Gone Camping

Yup, Dave and I are about to embark on a weekend in the "great" outdoors. Two nights sleeping in a tent and a sleeping bag instead of my comfy bed inside my air conditioned house. Oh, and it's going to be probably the coolest weekend we've had in months. Of course the 70 degree nights decided to take a break this weekend and bring on the sub-50 degree temperatures. At least it's not supposed to rain.

And tomorrow we're going Jeeping to test the limits of Dave's off-road built Jeep Cherokee on a trail in the woods with a few obstacles and challenges. Hopefully this time we won't get stuck with two opposite wheels lifted off the grounds, teetering sideways between the rocks until someone pulled us out of the hole with their winch. And Sunday we'll stop by the Westfield International Air Show to run a Jeep sponsored course and catch some of the shows.

I should survive. If I do, I'm sure I'll have fabulous stories for you next week.

The Gardener Within

I fancy myself a gardener. A little patch of land in the backyard where I can grow some lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, maybe a little zucchini and peppers, a few blueberries, perhaps even some herbs (cause that's going so well in the house. See what happened to our garlic). A little area with a defense shield surrounding it that won't allow the critters that like to terrorize our yard to get in and destroy my yummy veggies.


I fancy myself a gardener, but it all honesty spring busy-ness (or laziness) has won out over me actually preparing the yard for such plants and tending to them in the necessary manner.

But this year I was a little more determined. Dave and I decided to get a little serious about our landscaping and I took that opportunity to insist on trying our hands at a tomato plant. I convinced Dave to get one when we got annuals for our flower boxes. We took it home and I nestled it in the yard. Located in perfect sun and near the fence to aid in staking it, I was determined to get something out of it.



And wouldn't you know we didn't screw it up? The plant is huge. It's at least four times it's original size in May. Already I've plucked off four juicy, red and absolutely delicious tomatoes, and at last count there are over 30 little green yummies waiting to ripen, with many more blooms to turn into salad and burger decorations.


I hope this year's bounty wasn't too much of a fluke (after all, with such hot temperatures and hardly any rain this summer, it could have gone another way), because I'm pretty sure I've got an itch to actually prepare and plan a little better next spring. Our garden might not have everything I want in it next year, but I imagine we'll have at least a few more plants.

Mulligans and Slap Shots

Dave and I love mini golf. We go a lot and enjoy trying new courses as well as going to the same courses again and again. We have a good time and generally create a pretty close match, with mild competitiveness and a lot of fun.


Last week we realized we hadn't been out at all this summer. Probably because it's been so freakin' hot this summer, we've preferred to spend our time in air conditioning or in the pool. So Friday night after dinner we decided to visit Mulligan's, the closest course to us. It's pretty fun and we definitely have both had good and bad games there.

One of the things we like about Mulligans are the goofy spinners at each hole. Each player spins the wheel and has to play the hole according to the rule the spinner lands on. Some of them can be beneficial--like if you get a hole in one, you can take 2 points off your score. Some are a little challenging--like stand on one leg for your first putt or hit the ball with the wrong end of your club. And there's the just plain mean--like you get to move any opponent's ball after their first shot.


We decided to play this game straight since it was fairly busy that night and the mischief can add time. The couple behind us was a little annoying, so I wasn't interested in feeding that fire. Although in hindsight, we probably should've played goofy since it may have helped my game (or hurt Dave's, which is just as good).


We had a good time, despite the fact that I started losing on only the 4th hole. I always suck on that hole, but Friday it was a particular challenge. It's a complete right angle, with the short leg going up hill and just because that's not challenging enough, they put a big rock right in the center of the corner where your ideal line would be to take the turn. I got my ball stuck behind the rock, completely unhittable. And then, when I went to place it out, I couldn't get it to stop rolling back down the hill. After several attempts, I looked at Dave and said I'd just take the 6 on that hole, defeated.


We still had fun, although that 4th hole completely messed with my mojo. I played ok, just not as good as I have before. I was keeping score and at some point I'd noticed that Dave was doing really well on the par 3 holes, getting a birdie on most of those. However, on the par 2 holes, he was mostly making bogey. We were nearing the end and I was ready to accept defeat when Dave just puts the nail in my coffin. Yup. A hole in one on the 18th hole.


He ended up 3 over par; I was...well, more than that. But we still had a good time. Mulligan's also has a little arcade and we noticed they had an air hockey table, which is also something we like to do. Except I'm really bad at that. Most of the time I can hold my own on the mini golf course, but I just can't stop the air hockey puck from going it, nor can I get those sneaky shots past Dave. But we have fun anyway.


We put in our quarters and Dave got his game face on. True to form, he started off kicking my butt; I think the score was 3-0. And then the unthinkable happened. I scored. And then I scored again. And then I was stopping his shots and making him nervous by getting more shots in and few really close ones. Could I actually win this game?


Turns out no. Apparently the table had a timer on it and our quarters didn't last long enough for me to make a complete comeback, so I technically lost the game. But I put on a pretty good show and am confident that maybe one day I'll actually beat him.

Shameless Post So I Can Enter a Contest

At least I'm honest, right?

When deciding to start a blog, I toyed with the idea of doing a cooking or food blog but then realized there are many people out there with more attention to detail than me that already do it better. Like my friend E at Simply Satisfying. I also started following Cake, Batter, and Bowl after my mom saw Kerstin compete on the Food Network's Ultimate Recipe Showdown. Kerstin has a lot of healthy and tasty recipes, as well as yummy desserts, so I've enjoyed seeing what new things she's whipping up.

And now she's having a contest! She's giving away a package of Girard's salad dressings and all I have to do is tell you about her contest and blog. So consider yourself told and go visit her blog. Now. I'll wait.

See, isn't her blog cute and yummy sounding? And for the record, my go to salad is just romaine, halved grape tomatoes, and cucumber, sometimes with bacon bits and mozzarella cheese. It's my cheap and filling salad inspired by my favorite salad, which is a basic Caprese salad. Yummy.


This however, would not be my favorite salad. I'm anti-furry vegetables.

Babies!

This is one of those good posts with lots of pictures!

On Saturday, Dave and I drove to Poughkeepsie for Kate's baby shower. This is Kate and her husband Andy.

We met Kate and Andy in college. Kate was actually the first person I met at college since we attended the same Orientation over the summer. I think we were in the same group and that's how we got to know each other. Funny thing--our moms also got along and when we got together for lunch they were already chatting away.

This is Kate's bump. And Mere's bump too.

Actually this is from 2 weeks ago since the pictures I took on Saturday didn't show good bumpage.

Anyway, the day was gorgeous. The humidity finally broke after a month and we had blue skies the whole way. We arrived a little early and were able to help Kate's mom and sister finish getting ready. Since the day was lovely, the entire shindig was outside. Kate's parents tented a portion of the lawn for the baby shower activities. And then the boys utilized other parts of the lawn. But more on that later.

Since boys were also welcome, we enjoyed lunch first and the followed it up by sending off the menfolk to do their thing while we ooh'd and ahh'd and made a fuss over Kate, presents and Baby Henry (shut up, Andy. That's his name.)

It didn't come out too well, but the suggested name on that entry is in fact Henry.

There was only one game which was pretty cute. Kate's mom had gotten a ton of baby socks and split them into two piles. Each team had to sort, match and fold their socks, the first team done being the winner. Some of the socks were pretty cute and Kate certainly shouldn't have to buy any for a while.


So while we were doing this, the guys were playing golf. On the premises. Yup. Kate's dad had set up a 9 hole course and split the guys into twosomes. Each twosome got 2 clubs and each player got a foam golf ball with which to work his magic. Dave said it was a great time (although he's says he won, so maybe that's why). They did seem to be having a good time, though.

Yeah, apparently half these guys never even played golf before. And the other half didn't realize they were foam balls.

Transcript of conversation between Kate and Andy after the golf game:

Kate: How'd you do?
Andy: I got a 46.
Kate: On 9 holes?
Andy: Yeah.
Kate: Is that good?
Andy: Uhhh...No.

Ok, so here's the part I'm really excited about. My gift to Kate and the baby! I've been itching for a month to tell you about this, but I know Kate reads this, so I couldn't spoil the surprise.

I'd gotten some great gift suggestions from another friend who recently had a baby, so I put together a basket with some essentials and some fun stuff. I bought a sturdy basket they can use in the baby's room for whatever needs to be corralled. I had to get some Boston Red Sox gear (Kate is a huge fan, her dad not so much. Stupid Yankees.), a book because every baby needs a library, and some essentials from the drug store because you don't know you need it until you need it. Dave's contribution was the Bordeaux's Butt Paste. It was also Andy's favorite part.

My favorite part, however, was this:

My first baby blanket! It's not perfect--there are a few imperfections on the blue edging that I attempted to even out with the border, but I'm proud of it. I did it in about a week (yeah, that first week in July where it was almost 100 degrees everyday I was playing with yarn), mostly during the drive to Allentown with Dave's mom for his cousin's fiance's bridal shower. Kate and her mom also crochet and Kate's mom made them an absolutely gorgeous crib blanket, but I know that babies like to spit up,so hopefully this can serve the purpose when the other is in the wash, or maybe work for travel.

The beautiful blanket from Kate's mom.

Overall it was a great day. I'm so glad we were able to go and see Kate and Andy again and celebrate with them. I can't wait to meet Baby Henry! (Andy--seriously, just accept the inevitable.)

The End of Anonymity...

Sort of.

It's becoming a little cumbersome with the initials and all. So I've decided we need to become more intimate--at least on a first name basis. Besides, all of you know me and most of you know each other, so really it's all a farce.

My name is Colleen, and my husband is Dave. Hi!

This is an example of our lounging attire. No, of course it's not! It's from Halloween two years ago. And yes our kitchen is red and it's awesome.

As we continue on this little journey of funny stories and such (hopefully no more mice), I'll fill in the gaps for who is who and if I've referenced them before. For example, tomorrow I'll post about going to a baby shower for our friends Kate and Andy. You may remember K from giving Dave advice on the mice killing and A from winning 1000 tickets at Dave & Buster's after our friend Lisa's (L) wedding. See how much easier it is to follow along now?

That's My First Name...

I know it's been a while. To be honest, I'm just that boring lately.

So boring in fact that I'm busying myself cleaning out my email since I received a nastygram from the server telling me that my mailbox is about to exceed my size limit. And I came across this gem. It was hilarious at the time, and still funnier now.

I received this from a program participant about a month before he was scheduled to attend the program. He'd never been to one of our programs before and is from India. I've blanked out his actual name to protect the innocent and bolded for emphasis.

Enjoy.

Hi!. I am R***** K****.

I shall be obliged if you could please let me know the following about the program :

(i) Is there any dress code to be followed during the training sessions ?

(ii) Will it be possible to mail the list of other particiapnts?

(iii) Do I need to carry laptop (I'll prefer not to!)

Thanks. Have a great day.

R***** (that's my first name) K**** (that's my last name).