The Tune's

We Moved

2012-01-24T07:24:00.000-08:00

It is finally official. We moved! We closed on our house on Thursday with one small hiccup that the seller's damaged the garage on the way out but nothing a little money at the close can't fix. We bought from the original owners so beware there is minimal to no updating done. We have been ripping down wallpaper (which seems to never be ending), painters are starting to paint, putting in closet organizers and slowly moving in a few items.

These are the before pics and I will slowly post the afters once we get moved in.

The new digs!

Front hall way

Laundry Room-

Powder Room-

Den-

View from front hall to living room

Kitchen

Dining Room

Looking to the upstairs hallway from the living room

4th Bedroom- this is their listing photo since I haven't taken one yet (will be our office)

3rd bedroom - again their listing photo

2nd bedroom - again their listing photo

Main Bathroom: Don't you love the brown fish sparkly wallpaper?

Master Bedroom-

Master Bathroom

I feel like I am a Hollywood movie star with those lights!

Master Closet

Mele Kalikimaka me ka Hau'oli Makahiki Hou

2012-01-04T05:46:00.000-08:00

Mele Kalikimaka me ka Hau'oli Makahiki Hou (Merry Christmas and Happy New Year in Hawaiian)!

This holiday season sent the Tune and Flaten families to Hawaii for Christmas, a first for us in warm weather. We had a wonderful trip that was full of drinking, hiking canyons, snorkling, laying beachside, drinking, paddleboarding and most of all enjoying being with family.

Hawaiian Christmas Trees

Christmas Day- Tune and Flaten men

Watching the Packers game on Christmas day (3pm) bellied up to the bar!

Hiking Waimea Canyon

Rewarding ourselves after the hike with some Hawaiian shaved ice-

Then a swim in the ocean to cool off

At a secluded beach called "Hideaways" and seeing an endangured Monk Seal soaking in the rays for a few hours before heading back out into the ocean.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and that 2012 brings everyone good health and prosperity!

Putting the "J" in Joy

2011-12-15T11:33:00.000-08:00

We have a four legged child named Bailey who loves to go for long walks and stop every 2 feet to sniff every dogs last pee, etc. As we are winding down our nights in the house before we move, we took Bailey out for her last walk in our neighborhood before she moved out to my folks house while we wrapped everything up at ours. On our walk, Scott and I were admirring the festive lights that the homes all had on and the fact that our looks like the scrooge house, but only because we are moving. I thought I would share some of the homes with you all.

You have the simply decorated home with just a wreath and some garland around the door.

You then have the classic looking homes (my favorites).

The "I can't have enough blowups" house

Have your own reindeer stable in the yard

The Jewish decorated home

and then there is the home that just can't quite get it all together for the holidays. One night the "O" was the only thing that was lit and this night it was only now missing the "J" in Joy!

The road to 40

2011-12-04T18:40:00.000-08:00

We have been quite busy here in New Jersey with buying & selling a house, packing, dinners in NYC with friends, etc. and with everything going on it is official that I have lost 30 pounds and on the road to 40 (goal is by Christmas). To lose another 9-10lbs. by Christmas would be quite impossible this time of year with all of the goodies that are around but I am hoping to be down 35 now by Christmas.

Also related to 40- we will be closing on our new house in 46 days! Time has been ticking away slowly and this weekend really kicked it in high gear with our Get A Sam arriving on Friday and packing it up all day Saturday, then a Christmas party Sat night and another one today. We are nearing the end of packing up all of our belongings and keeping out enough to live here for just under two weeks until we officially close on our current house. We are headed to my folks house for the month we will be homeless, part of which we will be in Hawaii for 9 days and also spending a long weekend in Green Bay for a Packers playoff game in the Frozen Tundra in January.

Stay Tuned...

26.2

2011-11-07T11:53:00.001-08:00

Scott has been training hard since about June for his 2nd marathon, both of which are NYC. His first marathon he finished with a time of 4:02:18 which was a great time, considering he is not a professional runner. His goal this year was to run a sub 3:45 marathon.

We went out for a carb loaded dinner on Saturday night to get him ready for the long road ahead in the morning, made sure a few alarm clocks were set (especially since it was daylight savings) and headed to bed. 4:45am came and he was ready to go and conquer the 5 boroughs. He finished the marathon yesterday with a time of 3:54:18 which was not his goal but a superb time!

Naturally after he finished, we headed out to a bar and had a few beers!

Now that the road to 26.2 miles is completed, he is going to take a year or two off from training for a marathon. His goal is the London marathon in a few years.

Attorney Review

2011-10-27T07:21:00.000-07:00

We are officially under attorney review for the purchase of our new house! It amazes me how quickly all of this process has gone so far with listing our house, going under contract on our house, home inspection, finding a new house, accepted offer and now under attorney review.

I got the call last night from our realtor with a "You bought yourself a new house". I was shocked that they accepted our low-ball offer, but of course was excited! The ball is now moving and hopefully the rest of the process goes just as well.

Here is a pic of the new house:

Wedding Recap

2011-10-24T12:09:00.001-07:00

Where has October gone?

October 7th - celebrated our 5th Wedding Anniversary

October 16th - signed a contract to sell our house

October 20th - attended Scott's best friends wedding rehersal and rehersal dinner

October 21st - attended Scott's best friends wedding and came out of attorney review on our house

October 22nd - Scott's 30th birthday

October 24th - Recover

What wedding would be compelte without a few photo booth pictures! The first is three of the groomsmen and the wives (aka Table 7), the second is Scott and I with his parents and the third I think you can figure it out!

On to a busy rest of the week, looking at a house for the third time tonight and potentially making an offer on it, dropping Scott off at the airport bright and early tomorrow so that he can go to Disney for "work", home inspection on Wed., 5k run for me on Saturday and then the month is over.

The Running Crew

2011-09-15T13:30:00.000-07:00

I think most of you know that my hubby, Scott, is running the NYC marathon this year, which will be his 2nd marathon ever.

I had set a goal to go on an 8 mile run with him this year and not be the fat ass that I was last year when he would go for a run I would sit and veg out on the couch. Not this year!

I have been 'running' since around mid-May but really more often about mid-June. So far my longest run I have done is 6.5 miles which for me is GREAT! On a normal day I run about 4-4.5 miles and then do a long run on Saturday. I am gearing up for about a 7-7.5 mile run this Saturday.

On better news, I have lost 22lbs while getting off my butt and actually doing something. That is just over halfway to my ultimate goal of losing 40lbs by Christmas when we jet-set off to Hawaii for the Holidays. I will keep you posted on my progress this weekend. I am getting closer to that 8 mile mark.

Times are Changing

2011-09-09T13:12:00.000-07:00

Our house is on the market!

Yes for sale that is. We have decided to sell and move up the property ladder so wish us well in finding a buyer soon so that we can start looking for that next "new" home for the Tune's!

Part III: Ocracoke

2011-08-24T20:00:00.000-07:00

Hi-ho, hi-ho it's off to Ocracoke we go! The final leg of our journey was about to commence and I don't think Ocracoke knew what was in store when the Sanger's and BLT's arrived!

On the way down to Ocracoke we drove down Highway 12 which drives through the Outerbanks and is a beautiful drive, especially when the sun is shining! We took two detours on the trip to see a few lighthouses.

First up, Bodie Island Lighthouse and Keeper's house

Next up on the lighthouse tour was the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

We continued the trip to the ferry docks where we queued up in line for our trip over to Ocracoke. While we were waiting we thought it might be a good idea to break in the boards that Scott and I got for Heather and Jason to see if they might have a little "home field advantage". You see there is finally a team that we all agree to route for, besides we were cheering for the Durham Bulls but we got blamed that they didn't win, so we knew that we were going to get some Duke boards for them.

The lines starting to move onto the ferry so we did a quick Zamboni clean up and onto the ferry we went.

A few pics from ferry

Once on the island of Ocracoke, we drove to our B&B villa for the duration of the trip, The Castle B&B.

After settling into our digs, we headed out on our beach cruisers for a guided tour of the island. First stop was lunch though since we were all starving! A recurring theme starting from lunch which was that Jason and Scott were wearing Boston and Yankees gear, respectively. People kept asking, "You two are friends?". We had a good laugh with all the commentary around that. So here is a photo op of the two boys in their gear.

We explored the rest of the island that afternoon with stops at the lighthouse, Blackbeard's beach for some shells, crab hunting and a few pictures.

After working up a sweat on the beach, well not really, but some parched mouths, it was time to grab some coffee at Ocracoke Coffee Shop. This place was packed but had some damn good coffee. Heather and I ordered the drinks in which the guys wanted the mother of all frappachino like drinks. The lady asks if we want whip cream on them and Heather says no and I say yes. Fast forward now to drinks in hand and Jason asks where his whip cream is and Heather says, "I didn't order any for you." That started what Jason called the downfall of the coffee since he went back and asked for whip cream, they had to change the cup his drink was then in which had chocolate sauce down the side and now said new cup did not. Needless to say, Jason is enjoying the mother of all frappachino drinks WITH whip cream as well as Scott. Heather and I settled with iced coffee...see simple. The relaxing life we had!

We headed back to the villa in order to prep for our dinner festivities on the beach. We loaded up in our car with firewood in the trunk, beach chairs, blanket, beer, wine, and our dinner to be cooked on the fire.

The guys set out to find a bit more driftwood, if possible, since after getting all the wood from our car to the beach, Jason thought we would need more since it would burn pretty quickly with the ocean breeze.

The fire was started and we were settling in quite nicely!

Hazy view of the sunset

Hot Dogs were being roasted on an open fire!

We were starting to get some admirer's of our campfire. If you click on the photo you will see some crabs that wanted to come join our little party we had.

Smores time with our Escazu chocolates we bought in Raleigh.

Here is where things start getting interesting since we didn't have a flashlight, there are crabs all around us and we are starting to take photos. See they don't look too bad a little blurry at times but not too bad.

This is where I think the guys were trying to pull a fast one on Heather and I. This is a string of photos that I put into a video to show the constant movement that Heather and I were doing so that we could not get eaten by the crabs.

The next day, we had a nice day at the beach and then got back on our old trusty bikes and headed out for another coffee. Yes the guys both got another mammoth frozen drink with whipped cream on top and chocolate chips.

After that I wanted to go check out the British Cemetery so we headed further down the road and I put on the breaks when I saw this place, Zillie's. I popped the bike in the rack and went inside to pursue....or the guys did.

After a glass of wine/beer on the porch of Zillie's and some 6-packs to go....is that legal? We headed off for the British Cemetery.

We pulled into the cemetery and in about two minutes after that Jason says, "I don't think this is my bike." We are all standing there like "huh....you STOLE some one's bike", he quickly rode off back to Zillie's to retrieve his bike while we walked around the cemetery.

One recovered bike and time to head back to get ready for campfire number 2.

Scott and I headed to the general store for stuff for dinner while Heather and Jason went to pick up some fresh fish for our fish taco dinner. After we buy the groceries but forgot the firewood, Scott and I head back in and ask to buy a few bundles of wood and the cashier asks us what we are up to and this is where the problem starts

Scott says: Just having a fire on the beach tonight.

Cashier: You know they are banned right now due to the heat?

Scott: Since when?

Cashier: Awhile, just like the rest of the OBX beaches.

Scott: Oh, ok. Thanks for your help.

After we got back to the villa and broke the news, we felt satisfied that we had a nice 6 hour fire the night before and that not a sole in sight said anything to us!

So we improvised with fish tacos on the charcoal grill at the villa. We pulled it off well with a sundowner on the deck, fish tacos for dinner and a game in the villa afterward.

Day three, was a repeat of Day 2 but with Heather and I going out shopping at the local stores and the guys watching the baseball and taking a little nap. We caught back up with them at home and then headed back out for Zillie's then home for a sundowner again with a few photo ops, where we tested out the timer on the camera!

After a nice meal out that night we bid farewell to our bikes and called it a night. We had a bite to eat in the am and headed out for the ferry back over to the Hatteras. We said our goodbye's until next time. We had a wonderful trip with Heather and Jason and absolutely agree that Ocracoke is one of the best places on earth.

I am finishing this post up on the night that they are evacuating Ocracoke as Hurricane Irene is supposed to be making her way up the coast. I sure hope they don't get hit hard.

Arts & Crafty Beer

2011-08-09T17:00:00.000-07:00

Now that you have been reacquainted with the BLT's, it is time to move on to our next adventure on the trip. NC Craft Beers.

The day truly started off with a trip to a new artisan chocolate shop/maker, Escazu, to pick up some fine chocolates to make some smores on the beach one night. We did end up picking up a few chocolate bars as well as a few chocolates to sample right there. I mean who can resist the smell of chocolate and these delicacies below?

With a few chocolates in our belly's, we headed off for some proper lunch at Busy Bee Cafe. Now that our skinny bitches were full, we could think a little better and it was time to get our drink on. First stop, The Raleigh Wine Shop, to pick up some provisions for our trip to the beach. With a few bottles of Vinho Verde, White and Rose picked out we headed back to the Sanger household to finish off preparations for our trip to the beach.

Just before dinner time, Heather had booked a private tour of Big Boss Brewery for the four of us and three of Jason's co-workers. When Scott and I first came to Raleigh back in April, I had sampled a few of Big Boss's finest and truly enjoyed them. We gathered at their bar and we were all given a pint of any beer we chose. As our glasses were emptying they must have thought we all looked parched and filled them up again!!

Big Boss got the names of their beers from old airplane nicknames, hence the signs with all of the ladies on them.

Now it was time to start the tour of the brewery itself. We were lead downstairs into the heart, heat, of the brewery. We were introduced to the brew master whom started talking about the process of making beer, etc. What was really funny was that on his computer screen was a YouTube video of the Royal Wedding. I don't know maybe he has a thing for Pippa?

I love the look of their labels on the beer. They are vintage looking with their colors and style.

After we finished off the tour, it was time to pose for a photo or two.

We proceeded back to Busy Bee's Cafe so Jason could get his hands on a Basil Farmhouse cask beer made with Thai basil. That was the real purpose of our lunch trip but you see it didn't get brought out until 6pm. We scurried back there and bellied up to the bar so the guys could try a pint of the Basil beer. It was time to get some grub, so where better to go than another brewery, Boylan Bridge Brewpub. This time with a view that overlooks downtown Raleigh!

We woke up the next morning with orders that we had to be on the road at 9:30am to make our private tour at Duck-Rabbit. Scott and I got our car packed and I helped Heather get some of their stuff in the car, while Jason was typing up a work email. I think in the time he first told Heather he would be done with it in 5 minutes, that he actually wrote a novel and got it published, or maybe it just seemed that way. Needless to say, Jason was showered, packed and in the car at 9:28am so kudos to him until he had to go back into the apt and grab his work laptop. We hit the road and made great time to Duck-Rabbit and were greeted by our tour guide right at 11am! Duck-Rabbit is a very small craft brewery but makes some damn good beers! Unfortunately for Scott and I you can't buy them in New Jersey so Heather and Jason when you guys are up in this neck of the woods you will have to bring a few with you!

We had a brief tour of the brewery and got to meet one of their brew masters, who happens to be from Cornwall. Such a small world. We were told how brewing is as much of an art as a science.

After a quick chat with the brew master, we were guided to their new tasting room which has not been opened yet and therefore making us the first guests to sit at the bar and do a tasting. We asked quite a few questions, made small talk with our guide and enjoyed a few productions made by the brew master with him.

And of course we got to test out our pouring skills behind the bar. What do you mean the taps don't work???

During our conversation with our guide and the brew master, Jason started to enquire about working at said brewery since one of the perks is free beer. Then we got into their website/social media updates, etc. and Heather was then named Queen of Social Media for Duck-Rabbit.

Here is the Queen making her first pose.

We headed out for one last photo op.

We thanked them for an awesome tour, by far the best tour we have been on. We were given a little bit of advice for lunch as we were leaving and decided we would hit it up, if we were lucky enough to get there before they ran out. We arrived at B's Barbecue in Greenville, NC and walked up to the window at the side of the building and said "2 small and 2 large please". The guys response was "Plate or Dinner". We said "2 plates and 2 dinners please."

We were all smiles when we opened up our containers of lunch and found this yummy goodness.

So now not only did we have the best beer tour we have now just hit the jackpot of barbecue in North Carolina too! B's was an old gas station that was bought and then transformed into a barbecue joint. They cook 8 pigs a day and when they run out, the run out, which is normally around 1pm. Glad we made it since it was delicious! B's barbecue is also on the NC BBQ Trail, which I subsequently found out.

Food coma had sunk in and it was time to hit the road for our 3 hour drive to the Weeping Radish Brewery. We were in a bit of a rush since it closed at 4pm and if calculations worked in our favor we would be there with 20 minutes to spare. Just enough time to grab a beer. We hit the road and headed to the coast. We got there with plenty of time to spare since they actually don't close until 5pm and even that is open ended since they stay open if there are people in there.

We ordered a flight for each of us and sampled away. By far there was no comparison to these beers versus Big Boss and Duck-Rabbit but when in Rome do as the Romans do and finish your beer.

We left Weeping Radish and headed off to our B&B for the night, which was a lady's home that was opened to us for the night. We found her home got settled into our rooms and headed out for dinner to the Outerbanks Brewing Station. We found some seats at the bar, had dinner and then headed outside to enjoy a game of cornhole, BLT's vs. Sanger's. I will add that the BLT's were victorious which makes up for our washer toss loss back in April to them.

Team BLT: 1

Team Sanger: 1

After good food, drinks, music and a cornhole game we headed for a walk on the beach before headed back to the B&B. Back at the B&B we decided it was too early for bed so we got out the scrabble board and got into a game.

The game got a little serious when I challenged Jason's word of "ID" as being an abbreviation and not a word. It was time to set off and look for a dictionary in this house. Scott hit the ladder and pondered where the dictionary might be and Jason looked around the rest of the downstairs for the dictionary too. Heather took to the camera and I just sat in amusement!

Jason won the battle with ID, won the game of scrabble and we called it a night.

Next up- Part 3 Ocracoke

Meet the BLT's

2011-08-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

Road trip started a little later than expected due to Scott putting in lots of OT the last few days (including Saturday) leading up to vacation. We hit the road first thing on Sunday with a nice cup of Joe and a bagel and headed south on 95 for Richmond.

Scott is a history buff and he wanted to visit The Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond so that was the first stop on the leg of the journey.

We were greeted outside the museum by this lovely fish depicting (l to r) Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson and J.E.B. Stuart.

Inside the museum, we took a self-guided tour, probably for the better, about 90% of the museum was flags and clothes from the Confederate soldiers, Confederate Battle Flags and some Official Confederate Flags.

The flag below was the Headquarters Flag of General Robert E. Lee and was made by his wife and his daughters. The flag is the Confederate First National pattern bearing the distinctive "bread of life" star pattern. This flag was used at Lee's headquarters from June 1862 to July 1863.

The flag below was the 3rd Official Flag of the Confederacy. The only change to this flag from the 2nd Official Flag was the addition of the red strip on the end so that it could be seeing when flown.

This is the flag of the 2nd Florida Infantry, Co. C called the Columbia Rifles.

We hit the road after some strolling through Richmond and headed to Durham, N.C. to have dinner and spend the night with my brother's best friend and his family. We had a wonderful evening with them and got to catch up with them and see their new home.

Monday we got up and took their kids to the playground then out to lunch with the kids and Steph (my brother's best friend's wife). We had a lovely lunch, said our good bye's and then headed to the Basketball mecca of the U.S., Duke University.

First stop:

From here, Scott was nothing but in heaven. We got to go inside the stadium and walk through the Duke Hall of Fame.

We continued the self-guided walking tour of the campus and went to the Duke Chapel. It is breathtaking from the inside. I wasn't expecting it to be as elaborate and ornate as it was on the inside but the details were just gorgeous. Renovations were starting so we got to take a few pictures and you can see for yourself the gem that it is.

It was time to hit the road and go meet Heather and Jason for an evening of good 'ole baseball. We got settled in at their place and caught up briefly and hit the road for dinner at a new Burger "hot spot", aka Bull City Burger and Beer.

I love their little wagon behind the door that they use for deliveries! By the way that door is not a door so I am unsure what it actually is. Any ideas?

It was raining a bit off and on all day so we were unsure of the timing of the Durham Bulls game so settled in for dinner and a few drinks before the game. There was one item in particular that jumped out to me for dinner and only for the topping that was on it. Pimento Burger! Heather introduced us to Pimento cheese at our last outing together when we tailgated for the Canes vs. Sabres game and it was instant love. I am a huge cheese fan, I mean raised in the mid-west who wouldn't be? You can't find Pimento cheese up North, or maybe I have never looked for it or just bypassed it not knowing what it was, but you can bet your butt I will be looking for it now....thanks Heather! Scott started laughing when he asked what I was getting and told Heather and Jason that when we got in the car in NJ to drive down, I told him "I can't wait to have some Pimento cheese." So I had my first Pimento cheese on the trip and it was so good. I think I have found a new burger topping now, if I can find it in New Jersey.

There was a little bit of competition amongst the 4 of us when I asked what the "CFOH" stood for underneath one of their t-shirts that had BCBB (Bull City Burger and Brew). Scott jumps in with "Come for our Hops". Hmmm good guess but I was thinking no way that could be it. I started looking at the menu and said "Certified Fresh Organic Hamburgers". Another good guess only to be confirmed the winner by the brew master himself when he delivered our dinner.

We headed off to the game and were a bit sceptical when the parking lot attendant told us to just go through and park the car, aka not pay for parking. I mean really, it is only misting. We headed into the ballpark and it was on a rain delay, so we grabbed a beer and headed to the seats just as they were taking the tarp off the field. Game time!!!

We had the BEST seats in the house not only because there were fans above us but because we had the best fans behind us. I mean the best fans your could ever imagine, mom's braiding their daughters hair, kids who didn't want to be at the game and the icing on the cake fan, the loudest fan out there who made you laugh the whole game. I mean she was looking forward to the 7th inning for the YMCA when we were only in the 2nd inning. Priorities I guess. I am sure Heather will post a video of some of the commentary that Jason caught of her. The kicker was that Scott thought it was a dude the whole time until the end of the game when we all were talking about she and he then realized it was a chick. Good one dear! The Bulls didn't fair too well in the game with a Loss to Toledo of 2-6. However, Heather did get to see her man, J. Furmaniak, hit a homer and the dancing started.

We headed back to see if we could catch the end of the Sox game and sure enough it was on a rain delay so we got settled in on the couch and watched till the bottom of the 12th inning and called it a night to only resume the rest of the game in the morning over breakfast. The Sox lost in the 14th inning and the Tune's at that point received a new name. The Bad Luck Tune's or for short The BLT's. You see every time we have been with Heather and Jason there is a sporting event involved. First Devils vs. Canes (Canes lost), next up was Canes vs. Sabres (Canes lost), then Durham Bulls and even though we were cheering for the Bulls (Bulls lost), Sox game (Sox lost).

So without further ado let me introduce you to the BLT's

Next stop is NC Craft Brewery tours!

The Aftermath

2011-08-02T06:46:00.000-07:00

We are back from our road trip to North Carolina and back to the grind, work that is. We had a wonderful time catching up with friends, seeing new sites, tasting some wonderful craft beers and all in all just having a great time! I am working on getting up post 1 of the trip but need an all important audio clip from Scott so you can get a full appreciation of an event. I am hoping to get it wrapped up tonight.

In other news, Scott officially started as a FT employee with pwc yesterday! In bad news, we were welcomed home to a Hornet that is trying to burrow underground in our backyard. My belief is that this happened because Bailey, our dog, has been at my parents house since we were heading on vacation and otherwise I don't think a hornet would have chosen that particular location to nest. My brother in-law, Ryan, called Scott on vacation to tell him that he thought we had hornets and Scott said, "Well get rid of them." Ryan I will say is a bit of a baby when it comes to that stuff since said Hornet was still flying around when we got home. So I told Scott let's go out and do what is suggested to get rid of them, pour gasoline down their hole in the ground at night and then they will die, you dig up the nest and no more hornets. We geared up in long pants, jackets and glasses went outside on a mission to kill said hornet (since only one has been spotted). We poured gas down the holes we could find after dusk when the hornet should be in the holes and wouldn't you know it in the morning the hornet was still there. The damn thing must not have been in the hole.

Fast forward to last night when Ryan and I were playing soccer with Bailey, her favorite sport, and I asked Scott to get a shovel and let's just dig up the nest and get rid of it once and for all. He starts digging and nothing is in the ground. I mean not one inkling of any sort of nest, life, etc there just a lingering smell of gas. He puts the dirt back and the damn hornet comes back to the area where Scott just started digging. We have a Japanese fly swatter, which is plastic tennis racket that is electric (see picture below), and Scott takes a swing at the hornet and it hits the racket and the hornet goes down. Scott was doing a bit of a victory dance when the hornet then gets back up and flies away. We were defeated.

I woke up this morning and there he was again, flying around the same area. I grabbed the racket and headed outside to finally kill the thing. Needless to say my tennis skills I think need improving since I didn't get him and he is I am sure now wondering what this Chocolate colored dog is now doing in his territory. Bailey is now on patrol for the day and I hope she fends him off. If he is still around when we get home tonight he is toast. I am sick of seeing him fly around and need him GONE.

Milestones- meet them or beat them

2011-07-22T06:56:00.000-07:00

With my first milestone approaching this coming Monday, I haven't been nervous about making my first goal, to lose 15 lbs. Mostly attributable to the fact that I know I am not going to make it, which is ok, but I will be damn close. We will actually be on vacation for my weigh-in day so I will weigh-in tomorrow morning prior to the trip. I am venturing to guess I will be down 12-13lbs. rather than the 15 lbs. that I wanted to be down but all in all not too bad!

We are wheels up and headed for our ultimate destination of North Carolina this weekend with some sight-seeing along the way. In preparation for our trip, I have been packing my clothes, beach stuff, campfire wood, smores ingredients, a few games and misc. other items. We are looking forward to the trip!

In other good news to start off a great vacation, Scott received a full time offer with PricewaterhouseCoopers yesterday! He has been contracting with them but a FT offer came through yesterday so that is wonderful news! Now the negotiations start :-)

We will back in August!

Fall Preview Season

2011-07-18T12:34:00.000-07:00

I was at the mall this weekend using some reward cards that I had at a few stores and using up a few gift certificates. I managed to get 3 dresses, a pair of shorts, a t-shirt, pair of havianas and a pair of sandals for scott all for $71.! I thought it was a great deal since most stores right now are an extra 40% off their spring/summer stuff since they are making room for fall clothes. I was in Nordstrom's and saw something that caught my eye. As I had said before I am really not buying much since I would like to lose more weight but these are on my "to-buy" list for the fall and I don't need to lose weight for these!

I am falling in love with these Tory Burch Ambrose flats and Nordstrom has them in their anniversary sale.

The shopping I don't like

2011-07-13T06:16:00.000-07:00

There are things in life that I love to do and one of them is shopping. I enjoy shopping for things for the house, myself and Scott. I haven't been shopping in awhile since I am to the stage where I am refusing to buy anything new until I lose some more weight and then can fit back into majority of my clothes.

There is that one item that I hate to shop for....the dreaded swimsuit. I don't have the bikini body and never really did and I am ok with that, but I do hate to go shopping for a bathing suit when you are in the process of losing weight. If I buy one that fits me now, I hope that it won't fit me in August when I am in the Bahamas. So that has got me thinking more of what I should buy. I have been eyeing up this one by Mossimo from Target. I love the color of it and I would go for the striped bottom that is clover and white.

I think this would work well since I could buy two different size tops and if I lose the weight then I have one for now and one for August without having to spend a fortune on a whole new suit. The problem.....finding the bottoms. They are unavailable online, in the few stores around me that I have looked in. I can order the top online without a problem, but you kind of need bottoms you know? I decided to then try another color (mint or teal in the same suit) that they had bottoms for at the store in my size but not the top and wouldn't you know there are no tops available online period. God damit. I hate shopping for a bathing suit. Needless to say, I am still looking and shopping.

This week's weigh-in was not a good weigh-in since I gained .7lbs back. I was away in Massachusetts for the weekend in the lovely Berkshires (later post) and enjoyed my time there eating out and driking so of course that didn't help but I don't regret my decisions while being away. You need to enjoy vacation!

Pack up the car....its summer

2011-07-06T07:00:00.000-07:00

After a wonderful holiday weekend celebrating the 4th of July with family and friends, I would like to be able to just pack up the car for a road trip and just start driving and see where the road takes us and enjoy the summer! When we lived in London I traveled to the Netherlands alot for work to one of the subsidiary companies. They owned campsites, no not the American version of campsites. They were chalet style campsites. The Dutch would literally pack up the Chandeleir's and head to the campsite for a month at a time, park the car, grab a beach cruiser and ride. I got to enjoy a weekend at one of the campsites in the middle of the Netherlands and get that bike and ride to town, through the forest and just relax. It was a great time!

This time of year makes me want to become a teacher and I know that life is not as glorious during the school year being a teacher, especially if you teach summer school or tutor it certaintly doesn't end, but for those whom are off I envy you this time of year. I know you pay your dues during the year but I want your life during the summer.

Scott and I are packing up the car this year in a few weeks and taking a mid-atlantic roadtrip. We are finalizing a few plans for a the trip down and then trip home. We have pulled out the map (well google maps) and are toying with some towns/cities in Virginia (Richmond, Fredericksburg), or the obvious stop in DC. We have some concrete plans in the middle of the stay that include riding some of those beach cruisers, sitting in some adirondack chairs, sipping a few local beers, pigging out on some yummy food and enjoying good company. In the meantime, it is back to the grind of working, working out to lose the weight before vacation and get our plans in motion for the roadtrip!

With lots of drinking and pigging out this past weekend due to my brother in-laws birthday on Thursday, dinner and drinks with my best friend on Friday, BBQ on Saturday and Sunday I still managed to fair ok on the scale this week for my check-in.

Weight-loss this week: 1.4lbs
Total weight-loss: 6.4lbs

Week 2

2011-06-27T06:38:00.000-07:00

Week two has snuck up on me, maybe because I was dreading to see what would happen this morning when I weighed in?

This week I started the Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. If you are unsure of what it is, she basically runs yells you through circuit training. There are three levels to the program and each session takes you 20 minutes. It is a quick painful 20 minutes since it is non-stop which is why it is supposed to help you lose 20 lbs. in 30 days (then you have been shredded as she likes to say). So I have finished off Day 4 of Level 1 in her program and moving on tonight to Day 5.

As for the running jogging, I have been doing ok with it. I had a few days off this week since I couldn’t quite possible not have a margarita or two at our Company picnic on Friday. I mean a girl can’t quite fathom passing up a margarita to think about coming home to go on a run, right? Glad you all agree with me! This weekend I was doing better with the jogging and did 4.2 miles on Saturday and 3 miles yesterday. I am hoping determined tonight to go out for 3 miles (need to be on the couch at 8pm for the Bachelorette….priorities) and then Day 5 of the 30 Day Shred.

Enough of the workup onto the actual results for the week:

Starting weight: 1_1.3
Weight loss this week: 2.2 lbs.
Total weight loss: 5.0 lbs

Moving on to Week Three with high hopes of that -4lbs!

Check-in week 1

2011-06-20T10:32:00.001-07:00

Well since my posting a few weeks ago about getting myself out on the pavement running that has been sort of put on hold by a few weekend trips and of course other excuses. Well today was weigh-in Monday...YIKES. I have been watching a bit more of what I eat which is the only reason why I dropped 2.8lbs this past week!!! I have made some interim goals to help along my ultimate goal of 35-40lbs. My first goal is 15 lbs by July 23rd (trip to OBX), second goal is 25lbs. by the end of the August (trip to Bahamas for my birthday) and 35-40lbs. by Christmas (when we go to Hawaii). I am off to a slow start but at least a start in the right direction.

So with my semi-happy weigh-in this am, I scoped out three runs for Scott and I to partake in which will definetly get me off my fat arse and onto the pavement for sure. Two are next week and the best part about them is that they are both during the week! One is a 5k (3.2 miles) and the other one is a 5 mile run.....oh boy.

Off to start week 2!

Summer Getaways

2011-06-07T05:36:00.000-07:00

We are in the midst of planning a few summer getaways and as I was doing a little looking yesterday at some plans, I received an email that definetly got me side tracked a bit. The email came from Louis Vuitton, below, with a nice picture of a lady walking near the beach in a coverup, scarf and my now coveted new beach bag, the new Ailleurs Collection.

So with my new beach bag in mind....not purchased, my summer getaways just might have a new bag to join the trip!

Procrastination

2011-05-17T10:35:00.001-07:00

Over the past few years there is something that I procrastinate doing all the time.....exercise. I set the alarm to get up in the morning to go for a run or go to spin class or just to shut it off and go back to bed. The third one is more like the everyday routine these days.

Last year when Scott was training for the New York City marathon he had asked me to go on a few training runs with him. I was like I will go for 3 miles but that is not really helping him since I would run about a 10 minute mile and would last about 3-4 miles with him....behind him, slowing him down, when he would be out on a 18-20 mile run. So my 3-4 miles would not really suffice, from my perspective, so I wouldn't go as to not slow him down. You know why would I want to hurt his training program by him having to run slower. Procrastination? No...helping him!

Fast forward to a two weeks ago when Scott signed up for the New York City marathon again and to run for charity, Fred's team. I told him that if he signed up I would go on a few 8 mile runs with him. That was shaken on as a promise to keep. So with some time to start training, aka me, I should start to put off the procrastination and start getting out of bed in the am and going for a run. Maybe that will also help me with a little weight loss I would like to do too.

Here starts the training for my first ever 8 mile run(s) this coming summer with my dearest hubby!

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T19:23:00.000-07:00

Mom,

On the day when we are all reminded to wish you a Happy Mother's Day and to thank you for everything you have done for us, know that these thoughts are expressed daily just not always spoken.

You and dad brought me onto this earth almost 33 years ago and although there have been ups and downs in everyday life, we can always sit down as a family and enjoy a wonderful time together and it seems like everything else doesn't matter.

You are the best mom that I could ever have and more importantly a great friend! Thank you for everything you do for me and I look forward to many more fun adventures ahead of us!

Love,

Your adoring daughter

Adventures to Raleigh and back

2011-04-10T10:03:00.000-07:00

About 2 months ago Scott and I were at the Devils vs. Hurricanes game in NJ at the Prudential Center. We met during the intermissions with some friends, whom we met in London who are living back in the states. We were chatting about the 'lack' of entertainment at the Devils games (i.e. contests, prizes, etc) compared to Hurricanes games. I guess they weren't impressed with our Nathan's hot dog eating contest or our Devils Dancers....I am not either but what can one say. After the end of the game we met up with them and wished them safe travels back to Philly that night and they said if we ever wanted to come down to give a shout!

A few weeks go by and Scott and I looked at the NHL schedule and saw that his Buffalo Sabres were playing in Raleigh at the beginning of April. We decided to take up the offer and go to Raleigh for the weekend!!

We got in on Friday night and the city of Raleigh was hoping with a concert (some teeny-bopper concert) and the Queen's Motorcycle Convention or something like that. There were people everywhere.

We were met at the hotel by our friends and headed out to Poole's Diner. http://www.poolesdowntowndiner.com/ The food was awesome. I had a baked mac and cheese for dinner and it was to die for. I can never turn down a mac and cheese and this is now on the top of the list. After dinner we headed out to have a few beverages at The Raleigh Times (the Old Newspaper Building). The place was packed but we scored a table after some patient waiting and plotting to move to a quitier table! After a few local brews it was time to head back to the hotel only now seeing it was 2am....where did the time go????

Saturday Scott and I had a fantastic breakfast at Big Ed's in downtown Raleigh and did a little sightseeing down to the Capital building and the North Carolina History Museum.

After a little sightseeing, we met for lunch and then headed to Fullsteam in Durham to test out a few of their brews. Scott tried his luck at a pinball machine and I think his luck as a child with that game ran out years ago....sorry hun! We took a tour of the Durham Bulls stadium and then walked down by the old Lucky Stripe plant which is a grogeous area with reastaurants and offices.

Love this old sign for an old lunch spot. "Home of the 15 cent lunch"

Check out what you could get!

After our tour of Durham we headed back to Raleigh to watch the Saturday night Hockey Games and also the Final Four games. We got to Tobacco Road Sports Cafe with everyone else in Raleigh. The place was busy for the same reasons we were there....go figure. We waited patiently with our name on the list for a table (45 min wait) but waited more patiently for 4 people to leave so we could sit our butt's in some plush leather reclining seats with our own personal TV's.....and we SCORED!!! 5 opened up and we were in. We all got to watch our respective teams and called it a night after the games were over.

Sunday was the big day.....Hurricanes vs. Buffalo at the RBC Center. We were greated by a white SUV with Hurricane flags waving in the air. Scott was sporting some Buffalo gear so the trash talking started.

We had an superb tailgate with Carolina ribs, coleslaw, pimento cheese dip (a new favorite) and some local Carolina beers! Scott and I were introduced to a new game, washers. Game faces on it was time for us Jerseyites vs. Caniacs in a game of washers! Scott and I were having what we were told was some "beginner's luck" I would like to call it skill. Same thing right? There was a 3rd period timeout called by the Caniacs in which they rallied to a nice win over the Jerseyites. Close game and a rematch is on sometime.

We went into the arena for a game of skill and watched some exciting periods of hockey. We will leave it at that.

After the game we headed out for some dinner and had a nice time sitting outside. We said out goodbyes and thank you's for a great weekend and invited them up to Jersey for a Yanks vs. Red Sox game. Looks like the game would be in Sept. 23-25th which is the next series that is played back in NYC. Invitation is open some come on up!

My Team Needs a Miracle

2011-03-21T06:53:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up to hearing a car driving down the street and a slushing sound coming out from beneath its tires. I looked over at Scott and said, "it must be raining" followed by me rolling over and opening up the curtains and seeing that the ground is white. "Dear there is snow on the ground, today is supposed to be the first day of spring." I got ready for work an headed out side and the back porch was a tad slippery which brings me to today's post.

For those of you that know Scott and I, know what we are house divided this time of year for a particular sport. The sport where one can glide on ice very nicely, as opposed to me this morning in ballet flats walking to the car. Scott is a Buffalo Sabres fan and I a New Jersey Devils fan. If you have been following hockey this year you would agree that my team had no shot for the playoffs in the first half of the year. Yep my team pretty much sucked, 9-22-2 so the Head Coach John MacLean, and former Devil, was fired on Dec 23rd. Since then the Devils have been on a comeback to now being 34-34-4...not too shabby huh? Well it kind of is when you only have 10 games left and are currently 7 points behind your Husband's team who is sitting in 8th place (the cut off for the playoffs). I am hoping for a miracle here for these last 10 games and that there are some good upsets in the current Top 8 in their last few games too to help up make it above that red line.

What will be great though is in 2 weeks Scott and I are headed down south to North Carolina for the weekend and on that Sunday we are headed to see Buffalo vs. Carolina (Currently 8th vs. 9th and only 3 points standing between them). That will be a great game! Until then please cheer on those NJ Devils!

European Adventures Part 2

2011-02-28T07:14:00.000-08:00

European Adventures Part 2 is our trip from Amsterdam to Brugge (via Antwerp) then to Brussels:

We left Amsterdam and got the the Centraal Station and took the next fast train to Antwerp where we would change and head to Brugge for the next leg of our European Decembers Adventures! We arrived in Antwerp to a gorgeous train station!

Below is my mom, brother and me waiting for our train to Brugge

Tell me the train to the righ does not look like the train in Harry Potter headed to Hogwarts?

We arrived in Brugge around dinner time and checked in to our lovely hotel, Relais Bourgondisch Bruyce, where Scott and I and Chris had the whole top floor of the older part of the hotel. My parents were 2 floors below us but the place was PERFECT! We all got changed and ready to head out for dinner and met in the lobby and had a cocktail or two.

View of one of the canals outside the hotel

We had a recommendation from the hotel to try Christophe Bistro which was only about a 10min walk from the hotel (everything is relatively close in Brugge). The food was absolutely AMAZING. I would highly recommend trying the restaurant if you ever go to Brugge.

On our way back from dinner we walked by one of the chocolate shops and saw this interesting sculpture. Do you see something disturbing in this photo?

The next morning we grabbed some breakfast which was of course some waffles and a cup of coffee and then grabbed a few pictures before headed off for our walking tour.

The last picture above is the hotel we stayed at.

We headed up to the markt to start the walking tour, my brother's walking tour. Flashback to 3 years ago, Scott, Chris and I headed over to Brugge for out last weekend while living in London. Chris had flown over for a long weekend to join us on my going away dinner and drinks at work and then for a long weekend in Brugge. We did the Chris walking tour three years ago and he has been refining his tour ever since.

Back to December now.... we had to first grab a gluhwein (mulled hot red wine) before we started the official tour, which also happens to start in the markt.

One of the first points of interest along the walking tour is the 1st stock exchange known. Chris being in the Bond business felt at home here.

You can see by the photo below that the walking tour is going well and that the tour guide (in the blue jacket) is ensuring we are on the correct route! Also a few pictures along the route.

The next main highlight of the walking tour was a stop at the watering hole (oldest pub) for a few beverages to wet the pallette. By the way they only have 2 beers on tap and the place is extremly small and quiant which was perfect.

After leaving the pub we continued walking saw this "peeing pole" as we dubbed it by a church. A little odd but nonetheless I think all dogs would flock there regardless due to all the smells.

We then came upon the "Bobbin Lace Museaum" which my mom was waiting to go to. Of course when we got there they were closed for lunch but would be back in a few minutes, so my mom and I stayed there and waited for it to open while the gents continued on the walking tour.

When we met back up with the gents, we found them like this:

All smiles and a few bottles of a christmas brew down. We joined them and continued to drink bottle after bottle after bottle when we then thought it would probably be a good idea to get some dinner.

We headed back out for dinner that night and here is a nice photo of Scott, Chris and my dad right outside the hotel.

We had a nice meal out and then headed to a pub or two after dinner and called it a night. In the morning walked around for a bit and then packed up our stuff and headed to the train station. We took the train to Brussels, checked in and checked out the sights and the Christmas market.

That night we wanted to see the Packers game so I reached out to some friends whom lived in Brussels for a little while. They had suggested "Fat Boys" which is run by an American and they show the American Football games. When we got there Scott was in heaven, Chelsea was on the big screen. After the European Football games were over the place basically clears out and then a new crowd came in for the American football games. We had dinner and drinks and watched the Packers. We headed in then for the night as Scott, Chris and I were on a flight the next am back to New Jersey and my parents were staying in Brussels for a few more days.

We had a great time and my parents truly enjoyed their first time in Brugge and Brussels! You know it is a good trip when your dad says, "I am really glad to came here since you all talked so highly about Brugge, I would love to come back again in 2 years." Vacation = success after that!

Since this trip we decided that it will be a trip to Paris first then to Brugge in December 2012.

European Adventures

2011-02-24T08:33:00.000-08:00

Happy Belated Merry Christmas....hah! This is how long it has taken me to get our Flaten/Tune European Family Adventures up on the blog!

Back in December the Flaten's and Tune's took the 6 hour flight over the pond to Europe for a long weekend away. I headed over a few days early to Antwerp, Netherlands for some work and got a day to take in some of the sights. I had never been to Antwerp and it is a small scale Brussels, type feel.

Below is Our Lady's Cathedral of Antwerp just at dusk and then next to it is the Grote Markt with the start of the Christmas Market set-up
Het Steen "The Stone"

Antwerp is a major port city for shipping of containers (hence why I was there) and sits on the Scheldt River.

I left Antwerp and took the train down to Amsterdam, checked in at the Hotel Pulitzer and went out for a wonderful Thai dinner, while my family was all flying overnight. I cozied up at the hotel bar and ordered a few cocktails while taking in the view of the Prinsengracht and Keizergracht canals! I woke up in the morning and looked out my window to a snowy and very picturesque canal so ran to the camera and went downstairs to go take a few shots.

Everyone arrived safetly and we ventured out to explore the Anne Frank House, the flower market, with all of the lovely tulips and bulbs......LOADS of flower bulbs. We were not at the flower market in the proper season however it was still amazing to see.

A few shots from around Amsterdam:

A final picture from Amsterdam of my mom, dad and brother at the hotel bar enjoying a few beverages before dinner!

We had a wonderful time in Amsterdam together for a few days and then took the train from Amsterdam to Brugge. Trip to Brugge to follow tomorrow!

Lombardi

2011-02-23T09:38:00.000-08:00

Last night the family and I went into NYC to go see the show Lombardi, obviously about the one and only Vince Lombardi.

A little background for those who don't really know me and my family, my parents are from Wisconsin, born and breed, and grew up in the era of Lombardi. The family as a whole (except said husband Scoot) are true Packer fans, so when my dad called and said would you and Scott be interested in going to the show I said yeah!

Last night we met my brother out at a restaurant in NYC and all walked to the show. It is set in an intimate theatre that seats about 250. It would remind you of a small, very small stadium. It was a round stage set in the middle of the theatre which made it very cool. There were 5 actors and 1 actress in the whole production and it lasted an hour and 40minutes. The props were very minimal but you got the idea of the whole scene. I definitely learned a lot about Lombardi and his wife Marie in the whole play and his interaction with his players. Lombardi was played by Dan Lauria (yep the Dan Lauria of the Wonder Years) and Marie Lombardi was played by Judith Light.

A few items from the Packer memorabilia:

After the show they sometimes have what they call a "Playback", where they have interaction with a cast member and the audience. Last night was one of those nights and Dan Lauria and Woody Johnson, owner of the Jets, were the "Playback". You could ask them anything you wanted and at their discretion they would answer. I say at their discretion since one of the first questions to Woody Johnson was "Who do you think the Jets will draft this year?" You think he is actually going to tell you????? All in all a great show to see!

Woody Johnson and Dan Lauria below

February you have been kind

2011-02-13T18:15:00.000-08:00

Amazing to think that February is almost half gone! Maybe that is because the days never seemed to end in January that brought all of that snow in my yard and cost Scott and I countless hours shoveling, snow blowing and de-icing our cars. Those days seem far behind us now since I can actually see grass in our front yard.....it is not green, but yes it is grass. Must mean spring is coming soon?

This weekend has shaped up quite nicely with drinks with friends on Friday night at a local establishment where Scott and I have successfully received our Masters! Yes that is an MBA (Masters of Beer Appreciation). We are currently working on our PhD there (Professor of Hops and Drafts). Saturday we went out to dinner with some good friends from college, skated at Rockefeller rink, had a great dessert and then went to the Top of the Rock (top of 30 Rockefeller) which is an amazing view of NYC!

Scott and I skating at Rockefeller:

Dennis, Laura, Me and Scott at Rockefeller skating

Scott and I at the "Top of the Rock" with the Empire State Building just beyond me on the left.

With a great weekend wrapping up tonight with the Grammy's, I have a wonderful week ahead. Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, Tuesday I am off to the Rachael Ray show in NYC and then Wed to the Devils vs. Hurricanes game. I am beginning to like this month of February very much! Keep it coming Feb. Oh and you are giving us 50's this week too....don't tell too many people please. We would like to weather to stay.

Just when the travelling ended

2010-11-18T06:21:00.001-08:00

We are headed over to Amsterdam and Brugge for a long weekend in December with my parents and my brother. As many readers know I used to travel all the time for my former job. Well wince coming to the new job I have been a slave in the office, basically. Since going public recently we are now back in to doing Compliance, which is what I used to do, so I am being sent off to Holland to Bergen Op Zoom for a few days for some initial conversations with the office there on compliance stuff and will be making some trips back there next year too. Just when I though that work travel was gone. The trip that I am looking forward to though is going to Hong Kong some time next year!!!!

So off to planning a few days in Bergen Op Zoom, Netherlands on the front of my vacation in December. Any one been here before and know of some things do see in the area?

About a week to go

2010-10-21T05:54:00.001-07:00

I haven't lived up to m running like I said I was going to and with the race quickly approaching next weekend I need to get out running. I got home from work last night, laced up the running shoes and made a beeline out the door before there was an excuse why I couldn't go.

I felt really good during the run so had a plan in my head where I was going to run and about how far I thought it was. I ran to a park that is behind our house and then ran 5.5 laps around the park which is a .33mile loop then headed out the back way of the park, around the neighborhood and back to our house which to my delightful surprise was 3.09 miles! I know I can do the 5k next weekend but my goal is to run it under 30 min. I ran the 3.09 last night in 32 min. and change. Not too bad but I can do better so I have a goal now. I need to run everyday between now and the race and I should be able to push myself to be under 30min.

Time to get off my tush

2010-10-04T13:13:00.000-07:00

Time to get the arse off of the couch and onto the road since I have committed myself to two 5k's withing the next month and a half! It is a really good thing and I think the committment to the 5k's will be more inspiration to go exercise daily now, hopefully!

The first 5k is the weekend before Scott runs the NYC Marathon and is a local 5k in our town which we are doing together! The next 5k is the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning which my brother, Scott and I are going to do together.

I started the running yesterday with 2.2 miles in 22.38min. Not the best of starts but hopefully I will get faster and skinnier at the same time!

Wish me luck!

Week 1

2010-08-20T05:54:00.000-07:00

Week one of Team Balls N' Dolls was a great success! We came from behind in the top of the 7th to give us two runs and held them to no runs in the bottom of the 7th to make Week One a "W" in the books!

Team photo last night

Week two hopefully will be a bit better for me since I did have 2 good kicks but need to learn to keep them on the ground. The ball is harder to catch since it has lots of bounce but you learn to cradle the ball.

Hopefully this will be a successful season!

Balls N' Dolls

2010-08-19T11:38:00.000-07:00

A playground game and competitive league game, similar to baseball, invented in the US around 1920 will be occupying my Thursday nights as a social "drinking" league for the next 8 weeks.

Have you figured it out yet?

It looks like this:

Yeppers- Kickball

I joined an adult social league with some friends to play on Thursday nights for some fun. Should be a good time. We have our first game tonight so I have everything ready to go. Team Shirt (salmon colored), wristbands, knee high socks, shorts and Gatorade. Hopefully through all the years playing in grammar school will come back to help me tonight as I haven't played since then.

Until tomorrow wish me luck and I will post some pictures in the am!

I have an app for that

2010-06-28T05:50:00.000-07:00

I am still getting used to the iPhone and its apps. I never know where to start with looking for apps. I mean what am I really looking for, what do I need an app for? There are a ton of great apps out there for traveling (getting your city guides on your iPhone rather than a book to carry around) and then on Friday afternoon I came accross the best app thus far for me.

Lose it! - Lose it is like a mini weight watchers for your iPhone. You start by putting in your height and weight and how much weight you want to lose, then how many pounds per week. It will tell you then what your calorie intake should be. Once all that is set-up, which takes all of 5 seconds, you get to track your meals and evercise in the daily log. This tracks calories in and out based on food and exercise, net. The cool feature about this app is that you when you put in what you eat it will let you choose from restaurant menus, grocery store items or your own meals. There are a ton of exercise options to from my workout to gardening, etc.

This is what the daily log looks like....pretty darn cool!

I have been using it all weekend and it is a wonderful tool to have. Sure makes me think a little more before having a Starbucks Frappachino! I am going to be using this to assist with losing the weight that I want to and hopefully with the exercising this will be a good tracking device.

I think I was meant to be a travel agent in my life

2010-06-10T08:47:00.000-07:00

Growing up my parents made a point of getting Chris and I to all 50 states and not the whole drive through and stop at a rest area and consider that a state, but actually staying in the state and doing things/seeing things. We managed to do very well in our years growing up with one of our best trips driving from New Jersey throught the midwest and up through Canada to Alaska for a month in Alaska. An experience I will never forget.

I am working with my staff to get the rest of their days that they are thinking of taking off booked. One of the girls that works for me is Sweedish and goes home either during the summer to see her family or over Christmas. Alternates with her mom in Sweeden and her dad here for the every other year thing. She was planning on going to Sweeden this summer so we were talking about what week she is going and that she will still have an extra week left of vacation to take. I said why not instead go to Thailand to see your mom there over Christmas and you would be able to go for 3 weeks and only use 2 weeks vacation with all of the Company days off. The thought went into the head, phone was picked up, Sweedish was spoken and a ticket is being booked for Thailand for three weeks over Christmas.

I love booking travel trips for people and love planning the vacations. Maybe I should go into business as a travel agent?????

Two and a half weeks in

2010-06-08T19:34:00.000-07:00

So a two and a half weeks into the workout scheme and I am doing ok I think. I have been to spin class at least 4 days a week and haven't done anything else but that. It will be changing though as I will be running at least 2 days a week starting this week.

With my 2nd weigh-in (on Saturday) -5lbs.

While I am happy that I have lost weight it still doesn't feel great. I am hoping that adding in a few runs a week a few more pounds will be shed a little quicker. I will keep posting and will try to post on Saturday's instead since it is weigh-in day. Hopefully this week will see an additional 2lbs lost.

Weekend Recap

2010-06-01T08:27:00.000-07:00

Weekend was AWESOME! Lots of stuff done around the house on Saturday and then we spent Sunday with family and friends drinking 4 kegs (3 - 1/2's and 1 - 1/6).

We celebrated my brother's birthday on Sunday and had a wonderful time! Yesterday was truly a recovery day and that can be told by Bailey who slept from the time we got home yesterday around 11am till Scott got home from playing golf around 4pm. She was exhausted from all of the excitement.

Now onto the short work week which will be great and looking forward to having family in this weekend! My in-laws are driving down from Buffalo on Thursday for a long weekend which will be nice! Hopefully this weather changes around a bit though since it looks like rain on Sat and Sun.

One step forward

2010-05-25T07:42:00.000-07:00

I had my first day off from work on Friday in a long time. I didn't know what to do with myself since I have been so consumed by work lately. It was a free day off, yep no using vacation days, sick days, etc. A free day from my CFO for all of my hard week over the last 11 weeks...who is counting anyway.

I ran a few errands first thing in the morning and one of which was taking the step towards a fit Libby. I joined New York Sports Club on Friday which is the first step to my recovery process. The second step is actually using the little yellow card that hangs on my key chain, haha. Saturday morning I was up at at spin class at 9am, Sunday again at 9am and Monday at 6am. I think I am doing pretty well so far I just need to keep it up.

What am I going to do?

Mon, Wed, Fri - 6am Spin class
Tues- Run outside, push ups and sit up routine
Thursday - day off (aka long walk with Bailey) or on an occasion BOSU Core Class.
Saturday and Sunday - Super Spin (spin class but for an hour instead of 45min).

Other things I am doing:
1. Giving up Soda! We have a stocked fridge at work with Diet Coke, Pepsi, Snapple Iced Tea, Seltzer water, Ginger Ale, Orange juice and Apple Juice. I was too convenient to just grab a diet coke at lunch and have one or two in the day. The time has come to turn around in the kitchen and head to the water cooler instead. Yesterday was the step in the right direction with no soda and water all day instead!
2. Limit intake of bread. I don't eat a lot of bread but when I can stop it I will. Take the top bun off of a burger, no bread at a restaurant, etc. This I think will be easier to do and will make me feel better too.
3. Make healthier meals. This will be a harder change since we basically make healthy meals now but limiting some items we have on the plate.

I know there will be splurge days, I know there will be ups and downs during this recovery process but it is a start and you have to start somewhere.

I will update weekly on my progress! Wish me luck!

Fred's Team

2010-05-23T17:47:00.001-07:00

Scott has been talking about running the NYC marathon for a few years and while he has talked and talked about it the time was never right, when is it though? He has taken the plunge and will be running the NYC Marathon on November 7, 2010 for Fred's Team! Fred's Team runs for charity and specifically for Memorial Sloane-Kettering.

I am extremely proud of him for taking the first step which is committing himself on the 26.2 mile run. He has started the training and hit the pavement, logging some miles already. He does need some help though, raising money for charity. If you can spare a dollar or two it would be greatly appreciated as he is trying to raise $3,000 for charity!

http://mskcc.convio.net/site/TR?px=1761483&fr_id=1310&pg=personal

Thank you in advance to all and I will update you all on his journey towards the finish line!

The Light is Shining Brighter at the End of the Tunnel

2010-05-20T07:12:00.001-07:00

I have been a working machine lately and my sleep, life and body have taken the toll on it. I was at work till 11pm last night to get a document out the door which was a major milestone in this project. With that said, I get the day off tomorrow and a week reprieve of late nights for a short time but the light it starting to shine brighter and brighter at the end of the tunnel!

What is a girl to do with a free Friday off???? I have a few things in mind!

Trip planning

2010-05-12T17:46:00.000-07:00

Work has been quite busy which has left me know time for posting. We are finally starting to ease up and so in any spare time that I have, I have been thinking about vacation. Maybe not a true long vacation but a 6 day getaway to Europe to visit a lovely place that Scott, my brother and I visited in Dec 2008. We loved the town so much that we said right then and there that we would be back the following year. You how those things go sometimes right? Well if you do then you know we didn't make it there since we were back in the US and getting settled in with jobs, family, house, etc. We are though, two years later, going back to Bruges for the Christmas Market.

We are planning a short getaway with a stop in Amsterdam for a night and a stop in Brussels for a night and the remaining 3 nights will be in Bruges. The plan is that we will start in Amsterdam on an arrival morning and spend the night and then leave on a train in the afternoon for Brussels. Spend the night in Brussels and head to Buges in the afternoon the next day.

It is a short trip but we are looking forward to it, even in May. I am in the process of hotel hunting in Bruges, Brussels and Amsterdam and have a few narrowed down but not entirely done. Looking for suggestions of restaurants, hotels, etc if anyone wants to share!

Tough choices

2010-04-20T06:40:00.000-07:00

Lately I haven't really been home during the week at a resonable hour to actually enjoy and shows that are on TV, like Biggest Loser. I love that show and had religiously watched it until a little thing called work consumed my whole life (including weekends).

This week is actually a slow week at work (which is great) but now leaves me in a predicament.....the Biggest Loser is on tonight, GLEE and the Devils are playing the Flyers tonight too....where do I start??? This will be a night glued in front of the TV flipping between channels.

It will start with watching my boys go for win number 2 to tie-up the series against the Flyers (whom I CAN'T STAND), then over to Biggest Loser (during commercials and intermission) and then finally over to GLEE.

Good thing I didn't have anything else planned tonight!

P.S.- Cheer on the Devils tonight...they need the love against the Flyers.

Rain rain go away

2010-03-30T12:18:00.000-07:00

Can I tell you that I truly hate the rain this year? Well I thought I would be over the rain compared to what we got in England when we lived there but I think this spring has taken the cake in rainfall.

Three weeks ago we got about 6 inches of rain in a matter of 24 hours and we had during that time lost power for about 12 of it. No power = bucketing out the sump pump all night in order to not have a flooded basement. Well bucketing or no bucketing we had water in the basement.

Yesterday started the rain again and this is supposed to continue for 3 days, yes you read it right, 3 whole days. We are supposed to get 6 more inches of rain during this whole thing. You know when it is bad when people are going out the store and buying canoe's and life rafts to get around their houses since the water is so high.

While both of these storms have hit us hard the aftermath is the worts. We live near the Passaic River and it crested two days after the first storm and is expected to crest on Thursday this week which means homeowners will be in trouble for longer than the rain storm.

I am dreading going home tonight in fear that our basement has got water in it. When Scott and I left this morning we were rain free in the basement and I hope luck stays with us this storm.

Belgium Chocolates and Fresh Strawberries

2010-03-28T13:41:00.000-07:00

My weekend started off pretty good being able to leave work while it was still light out and about 4-5 hours earlier than lately. Got home and had some dinner and wine and relxed for the rest of the night.

Saturday I went to work, again, for the 4th Saturday in a row. My boss kept coming in my office telling me he was trying to get me out of there shortly. I was happy to hear but okay with it since I had other work I had to do since I have been so occupied with this project at work that I haven't done my normal day job. I got started in getting caught up on the day job and then was able to leave and come home around 3pm!!! What does one do being able to come home in daylight and on a Saturday? Bake!

I pulled out a pound of Belgium milk chocolate and our 3 quarts of Strawberries in the fridge and we started melting the chocolate in a double boiler and then dipping in the Strawberries. We had extra chocolate so we dipped some pretzel rods too! YUMMY!

The starting product...some Fresh Strawberries and lovely chocolates

The bag of Belgium milk chocolates! They are good on their own too, melted or unmelted...I wouldn't know though!

How good do these look???

I can tell you one thing...they taste WONDERFUL! Who needs Godiva dipped strawberries when you can make them yourselves for about 1/4 of the price and you get bigger strawberries.

Off to my parents house for a lovely Sunday Palm Sunday dinner with some Chocolate covered Strawberries for dessert!

If I had a day off work what would I do

2010-03-23T05:58:00.000-07:00

Well that is a misnomer since I haven't had a day off in over 3 weeks....no joke. Work has been crazy and there might actually be a chance that I have a day off come this weekend. Not just a day but the whole weekend! I don' know what I will do with myself with two whole days off of work, but I don't want to get my hopes up as of yet since we are on the fence with being able to be done on Friday.

Scott said to me the other day we haven't been out shopping in a long time. I know that is what work does for you when you are working 16-18 hour days and no time off on the weekend to go shopping. I know there is the whole online shopping but sometimes I just can't look at a computer anymore after leaving the office.

If I actually get the weekend off I have a few things that I would like to do.

1. Pamper myself and go get a manicure and pedicure
2. Get my hair done (although I know this one won't make the list since my lady doesn't have anything available this weekend). Damn short notice
3. Sleep in. My internal alarm clock goes off at 6:30am and I get to lay back in bed around 11:30 pm. That SUCKS.
4. Go Shopping! I will go to the mall (haven't been in ages), hit up TJ Maxx and Marshalls and a few others.
5. RELAX. This is probably the key of the whole weekend. I need to do lots of nothing and just relax and revive.
6. Do some research for our sailing vacation (decided that we are going to Turkey and going sailing there)!

Here is to hoping that I get at least one day off if not two!

Long time no post

2010-03-18T06:17:00.000-07:00

I had vowed to start blogging more but there is this little thing called work that has completly consummed my life these days. I have been working about 70+ hours a week, 7 days a week for the past three weeks and there is no end in sight yet. There is a date that there will be an end but it seems that it is never approaching. One day at a time I say everyday. One day.

I decided that I need to start to look forward to something and that there will be a countdown to a day in sight so time to start planning a vacation! We are headed out to the land of cheese this summer (Wisconsin) to get our cheese curds and beer on but besides that we haven't really planned anything. We are headed to Bruges this Winter for 4 days for the Christmas Market with a few family and friends bit there is a long gap in between those two days, like 6 months.

Places that are on the potential vacation list this year:

1. Croatia sailing trip (chartering a sailing boat with friends from London) for a week and sailing the coast of Croatia.
2. Bahamas
3. Napa Valley in the fall
4. Cruise- up to Alaska

Any other suggestions????

We really need to get our act in gear and set the plans in motion but I just haven't had the time like I normally do. I better get back to the grind.....work that is.

A little bit of London is coming to the US

2010-02-25T06:02:00.000-08:00

The little things in life that make people smile is amazing. Liberty of London is a luxury clothing and home store on Regent Street. You walk in and there are traditionally vivid colors, wild prints, latest fashions and a home decor section which will leaving you savoring for more. During the three years that we lived in London I would go in to Liberty and buy a few odds and ends (i.e. paper stuff mostly since it was unique). I used to look at some of the printed shirts and dresses and think to myself, "Who would wear that?". In Europe you see everything.....trust me. I never bought any clothes from them but I was excited to see a commercial over the weekend about a line coming to the US!

They are coming to Target on March 14th with a Women's and Home Collection!!!!!! On some of the ads and blogs that I have read, some of the clothing looks great! They showed some cute dresses, childrens clothes and home accessories that are leaving me savoring for more. You can bet that I will be online on March 14th and at the store. Good thing I know someone who works at Target!

Back but not good

2010-02-09T19:58:00.000-08:00

We are back from vacation and Scott is now sick in bed. That was a recurring theme over the weekend but not just from us but from lots of guests attending the wedding. So our first day back in the US and Scott was up at 2am sick and home from work today too. My stomach has not felt right since Monday morning but am praying that nothing comes up in the next 2 days since they say that bacteria stays with you three days. The doctor today told Scott that she believes it is bacteria in the food and that is what is causing him to be sick. He is on some antibiotics for a week so I am hoping to make it through healthy.

Overall the weather was great, the wedding was beautiful and we had a great time. I will post pictures tomorrow because I am guessing we will be having a snow day!

Packing the bags

2010-02-02T06:26:00.000-08:00

Thursday night Scott and I are airport bound for a warm weekend destination! The journey will start off with a stop at the Continental Presidents lounge where we will meet 9 others to partake is a few cocktails of choice. We will then proceed to board the aircraft and most definetly consume a few more beverages. We will be in air for about 4 hours and will be heading south south west for a destination that is known for their Spring Break parties. We will be landing in Cancun! The 11 of us are staying mainland for one night so will partake in a few drinks at a few local establishments and will catch a ferry over to Isla Mujeres the following morning.

We are all heading down to Isla Mujeres for a wedding. It is not just a wedding, it is my best friends brothers wedding and very close family friends. Talk about a destination wedding, there are 99 guests coming. Yep you read that correct...99. Talk about a lot of people in the NYC area who want to escape this cold weather w are having and put on those bathing suits and get rid of the pasty white color that is all over their body now, aka me. It will be a blast for sure! The wedding is on Saturday on the beach following a reception on the beach. Looking at the weather forecast now I am happy to see a double digit number that starts in an 8! On Sunday they are having a Superbowl Party for everyone to enjoy at the pool! Talk about a way to watch a game.

You probably couldn't tell that I am excited to escape the cold weather of New Jersey and head to Isla Mujeres! If Scott and I are missing for a few days, you can find us here!

We have conquered!

2010-01-31T08:56:00.000-08:00

Well at least we hope we have conquered. Since moving back into our house (almost a year ago...crazy!), we have either woken up or come home to a flooded basement 3 times. Not good news there. All three times were because of the DAMN sump pump. First time ball couldn't move up or down becuase it was stuck on the cover. Once we got the cover off it was working perfectly. Second time one of the metal clamps that holds pvc piping to outflow pipe came loose and therefore spread water all over basement floor. Third time the ball wouldn't go up or down because the pedestal sump pump had tipped over a bit, you know what that means? I came home after a heavy downpour on Monday this past week and as I was pulling onto our street I was praying that it was ok. We had left for work in the morning and all was good and the basement was dry well not Monday night. Unfortunetly for me, I was the first home so meant I started vacuuming up the water with the shop vac. It wasn't that bad to clean up since it didn't spill over much but still it was a pain in the butt.

Yesterday we started the morning off with a trip to the home depot for a new sump pump. We are definetly not plumbers by any means but thought we would tackle the home project. After a few more trips out to the home depot and about $250 later we have a new sump pump that works! We tested it by pouring in some water and all seems to work well. It is a powerful little sucker for sure and lets just pray that when mother nature decides to test out our new sump pump that it makes us proud of our hard work. At to put it on the record, the instructions said it would take 15 minutes to replace a sump pump. That is a farse lie since you have to let that blue/purple plumbers glue dry for 15 min. Yes I would agree that once that is done it takes no more than 15 minutes if the glue is dry and you have all parts.

Here is our new little saving grace, WE HOPE!

Today we are hoping to get our master electrician (a.k.a. my dad) over to finish up the electric that we ran in the basement yesterday also. We are hoping to get the "rec room" drywalled in the next month and then carpeted in March. Lets see what happens as it all rides on that little saving grace above!

Oldies but Goodies

2010-01-30T07:30:00.000-08:00

Do you ever sit down and look at old photos? I could do it for hours! My mother in-law bought a digital scanner that converts old slides to digital photos. We have been converting my father in-laws photos from his world travel over to digital photos and have been enjoying looking at his travels. I brought the scanner to my parents one weekend and we went through a few of their slides too and lone behold look at what we have here!

This is my brother and I from where and when I don't know, but I love the picture!

Take 2

Here is a birthday cake of mine! YUMMY!

I am looking forward to finding more treasurer's as we go through picture so stay tuned!

Day 1 of Holiday Vacation

2009-12-22T10:08:00.000-08:00

Day one of holiday vacation started off with a bang! I received a phone call from the body shop that my car was ready!!!!!! YAY no more rental car. It was then off to a cup or two of coffee and then to take Bailey outside to play.

Bailey is in love with the snow. We got about 8-10 inches on Saturday night and it has stayed around 28-33 degrees so it is not really melting. She loves to jump in it, run and play like a little kid.

We went out back for a frisbee toss. It goes something like these pictures!

Come on mom I am ready for you to throw the frisbee

I dropped it already will you hurry up and throw it

Retreived it now and bringing it back for another toss

This is great mom!

HURRY UP AND THROW IT! For crying out loud I am WAITING.

Thanks!

Here I come all covered in snow!

Ahhh how I love the frisbee toss game.

Time to cool off in the snow for a little bit. Do you think anyone can see me?

Oh christmas tree, oh christmas tree

2009-12-15T05:57:00.000-08:00

A few months ago my best friend and I were at one of the last Yankees game of the regular season and decided that we would ask her cousin who works at 30 Rock (Rockefellar Center) and have him get us in for a special day in NYC on December 2nd. The plans were in the works and the day was fastly approaching!

We met up at my house on the 2nd of December and drove into NYC around 4pm. Headed to Fresco by Scotto for an early dinner and then off to 30 Rock to meet her cousin. We got our VIP badges and headed through the building and to what do our merry eyes see:

the unlit Christmas tree!

We decided to head over to one of the stages to watch the performers. There were two stages, one to the back right of the tree and one on the ice rink. We went for the back right one since it was raining and you were out in the open on the rink. We were fortunate enough to get to see the following performers right infront of us. You could literally reach out and touch them if you wanted to. The local broadcat came on at 7pm EST and we got to see each performer once sing a song off one of their albums and then at 8pm was the National broadcast in which each singer sand a Christmas song.

This is Jo Dee Messina (Country Singer). She was funny before going live dancing with people on stage and just having a good time being there.

Here she is again talking with one of the hosts of the Lighting of the Chirstmas Tree this year which is also "Chuck" Zachary Levi.

Next up was Rob Thomas. He was very good!

The no show would be complete without a performance from The Rockettes!

Rob again for his 2nd song.

Barry Manilow (guy has had too much plastic surgery and also looks like he could fall over any day now)

Jo Dee again for her 2nd song.

And the official lighting of the Christmas Tree!

After the lighting we got to see Aretha Franklin in the lobby dressed in her fur coat, red sequin dress and blue converse sneakers. CLASSY! We headed to the downstairs through Jef Zucker's private party then out to a bar for a few drinks before heading home. It was a fantastic time and a wonderful way to start the Holiday Season!

Fun Filled Friday

2009-11-22T19:12:00.000-08:00

My commute is 21 miles one way door to door to work and typically takes about 40 minutes. On Friday night that commute took me 2.5 hours. Yes 2.5 hours. The main reason...I got rear-ended by an Audi. I am fine which is all that matters since my car can get fixed.

I was sitting dead stopped in the right lane (exit lane) waiting for the traffic to move...typically dead stopped since it is getting onto Route 80. The traffic in this lane is always stop and go so you have to be careful. I was about 2 feet behind the car in front of me when I feel my car getting pushed forward and a load crash. That was the Audi hitting the back of my Mercury Mariner. Thankfully I have a truck since the real damage to my car is the tailgate and bumper (well all that I can see). I put my car in park and turn it off and go out to see the damage. The girl who gets out is all in panic since it is her brother's car...3 days old mind you. Fluid out of her car is leaking everywhere...and she left it running (STUPID). A state trooper pulls up almost one minute after (on his way to another accident further south) and gets us out of the right lane and into the shoulder. We get out the cars again and we are standing in between the two cars and her car starts rolling forward...she forgot to put it in park. (Are you getting the idea of whom I am dealing with now?) The cop tells us that he needs to go to the other accident since it happened first and that he will be back. I didn't realize that you had to take a deli ticket number for accidents. I will remember that next time, but hopefully there won't be one. About 25-30 minutes goes by and a different cop shows up. He takes all of our information and gets me on my way while the Audi gets put on a flatbed.

My truck now rattles (exhaust pipe is loose) and looks a little sick from the back but will get fixed soon I am sure.

Upside Down

2009-11-19T06:49:00.000-08:00

Back in June, the Company I work for announced that we would be closing our office in Northern NJ and moving down to South Jersey, we own the building and our other sister companies are there. It all made sense from a business standpoint and eventhough everyone (besides three people) were offered the opportunity to still have their jobs in the South Jersey office and still work in the Northern NJ office until March 2010 there was a lot of hostility towards those whom were going to the new office. Why? I have no idea but there was. It was bad to the point of swear words being used in the Corporate world which is UNCALLED for.

Jump ahead to last Thursday. There was a meeting called at the office that we are closing and the President announced that we would be STAYING in that office. There were applauses from majority of the room but some sad faces from others. There were people whom were planning on taking the severance and enjoying time at home with kids, enjoying maybe a few months off from work, using the money to pay off debt and I am sure a slew of other things. All of those things were now off of the table since they all still have jobs, which is great news for them, but when you have something planned and are looking forward to it this news might not be great.

Today as I sit back in the old office, I had already moved to the South Jersey office, I am awaiting boxes to come of my stuff and sitting here thinking I wish some people would leave. There are some two-faced people whom I can't stand now since the original announcement to move. Their work ethic dropped by like 300% and their attitude is piss poor. There isn't much that can change that now and they have jaded quite a few people. Sometimes the world just isn't fair to everyone and flips you upside down sometimes, but people have to realize that this is life and you have to roll with the punches that are thrown at you.

I hope attitutudes and personalities come back, little secret chats are put to a halt and that people actually APPRECIATE that the Company has now given them back their jobs in their same office.

The Road to Hana

2009-11-08T18:57:00.000-08:00

The road to hana, also known as the Hana Highway, is a 68 mile long stretch of winding, curving roads that have about 600 curves and 50 bridges (most of which are one-lane). Scott and I ventured off to tackle this 68 mile road on our first full day in Maui.

The top came down off of our Jeep Wrangler, the sun was shining and snacks were packed for the day long journey.

The start of the Hana Highway!

The promosing look of another gorgeous day!

Stop number one, a smal roadside stand for a fresh made fruit smoothie!!!! YUMMY! Scott is trying to make his selection of what flavors to add together.

A view from the Huelo Lookout...isn't that beautiful.

A view of the road ahead. This was the standard for the whole road (basically 50 miles) until you reach Hana.

Some views along the way

The beautiful waterfalls along the way that you can stop and take a dip in.

Since we set-off at 8am and were not a bit famished for some food we stopped at another roadside stand and split this AMAZING pulled pork taco. Not just any taco but a Hawaiian style taca which was yummy!

The proof we made it to Hana! Although there isn't much to see in Hana there is past Hana if you are daring enough to go the extra distance.

On the next few miles here are some shots along the way. Scott took a dip in this waterfall and it was CHILLY.

About 8 miles past Hana is the 7 pools. It is numerous waterfalls that make 7 pools and eventually lead to the ocean. This is the lower half of the 7 pools.

A view from a bridge looking to the top of the 7 pools and the bottom (2nd picture)

We left the 7 pools and headed a bit further down the road to find the hidden grave of Charles A. Lindbergh. He is buried at a small church off of the beaten path. Here is the sign that is the landmark of where to turn for his grave.

The Palapala Ho'Omau Congregational Church:

This is the view from his grave.

A beautiful Banyan tree at the church.

Random pictures along the rest of the way up/down from Hana:

I know my family will enjoy this next picture. There are Cheeseheads on the Road to Hana!!!! GO PACK GO!

A beautiful black sand beach that you can drive down to and go swimming at.

We left at 8am and got back to the hotel at 5pm. It is a long day of driving but you do stop alot to see the waterfalls, go hiking, stop at roadside stands and swimming. Well worth the trip and if you do plan on going I recommend a convertible since you get to see so many nice views out the top!

For the love of the game

2009-11-06T07:29:00.000-08:00

It is amazing with every passing season a new sport starts and while I love this, since I am a sports fan, I find it tough to get into the start of a new season when one is just ending. For example, my beloved Yankees were in the Wrold Series, as yes they did win number 27, but hockey season started a little while ago and I haven't been able to "get into it" like I typically do since my heart was hoping that the Yanks would do it. Now that the Baseball season is officially ending today (with a Ticker Tape Parade), I can turn my attention to the sport that I literally grew up with.

When I was born, I was virtually born at a skating rink and not the ones you see on TV today but the good 'ole outdoor, parents shoveling the ice ones. I was born in Canada and my brother was 2 1/2 at the time and was a hockey player. We were at the rink every weekend watching him play. We then moved to Minnesota, Burnsville to be exact, and lived across the street from a pond and as Minnesota winters go the pond is frozen for quite some time. I guess as nature intended if I was going to spend that much time at the ice rink I might as well become a figure skater right? right! There we are the Flaten family all at the Ice Rink, my brother in his hockey pads and me in my skating outfits. So during those long Minnesota winters we would head to the pond for some skating which was great as there were a lot of kids our age on the street and a few Minnesota North Stars also!!!!! What is better than that??? We went to North Star games while living in Minnesota and became friends with Dino Ciccarelli, Neal Broten, Brain Bellows and Don Beaupre (since they were neighbors). Life was great!!!

We eventually moved to NJ and the North Stars went to Dallas. I had decided to leave them as "My Team" and try to find a new team. My parents bought season tickets to the Devils and we had been going as a family of 4 for about 10 years. We got to see Lord Stanley, meet and skate with the players and eventually call them "My New Team"

Let's jump to today. My brother and I are heading back to the rink but not for either of us to go skating but to go to one of those nice rinks this time, indoors, new and comfy. We are going to see our team the NJ Devils tonight!!!!! I love this game!!!

We are back.

2009-11-02T10:28:00.000-08:00

We got back from Hawaii yesterday morning and got caught up on loads of mail, laundry, etc. Will post pics of the trip later tonight but will leave you with a text I got this am from Scott about vacation.

"You know u had a good vaca when ur work pants don't fit in the morning, ur waiting for the waiter to bring u ur coffee and then be lazy the rest of the day"....that should about sum up our vacation!

Aloha

2009-10-22T18:49:00.001-07:00

We are off to Hawaii for some R&R. We will return with lots of photos on Nov. 1st

Counting the days

2009-10-18T12:20:00.000-07:00

This weekend has come and gone with a blur and most likely due to the Hunt yesterday. The Hunt is a day filled with drinking and nothing but drinking, eventhough there is a horse race taking place around you, you really would have no idea. Every year it is always questionable as to what the weather decides to do and this year it was in the 40's and rainy in the am but cleared out nicely towards midday.

The tent area that we have every year is in the prime location for people watching. It is funny to see people get so dressed up when the field is covered in mud....I mean would you seriously wear stilettos to a horserace in the mud? In Jersey I guess they do, but that is what makes the day so much better since you get to watch them all fall in the mud when the get drunk. We were watching these 2 girls (one sober and the other drunk) and they were arm in arm walking through the mud and the drunk one got stuck and took her friend down with her in the mud...the best part was that she was wearing a white North Face fleece jacket. I mean come on people, mud + rain = NOT A FASHION SHOW.

On the way home from the Hunt to my best friends house something happened to my phone that my LCD screen cracked which made me make my way to Verizon today to get a new phone. Luckily the guy gave me a one time courtesy phone so that I wasn't paying $200 + for a new phone!!! Thank you Verizon Guy!

I sit on the couch now watching the Giants vs. Saints game and cheer on my Green Bay Packers and they kick Detroits butt and am waiting to cheer on the Bills this afternoon as they take on the NY Jets. In better news is that the Yanks are up 2-0 vs. LA Angels!!!!!! Wooot Wooot!!!1 LETS GO YANKEES TOMORROW!!!!!!!

The rest of the day will be starting to get the suitcases down from the attic and start getting things set aside for going to Hawaii on Friday! I can't wait to get out of this cold weather that we are getting here and into the warmth of Hawaii. Macadamia Nuts here I come!

Three Short Years

2009-10-07T06:33:00.000-07:00

Three short years ago at this time I was sitting in the hair salon with my 5 bridesmaids all getting our hair done for the 3 o'clock ceremony. When we woke up in the morning it was a bit chilly and I was starting to wonder if we would all be too cold standing outside for pictures, but as luck would have it it was a beautiful fall day! Clear skies with a few lovely fluffy clouds, mid 70's and the beautiful changing of the leaves on the trees.

I still though can't believe that three years has flown by this quickly. This past year we went to South Africa for 10 days with my Parents, moved home to the US, moved back into our house after major renovations, both found new jobs and spent lots of time with family and friends trying to catch-up on lost time living overseas.

This year what's in store for us? Well we are off to Hawaii in 2 weeks to celebrate our Anniversary and Scott's birthday and planning a trip with our friends in London to go Sailing around Croatia next September for a week!

Happy 3rd Anniversary Dear! I love you with all my heart and can't believe that we have been married for three years already. I am looking forward to what is in store next and cherish our time together!

Love to a Best Friend! Love, your wife

You know it is fall when...

2009-10-04T18:36:00.000-07:00

you get up on a sunny Sunday and go to the Cider Mill for some Cider and Cider donuts!

Fall is my favorite season. I love the crisp morning air, the colors of fall, watching the trees change all of the beautiful shades of red, orange, yellow and purples. It also brings on the start of the NFL season, NHL season and the MLB playoffs! It is a busy time of year of TV with all of the Season Premiere's coming on. Who wouldn't like fall???

Here are some photos from our day at the Mill:

Then probably one of the greater things to do at the mill was the Pumpkin Slingshot. If you got the pumpkin in one of the buckets out in the field then you won a free pumpkin of your choice. We unfortunetly did not walk away with a free pumpkin but we did buy two for the house for carving!

Bain of my existence

2009-09-17T06:20:00.000-07:00

It seems that every weekend and some weekday nights we are getting in from work, changing and walking down 2 flights of stairs and becoming slaves to this thing that is called home ownership. This has been going on for some time now and although we have seen drastic changes, the end is not even in sight yet and won't be for some time (unless we wanted to hire someone to do it for us).

We have made progress though on our gutted sqaure shaped basement and have studed, drywalled, laid flooring and painted 2 new rooms (one is a laundry room and one is a workout room). There is progress! Last night was a challenge though and this weekend will be too. We laid the rubber gym matting and that is a bear to get to fit perfectly together without their being any raised joints. We laid some weights on those areas last night and are hoping that with a little time that they will stay down, otherwise we are unsure what to do.

We have lots of work to do and have set ourselves a deadline of Thanksgiving to have the whole basement finished! That will be interesting to meet with a 10 day trip to Hawaii, a wedding coming up, and the Hunt (a horse race...booze fest) all before the end of October. We have a little work to do on the two rooms that we started (one electrical outlet in the laundry room needs to be wired in to the fuse box, base trim needs to be put down once we finish the flooring in the workout room). Then it is on to the major room (to be a 2nd family room/den) and then Scott's workshop. It is not an easy feat but I am sure we will come in close to our deadline.

I will post some pictures this weekend once the first two rooms are completed! Wish us luck and hopefully someday we will not be slaves to our house.

Don't you just love these

2009-09-08T11:57:00.000-07:00

I was at Bloomie's yesterday and was hunting these babies down only to find out they aren't out yet but you can of course "pre-order" them. I got two pairs of Tory Burch shoes for my birthday from my parents but wanted something a little bit different and my mom said, go look at these then. Lone behold she was right!

I will be patiently waiting for them to arrive sometime soon!

Wonderful Weekend

2009-09-02T07:29:00.000-07:00

It was a wonderful weekend filled with a farewell dinner for a neighbor's daughter on Friday night. She is off to her first year of college and is attending the University of Delaware. She was very excited to be leaving in the am but the emotional rush was sinking in that this is it, I am leaving for college, getting away from home. She will do wonderful things and is in their nursing program. All the best this year Lexi! Looking forward to seeing you at Christmas!

Saturday my best friend and I went up to the Woodbury Commons, just over the NJ/BY border in Rockland County and walked around shopping for about 5 hours. After a few bags in our hands it was time to leave. We stopped at Home Goods on the way home, love this store, and I bought a new cabinet for our dining room! I have been looking for some time now and found one that works! Scott and I then went to pick it up on Saturday night then went to dinner. After we got home we moved it into the house and then it was time to start getting things put into it!!!!

Sunday we were up early and Scott went out and got breakfast for my birthday! He cut the lawn and did some stuff around the house. I got some things ready for dinner on Sunday night. 11 people came over for dinner and we had some fantastic ribs, corn on the cob, cheesy potatoes, salad and then dirt cake. I am sorry now that I didn't get a picture but there is none left so you can imagine that it was good! Thanks Bren!

I was exhausted on Sunday night and didn't get a ton of sleep and then Monday night we had the Fantasy Football draft. It started at 9pm and went till 11 something. I was tired yesterday but am good today.

Thank you again to all for the Birthday wishes, cards and gifts! It was a wonderful birthday!

It must mean Dirt Cake!

2009-08-28T06:08:00.000-07:00

When I was growing up it was tradition for me to have a pool party for every birthday. It was tradition because my birthday always fell on or near Labor Day which meant the start of the school year. I was fortunate that my parents had a pool and so there were always about 30 people coming to my birthday party. It got into the same tradition for many years and everyone loved coming especially for my mom's special birthday cake, Dirt Cake! It is made in a flower pot, flowers, a garden spade and gummy worms. Everyone loved it and so she made it every year until I think I left for college.

On sunday this weekend we are having some people over for a BBQ Birthday Celebration! I am turning the young age of 31 on Sunday! I sent out an email to my friends to come over for dinner and one of my friends rights back "Mmmmm, sounds good. I'll be there. P.S. you are turning 13 not 31..." my reply was "If I were turning 13 I would be having dirt cake for my birthday cake!" to his reply of "You want it??? I can make it!". So I guess it is only fitting that now we are back in New Jersey for my birthday and I will be having Dirt Cake for my Birthday Cake!!!

Here is a picture of a Dirt Cake (someone else's) in case you have never seen one. I will post some pictures of my birthday cake on Sunday!

Here is to turning 13 again and having the greatest family and friends!

This Dress

2009-08-18T19:37:00.000-07:00

There is always one thing I hate about preparing for an event...finding the perfect outfit. The dreaded racks and racks of countless dresses that either don't fit, are too short, are wrong material, are not dressy enough, are too dressy or they just don't have your size in the one that you like and want.

This weekend we are off to wedding number 2 (out of 3) and it is a beach wedding. Well not a "beach" wedding but it is at the Jersey Shore and a beach theme. A few weekends ago I wore a coral dress shown below that is silk and can be dressed up or down, but was unsure if I really wanted to wear it to this wedding not because I just wore it, but because I didn't know if it would be too casual looking. I don't really care that I just wore it since noone at the last wedding will be at this wedding. I love the color of it and think it is perfect for a "beach" wedding. Of course I had to go to the mall and take a look at what might be in store for me besides the coral dress.

This is what I found. It is a Jones of New York, tealish color, with a jeweled detail.

What do all of you ladies think??? What do I wear??? The service starts at 6pm with a Formal Reception to follow.

I also need some new shoes for either dress so please post some links for me!!

FRIDAY!!

2009-08-07T13:01:00.000-07:00

Thank god it is Friday! This week with the close has dragged on and on. I am looking forward to dinner tonight with my hubby, best friend and another friend at a Taverne in Summit! The food looks delicious and think I may have to get the mussels looking at the menu.

On the radar for the weekend is the basement. Tomorrow we are going to attempt, I preface that by attemp, to nail in the studs into our frame we built for the workout room. Once we get that done, Scott is going to do the electrical wires(run the wires through the studs at the the boxes for where we want them) and then my dad is going to come over on Sunday and help up get them into the circuit breaker!

Then we should be ready for next weekend when my 2nd parents come down to help drywall. I am leaving that to the Tune men, the Tune ladies will enjoy other festivities...to be decided.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Weekend

2009-08-04T06:19:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was pretty mellow which was a nice change. Friday night we went through Scott's boxes of files & childhood memorabilia and got those all put away. We had brought home about 5 boxes full from our trip to Buffalo a few weeks ago but haven't had the chance to go through them since well we have been busy.

Saturday we woke up and Scott went for a haircut so I started on breakfast. The mission was to make the Captain Crunch French Toast like we had had at Blue Moon in Baltimore that I posted about here . Tell me what you think in resemblance?

My customers in the house thought it was damn good so I guess that was what I was looking for.

After breakfast was over we set out to run a few errands before we needed to head up to Westchester County for a friends wedding. We arrived at the reception hall on a beautiful HOT afternoon and the reception hall is on the long island sound so was nice to look out on to the water. It was great getting to catch-up with college friends at the wedding and needless to say we were spent by the time we got home after midnight.

Sunday we slept in till 10:30!!!! We then went to my parents and picked up an extra car since I needed to get my car looked at for a few things. We have been delaying a project, our basement, since we moved in but the time has come and we are in full gear today. We spent the afternoon with an nail air gun in the basement putting up a frame for a workout room (1st room we will finish). We got the three bottom bases in and 2 uppers (need Ryan's help for the 3rd). The goal is to have all of the framing done by Monday and then the studs nailed in by Thursday this week. Wish us luck!

P.S.- yes I did get my hair cut (well chopped) this is it!

Good News Friday!

2009-07-31T07:03:00.000-07:00

I am sure most of my avid readers have known that since moving back from the UK the company I was working with over there laid me off once we made the decision to come back home. Nice.

Leaving that all behind, I was made an offer to join up with my old CFO of that company and the former Controller of that company (they both moved on also). I accepted the offer and became a contractor for them. Over the past 7 months, I have been working for them and truly love being back with them. They are fantastic bosses and you learn a great deal from them. We have been in the discussion the whole time since working here about my FT employment opportunity, but needed to wait until an announcement was made. That announcement was that they were moving from the furthest northeastern tip of NJ to Princeton, NJ. That is about a 2 hour drive and for most of the employees they all live north of the current office in NY counties. The announcement was made and everyone has until August 17th to give their decision, but on Wed. this week I received my FT offer letter!!!!! A little negotiating back and forth and I am officially back as a FT employee as on Monday August 3rd!

This has been a bit of a headache for Scott and I since he was offered benefits, etc. at his job for us in February but we declined them since we were covered until the end of March with my old company and also was supposed to go FT with the new company April 1st. That all didn't pan out due to the announcement, but thankfully Scott and I didn't need to go to the doctor's in that time. With smiles on our faces now that we can go to the doctor, dentist and optrician, if need be, we can knowing that we only have a co-pay and not a full bill to pay out of our pocket!

Happy Friday!!!

Blue is the color, football is the game...

2009-07-29T06:31:00.000-07:00

This past Friday we loaded up my car with 5 adults and luggage and made the 3 hour trip to Baltimore to watch Chelsea take on AC Milan (unfortunately Beckham is not playing for them as much as I would have liked to see him though).

We started off the weekend with lunch at an Irish Pub which was full of Chelsea fans, Scott was in heaven, and a few buckets of beer! After our 6th comrade joined us (he drove down from Rochester) we headed back to the hotel to get prepped for the game. We decided there was no better way to go that at least slightly drunk...I mean the English are almost always drunk at games so why shouldn't we be??? 45 beers later I think we were well on our way.

A few pictures from the pre-game

Bill drinking from his Crunk cup (or bowl).

Brendan and Alex trying to investigate what the specimen stain is on the lounge chair.

We made our way to M&T bank Stadium (home of the Baltimore Ravens) and were not allowed in the Stadium yet so we had a few more beers (8).

Here is Bill with his loyal Man U fan that we found!!!!!!

Once inside we lined up for more beer (6) and then headed into our seats.

After the Chelsea win 2-1 vs. AC Milan, we went back to the Irish Pub and had yet another beer. I think our total after the end of the night was at least 72 beers between 6 of us. Needless to say, we really didn't need another beer after the game.

Saturday morning we were up (some of us) and headed out to look for a breakfast place. They are very hard to come by to say the least. If you live in Baltimore and would like to make a killing, open up a breakfast joint. You will make a killing doing it. We asked for some suggestions and got, Johnny Rockets (um no they do burgers), Panera (can get that any time so no thank you), Cheesecake Factory (they open at 11:30am and we are STARVING), restaurants with buffets (no thanks not what we were looking for) and the final suggestion Blue Moon Cafe. Sounds like a winner! We got the directions and were told it would be about 5 blocks from there......3 extra sets of directions and about 20 blocks later we were on the 1 hour wait list.

We all needed something to help the tummies after lots of drinking and so a few of us went to Whole Foods (we passed it along the way) and got some juice and coffee. On the way back the two sleepy heads met us and within 10 minutes of getting back we were seated.

The inside of the place:

Our waitress came over and told us the specials, Captain Crunch french toast, crab, spinach, feta omelet and a herb omelet. What was that first one again? Oh that is our special that we were on the Food Network for.....say that again. We will take one of those to start! Would you like a Cinnamon Roll? Why wouldn't we!

Captain Crunch French Toast. As seen on Diners/Drive-ins/Dives on the Food Network.

It was to DIE FOR!

Above is my Crab, Spinach and Feta Omelet with has browns!

This was Bill's Mexican eggs with Chorizo, tortilla and hash browns. The other dishes were just as yummy and I would highly recommend that if you are in Baltimore you check out the Blue Moon Cafe!

We all needed to get wheeled out of here since we were stuffed, but decided that it was best to take a slow walk back to the hotel, even though a taxi sounded great.

After a few stops along the way, we went to the hotel pool then played about 3 hours of tennis on the rooftop deck. Alex and I were victorious vs. Ryan and Bill.....after some very long matches.

We went to the Rusty Scupper for dinner, after we all joked about the name during the previous day and that morning. The food was fantastic, the wait staff could have been better, but the company was the best!

Sunday we headed back to NJ and went to bed early! It was a wonderful weekend with good food, good company, good soccer match and great entertainment (yellow dress girl)!

Who says we are in a recession?

2009-07-22T08:34:00.000-07:00

I know people are feeling the wrath of the economy and are number crunching trying to save pennies, but on the other side of the world there are people who are not feeling the effects of the economy at all.

I saw this photo yesterday and was thinking to myself, you have got to be kidding me. People actually spend loads of money to get their pet to look like this. This is like a new accessory for people. Instead of the fashionable handbag and shoes you now have a fashionable pet.

You can get your pet's hair dyed in a variety of rainbow colors (below). Can't you just picture Bailey as a Hot Pink Labrador?? Yeah Right.

Pet Hair Dye is the new thing??? It started in Japan and now is starting to take off more and more. While your pooch is at the salon getting a hair dye (it is pet friendly) they can get their nails done too. OPI has a Pawlish nail line out there for pet friendly nail polish. It comes is 6 colors (listed below).

OK, enough said. I had to post this though because I just couldn't believe my eyes.

Exhausted

2009-07-21T07:17:00.000-07:00

My best friend Katie and I headed to Las Vegas for a long weekend. Just a time to get away and have some R&R! It was a blazing 113 everyday!!!! Now that isn't bad considering it is dry desert heat right.....wrong. It was humid and hot which with that combination was UGLY.

We arrived on Wed morning bright and early and got checked in to Caeser's hotel. We didn't do too much but walk around, play some slots and lay by the pool. We were a bit tired.

Paris Paris Hotel

Bellagio on the left and Caeser's in the background.

The new Hard Rock Cafe is coming to the strip. The hotel is off the strip for the Hard Rock but I guess they figure that they can make more money with having another restaurant on the strip. I think the guitar on the outside looks pretty cool!

On Thursday we spent the day at the pool and then headed over to the New York New York. We went to the dualing piano bar and sat down for a few hours and a few Miller Lites and Lienenkugels! After a few hours of singing and drinking we were a bit on the tipsy side. What better way to get rid of that than to go eat at P.F. Changs!

On Friday we hung out at the pool all day and then headed up to the room to get ready to go see LOVE (a Cirque du Soleil show). It is based on The Beatles and was FANTASTIC! It is a must see and I would go again!!!! The choreography was wonderful and a wonderful show.

After the show we went to Joe's for a wonderful dinner and a fantastic Banana Cream Pie with candied walnuts and fosters sauce (my mouth is watering thinking about it)!

Saturday was another day at the pool and a lot of drinks. It was blazing hot that you couldn't even sit outside the pool for more than 5 minutes. We had quite a few drinks there that by the time we left I think we had had enough drinks for the whole night too. We went back down to the NY NY for the dualing pianos and some Mexican food.

A few night shots of the strip.

Sunday was up early for our flight back.

Katie won some, I lost some but all in all it was a great trip. Got a bit of color (not so pasty white as my brother used to call me while living in England) and now I need to catch up on some sleep!

Viva Las Vegas

2009-07-14T13:05:00.000-07:00

We have been busy (well not that busy) but went to Buffalo this weekend to surprise my in-laws and now I am off to Las Vegas with my best friend for a little R&R! Looking forward to warm weather and some days away from work! Wish me luck winning some money.

VIVA LAS VEGAS!!!

The Joys of Being a Home Owner

2009-06-14T17:45:00.000-07:00

I remember vividly the days when I was looking forward to buying my first place. The excitement of decorating it and fixing it to my style and liking. After living in London for 3 years in a rental where you can't really do to much except sit and stair at plain white walls in EVERY room we were excited to move home to color.

This morning I woke up and made breakfast, took a shower and went to the basement to throw a load of laundry on. When I opened up the basement door I quickly realized one of the downfalls to home ownership, we had a flooded basement. Yes I know some of you are saying, hold on you just re-did your whole house. Yes we did and there were no issues with that. The issue was the damn sump pump. It was being slightly caught up on its cover (code for the town so people can't fall in it) and therefore wasn't going on. After I starred for 5 seconds at the water, I said to Scott, "We have a flood". We walked downstairs to 4 inches of water. Lukily we don't have much in the basement since we are going to finish the basement and lukily the workshop didn't get any water in it, but I was not looking forward to the next few hours since I was just going to put a load of laundry in and then head out to the Short Hills mall. I guess that will have to wait for another day now.

Oh the joys of home ownership! I am sure there is something good that I can blog about another day, but today I hate owning a house.

2 years

2009-05-22T08:05:00.001-07:00

2 years ago today our little baby girl was born! While at the time we didn't know we would be buying a dog (we were in Italy actually), we were in discussions about getting a dog. We knew we wanted a Chocolate Labrador and we wanted an "English" Chocolate Lab. We searched high and low and got a recommendation through the Kennel Club, rented a car and drove up to Newcastle for the weekend. On Sunday morning, we picked up our little girl and it has been history ever since.

A little walk through 2 years of life with Bailey:

First day "home" with us. She is 7 weeks old here.

8 1/2 weeks old here

10 weeks old and first day of puppy daycare (aat http://www.waggytales.com/) she loved her year there!

6 months old and wearing dad's tie....she is a daddy's girl. 2nd photo of her at daycare in the field they ran in in Richmond.

8 1/2 months old. At the park in Chiswick, London after enjoying playing with a soccer ball.

And here she is on Monday (not the best photo)

alma mater

2009-05-21T06:31:00.000-07:00

I would start to sing the Iona Alma mater song but I don't know the words even though I have had 9 years to memorize it, yeah right.

This past weekend was packed with events with my in-laws down from Buffalo and also Scott's Aunt Judy. The most important event though of the weekend was GRADUATION!!!! My brother-in-law Ryan graduated from Iona College in New Rochelle, NY on Sunday. Commencement was held at Madison Square Garden in the WaMu Theater (or should it be Chase Theater now??). The procession was led by the President of the College and the educational procession. After all the graduates to-be processioned in, the Iona College Bagpipe band marched in, the highlight of the ceremony in my opinion.

Here are some pictures from graduation...not many since they came out dark or blurry.

On Saturday, my in-laws, Aunt Judy, Scott and I went to the city to walk around and enjoy the sights. Here is the only picture I have.

We then headed up to Iona for Graduation Mass. Ryan was a gift bearer which was "bricks". The bricks resemble expansion of the college.

Here are some other misc pictures from the weekend:

Congratulations Ryan! May the next Chapter in your life be a successful, prosperous and enjoyable one!

There is this woman

2009-05-04T18:38:00.000-07:00

I have started coming at night to this woman at my house. She is a complete and utter rude bitch. She sits there and yells at me for 45 minutes and rarely tells me anything nice. I don't know sometimes how I do it, but each night I continue to get myself into this mess.

Yes I am talking about Jillian Michael's Boot Camp for Wii. It is intense and the next day I can't walk but it feels great! Hopefully this along with walking the dog, going for a run and having Lean Cuisine will help me jump start my weight loss goal.

Here is to her awful voice yelling at me to keep it up and the rare "Good Job". My body feels the pain and hopefully the results will start to show in a few weeks.

A new me

2009-04-30T06:26:00.000-07:00

Today I am making a pledge to myself. I am at my highest weight I have ever been at in my life and I hate it. I can't fit in some clothes and it drives me nuts every morning when I go in the closet to find something to wear to work. I only have like 4 pairs of pants that fit and 2 skirts so you can imagine that doesn't get fun and with that I REFUSE to buy new clothes.

I, Libby, pledge that I am going to start running 5 days a week and will allow Jillian Michael's Boot Camp to kick my ass 5 days a week. I will choose heathier options for eating and will no longer be a fat lazy ass every day. My goal is to drop a total of 39 lbs. and my first goal is to drop 15-20lbs by June 6th. The rest of the goal it to loose it by the end of the summer. That is an average of 3 lbs a week which I think in the beginning is gonna be ok but will get tough in the end.

So say goodbye to the old Libby and a slow hello to the new one!

Call me...

2009-04-24T08:23:00.001-07:00

Tina Taylor the tool woman!

In our spare bath upstairs we never had our contractor put in shower doors since at the time we were on a strict budget and the renovations were costing us enough that we figured we could do it later down the road. That time has come now, only a month in the house, with guests coming to visit on Saturday. We had guests stay over already, my brother and my brother-in-law but they just used the master bath. There is a bar for a shower curtain but I am not really a fan of them so refused to waste money to buy one just for guests this weekend (which happen to be my in-laws).

On Wed after work I set off to Home Depot while waiting for Scott to get home. When I arrived back home with the shower doors, silicone and drill bits to go through tile, I was off on a mission to get them installed by the end of the night. Scott thought this was going to be great so grabbed a beer popped the top off and sat on the couch to watch some hockey.

Starting time: 6pm

Everything started off good, all the parts were in the box! I lined up the bottom rail and it fit perfectly on the bottom however then reading I needed to saw off 1 1/4" so that the side wall jabs could fit on the bottom too. Time to run out to Sears Hardware for a saw now and a metal file.

Got home with that and it was time to start making dinner. I made a Whole Wheat pizza with Turkey pepperoni on it and put it on our pizza stone and let it bake away. Got the bottom rail cut and the side wall jabs up and marked the 6 holes where they would get attached to the side wall. Everything was going great, couldn't imagine why people don't do DYI more. Stopped to have dinner, except the pizza wouldn't come off of the stone. Scott headed out to the local pizzeria and got us pizza while I continued to work.

The instructions said to use a 3/16" drill bit for glass and ceramic tile and I had just that. My dad told me to put masking tape on the tile which would also help the tile from not cracking. So I drilled my 6 holes and there was no cracking! Next I needed to put in the wall anchors and those little devils would not fit so I used a 1/4" drill bit and made the holes larger. They still wouldn't fit and so I used the largest drill bit I had in that tile set which was a 5/16" and that seemed to do the trick. An hour later all of the wall anchors were in. Scott came up and helped me hold up the wall jabs while I screwed them in.

The rest was easy peasy.

And so may I present to you our new shower doors in the spare bathroom:

Here is the before:

The during:

The finished product:

The ending time: 10:45pm

I did all of the silicone work so that it would dry for our guests and so we are officially ready for company!!!!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2009-04-22T07:21:00.000-07:00

Today is my Mother-in-Laws birthday and while we don't get to see her much since we are in New Jersey and they are in Buffalo we will get to see her this weekend to celebrate.

To a wonderful mom on her birthday

Mom, you have raised two beautiful, loving sons, been caring and loving to your whole family, always putting others first, ensuring that your family is taken care of, a kind and loving woman, a down to earth soul and the best mother-in-law that any daughter-in-law could ask for.

People always dread in-laws and I can say that I am truly blessed to have a wonderful 2nd mom. Today, I hope that you have a wonderful, relaxing birthday. Looking forward to seeing you this weekend!

June 2, 2007 - London, UK

October 2008- Head of the Charles

May 25, 2008 - Anne Hathaway's House

October 7, 2006- our Wedding

Timber

2009-04-13T18:59:00.000-07:00

5 years after moving into our house and living one summer here we had enough of this Sweetgum tree, as it is called, that drops these spikey balls all year round. You know those times when you just want to walk in your backyard with no shoes on and feel the cool grass on your feet, well we could never do that without being in dire pain due to stepping on these things.

We have been busy trying to find someone reasonable to come and take the 40' tree down, not an easy task. $900 later, a massive tree down and lots of wood to split up for a fire in our outdoor firepit this summer! SUCCESS!!!! My tootsies will be happy this summer :-)

Before and After Part 1

2009-03-23T08:11:00.001-07:00

They say the toughest part of moving is packing things up. I would tend to disagree and say it is trying to figure out where you want to put everything once it is unpacked. Two weeks after move in and I will finally put up some before and afters.

Rewind 4 years ago today: March 23, 2005, I was just getting ready to go to the house for a final walkthrough before closing at 11am. The house was still a mess and I didn't think I was going to be closing. The owners were in the house packing up there van of stuff and putting garbage out. I was destined to be on a flight to Florida with Scott later that afternoon for a week in Orlando with his family for Easter. I did close on the house that day (few hours later than expected and rushed off to the airport) and here is what is looked like that day.

Before:

After: (the green trellace is gone in front but haven't taken an updated picture yet)

Dowstairs Bathroom before (only bathroom in the house before):

After: (now a half bath downstairs)

Moving on the to the upstairs now since the rest of the downstairs is still in a little disaray (those photos will come later in the week).

Before staircase (lead right into the master bedroom):

New stairs: (lead to a hallway)

Old Master Bedroom (really two tandom bedrooms):

New Master bedroom suite:

Old 2nd bedroom upstairs:

New Spare Bedroom #1: We did a bedroom furniture swap with my parents for the time being. This bed was my mom's moms and was given to me by her. I love the canopy feel and the double bed fits much better than our queen sleigh bed would right now.

New spare bedroom #2: (still a work in progress. Unsure what we are really going to do with this room right now)

Spare Bathroom Upstairs:

That is the upstairs completed for now, until we hang up more pictures and get the 2nd spare room figured out. Coming later this week will be the office, living room, dining room and kitchen. Stay tuned!

Recessionista??

2009-02-23T06:43:00.000-08:00

This weekend while spending every bit of our money, well the pennies that we haven't paid contractor, for items for the house. I went out on Friday night with my mom to one of my all time favorite stores, HomeGoods, to look for a long mirror to go over our 2 single vanities in the master bathroom. Homegoods was my first choice of location for the mirror since I had a giftcard from there that was given to me almost 4 years ago, good thing they don't expire or loose value here. After perusing the aisles and finding lots that I loved and either (a) don't need right now or (b) can't afford right now, it was off to the mirror section. There it was a gorgeous wood framed mirror that would go perfectly with our vanities. I took some measurements and knew that it would fit the space correctly. Here is where the problem lies, I had no way to get it home with Scott's car (a Altima Coupe). Me being a budget consious shopper now, or I will call myself a Recessionista, wanted to look other places to see if there was a better deal to be had. We then stopped at TJMaxx, Bed Bath and Beyond, Pier 1, Marshall's and Target. Nothing to be had there. We headed home for dinner and I decided I would come back in the am with Scott and pick up the mirror.

We arrived at Homegoods the next day and got the mirror and loaded it up in my car then headed off to TJMaxx to look at a pair of shoes I found the night before. Walking down the aisle there was a table set-up that was not there the night before and upon. Upon closer inspection of this table there they were, the shoes that I had been longing for for 2 years but had refused to pay $325 for them and now they are sitting on this table for $59.99.

Problem, not in my gunboat foot size :-( I WAS MAD. I guess though it wasn't meant to be.

We then headed to the house and dropped off the mirror so that the contractor could hang it today before the electrician does all the lighting. So for shits and giggles I decided to stop off at TJMaxx near our house and no go there for me, they didn't even have them, and then off to Marshall's 2 blocks away and to what does my wandering eye see???

More practical for me since I love flats. Don't get me wrong I love heels but work is more laid back so these will get test driven more than the heels would for now. I picked them up and went to the register with a large smile on my face!

Call me a bargain shopper or call me a recessionista....I don't care. All I care is that I got these adorable shoes for a STEAL!

Still at it

2009-02-22T18:56:00.001-08:00

Here we are, February 22nd and still at this home renovation. I know they always tell you to add in three weeks from your planned completion date till your "actual" move in date. Well that will hold true for us. We were originally supposed to be done with renovations on February 7th but with Christmas, New Year's and lots of snow this year we are OFFICIALLY moving in on March 7th.

This past Friday, I arrived at the house around 9am to meet the granite guys to install the kitchen countertops. Well I was actually there just to pay him....why else would a homeowner go to their house during renovation? You always hand out money right? Right. (I can't wait till that comes to an end). Here are the pictures of the granite in. The lighting isn't the best since there are no lights in the house yet and it was nearing dark.

Tomorrow, the electrician comes in for 2 days to hand all of the light fixtures and hook up the two A/C units outside. On Wednesday, the plumber comes and finishes all of the hook-ups that they have left (sinks, dishwasher, ice maker, etc.). Thursday and Friday the hardwood guys are coming to sand and refinish our floors. The floors will dry all weekend and on Tuesday March 3rd the building inspector comes to give us our Certificate of Occupancy!!!

This will be the last post until the house is 100% completed (before we move in though). I will do a before and after room by room of the bare house before we move in. Lots to do and only 2 more weeks till move in day!!!!!

Carpet is in!

2009-02-17T09:01:00.001-08:00

We are slowly reaching our final finishing touches, which is great, except they take a little while to get done.

Yesterday the new carpet arrived for the upstairs!

Front Spare Bedroom-

Rear spare bedroom-

Master bedroom-

Other than that the kitchen & Dining Room are painted. We need one more coat on the bottom since that is just primer and one coat. The the chair rail and base molding needs to get painted white. I am unsure about the bottom color but we will see once there is a 2nd coat on it.

Below is the new dining room red oak floor that was laid. We are in the debate to go natural or to stain it. My vote is natural and Scott's is to stain. Let's see who the winner will be.

Move in day?

2009-02-05T18:40:00.000-08:00

Nope, not yet. We are getting there though and here are some pictures to show the recent progress this week:

Here is the kitchen partially painted and base cabinets installed. The white on the walls is where the upper cabinets are going and the spaces in the base cabinets are where the appliances are going. All of the appliances are getting installed tomorrow so it will look even more like a kitchen soon!!!

Here is the office. It is all painted now and just waiting to get the floors redone and also the trim around the windows.

Here is the railing, now installed. View from the downstairs and then the railing at the top of the stairs. They will be getting stained next week with the floors.

The front spare bedroom is all painted and just awaiting carpet now.

This is the rear spare bedroom all painted and just waiting for the carpet installation.

The Master Bedroom is primed in a blue to help with the base wall color. The oversized shower is now fully tiled and completed. The walls were painted today and the vanities and faucets will go in tomorrow as well as all toilets.

The spare bathroom upstairs is fully tiled now and was being painted today also. The vanity and toilet will go in tomorrow.

Last but not least the shutters went on the house! It is starting to really look like a house and actually have some life with some color.

Sheetrock, tape, mud and some tile

2009-01-25T16:59:00.001-08:00

We are nearing the end. We are now fully Sheetrock, taped and muded (what ever you would like to call that). Currently, we have the tile guy in to tile all the bathrooms and the kitchen floor. That should be done on Friday this week (including all grouting). Today we went to the house to rip up the old dining room table that was 55 years old to get a new one in since there were too many odd patches to make and it would not have looked correct if we did it that way.

Here are some pictures of the house now:

Kitchen- You can see in the first picture the flooring going in and in the second picture a close up of the floor.

Dining Room- opens from the kitchen. Scott is riping up the old floor that is 55 years old.

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Office- the floors are staying as is in here except they will get sanded, restained and polyied.

Upstairs hallway looking downstairs- these stairs will get stained and then we will put in a runner going down them.

Master Bedroom- Trim and doors are going in now in all bedrooms and bathrooms.

Master bathroom- We are waiting for tile to go in this week. The following week the walls will get painted and then the vanities and toilet will go in.

2nd Bedroom & 3rd Bedroom- doors and trim are going in and we are waiting for painting to get started and then carpet installed.

2nd Bathroom- tiling has started and will be done at the end of the week!

That is all for now. More pictures of the house to come next weekend once tile and grout are done and we can walk on the floors.

More Updates to the House

2009-01-12T17:59:00.000-08:00

The house hasn't vanished away it is just that I haven't had time to get to the house and take newer pictures. The house is now fully insulated, running water, working electricity and a new heater and water heater. This week the drywallers are in and should be done on Wed so that the town inspector can come on Thursday morning for approval.

Here is a before and after to give all of you a true idea of what we did to the house:

After drywall comes flooring, then all plumbing installed (toilets and vanities) and then painting. You know what comes after that...MOVE IN DAY!!!!

We are guessing we will move in around Jan. 31st so we are truly excited to get into the house and use all of the new space and unpack finally after 3+ years.