First Run...Almost Made It

So last night, Central Massachusetts got it's first meaningful snow for the season.  We got a dusting for Christmas and about an inch on Friday morning.  But last night, we got about 10 inches of fresh, fluffy snow.  And Dave couldn't be happier.  All night he kept running to the windows,checking the accumulation.  Actually, I'm surprised he didn't wake up and jump up and down on the bed, exclaiming about how much snow we got.  I'm very proud that he didn't.

While we wanted to take our snowmobiles out, we haven't registered them yet and today the agent office was closed.  So we went cross country skiing at Great Brook Ski Touring Center.  It was a great day for it.  The sun came out, the powder was perfect for gliding, and I only fell once (over some ice at the very beginning). 

Dave and I came back home and cleared out some snow from around the house and Dave killed the downspout with the snow blower.

The little dark chunks to the left of the downspout are more pieces of downspout.  Dave is ashamed.

Then we decided to have some real fun.  Even though our snowmobiles aren't registered, we can ride them on our own property.  Behold: Dave turning our backyard into his own private, albeit tiny, snowmobile trail. (My apologies for the sideways-ness of this video...I actually thought I was taking it correctly.)

It was actually pretty fun.  Until we went to put the sled back on the trailer and Dave came up the slight incline only to run out of gas.  We didn't have that much gas in it to begin with, and I'm sure the slight tilt didn't help, but it was pretty funny to see that after going around the yard about 8 times, he didn't have enough in the tank to bring it home.

So close, yet so far.  Dave is again ashamed.

So on Dave's agenda for tomorrow is registering the snow mobiles and stopping for gas on the way home so we can get the sled back on the trailer (and hopefully go out on a real trail later this week).

Harpoon Brewery or Beer at 11:30 am

Dad came up to spend Christmas with Dave and I this year.  So we thought the perfect thing to do would be head to the Harpoon Brewery in Boston and take the tour.  If you remember, Dave and I visited the Harpoon Brewery in Windsor, VT, and took the tour, which resulted in a lot of beer consumption, specifically because another woman on the tour didn't like the beer and kept giving her portion to Dave.

Well, the Boston tour was equally fun.  It happened to be Ugly Sweater Day, so most of the tour guises were dressed in hideous Christmas sweaters which was of course, amazing.  The fun thing about the Harpoon Brewery in Boston is that because of Prohibition, the Harpoon brewery license is noted as 001, the oldest continuously operating brewery in the state of Massachusetts. 

The tour starts with a tasting, this time of their Rye IPA.  Then we got to taste the IPA straight off the line, unfiltered and very cold.  Then later another taste of the filtered IPA for a comparison and finally a free for all at the tasting taps.  I tried the Harpoon Dark, the Raspberry UFO and the UFO White.  Dave tried some of the more dark and unique offerings, and both Dad and Dave tried the Apple Pie, which is the combination of the Winter Warmer and their Apple Cider.  It legitimately tastes like apple pie in a glass.  So we bought a six pack of each of those to enjoy with Christmas dinner (since I didn't make apple pie for dessert, it seemed appropriate. 

Then we had to get lunch, cause we were getting a little tipsy before 1 pm.

This Is What Happens When You Don't Say No

So after last year's Halloween's snowstorm followed up promptly by a winter of, well, no snow, Dave is very anxious to get this winter started and bring on what he predicts will be snow of epic proportions.  I won't lie, I am kind of interested in it snowing so we can go cross-country skiing, since there are trails near our house.  Dave's excited by that prospect as well, but he's more excited about this.

Yes, those our snowmobiles and yes, they are ours.  Because I never told my husband no.  Truth be told, I'm excited about them too.  A few years ago, we took a winter trip to New Hampshire for some cross-country skiing and decided to rent a snowmobile.  It was kind of awesome.  Freezing cold, but awesome.  So when Dave told me he had "the need for speed" (yup, he used those words) and then made his argument, I could find no holes to poke in it, no ill-founded logic, and no reason to say no.  I never actually said yes, but I didn't discourage him.

So now, thanks to Craig's List, we have 2 sleds that will each hold two people (so we can take friends!) and a trailer to pull them with.  We decided to get two sleds so we could each drive (which is really the most fun part) and because on that bitter cold day a few years ago, we realized it's the driver who stays warm, so if we intend to go out for a few hours, we both want the advantages of the hand warmers and foot guards.  (Don't worry, friends.  These sleds actually have heated handle bars and foot guards in the back, so you'll be safe.  We didn't know that was an option until we already decided to get two sleds.  And I'll let you drive.  Maybe Dave will, too.)

November snow in Boston.

Thanks to the snow we got recently, Dave's quite anxious to get on the trails.  I could wait a bit, but yes, I'm looking forward to it too.  Especially looking forward to some snow over Christmas so we can take my Dad out (that sound is my brother getting jealous). 

But for the record, since I didn't say no to snowmobiles and let my husband drive a Lamborghini, I'm still waiting for my medal and/or cash prize (eh, just cash prize) for being the best wife ever. 

I Should've Kicked Her Down the Stairs

With the weekend storm, it was obvious that commuting on Tuesday was going to be a struggle.  Thinking about it and talking it over with Dave, we figured given all the options, the train would still be my best bet because at least then I wouldn't have to deal with unfamiliar detours and crazy drivers.  I might be a little late, but I'd be safe.

I took an early train in and still got to work about 15 minutes late (so about 45 minutes past the regular arrival time for that train).  No big deal--they'd only had an opportunity to work on the rails for about 8 hours, in the dark and it was still windy and rainy.  I figured the evening would be about the same, but hopefully better.  Anticipating a longer trip in both directions, I brought my Kindle and a couple skeins of yarn to work on some crochet projects.

We got off to a good start going home, but at some point came to a pretty abrupt stop.  There were only two conductors (as opposed to three) and they weren't the normal guys for that train.  It had been slow going up to that point, so it wasn't a huge surprise that we stopped.  It happens in good weather sometimes.  We sat for about 15 minutes before the power went out. Now, it was about 5:15 pm or so, still cloudy and becoming stormy, so it was pretty dark.  Ridership was significantly down yesterday (people dealing with power out at home or at work, kids home from school or maybe just decided to drive instead), so there wasn't a huge raucous among the riders.  People were generally of the same opinion--we expected to be delayed.  What was odd, however, is that the conductors weren't making announcements about what was going on, especially since the power went out.

I'll interrupt here to say that on Monday, the MBTA--Boston's public transit--suspended service mid-afternoon,before the brunt of the storm hit us.  One of the statements I read from the MBTA said, "the safety of our employees, customers and infrastructure is our number one priority."  And I was glad to see that part of that safety meant not running trains in hurricane-strength winds.

After another 5 minutes, a conductor walked through the car I was in, but didn't say anything.  When he was almost out, a rider hollered, "What's going on?  Are you going to make an announcement?"  Apparently this guy didn't get the memo because his response (to a complete innocuous, reasonable, and mild-mannered question) was, "We're trying to get the train running!"  The guy, upset and reasonably so at that response, said, "Well an announcement would be nice!"  To which the conductor got the last word of, "We're doing our best."  Well, apparently not because we were still stopped and still in the dark, literally and figuratively.  We had no idea why.  A few minutes later, we learned we were being hooked up to the train behind us when a sudden bump jerked the train, rather abruptly.  Following that, the other conductor came through and made an announcement that we were hooked up and would be pushed to our destination.  But that would require our normally express train (ha!) to make all the local stops.

It took an extra 1 1/2 hours for me to get to my train stop last night.  And frankly, despite almost losing battery in my phone (I was down to 5%), missing an appointment, being hungry and desperately needing to pee, I was ok with it.  Yeah, it sucks, but I knew this was a risk when I chose to ride the train and luckily since the train wasn't crowded people were on their best behavior.

Until we were in line to finally get off the train at my stop.  A woman (older, maybe 60s?) who I see often and is generally cordial, polite and makes standard "train conversation" (random musings with people you don't know) with other train people (not me--I generally keep to myself) decided to engage me while standing behind me in line.  I was decked in my rain jacket, hood up and tightened.  My hood has a string that lets you adjust the fit of the hood not only around your face, but also through the back, so an elastic band hangs off the back of the hood. 

This woman pulled the string. 

Not once, but repeatedly for several seconds. And she wasn't just pulling the string, she was rocking my head and neck back and forth.

Woman: This is dangerous. (pulling the string, yanking my head)

Me: Yeah....(completely flabbergasted, then pissed) so why don't you stop pulling it.  Because touching someone you don't know is a real good idea.  You don't touch strangers.

Woman (dropping string): I didn't mean...

Me: It is never appropriate to touch a stranger.  Ever.

She didn't say anything else and then it turned out that the door behind us was being opened, necessitating that we turn around and now I was behind her.

How old were you when you learned it wasn't ok to touch a stranger?  Why do people feel it's appropriate to put their hands on someone else?  I have friends who are befuddled when someone they don't know thinks it's ok to touch their baby or child without asking.  I'm not sure which is more shocking--that someone would touch a child they don't know or a grown adult who might just deck them. 

I was completely ok with being stuck on the train for hours, in the dark, but why would another person in that same situation think it's a good idea to doing something so inappropriate and irritating to a complete stranger?  I feel confident that this woman has ridden the train for enough years (I've been on it for 5 1/2 and have seen her often), that she knows the one way train commuters get on edge is dealing with a late train.

All I know is that I hope she was scared as hell knowing I was walking behind her as we exited the train.  Because it was all I could do to not kick her down the stairs.

We Survived

Well, luckily Hurricane Sandy didn't hit Massachusetts nearly as hard as was anticipated.  It was forecast to be so bad that the governor closed all schools, colleges & universities.  Which meant that the university I work at closed for the first time in almost forever. Possibly since World War II.  Basically this place never closes.

Anywho, the storm came and didn't directly hit the coast, instead doing much more damage south of us.  We did go through heavy rain and extreme winds.  I'm pretty sure the wind didn't stop all.day.long.  It was so bad that when we went to bed last night, after things were starting to calm down, I said to Dave that I could no longer tell if the wind was blowing because the sound was so constant I'd become immune to it.

But the best part of the whole thing is that we didn't lose power.  YAY!  After last Halloween's freak snowstorm, I wasn't looking forward to a hurricane damaged version of the same. It was still dark when I left this morning, but I don't think we lost any trees.  Just a lot of leaves and small twigs and branches littered the roads nearby.  A lot of people in our town and towards the coast are dealing with much worse clean up, so my heart goes out to them and I hope they remain safe. 

Thinking of all my friends and family closer to the impact of the storm:  Hope you all are safe and well!

New Rule

When at the gym, if you insist on walking around the locker room buck naked (no towel, no bra/panties, buck.naked.), please have the decency to follow common etiquette of walking on the right in the hallways. 

I would prefer not to turn the corner and run into your boobs.

Really.

This Post Would Be Better With Pictures

Last Saturday, Dave and I went kayaking, but I didn't think to take my camera or my phone, so I have no pictures.  Which would make this story far more interesting.  I'll try with words instead.

We dropped into the Concord River not far from home and thought we'd paddle south toward the Old North Bridge.  We were going against the current and the wind, apparently so we'd have an easier time getting back (HA!) but we never actually considered how far that would be.  Seriously we thought it would be an easy little jaunt down the river.  The day was gorgeous, sunny, and warm with a slight breeze, and the leaves on the trees along the river bank were starting to turn in to pretty yellows and reds.  A few fishermen were out and a couple other kayakers, but for the most part the river was empty.  Empty enough that we saw a few heron at different points, apparently "fishing" for breakfast.  Nice and tranquil.

Until we were paddling for about an hour and still weren't at the bridge.  Three times I thought to myself, "It should be just beyond this bend."  Each time I was wrong.  We reached a fork in the river and Dave, ahead of me, asked me which way.  I honestly thought we were supposed to go to the left and said so.

Again, I was wrong. 

Turns out it was just a large cove. so I turned around, paddled out of the cove and almost made it to the turn to continue back down the river. 

Now at this point, my arms are sore because I'm not used to paddling for so long against the current and wind.  I'm starting to get blisters on my thumbs from the grip (and because I forgot my gloves and don't have squishy paddle grips,yet).  So I won't lie that I was mildly irritated when Dave called me from the back of the cove.

Dave: Colleen, come here.

Me (muttering to myself): This better be good.

I turned around and just as I started to paddle back, something popped up out of the water. And I swear it looked me in the eye.  We had a moment where I thought, "What the hell is that?" and it thought, "Ahh! I'm gonna die!"

I paddled back to Dave and saw he was looking at some sort of wooden, branch-like plant that was home to probably half a dozen turtles sunning themselves.

Ok, it was good.

There was another smaller plant of the same type of to the right.  It really just looked like leafless tree branches poking out of the water and there were a bunch of 4-7 inch turtles, I think they were painted turtles because they didn't look big enough to be snapping turtles.  Apparently we paddled not into a cove but into a turtle sanctuary!  We probably saw about 30 turtles either on the branches, dropping into the water or poking their heads out of the surface (must've been what I saw when I turned my boat around to come back).  It actually made me nervous to paddle out because I didn't want to hit any of them.

So after spending a little while watching the turtles and getting out of our paddling groove, we decided just to head back since our bodies were communicating their exhaustion.

By the way, I do not think it was easier on the way back.

More Reading: Fall Book List

I work as an administrator for a bunch of faculty and each spring I make sure their course goes off without a hitch.  This includes attending weekly meeting on the upcoming classes.  While I order catering for these meetings, I always supplement with some homemade baked goodies.  It's really just an excuse to bake for the cookie blog and then get the calories out of the house (and not into Dave or I).  As a thank you, I received a very generous Amazon gift certificate which I put towards buying myself a Kindle Fire 7", LCD Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB.  I picked it up over the summer and was in love.  I've literally plowed through books (most of them free!) by reading on the train, on the cardio equipment at the gym, and instead of watching the crap TV that was on over the summer.  I also love that because there are so many free books (and the Lending Library through Amazon Prime), I've exposed myself to different genres and if I don't like a book, I don't feel committed to finish reading it.  I just delete it and move on to something else.

There are too many books here to do a review on each, so I've broken it down into how much I liked it.  The "Definitely Read" books are ones that I could not put down and am so glad I downloaded.  The "Good If You're Bored" books were fun, mostly quick, reads that are a good one to grab while your waiting for something from the wait list at the library or waiting for a new month to begin to get something new from the Lending Library.  And for the record, I consider "chick-lit" fun, sexy stories about young women still finding their way in the world and "women's fiction" to be a more mature look on being an adult and the life they lead.  In no particular order, here's what I've been reading.

Definitely Read

• Swimby Jennifer Weiner--short story, chick lit; a prequel to her new novel, The Next Best Thing
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins--fantasy, science fiction, teen fiction (finally on board and I loved it)
• Summer of Firefly Memories by Joan Gables--women's fiction, family relationships
• Golden Lies by Barbara Freethy--women's fiction, mystery, romance, family relationships
• I Think I Love You (a humorous romantic mystery) by Stephanie Bond--chick-lit, mystery, family relationships (Stephanie Bond may be one of my new favorites)
• Crossroads Road: A Novel by Jeff Kay--(disfunctional) family relationships, humor
• Never Buried (Leigh Koslow Mystery Series) by Edie Claire--mystery, slightly chick-lit (and it's set it Pittsburgh!)
• Tales from the Crib by Jennifer Coburn--women's fiction, humor

Good If You're Bored

• Charlie In Love by LC Zingera--chick-lit; romance (I did not expect this to turn into the new generation of Harlequin romance, but it wasn't awful)
• The Enemy's Son by Kristen James--chick-lit, mystery, romance
• The Secret Desires of a Soccer Mom by Robyn Harding--women's fiction, mystery
• More by Heidi Marshall--chick-lit, romance, Christian fiction (but in the slightest sense)
• Whispering Hills (Whispering Hills, #1) by Taryn Browning--mystery, teen paranormal fiction (I had no idea, I swear!)
• Sleeping with Paris by Juilette Sobanet--chick-lit, romance
• Welcome to Scranton by Greg Halpin--coming of age
• Chop, Chop (Chop, Chop Series - Book 1) by LN Cronk--Christian fiction, coming of age (I really wanted this book to be more, so I read it through the end but was left unfulfilled.  But it could be good for the right person.)

I can lend most of these books once--leave me a comment with your email address and I'll hook you up!

Only in Pittsburgh

This past weekend, Dave and I took a trip to Pittsburgh to visit my Dad and watch a little football.  We were excited to see Pitt pull of a huge upset over Virginia Tech by a score of 35 to 17.  While we were there, Dave got hungry so we stepped out to get some stadium grub at Heinz Field.  Dave opted for something more substantial than my soft pretzel: The Allegheny Burger.  A burger topped with keilbasa and a perogi.  Few things are more Pittsburgh than that.

The next day we went back to Heinz Field, this time to cheer on the Steelers during their 27-0 win over the New York Jets.  It was wonderful.  But the entertainment truly started before we even got into the stadium.  In order to direct the massive crowds of people crossing the streets separating parking from the stadium, and to make sure the cars could get through without hitting people, police officers managed to make everything run smoothly.  They were there for the Pitt game, too, but on Steelers game day, they carry equipment other than their whistles.

Yup, that policeman is directing traffic with his Terrible Towels.  So was his friend, but I only got on shot.

I love seeing the crazy that is Pittsburgh. It makes me feel at home with my peeps.

Oh, and then I totally dominated fantasy football this week...to make up for the fact that I lost to JR the week before.  

Three Years is Personal Flotation Devices

Three years ago today, I married a man with infinite patience and a sense of humor enough to let me make fun of him publicly on the internet.  He's quite the catch, this man of mine. 

For a while, like several years, Dave and I talked about buying kayaks (one for each of us, because you know we each need our own boats).  Over Labor Day weekend, we redeemed a Groupon to try out the sit-on-top variety of kayaks, which we quickly dismissed upon being soaked from the water splashing into the boat and the complete lack of control (we were both listing in various directions).

After that excursion, we visited an independent outdoor store, New England Backpacker, and got some very good information about the type of kayak we'd want and why.  Seriously, we are so glad we went there because if left to our own devices, we would have royally screwed up the purchased.  Additionally, they said we could test-paddle the kayaks we were interested in by renting them for a day and if we decided to buy them, the rental fee would be taken off the purchase price.  Which was already on sale since it's the end of the season.  Score.

So last Saturday, we rented our desired kayaks, hit the same lake as the weekend before, and proceeded to paddle in absolutely terrible conditions.  It was super windy, the waves were choppy, we were paddling with the wind which meant we'd have to battle against it to get back, clouds threatened to unload on us, and on top of that we weren't exactly pleased with each other.  So we took a break, got out of the water and regrouped. 

Then we bonded over the two meatheads trying to get their small jet boat launched.  It was awesome. The one guy had no clue and the other guy had no grasp of telling his buddy what to do.  This thing was old and after he got the boat trailer in the water, the guy had to jump it with a battery box to get it started.  The engine sounded awful.  Dave watched, and actually helped at one point to give the guy a line to the dock, ticking all the various things they were doing wrong.  The best part was that they knew there were a bunch of rocks at the launch that needed to be avoided, at which they were successful.  Until they finally turned the boat the leave the launch and scraped the bottom over the rocks in the most fantastic of ways.  The sound was horrible and it could have easily been avoided, but at this point we knew they had no clue what they were doing.

Their boat was something like this--but older and more full of idiots.

After enjoying that show, we got back in our kayaks, got rained on a bit, but toured the rest of the lake before the winds got particularly heinous.  We really got a chance to figure out our kayaks and decide if we really wanted to get them.

By the time we got back to the shop to return the rentals, we decided we really wanted to buy these kayaks.  We have a lot of fun paddling, and there are a lot of opportunities for us to try different rivers and ponds not far from our house.  The guys at the shop were great hooking us up with everything we needed, sizing us appropriately and making sure we were comfortable.  When we paid for it all, I turned to Dave and said, "Happy Anniversary!"  Maybe molded plastic and life vests will be the new contemporary third anniversary gift.

So, there you go Dave.  You now have your own boat.  Please stop asking me for a sailboat, because I don't know which anniversary nylon and dacron are given.

Looking for Zebras

So my car died.  Well, not completely, but it's not working.  I got off the train last night, walked to my car and unlocked it--no problems.  Then I tried to turn it on and got nothing.  Didn't even pretend to turn over.  I double checked that I didn't do anything stupid like leave the lights on (nope, that was all copacetic).  So I called Dave, mildly frustrated, who was at home and could get to me quicker than a tow truck.

Being handy with cars, Dave of course wanted to investigate the problem a bit.  So he poked around, tried starting the car himself, watched the gauges (as they did nothing) and poked at all the connections and fuses running from the battery and the power distributor.

Hungry and in need of a bathroom, I was growing cranky at the examination.  So I texted Stacy, my one friend who knows about cars and boys trying to fix problems without success.

Me: I love my husband by my car battery seems to have died in the train station parking lot and rather than jump it, he's been checking all the fuses for the past 10 minutes.

Stacy: LOL.  Breath deeply, he's a "c" personality, he's checking all the little things to be sure it's just a jump you need and not a tow.

Stacy: He hears horses but wants to look at all of them in case there's a zebra.

Me: Best. Line. Ever.  I do suppose I have to love him.

I did convince Dave to at least try to jump the car because he was ready to leave without even doing that.  Not wanting to call a tow truck only to find out we could have been done and over with it, I asked if he'd at least try to rule out the possibility.

Me: Well he was right. I do need a tow.

Stacy: Zebra!!!

I laughed and got out of my car-trauma induced funk.  Stacy's good for that.  Plus she's a Spanish teacher who does a wicked funny Russian accent and will whip it out at random occasions with a whole Russian "old country" persona.  Everyone needs a friend who will randomly change accents and pretend to have lived a different life.

Dave and I left the car in the parking lot, went home and had dinner.  Then we called AAA for a tow and headed back to the car to wait.  Dave brought a volt meter this time and confirmed that the battery had plenty of power so clearly the problem was something electrical or with the car's computer.

About an hour later, the tow driver came and essentially ran through all the checks that Dave did and then some.  Eventually he either ran out of ideas of Dave wore him down by repeating, "Yeah, we really just need a diagnostics check, so let's just tow it to our mechanic."  Meanwhile, I texted Stacy again.

Me: The tow truck driver was looking for zebras too.

Me: He did not find any.

Stacy: LOL.  Alternator?

Me: Probably electrical.

Stacy: Bummer, replace 10 fuses cuz one blew.  I hate that!

Me: He checked all the fuses.  It's probably a wire or computer issue.

Stacy: Not a zebra.  A Horse of Many Colors.  Silly boys, mislead by hoofbeats.

Me: I'm imaging you saying this in a Russian accent.

Stacy: Good.  Is much funnier, ja.

I cringed watching him hook my car (unnecessarily--the driver was very cautious) and we drove off to leave our mechanic a reason to scratch his head in the morning about why our car randomly showed up.  I still don't know what's wrong with it, but Dave will talk to the mechanic this morning.  I'm not sure how he feels about horses and zebras.

Monday Morning Soundtrack

So it's Monday and this morning I learned that my train would be up to an hour late, so I decided to drive into work.  Not exactly how I wanted to kick start a work week and a Monday morning, but at least I found out BEFORE I was stuck on the train.

And then things got even better.   I'm a testament to my generation and I love to rock out to the 90s station on Sirius XM.  I usually know all the words and I get to amuse/embarrass Dave with my car-dancing routines. No joke, this is the playlist I enjoyed, in order, for the first part of my ride this morning:

• En Vouge--Free Your Mind
• Pearl Jam--Daughter
• Ice Cube--It Was a Good Day
• Alannah Myles--Black Velvet

And yes, I totally sang along.

Liam Neeson Failed Me

Dave and I enjoy movie night.  On the weekend, at least one night is devoted to sitting on the couch together with a big bowl of popcorn and the latest from Netflix.  Dave doesn't do chick flicks, but that's ok because I LOVE action movies.  I'll watch anything with a car chase or a fight scene (although if it's really bad I'll watch through my hands or look away until Dave says the coast is clear).  I love the adrenaline rush (and the pretty boys...like Jason Statham...sigh.)

So of course, most movies with Liam Neeson are winners.  Taken comes to mind.  Batman Begins.  Even The A-Team because we really liked him as Hannibal.

But wow.  The Grey.  The movie was just bad.  I'm going to give you spoilers because THERE IS NO REASON ANYONE SHOULD WATCH THIS MOVIE.  Seriously, by the end Dave said he was rooting for the wolves.

Long story short: Neeson plays Ottway who is a wolf-sniper for a bunch of oil riggers (? or maybe loggers?  I never really understood their job) in the middle of nowhere Alaska.  He picks off wolves as they try to come near the crew.  They are all done with this particular job, so they get on a plane home and end up crashing in an even bigger middle of nowhere Alaska.  A handful survive only to be hunted by a pack of wolves.  Ottway becomes the defacto leader because he's the only one who has an sense, but then by the end of the movie you realize he's an idiot.  There's a sense of a love story, but it's cryptic and you're left thinking maybe this woman Ottway is pining for is or was his wife and she may or may not be dead now.  Suspension of disbelief is huge in this movie because you're expected to believe that the surviving men are able to brave the arctic elements and still be able to walk, trudge, run and jump their way through the forest for a couple of days.  The don't have the gear they need, have little to no food, no water.  Some of the guys aren't even wearing hats.  But frostbite and hypothermia apparently aren't an issue.

One by one the survivors are picked off by the wolves and/or their own misfortune (read: stupidity).  In the end only Ottway survives, trudging through the woods only to eventually stop and seemingly give up hope. He has a moment remembering his fallen comrades and then looks up to realize he's literally walked right into the wolves' den.  Seriously? 

The movie ends with Ottway prepped to battle what looks like over a dozen--maybe two--wolves in hand to paw (hand to big nasty teeth?) combat.  But they don't actually show the battle.  However, this movie was so bad I know exactly what happened.

He died.

The wolves looked at the blade he taped to his right hand and the airplane alcohol bottles taped and busted to sharp edges to his left, laughed, and then lunged at him and ate him to death.  Because by this point even the wolves were bored with Ottway and his gang of misfit survivors.  No really, I'm pretty sure the Alpha Wolf was like, "Really, dude?  This movie's gone on way to long.  You really should just succumb to the elements and let us eat you.  And how dumb are you to walk right into our den.  Did you not notice that there were more of us the further you "ran away"?  Who put you in charge?  You're a terrible leader."

We had to watch this over two nights, a week apart.  Halfway through the movie, I turned to Dave and said I didn't think I could watch anymore that night.  Then we kind of never made time to watch it until the following weekend when we wanted movie night again.  Apparently neither of us wanted to finish watching it but didn't really say so.  So we ended up watching the rest in spite of ourselves only to turn to each other and say immediately as the screen faded to black, "That was a terrible movie."

So apparently Liam Neeson isn't as awesome as I once thought.  But I found a mentor for him.  Without giving away any spoilers, I think Neeson should watch The Bourne Legacy for a true lesson in how to deal with wolves.  After all, Bourne is our generation's 007 and might be my favorite action movie franchise...until I get obsessed with something else.

I'm Sorry I Made You Cry (Not Really)

This is an apology to my friend Lisa. Except that it'll probably make her cry again.  And I'm not actually apologizing.  But it's not my fault--she's pregnant and hormonal.

My dear, dear friend Lisa is having a baby!  I'm so excited for her and her husband Larry.  Their little girl is due at the end of September.  When Lisa texted me an ultrasound picture in March, I bit back a scream (Dave knew immediately from the gasp when I said it was a message from Lisa and since we were in the car--he was driving--he kindly asked me not to scream to loud), called her immediately and told her it would be a girl.  I could just see her looking at me funny through the phone and wondering why I thought that, but I knew.

See, in January after my Mom passed, I took all her crochet materials, yarn, unfinished projects, and brought them home.  As I started going through them, I found the very beginnings of a pink baby blanket, including the large ball of pink baby yarn and the pattern for a beautiful blanket.  My mom had always made a crocheted blanket for every baby--no matter if it was the first, second or fifth baby, family, friend, coworker or acquaintance--a blanket for every baby.  It's a tradition I started once I learned to crochet and my own friends started having babies.  Racking my brain, I couldn't come up with anyone she may have known who was expecting, or at the least who was far enough along to know they were expecting a girl.  But for some reason I was compelling to finish the blanket because clearly it belonged to some little girl...eventually.

Fast forward two months later but I couldn't tell Lisa why I knew she'd have a girl.  Then in May she told me my prediction was right, and still, I wasn't ready to tell her why I knew in my heart of hearts that Lisa would soon have a daughter.

Since Lisa lives in Florida and our friends are scattered everywhere between here and there, a traditional shower just wasn't logistically possible.  So I did the next best thing and enlisted our friends to quite literally shower her with presents, all shipping her our gifts in the same week.  So I put together a package of adorable outfits, a book, a stuffed moose (Dave had to pick out something), a few things specifically for mama-to-be, and this blanket.  I included a note to the baby, as well as a note to Lisa where I explained the origins of the blanket and why my convictions were so strong.  I will say, for my part I did write a line in the card to tell her to stop crying, it was just the hormones.

So yeah, I got a text from Lisa, scolding me and telling me I was in trouble.  But that's ok. Sometimes the only way to tell a friend you love them is to make them cry.

Let's Just Move On: Summer Reading Volume 2

Hi.

Well that was awkward, but let's just move on. It's been hot, busy, but generally unexciting.  As evidenced by the fact that I read the following books.  I actually thought I'd read more, but I don't remember what titles those would have been.

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Young Adult fiction but super funny and a little bit of a social commentary on the commercialization of everything, including ourselves.  The contestants for a teen beauty contest are in a plane crash that leaves only a few of the young ladies survive and suddenly their talents for baton and dance are the only skills they have to keep them alive on the island.  A quick read, like a funny version of Lord of the Flies with girls, glitter and lip gloss.

Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison by Piper Kerman

I was skeptical because I didn't want this to turn into a social commentary of the prison system--I was truly interested in the day to day of what it's like for a white woman of privilege to experience prison.  While Kerman does acknowledge her experience is unlike that of her peers because of her skin tone and the support (and money) she has from her outside world, her time in prison was by no means easy and it certainly wasn't puppies and rainbows despite her stay of about 15 months (far shorter than many of the women she introduces in the book).  I appreciated that Kerman took the time to talk about the good and bad of the system (and those employed to run it), but didn't dwell on any of those things at the expense of telling the story of the experience.

Maine (Vintage Contemporaries) by J. Courtney Sullivan

I loved this book.  Four women spanning three generations of one family tell their tale of how they view their family and relationships, all centering around the time they spend at the family beach house in Maine.  The story is told from various Catholic points of view (both religion and guilt) and the matriarch story alone is enough to keep you reading.  Sullivan writes beautifully and gives just enough of a hint at why each woman became the adult she is without giving it all away at once.  Definitely a good read.

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok

Wow.  Supposedly fictional, but read the author blurb on the book jacket and you'll wonder if Kwok simply changed names and minor details about her own life.  A young girl and her mother immigrate to New York City with literally the clothes on their back and what fits in a suitcase.  It's never specified, but I suspect the time frame is the late 70s to early 80s.  The mother's sister makes arrangements for their immigration, thus leaving them indebted to her while their work in her sweatshop.  The protagonist, Kimberly, struggles to learn in school despite her limited English (her mother speaks none).  It's a beautiful tale about being different, being poor, and being unable to give up the traditions of one's heritage.  It's also a harrowing tale of the same things.  You will be moved by this book.

The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb

This book moved me like nothing I've read since the last time I read a book by Lamb, She's Come Undone.  Seriously, I can't describe the emotion involved in reading this book.  A married couple employed at Columbine High School in April 1999 is separated on the one day that changed their lives.  Caelum flies to the East Coast to tend to a sick relative less than 48 hours before his wife is forced to hide in the library of the school when two students go on the attack.  But aside from the emotional impact of that attack on this couple, the story is full of a history of family and secrets and how you move on in the face of the unexpected.  This is not a happy story, but I will likely ponder this story often and anticipate I'll read it--and cry in the same places--again.

Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson

What happens when you make a promise to never go home?  Ten years after Arlene makes that promise, she's faced with going back home to deal with secrets she's been hiding ever since.  I really liked this book. It was a quick read and really went into family dynamics (read: family misunderstandings) and the struggle to be independent but still tied to family.  Great beach read.

Barefoot: A Novelby Elin Hilderbrand

I went to the library looking for another book by Hilderbrand but since they didn't have it, I picked up this one.  Such a good choice!  Three women, two sisters and a friend, flee to the family summer home on Nantucket to spend the summer escaping each of their own demons.  A young college student enters their life and he helps them through their various struggles while they unknowingly help him with his own.  There is one story line that is a bit far-fetched, but the rest of the book is so good it's easy to let that hyperbole go.  It makes those parts a little more fun and ridiculous which makes up for the couple pages that leave you crying.

Then Came You: A Novel by Jennifer Weiner

Yay, more Jennifer Weiner!  Loved it.  Another tale of four women (seriously, I hit a goldmine of the intermingled lives of women).  This time it's the story of how a little girl is born through the help of an egg donor, a surrogate, the twenty-something half-sister and the gold-digger who would be mother.  No the ending I expected, but in hindsight, it is the perfect ending.

True Confections: A Novel by Katharine Weber

Totally fun.  The whole story is a deposition from the Christian woman who married into the Jewish family candy business and felt more at home (despite the challenges of fitting in with the family) there than in her old life with her own family.  Alice tells it like it is, doesn't filter or hold back, and even puts details in her deposition that she probably shouldn't.  And she definitely tells the story of the family and it's business wildly.  From arson to family secrets, the story unfolds as Alice explains why she is more entitled to the business than any blood-born family.  It's clever, although parts a little long in the tooth. But you'll keep reading because it's fun and Alice will hint to things that you want to know more about.

Women About Town  by Laura Jacobs

I picked this up on whim (like I did successfully with True Confections).  I really didn't like it.  I should have stopped after the second chapter, but I didn't.  Then I got so far into it that I felt I had to finish or the boredom of the book would win.  The story centers on two women in New York City, with chapters alternating the protagonist.  But it takes until the last few chapters for the women's lives to cross, so I felt like I was just reading two books a the same time, and one of the characters was far more interesting than the other.  I won't write off Jacobs, but I would suggest putting this one back on the shelf.

The Day I Caved to a Panhandler

Harvard Square has quite the growing population of homeless people. Now, there's a whole social-political conversation to be had about the whys, hows, and what to do about it, but that's not why I'm here.  There is really something far more interesting than the quantity of homeless people in that particular space.

Now, I've been walking through that area for over five years and there have always been two constants: two men who panhandle independently, in their own designated areas in a simple, but typical way.  One of the men is very polite in his request for change and will wish you a good day regardless of your response (to give or not to give).  The other man is equally unobtrusive and saves his schtick for the holidays when he'll belt out Christmas carols to the passersby.

But the spring and summer bring out what I like to call the Creatives.  These are people who have developed a personae, a talent or a gimmick they think will convince the tourists and the commuters to spare some change.  There's the people with their dogs, usually a pit bull mix of some kind (who I'm always impressed with how well trained and well behaved the dogs are--much moreso than the people).  There's the woman with her plastic tote full of supplies so she can busy herself with cross-stitch all day.  The one-man band.  The artist.  The handful of young twenty-somethings with ironic handwritten signs that make me wonder if they are actually hipster Harvard students (or drop-outs) doing their own social experiment about what it's like to be homeless or to ask strangers for change because while they panhandle, they just don't "look" homeless.  (Judgy?  Yes, but it's an odd group amongst the others who are clearly having hard times.)

But the other day, I noticed a new couple on my way into work.  They had placed their belongings up against the building, but were seated across the sidewalk on a bench.  I barely noticed them until I saw a little fluffy thing next to their packs and bags.  I did a double take before I realized that it was a bunny, no bigger than a kitten.  He was facing the wall, like he was in time out, but I certainly was confused by the sight of him in general.  I kept walking, but overall, it just exited my mind as I went about my day.

Until yesterday.  I was walking through in the afternoon, on my way to the train station, when I saw the couple again, siting on a different bench.  This time their belongings were closer to them, but they had a milk crate set up almost in the walking path on the sidewalk.  The crate was tilted on it side, with a little dish of water and rabbit food (Dave and I used to have a hamster and this food was definitely the mix of seeds and bits you could get at a pet store for general pocket pets).  The little bunny was on a leash and harness(seriously, I couldn't make this up) and was manning (bunnying?) his post with a handwritten cardboard sign that read, "Homeless Bunny Seeking Human Kindness" upon which sat the requisite paper cup for change.

I'm going to pause to let that sink in because I couldn't take a picture.

Not due to a lack of camera, but because of what I did next.

But first, let's talk about this bunny.  This wasn't your typical brown field bunny that we have running around campus.  This was actually a pet bunny that you might find at a pet store.  He was fluffy and tiny and looked so soft that you'd just want to snuggle him.  He was strawberry blonde (okay, more strawberry than blond) and the fur around his face and ears was all fluffed up and wild, like a little ewok.  If ewoks were bunnies.

Now, I'm a generally healthy eater and typically take fresh cut veggies to work to munch on during the day.  That day I had a bag of baby carrots, but didn't finish them.  When I packed up my bag to go home, I tossed the zip-top bag into my backpack, thinking I'd nibble on the train.  And then I saw this bunny and his sign.  Between the fluffy face and the sign (who knew bunnies had such good penmanship), I was done.

And for the first time in five years, I donated to a panhandler.

I reached into my backpack, pulled out the little zip top bag containing 4 baby carrots and placed them in his food bowl.

Then I walked away because I didn't want to hear the cursing from the couple.  Although I did manage to catch a few tittering giggles from others walking through the area.  What can I say, I rescue animals.

Summer Reading Volume 1

Summer time usually means lazy days, perhaps some time off and enjoying the pleasures of doing things you normally don't get to do.  One of the things I picked up as the weather got warmer was reading again.  It's just too hot to crochet.  Working with yarn on the train is not something I'm interested in doing on a 90 degree day.  So I got a library card and started sorting through their fiction, hoping to find some good stuff.  I lucked out that whatever my local library doesn't have, they can usually get pretty quickly from one of the local branches.

I typically read chick-lit, general women's fiction, and humor.  So I started there and am sharing some reviews for you.  You can click the links at the bottom of this post to get any of these books on Amazon.




Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner

I'm a huge fan of Jennifer Weiner and have read nearly everything she's written.  Unfortunately, this was not my favorite of her books.  It's good, just not her best book as far as I'm concerned. I appreciated that she stretched to a different kind of humor, but the back story was heartbreaking and I couldn't get the humorous parts to match up given the heart ache in the rest of the story.  It's well written though, easy to read, and the characters are likeable, but after reading her other work, it just doesn't seem congruous.  It's a look at the lives of two former best friends, torn apart by some terrible choices when they were teenagers and how their lives bring them back to each other, and how they move forward given their past.




Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner

Now this is the Jennifer Weiner I know and love.  And as a follow up to Good In Bed, I was in seventh heaven getting that extra story of the characters.  You don't need to have read Good In Bed to enjoy Certain Girls as Weiner does a wonderful job weaving in the parts of that story that are important.  A look at the relationships between mothers and daughters, a struggle with family secrets and how hard a stubborn teenager will work to find out the truth, this book is really enjoyable.  A great story, the beauty and humor that Weiner is known for, and a special way of pulling the protagonists into your heart, making you love them and wanting them to be happy are all wrapped up in a neat package with this one.  I definitely recommend this one.



The Bed Wetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption and Pee by Sarah Silverman

I know Sarah Silverman is kind of polarizing, and truthfully I'm not a huge fan of her stand-up.  But I was drawn in, thinking I might get a laugh or two.  I actually laughed through most of this book.  It's an honest look at how Silverman grew up always wanting to be in the spotlight, but yet dealt with depression and other issues in her adolescents and eventually came through the ranks to make it as a comedienne.  It's very funny and accounts for the beginning of her stand up career, her stint at SNL and the beginnings of her show on Comedy Central. Toward the end it started to drag, (it was right about that spot that Dave stopped reading it, although he enjoyed it to that point), but it was predominately funny.  It's full of toilet humor (if you couldn't figure that out from the title, you probably don't want to read this), but it also casts a light on how society really needs to understand that sometimes you need to laugh at a fart joke so your don't stab your own eyeballs out.



Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson

I'm not even going to review this book.  You know I love this blog.  I'm just going to tell you that you need to read it.  It will bring a smile to your facing, you will laugh hysterically out loud in public with tears streaming down your face while other people on the train look at you like you forgot to take your medication (wait, that last bit just might be me).  If you are in a funk, need a laugh, or are so stressed out you might inflict bodily harm on yourself or others, you need this book in your life.  It'll make you happy that your life isn't that jacked up, but it will also make you wonder which parts are "mostly true" (and make you secretly hope it's all true because learning that something that funny was made up will make a piece of you die).

I'm the Best Wife Ever...Apparently

Back in April when it was clear that Dave was likely getting a job, I saw a Groupon that had Dave's name written all over it.  The opportunity to drive a luxury sportscar.  Seriously?  My husband, who often starts a conversation with, "When I have my Firebird one day...", watches more car shows than I knew existed and owns several of the Fast and Furious movies, really needed to have this experience. 

So I asked him if he'd be interested and (duh) he said absolutely.  I bought it on the condition that if he didn't get a job, then I'd get to drive the car (psst....that never would have happened).  After the Groupon came through and the reservation system was set up with Imagine Lifestyles, the company based solely on renting high end sportcars to people with nothing better to spend their money on but not quite enough money to indulge in one of these cars personally, Dave was able to choose his car.

There were five options: Mercedes Gullwing, Audi R8, Ferrari 430, Ferrari 599 and Lamborghini Gallardo.  He didn't want the Mercedes because it didn't seem interesting enough and we had watched an episode of Top Gear where Rutledge drove one and could get the doors closed after getting it.  Dave nixed the Audi because we actually know someone with one (who doesn't like it) and frankly, he could test drive one if he really wanted to.  Both a Mercedes and an Audi seem like more attainable vehicles.  Sure he probably would never buy one and certainly not the Gullwing or the R8, but the brand is accessible.  I was surprised that Dave didn't choose either of the Ferraris but as it turns out, he's just not that into them.  But the Lamborghini....now that's something I'd seen him notice on the highway.  Covet is probably too strong a word, but he definitely noticed the orange one zooming around Boston and liked what he saw.

On Saturday morning we headed to Foxboro to Gillette Stadium where they set up a course in one of the large parking lots.  I must love my husband because in addition to treating him to this experience, I actually went to the home of the New England Patriots to watch him do this.  Because really there is no other reason for me to ever go there.

It was a gorgeous day and the staff had things very well organized.  There was a reasonable crowd, but only about half the people were driving and things did move pretty quickly (well, they are fast cars).  The staff was pretty good about letting people take pictures of their drivers and generally made sure that everyone who wanted to could get a picture of their driver in their car at the starting area. 

Who's driving a Lambo?  This guy.

Dave said his instructor was great and basically told him to just listen and hit the gas.  Eager to please, Dave said sure and for most of his three laps he had the pedal to the floor.  Dave said he didn't get a chance to look at the speedometer during the straightaways but he did notice coming out a turn at about 60 miles per hour.

At work on Friday morning, I was chatting with colleagues about weekend plans and mentioned that I bought this experience for Dave.  My coworker Matthew looked at me and said, "You are seriously the best wife ever."  When Dave got out of his car, with a huge smile on his face, I asked him if he had fun.  He said yes, and then thanked me, saying "You're the best wife ever."

Eh, I do what I can. 

Plus, I figure between this and my failed trip to Germany, I'm due for something really big.