How to Avoid Shovelling Snow

After the storm, Dave and I knew we had a lot of clean up to do.  So after breakfast, we bundled up and went outside.  Dave cleared about half of the driveway in front of the garage using the snow blower.  I helped him clear the Jeeps of snow, and then together we got most of the snow off the snowmobiles and the trailer. 

Let it be know that after this, I went to work continuing to shovel.  I cleared the back steps and the deck from this:

To this:

Do you like how the snow pile is almost level with the deck?

While I was busy with that, Dave decided it was time to play. And by play, I mean start up his snowmobile and run it up and down the street.  Behold (and excuse my shaky camera work):

It didn't take him 5 minutes to load the sled back on the trailer.  It took about 15 minutes worth of trying (I finished shoveling the deck by this point), and then he stopped because he couldn't get the sled lined up and kept sinking into the fluffy snow.  But before he moved on to clear the driveway, I needed to do one thing. 

I attempted to make a snow angel, but once I got on top of the snow, I kind of sunk in a few inches and then couldn't move my arms or legs to make wings.  Dave helped me up, but I think it looks more like the snow version of a chalk body outline in a crime scene than a snow angel.

We went inside, warmed up and grabbed some lunch, then went back out to finish the job.  Dave finally got to work and cleared the drive way (and put the sled back on the trailer), while I cleared the front steps.  I intended to walk towards the front door and then clear the snow backwards, from the door to the driveway.  Unfortunately, I went about 5 steps before I ran into a drift that came up to my hips and I could got any further.  So I started shoveling from there.  Luckily it was light and fluffy snow, so it wasn't hard.  But since there was 2 feet of it, it took multiple shovelfuls in the same spot to get down to the concrete.

A little fun and some mildly back-breaking labor, and we can get our cars up and down the driveway.  More importantly, we were able to get the trailer down the driveway and go snowmobiling in Hollis, NH with our friends Felise and Nick on Sunday.

Photo Op! Nick and Felise

And then Dave and me.

My brother texted me on Sunday if I preferred 2 feet of snow or morning jack hammers from a water main break.  The snow.  Definitely the snow.

Thanks for the snowmobile pictures, Felise!

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.

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.

Meeting The Bloggess

Last Friday night I had the opportunity to meet the woman behind my favorite non-food blog.  Remember last year when I introduced you to The Bloggess by linking to her story on picking your battles and Beyonce the giant metal chicken?  Well, Jenny Lawson, The Bloggess herself wrote a book and visited Boston last week for a reading, Q&A and book signing.

My friend Rachel picked me up from work and we headed to the Brookline Booksmith.  Let me just say, as friendly as the staff are there, they really had no idea what they were in for.  Half of them didn't know who The Bloggess was or what her blog is about (duh, taxidermied animals, the zombie apocalypse and fighting mental illness), but they also had no idea how popular she was, the size crowd to expect, or how to spell her name.

Her name as The Bloggess is actually written on the cover of her book.  That they sell in this store.

I'd called the week before to see if tickets were needed (they weren't) and then asked when I should arrive for seating/getting in line.  The event started at 7 pm, so the clerk said they typically start seating between 6:30 and 6:45 pm.  This sounds like a bit of insanity to me, so I made a note to suggest to Rachel we try getting there around 6 pm.

Rachel and I did some window shopping, got some food (followed by some ice cream) and then met her husband John who had come from work.  We headed back to the bookstore to get seats.  There were about 25 seats set up in a small area when Rachel and I first got there around 4 pm.  When we came back at 6 pm, there were about 75 seats and the front rows were already filled.  We grabbed seats for ourselves and saved one for Dave, who was coming from work later.  We spent the next hour watching people trickle in, doing some serious people-watching in general and also being totally jealous of the woman who walked in carrying her own 3 foot replica of Beyonce.

The place got mobbed, but I must say the crowd (by and large) were friendly, nice and not stereotypical Boston-style irritating.  (Note: I say by and large because later when we got in line for the signing the guy behind us was a total douche to his wife.  But at least he wasn't being douchy to everyone else in line.)

Dave came in while people were standing in the aisles, sitting on the floor and mobbing the stairs (the room was in the basement level of the bookstore).  The crowd was so nice they didn't even give him a glare when he took the seat I saved for him (and surprisingly, no one asked if they could sit there or gave me a hairy eyeball for saving it). 

At one point I turned to Rachel and said I really had to pee and I kind of wanted to go to the bathroom to see if Jenny was hiding in there (she has anxiety and tells stories of how she'll often avoid crowds by hanging out in the bathroom all night).  But then the moment came and Jenny made her way through the crowd to begin the reading. 

She was totally adorable, humble, sweet and very, very funny.  She read from the book (complete with side notes which were even more funny stories) and took questions from the audience.  It was hilarious.  I started to record a portion, but knew I wouldn't be able to keep the camera steady what with the buckled over laughs and wiping the tears from my eyes from laughing so hard. 

There were easily over 150 people there and after all was said and done, we got in line for the signing.    She was signing upstairs, so those of us with seats actually ended up in the back of the line and the people on the stairs got to go first.  But it was still fabulous and then a manager announced that Jenny would stay until they closed to sign every last book or stuffed mouse, so a lot of people left the line and headed out to get food and whatnot, so that actually made the line move rather quickly.

Rachel, John and I waited (Dave went to get food--it was now past 8 and he hadn't had dinner), continued people watching and eventually wound our way to the front of the line where I got my book signed, a card for Amy (who had bought me the book in the first place), and got my picture taken with Jenny and Copernicus.  It was so much fun.

And Jenny totally signed the card to Amy "Knock, knock, mofo."

Baby Shower!

I've been so excited for this post, but it's not really my news to share, so I figured I'd wait until a more public event to announce.

Cindy's having a baby!  Yay! 

I am so excited for Cindy and Keith (and big brother Jake!) so I offered to host a baby shower to celebrate.  Little did I know the little at-home affair I had in mind would turn into 30 of Cindy's friends and family gathered in my living room to celebrate.  That whole think about 25% of people on the invite list declining?  Yeah, more like 10%.  And that was pushing it.

No bother, because I made a ton of yummy food (all to be featured on the cookie blog), a polka dot theme (complete with polka dot invitations, balloons, napkins, ribbons and bows, gift wrap, wrappers on the food, and even my shirt!) and a lot of fun watching Cindy open all the adorable gifts she got.  Can we talk for a second about the cute baby girl pants with stuff on the bum?  Cupcakes, monkeys, kittens and puppies all smiling cheerfully from the baby's bottom. 

We had a wonderful time and I am so thankful for Stacy and Erin who were a huge help in getting set up with food on the table before (and as) people arrived.  I probably would have lost my mind without their help! 

The only shower game planned was a diaper raffle (anyone who brought diapers got their name entered into a raffle for a gift certificate) and a I had a timer go off every so often and whoever's gift Cindy was opening got a prize.  Simple, but fun (because really--shower games can be annoying, especially with that many people). 

As a gift, I made Cindy an afghan, new born hat and booties and stuffed them into a basket full of essentials, books and a cute outfit.  I also put together a hospital survival kit.  I'd seen this one pinned on Pinterest and thought it was a great idea so immediately decided to put it together.

Cindy is due March 28th but thinks she'll go early. Last week we had to plead with the little one to not make an appearance before the shower.  I kindly told her she couldn't come early because she didn't have any stuff yet!  But now I think Cindy and Keith are well-prepared (well, as prepared as you can be) for her to make her arrival.

Congratulations on the new addition to your family!

Oh yeah, that happened

It's been busy what with the holidays and all, so we've been in the swing of things with people to see and place to go.  Here's what's happened in the last week or so.

• Dave had a birthday party. It was fun and everyone showed up (except Ben because he forgot).  I made awesome cupcakes because I finally "applied myself" so Cindy can shut it. :)
• Dave's party was great until Mia made everyone leave because she kept farting and her butt smells like rotten eggs rolled in moldy bologna when she really gets going.
• I told you about Mia's meet and greet.  So we still have her.  Santa may or may not have gotten her extra gifts because of it.
• Dave had a birthday. He's old.
• Dave's cousin Mike and his wife Donna came to visit us on Friday.  We hung out for a bit, they spoiled Mia by letting her lick and give them kisses.  Then we went to Madaline and Ernie's house for dinner and had a simple Christmas evening with them.
• We took Mike and Donna to Nashoba Valley Winery at 10 am where we made them do the tasting before they picked which wines they wanted to buy.  In our defense, Donna was the one that suggested going there in the first place.  Note: Dave and I did not do the tasting, in part because we could still taste our toothpaste.
• Mike and Donna headed out to her sister's for a party, so we went to my aunt and uncle's house for their holiday party.  We were thoroughly entertained by a former Pan-Am pilot who had some pretty amazing stories.
• For Bud and Sandy's party, I made this appetizer because it was simple, cute, and I had all the ingredients.  One of the guests actually paraded it around the room before anyone was allowed to eat it so everyone could see how cute it was.  Then she let people eat and by the time it made its way back to the buffet, only one-third was left.  Hilarious.  Who knew?
• The Baltimore Ravens lost.  

I think that sums it up.  This week will most likely be the LONGEST.WEEK.EVER. and not just because Christmas is nearly upon us, but because WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!  On Christmas Day, Dave and I are flying to Charlotte where we'll meet my parents and my sister and her family.  We'll drive part way to Orlando on Sunday and then the rest of the way on Monday.  We'll meet my brother and his family in Orlando and spend a week with the Mouse (and friends).  It'll be awesome. I'm anticipating lots of blog fodder, if not from my family then from random people at the parks.  

Three & a Half Days

That's important, but I'll get there in a moment.

It all started last Thursday, October 27th.  The weather reports called a for a bit of snow, nothing major.  Dave picked me up from the train station and as soon as I got in his Jeep, giant, fat flakes started hitting the windshield.

Did I mention this was October?

By the time we'd finished dinner and cleaned up, our yard looked like this.  Why, yes those are Halloween decorations.  And no, they aren't covered in snow because we left them out until December.  In fact, Halloween was still a few days away.

We'd made our plans to go out with friends to dress up in our costumes and celebrate Halloween for Saturday night.  A few people were going to come to our place first and then we'd meet others for dinner out before heading to various bars and parties.  We wanted to enter and win as many costume contests as possible.

Before people arrived, Dave and I decorated our pumpkins.  We picked these little guys up from the orchard that afternoon and since they were too small to carve, we got a little creative.  Aren't they adorable?

I made the one on the left and Dave made the little guy on the right

But then, well, I'll just let the video explain it.

So the snow kept coming.  Rachel and John arrived first, trying to get to our place (they came in from closer to Boston) before the snow got too heavy.  Then Stacy arrived, apparently just before her family lost power at their home.  Finally, as the roads got worse with the heavy, wet, slippery snow Nick made his way to our house.  Decked out in costume, we were finally ready to meet Cindy and Keith for dinner.

Nick and Stacy as a 1940's lounge couple

Why, yes, we are the Scooby Doo Mystery Gang.  Minus Scooby Doo.  Minor detail.

We left a little earlier than we'd anticipated because Cindy and Keith lost power before they were finished getting costumes on, so we moved up the timetable.  Might as well find a place with lights and heat, right?

We piled into Dave's Jeep (someone may or may not have been relegated to riding in the tailgate) and with the 4-wheel drive, we were able to get to TGIFriday's in one piece.  While the roads were rough from the snow, luckily there weren't a lot of people out so Dave, per usual, made his own lane and went around all the people that forgot how to drive in the snow.  Because it was, after all, October.

Supposedly TGIFriday's was doing a costume contest.  I say supposedly because at this point we were the only 8 people in the restaurant, other than staff, dressed in costume.  And there were probably only another half dozen tables even seated.  Like I said, not a lot of people were out.

Cindy turned herself into a cutie cupcake! She has sprinkles, too.

Keith had a professional do his make up for the Joker from the hospital scene in the Dark Knight.

We ate, drank, and were merry and for the first time, someone in our group won the costume contest!  (Bound to happen, but who knew we would need these circumstances?)  Keith won, which was awesome.  He even earned a Best Buy gift certificate to celebrate.

Two things: 1) Cindy looked delicious and 2) I'm not actually touching her boob.  Seriously.

At some point the power surged in the restaurant and as we looked out the windows, all the lights in the shopping plaza were out.  Slowly they came back on, but it was rather ominous.  Snow plows cleared the parking lots and surrounding roads, but the snow continued to come down hard and heavy.  Stacy attributed the power surge to the power lines reacting to the snow, "And the power lines were like, whoa!  It's October."

We decided to head back to the house and forgo our plans to hit up other bars--the roads were just too bad.  Cindy and Keith attempted to hit up one party (inspired by his win, Keith hoped to get there in time to enter the costume contest and double down).  Slowly made our way home.  I didn't really notice much other than the snow on the highway and the few cars on the road.  I honestly can't remember if I looked at the mall or other shopping plazas we passed.  But when we got into our community, it was that weird bright darkness of being black skies and the moon reflecting off thick white snow.  We pulled onto our street and that's when Dave and I both realized the bright darkness was eerie not because it was so near to Halloween, but because there were no artificial lights softening the darkness.  Power went out in our neighborhood too.

Our poor little maple tree doesn't normally touch the ground.

This storm was rough.  All night we heard the crack of tree limbs and in a few cases heard them fall to the ground, or worse, onto cars, sheds and homes. Luckily Stacy moved her car just before we left. Otherwise, a huge branch from our neighbors' tree would have landed right on her windshield.

The roads were rough, it was getting cold, and we knew everyone would be spending the night with us, unable to get home, so we needed a plan.  Dave called his parents.  They still had power so he decided to cautiously hit the road and make his way to their house and borrow a generator.  The guys headed out and Rachel, Stacy and I stayed back buried under blankets and listening to the trees crack and fall.

The whole scene reminded Stacy and I of a recent winter storm.  Three years ago there was a massive ice storm that hit Central Massachusetts.  People, including Stacy, were without power for up to 2 weeks.  That was the week before Christmas.

This was October.

Dave's parent's town also lost a lot of power by the time the guys arrived.  There were lots of downed trees and wires and it took Dave three attempts to fine a clear path to his parent's house.  When the guys arrived, Madaline and Ernie had just lost power, but they actually have two generators and hadn't yet winterized their camper, so they generously let their little generator go off into the night.  In the morning they would wake up to find a tree across their driveway.  So it was good that Dave didn't wait until morning.

When they came back, Dave got some heat and hot water running and we all prepared to bundle up and go to sleep.  I keep stacks of blankets in the house, so everyone was comfy and warm through the night despite the temperature drop to about 30 degrees.  The heavy, wet snow packed down on itself, but we suspect there was about 14 inches out there. (October.)  In the morning, Dave brought up the heat.  The day before I'd mentioned to everyone that I'd planned to make pumpkin pancakes for breakfast.  But since I don't have an electric griddle or a gas stove, that went out the window when the power ceased.  I do, however, have a waffle maker so I still came through with a hot breakfast for our weary crew.

The sun was shining and bright. Since Dave and I were the only ones who had the appropriate gear (why would anyone think to pack snow boots in an overnight bag in OCTOBER?) we cleaned off cars, snow blew (?) the driveway and shoveled the walks.  Stacy and Rachel did my dishes.  It was a win-win. 

After the storm.  Still October.

Since the roads we clear and drying quickly, everyone was able to make it home safely.  We still didn't have any power, but my husband is awesome.  For most people a power outage would mean they could not longer be connected to the world and things like watching football would seem trivial compared to heating your home.

I am not most people.

See, on Sunday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Steelers played the New England Patriots.  Being a Steelers fan in another market is difficult because I don't often get to see the games.  But upon seeing the schedule for this season, I knew I was guaranteed at least this one glorious game.  Something as minor as not having power was not going to stop me.

Dave and I decided that since we have beer, whiskey and blankets in our house, there was no need to run the generator for heat between the hours of 4 pm and 7 pm, when the game was on.  So we sat in our darken home, watching our television feature the Steelers' dominance over the Patriots.  It might have been my favorite game ever.  (Especially after being at Heinz Field for last year's match-up).  We definitely confused the people driving down our street who slowed down and looked in our window.  I presume they were scratching their heads wondering how in the world we got our cable to work with no power. (Answer: We didn't.  It's called an antenna and it's what the world used before Comcast took over. Get one.)

So we spent the next 3 days using the little generator that could to cycle between the heat, the fridge and the TV.  We took showers and had hot meals and generally made it work. It helps that Dave is Mountain Man and is always prepared, too.  Throughout those days, a chorus of generators sang in the whole neighborhood and the pungent odor of burning gasoline permeated the air, but those of us that road out those powerless three and a half days rejoiced when at 10 am on Wednesday the lights came on.  Dave, who was home (I'd gone to work), was tempted to run around and turn on everything he could.  But he restrained himself and instead called his parents and invited them to come take showers.  They ended up getting their power back on Wednesday evening.  Cindy and Keith got theirs on Wednesday night.  Stacy got her's on Monday afternoon, but she deserved it after being out over the holidays for 12 days just a few short years ago.

So now we're back on the grid.  Since we managed so well, I think I'm most appreciative of being able to do my hair in the morning (those few days at work, I was looking pretty rough) and being able to see my food when I eat.  We have black plates and bowls, so I was never sure if I finished my meal.

All the leaves are still on the trees, we've had over a foot of snow already, and this better not be a premonition for the winter to come.

After all, this was October.

Bad Influence

I've never crashed a party before I met Cindy.  You may remember the time Dave and I crashed a wedding because Cindy wanted more friends there.  Well, on Saturday I was sharing with her that I had no plans for Sunday because Dave and his friends were making a pilgrimage to their temple, the Harpoon Brewery in Vermont.

Cindy: I'm going to a baby shower tomorrow if you want to come crash it.

Me: A wedding is one thing, I'm not going to crash a baby shower.

Cindy: It's Dawn's (her coworker who I know).  She won't mind.

Me: I wonder if I have a gift...

Cindy: It's from noon to three.  Let me know if you want to come.

So I went home, noticed that I did in fact have an appropriate baby shower gift in my stock of "gifts I buy because they are cheap and I might need them in case I have to crash a major life event or forget someone's birthday" and also remembered that I had some extra yarn left over from a recently completely baby gift (that I actually was invited to the shower for) and a pattern to make up a quick baby hat.  Game on.

I texted Cindy to find out what time I needed to meet her.  Then she asked me if I had any extra baked goodies stockpiled in the freezer because she and Dawn were remembering some of my yummy treats and she knew Dawn would appreciate something.  Except I didn't have anything made.  I asked Cindy if it was potluck, because if so I would definitely bring something.  She said it was potluck, but I didn't need to make anything because I was her guest and she had it covered. Like that would stop me, I set about to find a yummy treat to make for the party.

Which I did.

And I crocheted a newborn hat.

And I wrapped it with the gift (a book and toy).

Crap, I need a card.

So Sunday morning when I arrived at Cindy's to go to the shower, she laughed at me because while I had an appropriate card and gift (wrapped in appropriate paper) and I made a baby hat and dessert even though I'd just been "invited" the day before (unbeknownst to Dawn), she on the other hand went to wrap her gift and found out she did not have appropriate wrapping paper.  Or a card.  She ended up having to use part plain Christmas wrapping, a gift bag with realistic fish on it and a "Thinking of You" card.  And she lost the recipe for the side dish she made, so she went purely on memory and was hoping it didn't suck (it didn't).  It was comical.

The shower was lovely and Dawn was happy to see me there (and not at all offended that I came without an invitation).  And she loved the dessert I made, which was probably the most important reason she wasn't offended. 

So now I've crashed a wedding and a baby shower of two of Cindy's coworkers.  Her other coworkers better consider what life events they have coming up because I'll probably be there too.

Fireworks, Bikes and Turtles

That's an awesome interesting combination.  But it's how Dave and I spent our holiday weekend.  Saturday morning we biked from our house to a nearby park and found a blueberry batch where we picked a bunch of sweet wild blueberries which I turned into pancakes.  They were delicious (the blueberries and the pancakes).

Saturday evening, we went with our friends Cindy and Keith, and Cindy's son Jake, to the fireworks display in Ayer, MA, not far from our town.  Fireworks were set up in the park and vendors lined the perimeter of the baseball field.  We set up our blanket and chairs just a few feet from the snow fence barricade between the field and the fireworks. 

Ever the prepared couple, Dave and I brought snacks, including S'mores paraphernalia, which we toasted over a small can of sterno Dave found in our camping equipment.  We received a lot of jealous looks from passers-by.  They totally wanted in on our S'mores action.

Being from Pittsburgh and growing up with spectacular Zambelli fireworks, I'm very critical of fireworks displays.  But I was very impressed with the show we saw Saturday night.  It was over 20 minutes long and our seats were great.  We were so close that I actually ended up getting out of my chair and lying on the blanket because I was craning my next so much. 

I took a little video and was pretty happy with my camera.  Apparently though, the rapid-fire grand finale caused a little glitch in the recording.

Sunday night we decided to take a drive one town over and check out their fireworks.  We got a great parking spot and laid out the blanket in the grass behind the Jeep, playing cards until it got dark.  Unfortunately although they advertised the show to begin at 9 pm, they didn't start until 10 pm.  Which was mildly annoying because for that hour, every random person who fired off something from their backyard had the whole crowd confused about whether that was the show or if they moved the location.

These fireworks were less exciting.  Shooting off one firework at a time was particularly painful, like they wanted to make the show last longer than it was supposed to by waiting for one firework to completely dissipate before firing the next.

Monday morning we met up with Cindy, Keith and Jake again, this time to ride our bikes on the Nashua River Rail Trail.  We've done this trail a few times, but never with our friends, so it was pretty fun.  The trail is about 14 miles long, and we did about 11 miles of it before turning around to come back.  At one point Dave was ahead of Cindy and I and he made an abrupt turnaround.  I looked down and there was a little turtle on the trail.  Cindy checked to see if he had gotten run over, but turns out he was ok. 

Cindy rescued him and put him back in the grass off the trail, trying to encourage him to get back in the nearby pond.  But before she put him down, he peed on her.  Maybe he was trying to get to the other side of the trail?  You know what's stinky?  Turtle pee.

Overall we had a great weekend spending time outside and enjoying the weather and time with our friends.  We usually do a big cookout at our house for the 4th, but with several friends being out of town, this was a fun alternative and a lot less work for me.

Priorities

I love this story and hope my friend isn't offended.

Moments ago I received an email from a friend, who is a doctor, telling me she was pregnant (yay, babies!).  So I immediately called her.  The following is our conversation.

B: Hello?

Me: Hi, B!  Congratulations!

B: Thanks.  I'm in the OR.

Me (laughing uncontrollably): I can't believe you answered your phone!

B: Yeah, that's how I roll.  I'll call you later.

Birthday Celebration Weekend

Cindy's birthday was on Monday.  It was a milestone.  I won't tell you which one, but I will tell you that she and I are no longer the same decade-something.  You may remember last year we celebrated Cindy's birthday with an emergency party since her original plans were thwarted.  And it was awesome.  One would think that since we had ample time to plan and prepare, it would have been easy to be just as awesome as last year's celebration.

One would be wrong.

I didn't want to step on Keith's toes by planning a celebration without consulting him.  After all, he is her fiance.  So I was thrilled when he reached out to me for ideas in mid-February.  We thought of a couple of different options and I said I would explore them.  In January, Cindy and I scheduled an afternoon of manicures and pedicures for this past Saturday, so I knew we had to do something fun to follow in the evening.  I struggled with the idea of hosting a party but thought I could still pull it off even though I'd be with her in the late afternoon and would be crunching time to prepare.  We also considered a big dinner out with friends meeting us at a restaurant or just a bunch of people meeting us for drinks at a local bar.  After much struggling, we decided on just a couples dinner out.

In the meantime, Cindy had planned spa day and invited me to join her.  We decided to go on Monday (the actual birthday).  Mani/pedis on Saturday, and a facials/massages on Monday.  I could love this life.  A plan was coming together.  Now I just needed to add the awesomeness.

I started by making Cherry-Lemon Meringue Mini Pies for my new tradition of "Birthday Baking."  Yes, everyone gets cake on their birthday, but I don't do cakes.  So I pick the birthday boy or girl's favorite recipe (or flavors) of something other than cake and go to town. 

We'll ignore the fact that the picture only shows 11 mini pies and they appear to be stuck in the muffin pan.  For the full story, check out the recipe on the baking blog.  Appearances aside, Cindy was quite happy to receive a stone pan full of tasty lemony goodness at 8:15 am.

Yup, I decided to take them to her at work.  I wanted to kick off her birthday weekend with a bang, so on Saturday morning I arrived at her work and delivered the pies and this mildly obnoxious birthday centerpiece.  And her gift.

Because nothing says "Happy Birthday!  Let's drink!" like a 3 foot floating margarita.  Especially when delivered to your place of employment.  On a Saturday morning.  At 8:15 am.

Later in the afternoon I headed to Cindy's house and we drove to the salon, about a half hour away.  We go to Bella Sante every 6-8 months for some good girl time, and this visit was just as good.  It's a little swanky and far away, so we save it for special occasions.  We had a great time, chatting and generally enjoying ourselves.  Keith and I had decided to keep the dinner plans a secret, so when our nail technicians asked us where we were going afterward, I kept it vague and open.  Afterward, we got in the car and I "suggested" going to a particular restaurant.  My little white lie that is was based on a recommendation from a foodie friend was totally warranted. 

We got the the Beacon Grille and headed to the bar.  The restaurant was great.  It was much bigger than I expected and got pretty busy for the dinner rush while we waited.  I positioned myself facing the door, so I could see Dave and Keith come in and make sure Cindy would have her back to them.  The funny thing was, I kept seeing groups of people who were clearly celebrating birthdays come in.  Multiple groups carrying balloons and gifts kept coming in.  I noticed a balloon with Cindy's milestone come in and said, "oh look--It's somebody else's big birthday too."  Clearly, I'd chosen the right celebration restaurant.

Our bartender, Melissa, was a sweetheart and made great recommendations.  She offered us menus, asking if we'd be eating at the bar.  I casually said, "Oh, maybe in a little while."  She brought us our drinks and eventually we did order an appetizer (the cheese platter which was awesome.  Cindy loves cheese the way I love chocolate, so clearly it was a winner.)  While we were enjoying our cocktails and tasty morsels, Keith showed up behind Cindy and said, "Happy Birthday!"  She was completely surprised.

Dinner was fabulous. The menu wasn't very extensive, but very carefully crafted and everything thoughtfully paired.  True to form, Dave and Cindy--we like to joke that Dave is Cindy's boyfriend, and vice versa--were debating over the same two entrees so each ordered one and they shared.  This is pretty normal behavior.  Our waiter, Ruben, was incredibly attentive and had great recommendations.  He was even successful in recommending a cocktail to Keith that he enjoyed, which was surprising because Keith is generally picky.  They comp'ed Cindy's dessert (and presented it on a huge plate with "Happy Birthday" written in caramel sauce) and we were very pleased with the evening. 

On Monday morning, I picked Cindy up and headed to Essential Therapies Day Spa.  It was a dreary day, but any day is great for pampering.  We were welcomed by the official greeter, Callie.

Isn't she a sweetie?  She's about six months old, super sweet, well trained and has really soft ears.  She loves people so she had no problem when I couldn't keep my hands over her.  We spent some time in the hot tub, eating fruit and drinking mimosas before going off for facials and massages.  I can't even begin to describe the massage other than to say it was positively awesome.  We finished off our morning in the sauna despite the sauna being outside and that it had started to snow.  The snow had nothing to deter us from enjoying the cedar hot house.  We showered, changed and headed out to lunch (yes, that included more cocktails).

After a weekend of fun and much pampering (and some drinking), it was certainly hard to come back to work this week.  I suppose that's the price I pay for celebrating with friends.  I hope Cindy had as much fun as I did.  Now we just need an excuse to do it all again.

Weekend Trip to Maine

Last weekend, our friends Felise and Nick invited us to join them at a friend's condo in Bridgton, Maine.  Since Panda was at her new home, we took advantage of the late season ski conditions, packed up our gear and headed out.

Nick grew up with family friends who bought a condo right across the street from Shawnee Peak, a downhill ski area.  Erica, one of the children in that family, was going up and invited Nick, Felise and any of their friends to come up.  We picked them up on Friday night and drove up to Maine in the rain and fog to meet Erica at the condo.

The next morning, we woke up to sunshine and were expecting temperatures in the mid-40s.  Erica and Nick got ready for downhill skiing at Shawnee Peak, while Dave prepared to snowboard.  Apparently the mountain was doing a theme day to encourage people to go skiing, so Saturday was "Retro Day."  Since Erica's family had the condo since the early 90s, she found the perfect outfit: a hot pink snowsuit, complete with shoulder pads, cinched belt and matching sweater.  Very hot.

Unfortunately, Erica was the only non-employee who was dressed and she still didn't get an actual prize.  Apparently the contest was rigged (employees voting for other employees), but the manager felt bad enough that he ran into the ski shop and got Erica a fleece scarf and glove set.  At least she got something out of it.

Like me, Felise doesn't downhill either.  So we went cross country skiing at a nearby apple orchard, Five Fields Orchard.  It was very cute and unlike any cross country trails I've been on, in a lot of ways.  First, the guy running the place (we didn't catch his name, so we called him Al) was busily painting and wood-working the trail signs in the hut when we arrived and was covered in sawdust.  He was really nice and showed us the trail map, making suggestions, and reminding us that since all the signs were in the hut, there wouldn't be much signage on the trails.  Al asked us to sign in, took our ten bucks and offered us free bottled water.  Then we went out on our merry way.

From the top of the hill at the hut.

The orchard is beautiful and sits on the top of a hill.  There is even a cemetery in the orchard (this became a reference point for us), so eclectic might begin to describe the place.  Unfortunately, the orchard isn't contained to just the top of the hill, and in order to get to the long trails, we had to go down.  A lot.  These hills were pretty steep.  Add to that, the rainy conditions from Friday made the snow very very fast.

One of the reasons I don't do downhill is because I don't like the speed nor do I feel like I have much control.   I could not stop no matter how hard I tried.  I had warned Felise of my propensity for falling, but this was a little excessive.  We had gone west across the orchard, and then started down the hill.  It was much steeper than I thought, so I tried, desperately, to turn and head back across the orchard to the east.  And I fell.  And then I was trying to get back up, but since my skis were still pointed down the hill, I couldn't and fell again.  Eventually, after several failed attempts, I got up and we trekked back to the other side, hoping for less downhill action.  It was better, but I still fell a few times.  The best however, was when I managed to fall on my butt and not my face, but still slid down the hill for a good 10 feet.  It was awesome.

Finally in the ravine, we managed to be successful and enjoy the beautiful scenery.  Since it was sunny, the snow glistened and since it was late in the season, there was no one around.  In fact, it wasn't until we were close to being finished that we saw another skier.  We definitely enjoyed a peaceful and serene workout, even if getting back up the hills were killer.

Crossing the stream.  That's Felise way ahead of me.

We headed back and reported the conditions to Al.  He offered us suggestions for lunch and then I asked him, since he didn't give us trail pass tags for our coats, if we could come back later.  He said sure, we had the whole day, no problem.  I think that's when Felise noticed the sign on the porch that said, "If no one's here, just put your fee in the bucket and enjoy the trail."  Nothing like the honors system.  I figure, the skiing thing was just something this guy did to take advantage of his orchard being covered in snow.

We met Erica, Nick and Dave at the condo for lunch and then decided to head back out to the trails while they hit the slopes again.  It started to cloud up in the afternoon, but I was much more competent.   I actually only fell once and that was because I couldn't make the turn I wanted to and it was either fall or hit a tree.  I decided against choosing the tree.

I did however, manage to lose my pole randomly.  We were cruising along and I pulled up my right arm only to discover my hand was empty.  And I had a hard time stopping because I was going at a pretty good skate and was laughing pretty hard.  Once I finally stopped and regained composure, I looked back and there it was, sticking up in the ground.  Clearly the snow was much stickier this time around.  Or I didn't pull my strap tight enough.

Way back there in the middle of the trail is my pole.

Eventually we met back a the condo again.  We decided to go to Moat Mountain Smokehouse for dinner in North Conway, New Hampshire.  I'll admit, it was kinda cool going to Maine for the weekend, but then going to another state for dinner.  Only in New England.  That and it was 25 minutes away. 

Dave and I have been to North Conway a couple of times for winter trips and the last time we were there, we found this restaurant. It's awesome.  They do barbecue, pizza, burgers, and all kinds of yummy stuff, plus they have their own beer.  I suggested it and Erica was so excited because she hadn't been there in a while.  Felise and Nick had never been and it turned out to be a great choice.  The food was great and a perfect follow up to a long day of skiing.

For an impromptu vacation weekend, this was definitely a good one.  We had a leisurely Sunday, cleaned up and headed back home.  I'm glad we got out skiing again too, because it would have been a shame not to take advantage of the snowy winter we've had. 

Oh, and when we got home, Dave swears he saw a mouse cross the drive way and jump into the house were the siding meets the foundation.  C'mon, you'd have been disappointed if that saga had ended.

Super Bowl Sadness

Yup, I'm bummed.  It was a little sad to watch the Steelers lose the Super Bowl on Sunday night.  Especially since we had a big party and lots of Steeler fans (or fans for the day). But I can't be too upset with Green Bay because I do like Aaron Rodgers. 

The Steelers overcame a lot this season to be as successful as they were. I'm not going to get into the Big Ben debate because, well, I don't want to.  But the team (because the Steelers are a team and not just a quarterback with some other guys) had a lot of challenges to face.  Multiple key injuries throughout the season, the best defensive lineman in the league (James Harrison) being singled-out for doing what he's always done--make big hits, and starting the season with second and third string quarterbacks.  And yet they still made it to the Superbowl.  Had they not turned over the ball so many times or if they'd have played the first half as well as they played the second half, they may have won. 

But we had fun nonetheless.  My friend Dina, who is from Pittsburgh but lives in Boston, came out with her friend Gretchen.  Our friends Rachel and John came out for the day, bearing black and gold cupcakes that Rachel actually decorated with Steelers logos.  Cindy and her son came for the night, as did Stacy and her family.  Plus Dave's friends Nick and Ben enjoyed the beer and my crazy cheering.  I think I thoroughly amused Ben for months to come.

Panda did great.  She was a little nervous at times, but settled in ok.  There was a little barking, but I think that was more from being scared when Dina and I screamed and jumped during a Hines Ward touchdown.

My favorite part of the season has to be the combination of hairiness among the team.  Between Troy Polamalu and his crazy hair and Brett Keisel's beard with its own persona, there was plenty of humor to be found.  Even Steelerbaby got in on the action.

Or seriousness, like when Aidan told Amy that he wanted hair like Troy Polamalu's.  I guess he's going to need some Polamalecules.

A Whole New Year

So Tuesday was my birthday and now I'm into my early 30s at a ripe 31.  It's been quite the year.  The birthday was rather uneventful, what with being in the middle of the week and busy with work and all.  I was positively spoiled by my friends and family though.  Dave took me out to dinner over the weekend and I got lots of cards, calls and presents (and much looking forward to a massage this weekend, thanks to my husband).

The gift that cracked me up the most, however, was from my funny friend, Kate.  She never ceases to make me laugh.  I have to copy her note verbatim because it was that good.

"Happy Birthday, Colleen!
I'm sending the tin back to ensure that I'm on the list for next year. :)

Tell Dave he can use these to perfect his euthanasia technique, a long as you get to eat them afterwards!

<3 Kate"

This is what was in the tin:

Enhance:

Aren't they adorable?  And their very yummy. (Thanks, Kate!)

And the best part about my birthday is that because the Steelers are in the Superbowl, I get to extend my birthday through the weekend.  Partially because we're having a big party at our house, so of course I get to make it all about me (and the Steelers).