathers, and was apparently quite hungry

This guy had no interest in the food provided in the dishes; instead he went for Michael's big toe- repeatedly!   There are no injuries to report.

The brightly colored Eastern Rosella stood out in this tree.   I bet he gets a lot of treats

We each had our very own Speckled Mousebird to feed.   These little guys are quite social and for some reason loved us.   They sat on our arms for several minutes and chattered away

My bird was, appropriately, picky with her food.   She sat on my hand and sorted through each piece of fruit, chattering when a piece was not to her liking.  She was hysterical

The Trumpeter Hornbill likes grapes; I fed him some

See?  The Great Curassow is back for more snacks!

This guy was such an attention hog.  They have a girl peacock in here so the 2 males will strut around with their feathers displayed.   It is quite impressive.

We spent the remainder of our day at the Great Reef, snorkeling among schools of fish, reef sharks, eels (which I did not see) and sting & eagle rays.  At one point we came upon a huge school of fish- there were hundreds and hundreds of them- all swimming almost directly in front of us.  It's amazing to see only fish to your left and right, and to be swimming in the with them instead of watching though an aquarium.   Our final stop was the  Wind-away river, which is the perfect place to relax.  The river winds all around the park and feels like a tropical river with rocks on the bottom of the floor, various plants and waterfalls scattered throughout.  The river actually winds through the aviary, and offers another way of experiencing the birds.

Let me tell you, after all this frolicking, we were tired.  Thankfully, all that lay in store for me that evening was ice cream cake and presents..... yahoo!   I was quite popular this year and received many cards,  multiple boxes in the mail, and even birthday cookies and balloons from one of my colleagues.  When you're a little kid birthday presents sort of seem like part of the deal.  But when you are a grown up and people remember you with a card or a box or even a song on your voicemail, you feel pretty good.   I am a lucky girl!

How to Celebrate Your 29th Birthday

If it's a weekday, start by requesting the day off.   Be sure to do so several month ahead so your boss will have no other requests and will have no choice but to give you time off.  Start daydreaming of the free day you will have.  Ponder the the big decisions: Should I eat a chocolate croissant for breakfast?   Should I eat ice cream breakfast?   Is it ok to do both on your birthday?  (For the record, I say yes)  Will I get a pedicure?  What color polish will I choose?  How fun will it be to look at my watch at 10:30am when the others will be in a meeting?  etc. etc. etc.   Tell your husband of your plans.

-Flash forward to the month of your birthday-

By this time you will have had time to ponder the important questions, above.  Your husband will have something up his sleeve that will quite possibly get in the way of the pedicure.   You see, instead of giving you a wrapped gift in a box, he has decided to give you an experience.   This floats your boat because you don't like 'stuff' and an experience is fine and dandy with you.   The best part is, you will want it to be a surprise, and your husband will indulge you.  You will still think about the different places you might be going, which will keep you entertained for quite awhile.  Your husband will then ask you a completely random question which will throw you off the guessing game farther than you can even imagine.   In my case it was the following:

M: Jules, I have a weird question.  But just go with it.

J: OK

M: Pink or blue?

J: Excuse me?

M: Pink or blue?

J: In what context?

M: Just pick one

J: Am I going to eat it?  Or wear it?  

M: As an accessory

J: Seriously?

M: Just answer the question Jules

J: OK.   This is scaring me.   Pink?

-Flash forward to the day before your birthday-

Your coworkers will have found out you are taking the day off, even though you all work from home and communicate pretty much 100% via instant messenger.   They will start to ask questions that you cannot answer.   What are you doing for your birthday?  Where are you going?   What is Michael getting you for your birthday?   You will enjoy being clueless.

That evening, your husband will present you with a wrapped gift.  You will question the gift, based on his decison to give you an experience rather than a wrapped box.  He will say it's a clue so that you can get ready for the next day and for the impending surprise gift.  You will open the box and find this:

The shocking pink (you did say pink earlier this month, remember?) water shoes will be your clue but you will remain confused.  "Where are we going?"  "Discovery Cove to swim with dolphins!"   You will then start screaming.  Your husband may wish he had bought himself earplugs as part of the gift giving.

Y'all.   This is exciting for many reasons:

• I have always wanted to swim with dolphins.   Like for years.... since I was a small fry.  
• Discovery Cove is one of the few attractions in Orlando that I have not experienced
• The weather in May is hot and therefore perfect for frolicking in saltwater with creatures
• It would be an experience I won't soon forget and there is no 'stuff' in my house except for water shoes, but I can totally use those again so I am OK with it.

So...  the morning of May 8, 2011, we woke up around 7:30 (trust me... this is sleeping in at my house), threw on our swimsuits and water shoes and headed for the park.  It was a-ma-zing!  I'm going to write a second post all about it, since it was so darn cool.   But here is a photo to hold your interest in the interim.

You'll note that both Hurley and I were super pumped that morning.    We are sporting the same smile, after all.   While swimming with the dolphins was certainly the highlight, the park has a bunch of cool features so I will tell you about them next time.  But while we're on the subject of birthdays, can I just say that for the past few years, mine have been pretty rockin'.     I am a lucky girl.

There were never such devoted sisters

Friday morning Michael and I both received missed calls from my sister.  I also had an email from her.  This is quite rare.  Al is not known for her frequent phone calls or communication in general.  Here's what the email said


Hi!!

I can fly in for $xxx, Saturday evening -- Tuesday afternoon. Is that ok for you? I'm assuming mom can take care of me on the days you work. Do you have monday off?


Sadly I did not have Monday off, but that did not stop her from coming on a whim!   Saturday Michael and I actually had plans to see Kelly Clarkson at Universal Studios (ohmygosh amazing concert) but my parents fetched Al from the airport and we had a blast on Sunday, playing mini golf at Fantasia Gardens.  We endured 20 mph winds -notice my hair- and of course, there were bison.

It was a lovely time not just because I got - count 'em - FOUR holes in one!   I had never in my life (that I can remember) gotten a hole in one in mini golf.   Luck was on my side for some of the holes.  I won on the front 9, but due to some, ahem, issues on the back side, did not win the game.

What's the best way to celebrate such achievement?  Why, with a trip to Ghirardelli ice cream of course.  My sister was kind enough to split the Gold Rush sundae with me.  Yeah I really had to twist her arm on that one.   Vanilla ice cream, chocolate fudge, peanut butter sauce, whipped cream, and a Ghirardelli chocolate on top with the cherry.  There are zero calories when you share, right?

The trip was short: less than 3 days but we did our best to visit, laugh, and entertain each other.  I have already started to pester her about coming back later this year.

Be My Valentine

I did not receive flowers or a box of chocolates.  What I got was way better!

As is typically each weekday, I start my day with a ginormous cup of tea, eat some Kashi and head upstairs to work.  I tend to hunker down and pause only to change from PJs to real clothes around 8 am, and go right on through till my 10:30 video meeting.    Tuesday was no different.

Except that around 9:45 Michael appeared in my doorway.  He was holding a card, a vanilla latte and donuts from Dunks!  My favorites!   And one of the donuts was pink frosted with ….. heart shaped sprinkles.   The way to a girl's heart is copious amounts of sugar in the morning, folks.  He sat in my office while I continued to email my clients, but we did enjoy a few moments of a breakfast treat.

Around lunch time he informed me he was making a 'special Valentine's Jules lunch' which, considering I already had a donut, left me puzzled.  Imagine my surprise when I went downstairs and had a freshly grilled cheeseburger waiting for me.  Oh lordy.  More delicious food!  Then we had chocolate covered strawberries for dessert.

In addition to February 14 being Valentine's day, it is also my mom's birthday!   Michael's mom was kind enough to make dinner so the 4 of us enjoyed dinner, cake*, and Glee.   My sugar consumption was off the charts.  In other words, it was a lovely Valentine's day.


*Saturday was birthday dinner at Flying Fish while Dad was home.  Sunday we had chocolate peanut butter mousse cake, since Dad was still home and loves caked  Why doesn't?  Tuesday we had leftover cake.  Uncouth?  Maybe but it was SO DELICIOUS I did not even care.  Mom decided three days of celebrating is, in fact, better than one.

For what I am about to share, may I be truly grateful

'Tis the season for turkey and stuffing and green beans cooked in Campbell's soup (sorry I'm from the midwest; green bean casserole is a-ma-zing) and PIE.    Mostly pie.    It's also the beginning of the holiday season -- despite the fact that Target has been hawking Christmas decor since mid-October -- where everyone tends to reflect on the past year.    Thanksgiving, despite being a forgotten step-child in the retail world, really does start us off on the right foot, don't you think?

We're back in Florida so that means we'll be driving to South Carolina to see Michael's maternal grandparents, Nana and Papa.  We had a great time last year (Ithaca = drive to New Jersey to see the other side of the family!) but I am also a stickler for tradition.   That said, I am grateful that we are back here in Florida, and consequently, able to be back there at Thanksgiving.

All 4 of Michael's grandparents are awesome.   Specifically, Nana and Papa are both over 80 and each play 18 holes of golf each day (he walks half, she walks half) and they act like they're closer to 50 than 80.    They watch current TV, read current books, and are lovely people to converse with, about pretty much any topic.   I am thankful that, by marriage, these wonderful people are now part of my family.     I am thankful that we are close enough to to drive to spend time at the holidays with them.   (and avoid the airport!)  I am thankful that in less than 48 hours I will be in their condo wearing yoga pants, glasses, and no makeup, reading a book and drinking tea, with no distractions.

I am thankful that the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend includes watching lots of movies, reading lots of books, playing lots of games, and spending lots of time talking with each other.   That's what Thanksgiving is all about, after all.   Family and love and relaxation.  Not black Friday sales and craziness.

May each of you be blessed with a lovely Thanksgiving weekend, and may you be truly grateful for it.

Operation Surprise Ashley

So the suspense is over.   After two months of keeping my fat mouth shut* I can finally talk about the surprise visit this month.

It all started in September, about 8 weeks ago.  Ashley's husband Jason called Pannie and I one afternoon and explained his idea.  Essentially it was this:


I have 2 Southwest flights that expire in December 2011.  I'm not going to have a chance to use them.  I would love to fly you two out and surprise Ash for her birthday.  What do you think?


What do we think?!  Well he knew what we thought.  Ash's birthday was the first weekend in November but I was in Colombia and Pannie was Maid of Honor in her sister's wedding so the 2nd week won out. Good news is I think it might have helped throw her off.   Ash said she had an inkling awhile ago that he might surprise her (she knew there were 2 almost expired tickets and they mentioned it briefly this spring) but Jason kept throwing her off by telling her about the 'surprise' trip they had planned.

After we rang the bell and surprised her Friday we went upstairs and saw a good portion of Ash's closet on the bed as Jason encouraged her to 'pack' on Friday evening.   Once she gave him a little bit of sass about the trick, (all in good fun) we had a lovely relaxing girls weekend.

One of the great things about surprising someone is they don't plan anything - no agenda!  I had NO AGENDA!-  so you can lounge around and chat and drink tea or coffee or wine and enjoy each other's company because that's what it's all about.

We also finally watched the Friends series finale.  See, it aired after school ended on spring and Ash couldn't bear to watch it without us.  So she's been waiting for seven years and this weekend seemed like as good a time as any.

Quasi-related, I read The Hunger Games on my [free!] airplane ride.  If you have not read it, go ahead and order yourself a copy.   Amazon has it for $5!  The movie will be out soon and I am quite certain it will be good.  But you know the book is always better.



*I am in actuality a good secret keeper

Best Website Ever?

So I have heard of Pinterest.   I had no idea what it was, and it seemed a bit like a typo for someone like me who types too darn fast.  But then, Holly, at NBB, wrote about it.   I love Holly and her projects and her writing style in general.  I am not a dangerous stalker, I promise.    So once I saw she had written about it, I knew it was worth more investigation.   Then I read her post, and whoa.  You Guys!

I think this is my mecca.   Are you familiar?  I'm not really sure how to describe it.   It's sort of a.... virtual bulletin board?   For photos of amazingly awesome and often unrelated things.    At least that is how I am treating it.   It's a place where you can keep everything wonderful idea you saw online in one, wonderfully well organized, space.   Amazon has a wish list, which I use and love.   But what if you are looking for headboards and you don't like the ones on amazon that much, but there is one at Hayneedle, and one at CB2 and another one that was featured in the pages of Martha Stewart but who knows where it's from?    Well, my friends.   That's where you pin.    Log in to Pinterest and you can pin all the headboards you love.   So when you're ready to actually buy one they are all together.   And once you start pinning, you will probably see that other crazy people have also pinned headboards and you fall down the proverbial rabbit hole and have looked at photos of headboards for more than 2 hours.   At this point, the Indians game will have ended, your teacup will be empty, and your husband will be upstairs brushing his teeth.   And you have still not purchased a headboard.*

My current obsessions are: finding a headboard for our bed.  We have been married nearly 2 years, it's time to have one.    Related to the marriage thing, I am also pondering 2nd anniversary gifts.   Traditional gift: cotton.   As I do not want or need any more bedsheets, I am considering other options.   Pinterest is not disappointing!   I might have found just what I am looking for.   Finally, in true Jules fashion, I am pinning organized homes and closets and pantries and the like.    I am not a slob, but there is always room for improvement, especially with this crazy website undoubtedly patrolled by other OCD folks.

I honestly think the one thing that has kept me from totally losing it is that I am not crafty.    There are lots of cool ideas on the site but once you click you can opt to pin, and see where to buy it or how to make it.   Y'all, I do not make much.    Well, that's not totally true.    I make some tasty desserts, I make wonderful nostalgic photo gifts and montages and videos (aka family historian), and I make the bed every day.   I do not do crafty or woodshop type projects.   Silver lining: it helps me keep pinning in check.

Finally, you can follow people on Pinterest!    I read that small type in passing as I hastily requested an invite early Friday morning, only to quickly have my request GRANTED before lunch.   I dove in yesterday after dinner and less than an hour into it, I saw a familiar face: Hannah's sister Gretchen.  She has what I consider to be good taste so I am following her and she, me.   If you Pin, holler!  We can be thumbtack buddies, or whatever they're called.  

*True story, happened last night.

NKOTBSB(IIMen)

Months ago- we were still in Ithaca- I found out that New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys were planning a joint tour in the summer of 2011.  Needless to say I was pumped and declared immediately that I had to go.  The only problem....  where would we be in the summer?   I was sad to not be able to buy tickets, but once we moved back to Florida in June, I figured it would be safe to buy tickets for a late July show.

Michael graciously agreed to go with me, and we bought pretty decent seats.  Friday was the big night and it did not disappoint.   Matthew Morrison opened for them, and he was a little boring when he was just singing.   Definitely needs to keep the dancing as a focal point in the live shows.

But we were really all there for the main event....  NKOTBSB.   They performed for about 2 1/2 hours a lovely mixture of NKOTB and BSB trading off, changing outfits, etc.  I sang along at the top of my lungs along with the other women in the crowd aged late 20s to early 40s.   (Needless to say the lines for the lady's restrooms were UNREAL)

Both bands made a point of reminding us that BSB got their start in Orlando so they were in their hometowns.   At the end of the show, NKOTB said the [big] group decided they wanted to do something special for the homecoming show.   Everything was quiet, and the audience just kind of hung out, waiting for an announcement.

Then, all of a sudden, I heard a chord and the familiar 10,9,8,7...  indicating that Motown Philly was starting.   And that means one thing......
BOYZ II MEN WERE THERE!
Anyone who knows me knows that I live for Boyz II Men.  Own all their albums, have seen them live several times, etc. etc.  As soon as I heard the '10' I turned to Michael and shouted at the top of my lungs NO! FREAKING! WAY!  I was pretty pumped to see New Kids and BSB performing live after all these years, but to see BIIM performing to a sold out arena was pretty damn awesome.

**ADDENDUM**
Pannie sent this article on the NY Post complete with a VIDEO in case you are crazy and want to see it. I found another video from a decent angle where you can see them all singing together.  Very cute.

Had NSYNC or Zack Morris been there, it would have been the ultimate 90s time capsule.


Side note: BoyzIIMen will be at EPCOT in November.  Yes I am going.

Happy Mother's Day

A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world.  It knows no law, no pity, it dates all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path.

-Agatha Christie, The Last Séance