The Moodus What ??

Rally the Team!

2010-12-08T04:20:00.000-08:00

So.. The National Women's Law Center has set the challenge for bloggers to write about how participating in sports has shaped their lives. Where do I start? I played basketball in high school - actually sat the bench most of the time but I had good fun with my teammates & have remained friends with most of them for life. Not easy as we are all over the country now. I almost got cut from the team - which at 17 would have been horrible so I worked my ass off - I shot free throws- up to 500 a day, ran, shot around, ran and impressed my coaches enough to stay on the team. So I learned hard work & humility.

Today I run - well jog. I enjoy it for the most part and have made great friends, experienced wonderful life transforming times on simple runs and enjoyed the spirit of many races. I have completed 4 marathons & 5 half marathons. I continue to learn that hard work pays off.

I'm happy my nieces get the opportunity to play basketball, soft ball, soccer and volleyball. It is helping shape them into beautiful women both inside & out.

So what did sports do for me? Help make me the person I am today.

It's Been Awhile - So What's in Your Freezer?

2010-10-19T04:23:00.000-07:00

Wow - July - that's how long it's been since I posted and one of my two faithful readers was asking my why the other day. To use my Mom's famous quote - I have no idea. So how should I catch you up on my life? The exciting trip I took to Glacier? The trials of half marathon training? The beauties of New England fall? No - I had a writer's block so I looked to one of my favorite blogs - Carole Knits for ideas. Her Ten on Tuesday topic seemed like a good place to start - Ten Things in Your Freezer. We have two freezers & both are packed - so much so that this week we are making all of our dinners we eat at home out of stuff in freezer. We also have one of those vacuum sealers so stuff stays pretty darn fresh for a pretty darn long time.

So here we go -

1. Gravy - or tomato sauce depending on who you are talking to. We bought 16 quarts of tomatoes this summer & cooked them down to the most awesome gravy. It will be a great reminder of summer this winter.
2. Chicken stock - gallons of it. I make my own because our little cat loves chicken - we buy her a rotisserie chicken every couple of weeks so use the carcass for our stock - give her a break she's 16!
3. Flavor Ice - I love them after I have had a long run or worked out in the garden.
4. Ham - left over from Easter but vacuum sealed so it's still good.
5. Strawberries - about 4 gallons that we picked this spring.
6. Peaches - from last year & about to become ice cream.
7. Grill roasted corn - we roasted three dozen ears of corn - cut the kernels off the ears & froze them. We will enjoy that taste of summer all through the winter.
8. Stuff to make stock - see number two. I have a bag that I put all the onions skins, vegetable cuttings, etc. to put in my stock. The taste of the stock varies on what vegetables I have been cooking with - it's never the same twice but it's always good.
9. Edamame - love them - I have several bags of the beans in the shell - good for snacks or just beans which is good to throw in soups or stir fry.
10. Artichokes - I think I have 4-5 bags of Trader Joe's artichokes. I love them but think I need to use what I have before I buy more.

So - what's in your freezer??

Dear 20 Year Old Self....

2010-07-11T07:05:00.000-07:00

I first heard about this on NPR & then checked out Cassie's blog to read some of the other letters. I so love this idea but really had to think about what I would say for a couple of weeks. So here it goes....

Girlfriend....you are in for an amazing time! I don't want to give too much away because I don't think you'd believe have of it and I don't want to influence the choices that you/me are going to make because they will help mold you into the woman you/me are going to be. I do want to tell you not to be so damn scared - live more in the moment. Trust me - you need to loosen up and enjoy your life. Enjoy the mountains and Montana because you are right, you won't be living there forever but when you leave your soul is going to miss those mountains. Don't worry about love - hard to do I know but it will happen - sort of. But you are looking for it in all the wrong places - I will tell you that much now. And what you think is love - well not so much. So stop worrying about that and enjoy the time you have with your friends. You are a smart woman - I think you know that at 20 but you aren't always confident about it. And I must say you do need some confidence. Enjoy your family - especially the aunts & uncles because they won't be around forever. The choices you make for the most part will work out good and none of the bad choices are fatal. You'll always be where you are meant to be - you'll understand that one later. Keep running - it is a better release than a beer & it will be important later on that you are a runner. You haven't met some of the people who will influence your life the most, including a group of very amazing women friends. You will never be alone so stop worrying about that. People will come in and out of your life - that will be tough for you to deal with but that is how life works. And...spoiler alert... it's not you - your first mother-in-law is crazy. You'll find what you think is love & that's Ok - but don't give away YOU for love. Someday you'll find someone who will love you for you - don't lose sight of that. The most important thing I can tell you is it all works out - you are becoming the woman you are meant to be but it is an ongoing deal . However it is a great ride. So be happy now, enjoy each moment and breath deep. I can't wait for you to meet me!

The Return of Ten on Tuesday

2010-06-29T03:53:00.000-07:00

My bloggy friend Carole has started this game again - thanks Carole! This weeks topic, Ten Books On My summer Reading List is a little hard for me. Not because I don't like to read - I LOVE to read but I work across the street from the library so usually just cruise over & pick up whatever catches my eye. But I'll try to pick 10.

1. Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert. I'm anxious to see how different her perspective is since EPL.
2. Loving Spoonful:How Eight Chefs Saved My Life by Kim Severson, I heard her on NPR & she sounded like she has had quite the life.
3. A good mystery - usually I only like non-fiction books but I want to branch out a little.
4. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson - it is very popular & I've read good reviews.
5. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson - I checked it out but was not able to start it.
6. Are You There Vodka? It's Me Chelsea - by Chelsea Handler. A pretty much summer read book recommended by a friend.

And the last 4 lifted from Carole's list because she is a librarian & probably knows a good book or two.

7. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender.
8. The Things That Matter: What 7 Classic Novels Have to Say About the Stages of Life by Edward Mendelson
9. Women, Food and God by Geneen Roth.
10. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith.

So do you have any suggestions or books you want to read this summer? Please comment!

I'm Orange!!

2010-06-22T03:48:00.000-07:00

Since I got my iPhone I have been also using the Nike+sensor to log my runs and this morning I moved out of the yellow zone (beginning zone - logging a total of 0-30 miles) to the orange zone - YEA!! And I got props from Lance Armstrong - his recorded voice told me that I logged my fastest mile to date - YEA again! Now I know that when you start out from 0 miles and really slow it can only get better but still....I feel pretty damn good today! Look out Philly Half Marathon - here I come!

Here it is - Fred on Letterman!

2010-06-19T09:39:00.000-07:00

Set your TiVo - Fred's on Letterman!

2010-06-17T03:54:00.000-07:00

The quality isn't the greatest but Fred rocks!! I am so excited to see him on Letterman - check it out!! (This video makes me miss Willie even more)

Happy Memorial Day

2010-05-31T08:50:00.000-07:00

I have been pretty busy with not much but haven't made time to blog about my busyness. Any how - we spent the day in Boston yesterday & were having so much fun we decided to spend the night instead of driving home after so much fun. And since we didn't plan on spending the night we called Mr. Training Buddy who helped us book a hotel on-line. Thanks Mr. Training Buddy!! We stayed at the Omni Parker House - great downtown location. And our Trip was a reminder of just how awesome Boston is - we won't wait so long to go back. So - here are some photos of our day...

They had flags planted in the Boston Common to honor all fallen mass. vets - it was breathtaking - I don't think my photos do it justice - you can go read more about the project here.

We made our way to Fenway to watch the Sox - we had awesome seats & enjoyed a great game - the Sox beat the Royals 8-1 & Jon Lester pitched great! Look close at the guy wearing Boston hat - a gynormous dragon fly landed on the bill during the game - I hope he bought a lottery ticket on his way home!

What would you do??

2010-05-05T03:57:00.000-07:00

I was cruising around on one of my fav blogs and Shana, over at So Not Zen posed this question - what would you do if you knew you could not fail? That is sort of tough - I suppose my first answer is open a small business in town that would be a gathering spot of sort to come & hang out, buy cool, locally made jewelry & new agey type stuff. Nice stuff, not just old, junkie, hippie stuff. The other thing would be to become a classically trained chef. Like go to France and the whole thing....But since I flunked French in college not once, not twice but three times I don't think the whole going to France thing is gonna work out for me. I do like to cook and enjoy making fun meals for my friends. Plus I have a wicked cook book collection but still it would be nice to be able to really cook. So.... what would you do? And Shana - you can so run a marathon - really.....

Comments please!

You Have No Friends

2010-05-01T06:40:00.001-07:00

Hubby & I are just getting caught up on a bunch of TiVo'd shows. And last night's episode of South Park did not disappoint. I am not a total FB addict but see how easy it is to get there. You won't be able to stream the whole episode for another week but here is a good clip from YouTube.

Hartford

2010-04-11T17:09:00.000-07:00

In which I am a party of one....

2010-04-11T14:02:00.000-07:00

I had big plans for today. And for the most part got everything accomplished I set out to do at 7:30 this morning. First on my list was wedding present shopping & since the bride reads my blog that is all the detail I'll go into - except - Kathy I think you & Liam will like it! Then it was off to the mall (YUCK!!) to replace my 5 year old make-up since I have said wedding to go to and then off to VS for a special undergarment to go with a dress I bought for above mentioned wedding. Then, for me, the main event was going to be attending the UConn Huskies victory parade in downtown Hartford. So after surviving the mall, with a venti iced, quad double pump vanilla latte in hand - I was off to downtown Hartford. I had my parking spot scoped out - across from the Bushnell - it's free! And also too, figured I'd grab a bite to eat from one of the I was assuming numerous lunch wagons. So imagine my surprise, when I pulled off Capitol Ave. onto Bushnell Park to find it ......dessereted...like usual Sunday in downtown Hartford looking. WTF - where were all the Huskie fans??? I mean, CT can be totally lame when it comes to supporting anything downtown Hartford because peeps get freaked out about crime in the city..But really, it's a national championship people!!! Where are you???? I found a prime free parking spot 1/2 block off Bushnell Park and began my walk about of downtown. Nothing, NOTHING was open. This was as bad as downtown Albany NY & trust me I know. So I wandered around looking for any signs of life - finally - I stumbled on Vaughn's Irish Pub. And if they didn't ignore me the whole f*cking time I was in there I'd link to their (I'm sure) amazing web site. But you know what? The damn bartender TOTALLY ignored me. Like he was too busy talking to the people to the left of me, then to the right of me, then pouring a tap beer RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. He didn't say, "hello", he didn't say "I'll be right with you" - he TOTALLY.IGNORED.ME. So..now I got some 'tude going, because, have you looked outside?? There is now one else around!!! Finally I got the attention of lame boy and asked him - "Is the Huskie parade today?" And I was actually expecting him to know something about the event since I assumed he might make some good money if it was going on and he actually knew it. Well - I gave the boy way too much credit as his reply was, and I quote " Um, I have no idea." Alright then. Time for me to go - no money spent in Vaughn's - you people need to pull it together to get my cash. So I called Hubby who was only minimally more helpful since he had been riding around on a tractor or using a chain saw all day and had no idea about the parade either. I came home , went on line & found out the parade is next Sunday. And I'm glad because the turn out today for a parade really sucked but next week I have other plans so I won't be there. But.. I'll send pics from the Hartford Courant to my niece who is a big time Stanford fan and wasn't too happy about UConn going 78 - 0. Sorry Maddy - UConn still rocks!!

Friday Fill - Ins, Saturday morning addition

2010-03-27T04:44:00.000-07:00

I don't know what my deal is lately - kind have the funkity funk funk funks. But this morning I get to meet Training Buddy - run a 5k in December like cold weather, get my hair done, go to the dump & meet friendsfor dinner later. So maybe that will help - in the mean time - I give you Friday Fill-Ins, Saturday morning edition...

1. The right word is sometimes hard to find.
2. Go outside and play kids and shut the door quietly, please.
3. Up was a really sad movie..
4. Not far from coffee is where you'll find me.
5. Ooh! What is that really cool treasure in the What Not Corner at the dump?
6. Training for a half marathon is starting to sound like a good idea.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to basketball watching, tomorrow my plans include above plans plus laundry and Sunday, I want to sleep in & watch the UConn women rock at noon!

Insomnia sucks...

2010-03-24T01:15:00.000-07:00

Just sayin..and for some reason cruising around on the internet is not making me tired...maybe I should try reading a book...

Friday Fill - Ins, Saturday morning addition

2010-03-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

1. Today I will be working hard in the front garden but loving it.
2. Mojitos at happy hour..and I say why not?
3. What do you think of those UConn women!
4. At Starbucks (I think)it's free Pastry Day til 1030 Friday but I'm loving Klekolo, my local brewer better.
5. People say that what we're all seeking is happiness.
6. The image I cherish most is hanging out with my Mom in Ireland - that was amazing.
7. And as for the weekend, last night I was happy to go see my neighbor's dtr in the play Oklahoma - you rocked Ally!, today my plans include dentist, gardening, going to the dump & mojitos and Sunday, I want to sleep in & watch the Uconn women dominate!

Ya - They are that good...

2010-03-10T06:01:00.000-08:00

And Meghan isn't a starter

Goal Setting After 40

2010-03-09T04:08:00.000-08:00

I want an iPhone...like bad. Training Buddy has one and we ran a 5 mile training run this weekend and she has this really cool app that tracks your run and I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY want that. I haven't been running as much as I used to so I am thinking this little app will help me get my ass off the couch and move - or will it? I used to be pretty darn active - running a good 20-30 miles a week and usually trying to convince friends to do crazy things like run a marathon. But I have lost the edge, gained some weight and find I enjoy cooking & eating good food more than going out for a run. I admit I was my skinniest, fittest when I was probably not the happiest person around. So what, now I'm happy & I have to be fat? I don't think so..... I'll probably never get down to my svelte just divorced figure and that's Ok - I'll take the happy part but the fat part I don't have to . So... instead of trying to fit into that cute little outfit or some other girly thing - I am going to set my goal to get a new iPhone. And the only thing that stands between me & it is 25 pounds. We'll see how bad I really want it...

Friday Fill - Ins, Saturday morning addition and It's Cocktail Time!

2010-03-06T08:22:00.000-08:00

1. Why are you making such a big deal about hating President Obama - really, Tea Party people give the guy a break!
2. I want you to take me to the Oscars some time - it would be fun.
3. I'm cool with loading the dishwasher then it will be on my terms.
4. I'll lace up my running shoes and see what happens this afternoon with my 5 mile training run.
5. I could use a nice ,cool drink after that run.
6. Big East Championship first and then the National Championship for the UConn women.
7. And as for the weekend, last night (tonight) I'm looking forward to starting It's Cocktail Time again, today (tomorrow) my plans include the training run & then going to see the movie Precious with Training Buddy and Sunday, I want to sleep in and in the afternoon & help pick some awesome bands for Music on the River - our town summer concert series and Sunday night - The Oscars !!

And what better time to return to It's Cocktail Time than on the eve of a 5 mile training run! But I'm happy to report moderation was exercised, water was drunk & I got to sleep in so all is well. This is Hubby & I's take on the traditional Dirty Martini. We tried out this new eco- friendly vodka, Vodka 360 which has cool packaging & a $20 mail in rebate so for $10 you can't go wrong!

Dirty Martinis - the HB Way

2-3 oz. 360 vodka
1 oz or to taste caper berry brine
1/2 oz. extra dry vermouth

Mix the above & shake over ice. Strain & pour into chilled martini glasses, garnish with 2-3 caper berries - Cheers!

Back in the Groove - TGIF!

2010-02-19T04:30:00.000-08:00

1. Johnny Weir looked awesome last night.
2. I'm starting to get interested in the 2010 Olympics.
3. And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more of a pain in the ass than the risk of just going for it.
4. Go run a marathon if you get an urge.
5. Having sweet dreams is better than having nightmares.
6. What does it take to recover from a weekend with my friends in Florida? About a week.....
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to Kathy's visit, tomorrow my plans include a decadent breakfast and visiting with Kathy, quilt store shopping & UConn basketball and Sunday, I want to go for a walk/run in the woods.!

Hanging Out with Girls

2010-01-19T04:01:00.000-08:00

The last couple of weeks I have had the great opportunity to hang out with the girls - ages 4 1/2 to over 60. It really made me realize how lucky I am to have such great women in my life and also the chance to meet new friends. The first girls day was going to Disney's Princess on Ice with Training Buddy & Princess. There is nothing quite like watching the story of Cinderella through the eyes of a 4 year old ( Ok - almost 5). It was quite magical and they had Long Trail beer on tab - bonus!

Then last weekend I met friends for dinner and then a show - Gee's Bend . We had a great time and dinner and the play was great - how fun to hang out with such bright women.

Life is indeed good....

Happy New Year from NYC!

2009-12-31T13:18:00.000-08:00

Well ...sort of... We were there December 23 but I'm guessing other than the addition of a million people or so - Times Square looks pretty much the same today as it did then. You can see the ball at the top of the Toshiba sign and below is me, in the black coat wishing ya'll a very safe and Happy New Year!

10 random shots of 2009

2009-12-31T06:58:00.000-08:00

I thought today I'd share 10 random shots of 2010 that I thought I would share with you all at some point in the year but then stuff happened so...... here it goes now. In no particular order since I can not get how to format these in blogger ....damn you blogger!! The sunset shot is off our back patio. Then we have a shot of some art work in Valparsio - that was such a cool visit and I would go back in a heartbeat. Then we have some shrunken heads in a museum in Valparsio.

Next is Hubby in this very cool cafe in Buenos Aries - the colors were so bright! Next is open pit grilling at a

restaurant we ate at in Ushuaia,Argentina. It was all you can eat and boy was it good. I think we were the first ones for dinner since we ate at 7:00pm

instead of the usual 10 or 11:00pm

Back in the states is a pic of our wood shed - we split about 3-4 cords of wood preparing for the winter and have almost burned through half of it. We enjoyed our trip to NYC for hubby's b-day and this is some of the great architecture (old buildings) in Greenwich Village.

A gorgeous quilt from the Lowell Quilt Show - another fun trip we took and a shot of a beautiful fall day in Vermont. Finally I am posing with Nelson and some purple beaded mitts I made for Nico's Mom for Thanksgiving/Christmas. They turned out better than the picture shows and are so 80's fabulous! We both love them & I am knitting a black pair for me!

You could never tell by this page formatting that I was the editor of our yearbook in high school - sorry Mrs. Muellar for all the trapped white space!

Christmas Week Happenings

2009-12-28T03:46:00.001-08:00

Whew - last week was a little crazy but good crazy for us. A brief re-cap with photos.
I finished the quilt for my mother-in-law's Christmas present. It is not really my style but it is hers & since it was her gift - I was very pleased with how it came out. It's a scrap quilt but all the colors seemed to jive together - here is a close up.

We got all the gifts mailed and then went to NYC on Wednesday to take in the holiday festivities. On the train, we decided we'd go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art - we have never been because we always get side tracked - usually by a good pub crawl. So we were set on the Met thing, but we'd go after we went to Union Square Farmer's Market. Can I tell you - the Farmer's Market was so nifty. It was only in the 20's but since it was sunny it was a beautiful day and all the vendors had their fresh products, veg, meat , cheese the usual farmer's market stuff sitting out under big tents. We wanted to buy some great stuff but didn't want to lug it all to the Met so we just bought some hot cider and walked around looking. We needed to get an up to date guide book of NYC and there was a Barnes & Noble across the street - we thought we'd pop in, buy a book and go to the Met. We popped in and our Met plans were totally derailed by this guidebook. We decided not to fight fate and went into the Heartland Brewery across another street and plot our pub crawl. When we looked through the book, we were surprised to find we had only been to one of the pubs mentioned. And trust me, we have been on some serious pub crawls in the city starting with our first visit 2 days after we moved to CT. We concentrated on mostly dive bars around the city so we could go check out different neighborhoods. We did make it to Central Park - farther North than we have usually gone so that was new. In the interest of time (I need to get to work) I'll be brief and say we enjoyed the tour and spaced out the stops enough so we remember every place we went to. We actually had a sit down dinner that was most amazing (usually we just snack on stuff like a slice of pizza, hot dog, etc.) at Turkish Cuisine. As usual, after a trip to the city we were beat up and happy to get on the train back home.

Making Cookies, finishing quilts and FRED!

2009-12-18T04:15:00.000-08:00

It has been a little bit busy here in my neck of the woods. All good! Sunday I had the joyful experience of making Christmas cookies with an almost 5 year old - seriously - we had a great time. Of course martinis and wine were involved for Training Buddy & I - all Princess (the almost 5 year old) needed was the frosting. We had great fun, created a great mess and really isn't that one of the best parts of Christmas?

I'm almost done with the quilt I have been making for my mother-in-law - it will be finished tonight and in the mail tomorrow. I think she's gonna love it.

And speaking of love- The Training Buddys' and Hubby & I went to see my all time favorite performer Fred Eaglesmith at a show this week in Willimantic. he was awesome as ever but out of about 200 people who were there- Training Buddy & i were the only ones up dancing. Sometimes these Yankees can be so restrained here in Connect the Dots. But hell, we had fun and even got to talk to Fred a little bit after the show. Go check out his web site - if he is going to be playing somewhere close to you - GO! he is an amazing song writer and performer.

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Making my list and checking it twice

2009-12-12T06:47:00.000-08:00

Good morning! My fun task today is wrapping gifts to mail out to family & friends. Historically, Hubby & I wait till the last possible day and then get the pleasure of single handily supporting the USPS for the day by paying a huge amount of money to insure our gifts get there on time. In the spirit of getting my sh*t together this year, I'm going to get everything that has to go west of the Mississippi wrapped, packaged and mailed out today. And I'm only drinking herbal tea now - since this isn't my most favorite job we'll see if the tea holds me or I need to bump up to a bloody mary...

Our trip to Bethlehem...

2009-12-09T18:12:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we make the pilgrimage to Bethlehem CT so I could get our Christmas cards all mailed out. We try to get over every year. It is a little hokey but we manage to have fun and this year we discovered the roasted chestnuts booth sponsored by the Lions Club - I have never had chestnuts really roasted over an open fire - they were awesome! I got about 95% of the cards mailed (some got left behind at home by accident), hand stamped by Hubby with the "this card was mailed from Bethlehem" stamp. We also went to the Abbey Of Regina Laudis and bought a Women in Chant CD (amazing & very spiritual even though it's in Latin - you can feel the love, really and I'm more of a heathen and even I can feel it), cheddar cheese the nuns make (really - it's world famous) and yarn spun from wool from sheep on the farm (because I don't have enough yarn sitting around). It is a funky place to go but I like it. We ate lunch at one of our favorite places to go The GW Tavern in Washington Depot. Very New Englandy and right in the middle of prep school central so we saw several current prep school kids and parents with their future prep school kids. It was snowing the whole day and those of you who know us know what that means - WE GOT TO DRINK PORT!!! We came home, drank some port and tortured the cats - see the photos. The llamas were in the holiday spirit at the Christmas festival - our cats?? Not so much...

Here is Get Me the Hell Out of Here Grinch Casey

And Ebeneezer Scrooge Nelson

How to pack on 6 pounds in 5 days - it's super easy!!

2009-11-30T15:07:00.001-08:00

For those of you wanting to bulk up this holiday season, (and seriously who doesn't?!) I have found the perfect diet. The cooking is a little labor intensive but so worth the results you'll get. Since I seem to be a little lazy with the blog posts and two loyal readers called me out on it this weekend - I'll share this most awesome diet with you tonight.

DAY ONE

Breakfast - whatever

Lunch - a sandwich with chips

Dinner - Lobster bisque, grill cheese sandwich (snobby, creamy cheese with lots of butter), individual chocolate souffle

To drink - A couple French 75's; wine with dinner and martinis apr`e dinner

DAY TWO

Breakfast - A couple of pieces of Harvey Wallbanger bundt cake

To drink - Harvey Wallbangers of course!

Lunch - some white wine

Dinner - the most fabulous Thanksgiving dinner ever (eaten at 8 pm for better fat absorption)

Brined turkey (22 lb'er to guarantee enough left overs for 6 months)- don't forget that nummy skin because look at the picture of our bird - it looks as amazing as it tasted, home made corn bread/sausage/cranberry stuffing, mashed potatoes, home made giblet gravy, peas, sauted brussel sprouts with hazelnut butter, cheesy cauliflower casserole, bourbon apple sweet potato casserole, pumpkin cheesecake and cranberry torte for dessert.

To drink - white wine and sherry

DAY THREE

Breakfast - Harvey Wallbanger bundt cake

Lunch - skip that and don't hydrate

Dinner - left over Thanksgiving dinner

To drink - martinis & wine

DAY FOUR

Breakfast - nothing you are going to a party later so save your calories

Lunch - Turkey sandwiches on hard rolls w/ chips

Dinner - snack on the snacks at Mr. Neighbor's 40th birthday party. Stay away form the veggie platter concentrating only on the Tyson chicken pieces, assorted sips and chips, taquitos and anything else remotely fatty

To drink - martinis pre- party, wine at the party

DAY FIVE

Breakfast - sleep through it, drag out of bed around 10:30

Lunch - no time, the Training Buddy's are coming over for football

Early dinner - turkey ala king over white rice with toasted cashews and fried Chinese noodles, leftover cranberry torte

To drink - chocolate martini, champagne, copious amounts of white wine as the Dolphins lost

The big bonus of this diet is that there is no exercise involved at all - it is strongly discouraged if you want to experience the full bulk up benefits.

Now that I am filling out my pants again, I have stopped the drinking alcohol for awhile, sticking with water & iced tea and dragging out to walk with Mrs. Neighbor at 5:30 AM. The healthy stuff is going to kill me......

More Veteran stuff

2009-11-22T09:14:00.000-08:00

Because really...our soldiers sacrifice A LOT. It's not just not sleeping in your own bed or not going to your favorite restaurant. It's missing time with families and pets - go check this out (thanks June for the original link).

Thank You

2009-11-11T17:54:00.000-08:00

Like a lot of people, my Dad was in the service. He served during the Korean War - no heroics other than giving up his comfy life-style for 4 years and risking a chance at getting shot for the love of country. My grandfather was a Marine during WWI - I believe he did get shot at - he didn't talk about it to anyone when he was alive. I have always had the utmost respect for our troops, whether I agree with the war doesn't matter. So today - in my return to the blog world I don't want to bitch or moan or be snarky or try to be funny - I want to honor and say thank you to those who serve our country, my country, every day - in the US and around the world. I am TiVo'ing this show tonight on PBS - it looks great, go check out the trailer and read the reviews - I hope you get a chance to see it, too.

The Way We Get By - Trailer from The Way We Get By on Vimeo.

"Do you need a bawtenda?'

2009-10-11T06:32:00.000-07:00

I have been living the life let me tell ya. Actually I have tried to stay off the computer and get some stuff down around the house, working on stealth Christmas projects canning 30 lbs of peaches and 40 lbs of pears and yes that is as much fun as you are imagining. But seriously, life has been good. We went to Baltimore to watch a Red Sox game and I think all of Boston was there. So, because posting pics on blogger is so much fun and so easy - I'll spend the next 2 hours sharing my photos of Baltimore & Annapolis with you. And I apologize for the formatting - blogger does tend to suck with formatting ...

This is left over crab cake(s) from our first dinner at the most amazing crab cake restaurant ever - Timbuktu - if you ever ever ever have to fly into BWI - this place is a cab ride away and worth the trip. We met an old friend for dinner & had a great time. You'll notice there is no breading in this cake - all crab meat, baby.

Our first breakfast in town involved more crab - my personal goal was to eat crab something at every meal. Breakfast did not disappoint at Miss Shirley's - another must and walking distance to all things downtown. My choice for breakfast both days we ate there was the Crab & Fried Green Tomatoes Benedict - need I say more?

The only bad thing I can say about this breakfast is, since I ate every last bite I didn't need to eat the rest of the day.

Hubby had the Smoked Salmon Benedict and of course we had mimosas - it was Friday morning but we were on vaca! We walked around the Inner Harbor - did some tourist stuff, had a few beers at the ESPN Zone ( it was the only outside seating bar open where you didn't have to eat something) and then around 6:00pm wandered over to Camden Yards Park. We walked everywhere since it was all pretty close and we had the big ol' breakfast.

The area we hung out at before the game- a sports bar called Pickles Pub was really like Cask n' Flagon South. It was packed, and I mean packed with Sox Nation. I was waiting at the bar to order a couple for beers and one of the patrons (pictured below), who I thought was a local, until he asked me "Do you need a bawtenda?" and when I answered affirmatively he and his buddy started yelling at the poor, unfortunately named bartender Amber. "Amba! Amba! Amba! We need a beer!" But she was good natured about all of it and took good care of us and that is me getting my beer. It was a little crazy out side so we stayed inside Pickles until game time then walked across the street to the game. We had club seats on the third base line - cheaper than most seats at Fenway. Clay Bucholtz was pitching & the Sox won. It was great fun!

Ten On Tuesday - Wednesday Edition

2009-09-16T04:30:00.000-07:00

Ten Things That I Think are Cool - well it seems I might be a little out of step with popular culture but these are things that i definitely think are very cool - in no particular order....

1. My friends - I have the coolest, greatest friends ever. And that means all of you!

2. My cats - even Dillon who is in kitty heaven had an air of cool about him.

3. Hubby having a martini on ice waiting for me when I get home from work on a Friday night - so 50's cool.

4. Hand knit socks - nerdy but so fun. I am really almost done with my first pair - over 6 years in the making!

5. The first snow fall.

6. Hot spiced cider in the fall.

7. Christmas Eve - love it.

8. Traveling out of town to watch the Red Sox play - more on that later!

9. The library - again nerdy but man you can check out so many books for free!

10. Cooking a great meal - making good food is very cool!

I Gotta A Feeling.....I'm getting old

2009-09-12T08:28:00.000-07:00

Until this morning, when I was watching my TiVo'd Oprah episodes I had not heard of this song. Now I have heard of the Black Eyed Peas - I'm not that old. But this clip (excuse the ad at the end but this clip had the best resolution) is so cool - really you have to watch it... and I gotta a feeling I am going to go buy this CD..

The Haddam Neck Fair and heads in freezers..

2009-09-06T08:46:00.000-07:00

I was only going to post photos from our trip last night to the Haddam Neck Fair but then read one of my favorites blogs Bye Bye Pie and June posted about this great google image.. go here to Google Image 241543903 and then tell me if you understand what it's all about....

Growing up , we always enjoyed to Montana's Biggest Weekend and always went to the rodeo at least one day. The fairs in New England have their similarities: animals - check - carnivals - check - fair food - check but alas no rodeo. We now go to the fair to watch a tractor/truck or animal pull. It sort of feels like these things should only take place in the Deep South but there we were, last night watching the truck pull. A good time was had by all, The Training Buddy Family & Hubby & I. Here are some more photos...

Had to add the sheep since Training Buddy, Princess & I had visited the CT Yarn and Wool Company and helped them with their inventory problem by buying some great sock yarn.

The very horny, well endowed goats - photos posted at the request of Mr. Training Buddy and to the delite of Miss Nose Dive - a long story for another post...

The trucks hooked up to the trailer and then pulled it.. weights were added and whoever didn't blow out their engine and could still pull the trailer won. We did see a guy blow up - lots of sparks and black smoke but he was Ok - they had to tow the truck.

And Princess on her pony ride!

Peace & Quiet...

2009-09-05T07:27:00.000-07:00

Hubby is out sailing with Mr. Training Buddy and me and the cats have the whole place to ourselves - YEA! I think I have wasted enough of this gorgeous day on line so this will be a short post - another random vaca shot so I can go sit on the deck with a cup of joe and chill...

This is a shot inside Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aries. You can go check out this web site & learn all about the place - very spiritual stuff going on inside and not all the spirits were happy ones...

Ten On Tuesday - Wednesday Edition

2009-09-02T04:31:00.000-07:00

10 Things you Hate About Traveling

This is sort of easy - without sounding whinney because I'm lucky enough to go on vacation every once in awhile.... in no particular order.

1. Leaving the cats at home - always makes me feel guilty even though we have a really good sitter.

2. Packing - I always save it until the last minute.

3. Waiting in airports - when I did a lot of business travel this seemed like such a waste of time.

4. Staying in crappy hotels that you thought weren't going to be crappy.

5. Getting stuck in a smoking room at the hotel.

6. Feeling vulnerable over seas because you are an American.

7. Getting sick over seas - oh that is a bad one especially in a Third World country when you really need a doctor. An incident in India comes to mind.....

8. Fighting with Hubby because we are both tired & stressed - this is supposed to be a vacation, right??

9. Thinking that you lost your passport - a whole other post.....

10. Being ready to come home and you still have a week on the road.

I won't blame security delay on any misery as I would rather get to where ever I am going safe. These are random vaca shots from Ushuia, Argentinia and our trip to South America...

It has been a crzay couple of weeks...

2009-08-31T05:16:00.000-07:00

We have been busy for the last couple of weeks and my "face time" with the computer has been way down. But as I wait for Hubby to drop off my keys (I left them in his car so he is driving home from work right now...just for me...to drop off the keys) I figured I'd write a line or two.

We went to one of the last shows at Club Helsinki in Great Barrington, MA. The show was great and this is one of our favorite clubs to go to so a bummer they are closing. The YouTube link is from the show we went to. We got home at 3:00am and it took us almost all week to recover!

We went and picked over 30 lbs of peaches. The only thing more fun than picking them is peeling them & trying to figure out what the hell to do with them. We made peach jam, peach chutney, brandied peaches and then froze the rest because we got tired of dealing with all the canning stuff. Now Hubby wants to go pick pears....... and apples aren't far behind....

Yesterday we met Mr & Mrs. Training Buddy & Princess at The Place for a good ol' fashioned clam/lobster bake. It was good, a little touristy and sort of pricey but we enjoyed ourselves. Until poor Princess fell off a stump ( no chairs here - just tree stumps) and bit her lip. Hope you are feeling Ok today, Princess!

Here comes Hubby - better get off to work myself!

He's home!!!

2009-08-20T03:54:00.000-07:00

Nelson is home! We found him in our neighbor's shop/garage. Our other cat Casey spent three nights in the same shed about 4 years ago so we thought (really hoped) he might be there. We had been checking with our neighbors but last night peaked in the window and noticed all the food we had set out for him in the garage was gone. So either mice ate it or a cat did. We had to wait for Mr. Neighbor to get home as he had the key to the shed and we couldn't see too much peaking in the window, other than the food was gone so we were hopeful. When we got in the shed I started calling him and after about 5 minutes he meowed back. He was stuck in a cabinet - this garage shed is huge. We got him out & he clawed into my shoulder like he was never letting go.

I know he is just a cat but since we don't have kids, our cats are like kids to us. I haven't eaten or slept much for the last three days. I have lost 5 lbs but feel like it's taken a few years off my life. It sure felt good last night to fall asleep with our two cats snuggled up against us on the bed. Yep....life is indeed good.

Ten on Tuesday

2009-08-18T15:04:00.000-07:00

Top Ten Traits in a Romantic Interest

1. Fun to be with

2. Likes to play games

3. Also knows how to chill

4. Good snuggler

5. Keeps me warm when it's cold out

6. Welcomes me home from work

7. Hot feet

8. Man of few words

9. Cute butt

10. Likes to kiss my nose

(With apologies to Hubby)

Nelson come home.....you are breaking my heart.

Friday Fill - In and It's Cocktail Time!

2009-08-07T04:40:00.000-07:00

Quick - I have to get to work!

1. Dusk is my favorite summer time part of the day.

2 My favorite John Hughes movie is Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

3. Lamb's ear plant is something I love to touch , I can't pass one by without touching it - weird I know!

4. The full moon is always welcome, it gives me energy and charges my crystals!

5. I'm enjoying my cup of coffee right now.

6. When daylight fades I love watching all the bats come out!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to dinner in a new restaurant tomorrow my plans include going to the New England Quilt Museum Quilt Show in Lowell Mass. and Sunday, I want to sleep in and hang out with my tick buses!

Quick cocktail - a Cucumber Martini with this new, organic very nummy liquor. Go check out this review web site - they have lots of other flavors I'd like to try as well. We saw the product in Imbibe magazine and my friends at the local packy happily order it for me - it's good stuff!

Refreshing Cucumber Martini

1 oz Thatcher's Cucumber Liquor

2 oz your favorite vodka

Pour all ingredients in a martini shaker - shake gently & pour into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a thin slice of cucumber and enjoy!

Cheers!

I am the Tick Bus stop

2009-08-06T14:30:00.000-07:00

Above is a loverly picture of a tick bite - sort of looks like the one I have. I feel great but just knew this type of bite wasn't normal. So now - a month of antibiotics - yuk. But it could be worse & hopefully I got it early enough to avoid all the other symptoms of Lyme. But I'm luckier than a lot of people, I have health insurance, a job to help pay my out of pocket deductibles and I caught it early.

We have a cat that loves to go in and out and even if we dowse him in tick meds, he still has them, he is a tick magnet. My doc said cats and dogs are just tick buses and people are the bus stop for the ticks. I suppose it was a matter of time.

Lesson learned? If you get a bite, watch it and if it doesn't go away in a couple of days - go see your doc! Now, off to the pharmacy to get my drugs!

Where have I been?? What have I been doing??

2009-08-01T06:01:00.000-07:00

I can't really answer that because I have been doing the same old same old. I think I am fully recovered form the most wonderful fun visit from Ms. Lillie B and Nico's Mom. We had a great time - ate pretty good except for the KFC - God that was good and worth waiting in the parking lot for 30 minutes for the place to open!), drank too much (!!) and stayed up way too late. In other words, had a great time! We told old stories and created new funny memories, just like great friends do! And we all survived renting mopeds on Block Island. Thanks guys for coming up and thanks to the Training Buddy clan for our post BI happy hour - also good fun!

I'm surprised at how sad I am about Big Papi and his positive drug screen. I am a big Red Sox fan and although not naive enough to believe that some of the Sox must have been juicing, I held on to the myth that Big Papi was above all that. I think I am more disappointed because I just finished reading Heart of the Game by S.L. Price - it will break your heart but it a fabulous look at the life (and in this case death) of a minor league baseball player.

On to a happier topic - It's Cocktail Time! We discovered a very good, but dangerous flavored vodka and if you don't believe me, go here to read how great this stuff is. I like sweet tea but only form down south, like South Carolin which is where this stuff is made. We made a very adult Arnold Palmer - you can go check out other recipes here.

Very Adult Arnold Palmer

2 oz. Sweet Tea vodka

Paul Newman's pink lemonade

fresh mint for garnish

Pour vodka into ice filled Collins glass - top with lemonade and mint on top. Gently stir and enjoy!

Cheers!!

Friday Fill - Ins

2009-07-17T16:11:00.000-07:00

We are so enjoying our company but I actually have time to do a quick post - in between cocktails & getting ready for the Greenriver Festival.

1. Sandwich and chips make a quick dinner.
2. Girls in Trucks is the book I'm reading right now.
3. July brings back memories of sleeping outside growing up.
4. That I wouldn't live in Montana was obvious.
5. They say if you tell your dreams to yourself, they are sending you a message.
6. I'm not real good at slowing down to think it over.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to chilling with my friends, tomorrow my plans include hanging out at the Greenriver Festival and on Sunday we'll be sleeping in!

We are drinking Moscow Mules tonight so no new cocktail - cheers anyway!

Ten Favorite Songs of the 80's

2009-07-14T04:28:00.000-07:00

Ten on Tuesday is sort of fun this week. I love music and although I cringe now when I look at some of my albums (yes I still have albums) I do remember the good times I had listening to some of this stuff. I'm expanding it to favorite groups instead of just songs - less of a brain drain with my second cup of coffee. At the risk of being late for work ( damn you You Tube!) I'll start my post!
In no particular order....

1. Journey - I still think Steve Parry had an amazing voice.
2. Cheap Trick - Live at Budakon - who doesn't love it?
3. The Cars - until they got big & famous - I really thought I was cutting edge here. Did I mention I grew up in Montana?
4. The Police - loved Message in the Bottle.
5. Styx - I fought hard for our junior prom theme to be The Best of Times but you know what, Lee Ann you were right - it should have been The Tide is High.
6. Ratt - I loved those big hair boys.
7. Bon Jovi - now too mainstream - Ok he was then too but I still thought I was cool when I liked him.
8. AC/DC - the Bon Scott version.
9. Def Leppard - again the early stuff.
10. REO Speedwagon - the Montana thing.

If I had more time - I could post a bazillion more. Enjoy the videos & trip down memory lane - so what are your favorites??

Summer is here...

2009-07-12T11:59:00.001-07:00

Finally - no more rain for awhile. Since I'm busy cleaning - I'll show you another random vacation photo. This is the harbor at Valparasio, Chile. this view is from a restaurant we stopped at for lunch.

Friday Fill - Ins, Saturday morning addition and It's Cocktail Time!

2009-07-11T13:16:00.000-07:00

This is getting to be a weekly habit. But since I only have about 3 people who read this blog (but ya'll have been here 1,700 times per my site counter) and two of you are coming to dinner tonight - I think I'll be forgiven.

And...here we go!

1. The last thing I ate was a Pay Day Candy bar for lunch and peanut butter and homemade strawberry jam sandwich for breakfast.

2. A chandelier for the house we haven't even started to build yet is something I recently bought.

3. When it rains, it must be Connecticut because we have gotten a shit load of rain this summer.

4. Hubby was the first person I spoke to this morning.

5. Hugs are fun to give to Training Buddy because she hates them.

6. I'd love a Scarlett O'hara - extra Southern comfort, please.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to dinner at the Yacht Club (didn't happen so I am pretending on this part - I got stuck in traffic and didn't make it) and Saturday I'll be cleaning and painting and on Sunday, sleeping in and more cleaning & painting .

I'm going easy on the cocktail - but it's a good one. Kevin - I may use yours next week if you read this blog). When I'm done with this post - I will be having a Moscow Mule - preferably drank out of a copper mug which of course I own.

Moscow Mule

2 oz vodka

lime juice

ginger beer

Pour the vodka into an ice filled copper mug or collins glass. Fill to the top with ginger beer and add a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

Cheers!

Ten on Tuesday - Wednesday edition

2009-07-08T04:14:00.000-07:00

I have been getting ready for company (can't wait Nico's Mom & Miss Lillie B!) and although they are not coming to visit until next week, Hubby & I have decided we need to do some painting inside. All well & good except I can't find the paint chips for color and have been on a week long Easter egg hunt. Sigh..... But it is not the end of the world and I have made many exciting discoveries along the way, link a pile of Christmas cards from 2007 - I was wondering where those went!

Ok - jumping away from that heart stopping topic and on to Ten Things that Turn you Off About People. Sort of a negative topic but I'll try to keep it light hearted..

1. Being late for meetings - annoying!

2. Hubby wearing shoes in the house - tracks in all sorts of mud and I have nagged him about it a bazillion times.

3. Lying - about anything, really just tell me the truth - I can take it.

4. Driving slow in the fast lane - I have places to go - get out of my way : - )

5. Being rude to wait staff - I used to waitress & bar tend - these people work hard!

6. Inattentive wait staff - don't stand there and BS with your co-workers when I am ready to order - I'm a good tipper!

7. A drunk person when I'm sober.

8. A sober person when I've been drinking.

9. Militant TSA staff at the airport - most are very nice.

10. People who are intolerant of others just because they are different.

Now - a random vacation shot since I will never get through all 200 and really, how long do you really want to hear about my vacation?

Valparaiso, Chile. This city was soooo cool! I definitely want to go back. I'll post more about it later as I must get to work.

Ten on Tuesday

2009-06-30T03:55:00.000-07:00

I haven't done this one for awhile. This weeks Ten on Tuesday - Ten Guilty Pleasures on TV. I don't watch much regular TV - lots of sports but I have a view guilty pleasure shows...

1. Extreme Home Makeover - this show makes me cry every time- I love it!

2. What Not to Wear - I TiVo this show and have been known to watch the really good episodes several times - example Christina and her "girls". It's on the TiVo now awaiting a visit from Nico's Mom & Miss Lillie B in a couple of weeks. We crack open the wine and watch this show until the wee hours.

3. Biography - I tend to be snobby about all the Hollywood gossip and won't read People (unless I'm at the hairdresser) but put those same people on Biography and I am all over it.

4. Oprah - I TiVo her show so I can pick through them. I used to be a very faithful viewer when I worked from home but not so much anymore.

5. The Today Show - which really isn't much better than the entertainment shows - although I will start to boycott if they turn into The Micheal Jackson show because quite frankly - I am so over it. He was a child molester - 'nuff said.

6. NFL football - my favorite team is the Miami Dolphins but I would sit in front of the TV all day Sunday and pretty much watch any game.

7. Project Runway - so snarky and so fun.

8. Top Chef - so snarky and so fun but with food.

9. Dinner Impossible - more fun with food - Robert Irvine is wound up!

10. The Barefoot Contessa - because really, Ina is soooooooo the Hamptons.

That's about all I can think of - other than sports I don't watch that much TV. How about you - what are your TV guilty pleasures?

Friday Fill - Ins, Saturday morning addition and It's Cocktail Time!

2009-06-27T07:01:00.000-07:00

I like the option of doing Friday Fill Ins on Saturday morning - usually on Friday nights I just want to chill away from a computer. And I can taste the proposed cocktail - just to make sure I'd want to share. So here we go!

1. She had a great idea to make cocktails from St. Germain, that Nico's Mom did - it's my new favorite mixer!

2. My guardian angel is by my side, always.

3. I know this: I need some time to just chill this weekend.

4. still.

5. These words apply to me: happy it's the weekend and we don't have any major, big productions going on.

6. When I woke up this morning the sun was shining - YEA!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight (last night) I'm looking forward to my Friday night martini and fish on the grill and Saturday my plans include getting my hair cut and going to a Rock cats baseball game and Sunday, I want to sleep in!

And now - my new favorite mixer and surely the best summer drink since lemonade. And as much as I love me a good mojito - they are too trendy so I'm sticking to this one. We had to order it from the local packy( thanks gang at Moodus Package!) but they are very nice about ordering me special stuff. This is another french liquor - St. Germian, made from elderflower blossoms. It is so nice, a little cirtusy but not too sweet or strong. The bottle we got came with a very fancy mixing glass and a great recipe book. I can't wait to try some of this with champagne - maybe tonight after the baseball game! This stuff is good, really really really good- so run out and get some and let me know if you enjoy it as much as I did! And definately check out the recipe section of their web site - it is very funny along with some great recipes. The recipe below (copied word for word) was in our little recipe book & it is awesome!

St. Tropez

1 shot Citron vodka

1 shot St. Germain

1/2 shot fresh lemon juice

top with tonic or soda water

Method: Shake first three ingredients with ice and strain into an ice filled Collins glass.Top with tonic or soda water, garnish with a lemon twist, a white bikini , and an azure pool heated to preciously 82 degrees F.

New cat toys

2009-06-24T19:17:00.000-07:00

I have ordered a couple of rugs for the house - one came today and I also received the books I won from Chris - thanks so much! Nelson & Casey were also very happy!

Nelson - "Oh My God - look at all my new toys!"

I'll post more maybe on Friday - Thursday is volunteer night at the hospice unit.

Casey - "Whatever weirdo cat - haven't you ever seen a few books?"

More vaca photos

2009-06-21T10:12:00.001-07:00

Because - I haven't shown you anything other than Santiago.

This fountain is in the Parque de Las Esculuras. It is beautiful during the day but at night they have a light show and the fountain has different configurations - I guess sort of like in Vegas at the Bellagio, only not so big, no music and in South America. It was another popular make out part of town . Our hotel was about a 2 minute block away and the subway stop was right across the street - very convenient.

This is me shopping at the craft market in Santa Lucia - see Shana - I really was in Santiago! I don't look very happy but I really loved this place. A lot of local artisans and very reasonable prices for most things. Plus they had security guards in here so there were no pick pockets. There were probably 200 vendors in this market - we went back at least 3 times. the photo to the right is the outside of the market from the Santa Lucia park. As you can see our visit was the same time of the release of Angels and Demons.

To the right is about half way up to the top of the Santa Lucia park. It was a beautiful hike and you could go all the way to the top (we did) or stop at any number of terraces on the way up (which we also did).

We felt very safe wandering around and really did not have much of a problem - except for the Pepcid lift. We were walking around with a backpack (translation = tourist who has something in the backpack I can rip off). Several vendors told us to watch out & wear the pack in the front but did we listen? No. We wondered around quite confident until we came into the Central Market for lunch. Some locals pointed at our back pack & we noticed the small pocket was unzipped. I panicked because I had our iPod charger, camera UBS cord, Pepcid & Advil in that pocket. All that was missing - the Pepcid. Which concerned me because we were in the land of pisco sours & much red wine. But then I thought why the hell did I need to carry all that crap around? in a backpack? My purse (yes the whole purse, not just my wallet) was in the big pocket and fine but Hubby & I both felt pretty stupid - we both know better than to be such an obvious target. So we ate our lunch at Donde Augusto in the Mercado Central. We had some very nummy fresh fish - the place was loud and lively. We wanted to wander around some more and with the pack in front - we headed out on the street. It was very strange because all of a sudden I stopped - I could "feel" 3 guys watching us - sure enough they were following us and I am sure hoping to rip us off again. I had our camera dangling from my wrist (duh -obvious target again) and we both looked a little freaked. I did not know what to do so we ducked into a yarn store to re-group. 2 different locals came in and in broken English told us were were being followed and to be careful, hide the camera, watch our money, etc. I nervously picked out a couple of skeins of yarn, paid for them and tried to figure out what to do next. We wanted to go to a coffee place - they have cafes called "coffee with legs" and I was intrigued. Basically they are like strip clubs but with coffee(no booze), the girls don't have much clothes on to start with and they leave on what they have. So we found one and went inside (the guys were still following us). It was the best coffee we had our entire trip (the norm is instant Nescafe - yuk!) but it felt strange to have a very scantily clad young girl, maybe 18, make us a couple of cappachinos then do a little dance in front of us under the black light. She was a very sweet girl but I wanted to leave. We went back out & I wanted to get a picture of the front of the cafe and my camera battery died! I looked around and sure enough saw two of our stalkers. I decided right then - damn it I would dig in my back pack and get new batteries, I would take my picture and stare them down the whole time. Which is what we did. I did not want to show them we were intimidated. We walked a few blocks and they dropped off. So to the left is the picture we took of our cafes con piernas (coffee with legs).

That's it for today. While unpacking I found two post cards we did not send so popped them in the mail to the Scaleys' and Miss Lillie B - I hope you noticed the stamp !

Preparing for the big 5-0

2009-06-18T04:13:00.000-07:00

No - not me, Hubby is going to be the big 5-0 on Friday. And his birthday wish meal? Meatloaf and potato salad - really. But we had a good time in NYC and ate well there. It's easy for me! I'll try to post a good cocktail tomarrow - I will be volunteering at hospice tonight..

Friday Fill - Ins and It's Cocktail Time!

2009-06-12T15:29:00.000-07:00

I am having problems cutting and pasting from Friday Fill ins - damn you Blogger! So manually ( yuk) here we go!

1. I grew up thinking I could be anything I wanted to be (thanks Mom!)

2. Yahoo was the last website I was at before I came here.

3. Why don't you make me a martini, Hubby?

4. Meditating helps me relax.

5. Thanks for the dent in my truck to whoever hit me last night in the Goodspeed parking lot.

6. All the Jon & Kate stuff and Miss California getting fired is very off putting, because quite frankly the J&K stuff is so sad for the kids and anyone who has been through a divorce doesn't want to watch a marriage die in front of them and Miss CA who really cares?!

7. And for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a martini and watching the Sox - Yankees game, tomorrow my plans include taking Hubby to NYC for a birthday trip & hanging out with Mr. & Mrs. Training Buddy who are celebrating their anniversary and Sunday I want to sleep in at the Algonquin Hotel and then go have a great breakfast in NYC!

So after we get the cat/house sitter all set up, we may go ahead and have a Manhattan - get it?! We are going to NYC! Ha - that humor is not even martini enhanced! I am not much of a whiskey drinker anymore - thanks to my friend Tim who used to buy my shots of whiskey all the time. But here is the recipe - a classic.

Manhattan Perfect

11/2 oz. Canadian whisky

3/4 oz dry vermouth

1/4 vermouth rosso

dashed Angostura bitters

stemmed cherry

Stir well in a mixing glass filled with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with cherry.

Cheers!

Allan Corduner

2009-06-11T14:48:00.000-07:00

That is the actor who narrates the audio version of The Book Thief. I must give the man credit - he was fabulous! You can go to the link and hear an audio clip.

The Book Thief

2009-06-11T04:29:00.001-07:00

This weeks Ten on Tuesday was Your Ten Favorite Things to do with Me Time. I don't need ten things to do - my favorite, very favorite thing to do is curl up with a good book and read for oh, 4-8 hours. Really - I love it! A friend of mine from work who is on the road a lot has also turned me on to audio books - a great distraction from the regular radio, negative news, same old music BS. And right now, my heart is breaking listening to the most beautiful, haunting, wonderful, sad book The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I am sure the regular book is a great read, but the audio book is narrated by a wonderful stage actor (can't find his name now). I have read several reviews and this is supposedly a teenage book, but in places it is very sad (why I love it) but always balances that with hope. It is narrated by Death and takes place in Nazi Germany, but really - if you only listen to one book this summer - let it be this one. Here is the NY Times review if you don't believe me......

More vaca photos

2009-06-06T16:18:00.001-07:00

I wasn't going to post twice today but Hubby made me a martini, then started watching a documentary on Chinese war tactics...BORING!

This is a beautiful park in Santiago called Santa Lucia. It is as lovely as this photo suggests. We went there several times - you can hike up some old stone stairs to the top of the mountain and look over Santiago. We did that later in the trip - this day we were on the 1/2 day city tour. Our guide was great - I think his name was Roberto and I'm sad to say I did not take his photos - he turned us on to some great bars in Belle Vista neighborhood and some pretty decent local micro brew. But first they had a "special surprise" for us. We soon learned that "special sup rises usually meant something either very hokey or a stop at a store that we could buy special souvenirs. This tour had both. First - the re-enactment of the taking of Santiago - artfully (sort of ) done by this troupe of actors. It was pretty dramatic and we went with the flow by watching, although all the locals that were there were snickering at us tourists.

This park is where the locals go to make out - and there are couples EVERYWHERE kissing away. We figured it was because they wouldn't be allowed to behave that way at their parent's house - but it was Ok in public. I managed to sneak a quick kiss with Hubby - quite begrudgingly I might add. But I didn't marry him for his romance.. The guy in the orange shirt was the story teller - he used his cell phone as a microphone which was curious. We also saw several groups of college kids practicing some sword play stuff here - it was a little strange, Darwin also visited this hill so it's pretty significant.

This fountain is sort of in the middle of the park and is very beautiful. We fell in love with all the architecture.

This is the view of Santiago from another park - their main park in the city, Parque Metropolitano. It was pretty smoggy - normal for the city as it is surrounded by mountains but we thought it was beautiful. In the summer it is "unbearable" whatever that means to them, we did not find it to be a problem but it was late fall for Santiago - temps in the 70's during the day; 50's at night - perfect!

More tomorrow!

Friday Fill - Ins, Saturday morning addition and It's Cocktail Time!

2009-06-06T08:35:00.000-07:00

I must give credit for this wonderful post idea to Shana - it's never too late for Friday Fill Ins! Since I started this entry I have done two loads of laundry (hung one up on the clothes line to dry), cleaned out a junk drawer, commented on three of Shana's posts (she's running a half mary tomorrow - go wish her luck!), helped Hubby find batteries, tried to help Hubby find his pneumatic nailer, made reservations for a trip to Block Island, RI on July with friends from Florida, made our hotel reservations for NYC next weekend, ate a bowl of cereal and drank two cups of coffee. To say I am easily distracted is stating the obvious. Let me get finish this post before it's next Friday!

And...here we go!

1. I love my home.

2. My favorite thing for dinner lately has been anything homemade.

3. My cat's go meow meow meow not bark! bark! bark!

4. A nice long walk is relaxing and helps center me.

5. I'm always happy to hear some good news.

6. When all is said and done, I'm very lucky and thankful for the gifts in my life.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight (last night) I'm looking forward to dinner with Hubby, tomorrow my plans include finally packing away the winter clothes and Sunday, I want to sleep in and chill!

And now the cocktail - you'll need to find a liquor called falernum. To quote a most amazing cookbook we own ( Original Tortuga Rum Fever & Caribbean Party Cookbook), falernum is a a sweet liquor that originated in the 18th century in Barbados. It's used to flavor rum drinks. Our friend from the local packy gave me a sample of theirs as it is hard to find - I'm sure we'll find some next weekend when we go to NYC. Any how - this drink is simple, tasty and worth the search for falernum - you really can't substitute anything else that will taste the same.

Port Maria

This old Jamaican cocktail is supposed to be a favorite of Noel Coward & his celebrity guests.

1 1/2 ounces light rum

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 T. pineapple juice

1 t. falernum

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice cubes and shake well. Strain into a cordial glass ( we doubled the recipe and used a martini glass) and add ice as desired. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.

Cheers!

We have Internet, we are home safe!

2009-05-27T18:19:00.000-07:00

Boy - it's been awhile. Well, we made it home with little drama and our phone line was all messed up so no DSL so no Internet. I can't post at work and keep my job so I had to wait until we got our phone all fixed. So - now I can post some vaca photos but it may take me a couple of posts - I took over 200 photos! Promise - I'll try to hit the high spots.

This is Stone Mountain - our surprise first day of vacation in Atlanta. It was not a bad side trip but I would never go to this place in the summer - it would be crowded as hell.

This is a bad photo of the very cool walking trail up one side of the mountain. It is all granite and very cool, actually very hot in the sun. I wish we would have known about this so we could have walked the whole thing - but alas South America was calling our name.

We arrived in Chile about 8:00AM ( flew overnight) and after about 2 hours getting through immigration, we had to get off the plane and get our first Oh My God They May Have Swine Flu test, we went to the passport line, waited for 20 minutes only to be sent back to the Pay Us $120 to enter Chile line. Hubby paid for us and we were back to the passport line. We got to our hotel took a about a 2 hour nap (nothing gets moving until around 11:00) and headed down to the Central Market on our own. We booked a half day city tour for later but wanted to see what we could see first. This was a big open sea food market with restaurants inside. It was very smelly but clean in a stinky fish market kind of way.

This fountain is outside the market and in the area of the pick- pocket dudes. We didn't notice them the first couple of times we were down there but I am certain they noticed us. Still, the whole pedestrian walkway was very cool and I didn't flash my camera around too much here.

This photo is the top of the Metropolitan Church in the Plaza De Armes - an open square filled with artists, cafes and a great place to people watch. We did duck in the door way of the church - it was beautiful for a church. And because my photo of it isn't that great - I found this one to the right for you.

The area was really fun and we enjoyed a few pisco sours sitting at an outdoor cafe. The photo below is the post office, I loved the architecture of the old buildings up against the very modern, glass office building. This square was really beautiful and is probably where I fell in love with Santiago.

That's it for tonight - I got started posting late and we are starting the gym at 5:30AM thing again since we ate and drank our way through South America....but I'll share more over the weekend.

It´s been great .....

2009-05-19T05:04:00.000-07:00

We are heading for home today. The vacation has been great but I miss my cats, my bed and the good Ol´USA. Really , though the vaca has been great fun. I´ll post photos when I get home. here´s to hopefully no more drama from Santiago although we are going to the place we were stalked by pickpockets later today. I will give them my big, tough don´t mess with me stare and safely secure my cash and see how it goes....

How do we leave the end of the world?

2009-05-15T07:31:00.000-07:00

Now that we are here, we can´t seem to leave. They cancelled our flight for today so we will spend another night at the end of the world and go to Buenas Aries in the AM...sigh.... But since nothing really starts getting going until 8 or 9 at night, we figure we are only missing half a day, actually night in BA. But, that´s how it goes sometimes with travel so we are going to go out and have a big, bar bq lunch - lots of meat, walk around for awhile, nap this afternoon and go shopping and to the Dublin Irish pub in town for our last night. I can´t seem to figure out the whole download the pictures from my camera to the computer thing since all instructions are in Spanish so I´ll save the photos of our trip for when we return. It is beautiful here and there are worse places to be stuck, India comes to mind....

We Made it to the End of the World and did you know there are TWO airports in Buenas Aries?

2009-05-12T13:32:00.000-07:00

Well - we made it but not for nothing, it was probably the most S-T-R-E-S-S-F-U-L-L part of the trip. We got up early (4:30AM) made it to the Santiago airport with about an hour to spare. I was the first customer at Starbuck´s and all was right with the world. When we got off the plane - we had to go through the "Oh My God You Are Americans we must screen you for swine flu" screening. Which we have hit every time we got off a plane internationally as they don´t have the flu in SA yet. Usually a bunch of masked and gowned people meet you at a designated door - you give them a form stating you have no symptoms of the swine flu, they figure you are American and are freaked anyway, they scan your body temp and once they have completed that for your entire flight - they turn you lose to customs. For some reason, they would not let us (the entire flight) off the bus for like 20 minutes. Finally we got out of that, customs we walked right through and went to double check our flight ( already had the boarding passes, Thank God) and that, dear friends, is when we found out we had to take a taxi to the other airport - 40 minutes away and we had about an hour to get to our gate. This is when all that getting up at 5:30 to go to the gym thing paid off. We ran to an ATM to get Argentina pesos to pay the taxi, then ran to the taxi stand and waited... and waited...Finally this old man pulls up in a cab that had seen better days with a broken windshield and as we told him we needed to get to the airport pronto - he moved at a snails pace and I knew it would not be good. As he was poking down the road, cleaning his nails, the car miraculously broke down on a major highway. He told us it would be about 15 minutes for another car to arrive. So after swearing a bit, I told the Universe that I was going to go with the flow and if we were meant to get to Ushaia - we would and I totally gave it up. After about 5 seconds of zen , we jumped out of the cab (now parked on the shoulder of a 4 lane major highway) and flagged down another cab. The driver was cool , we were happy again until we looked down at his dash as he was pulling off the side of the road and noticed he had no gas. "It´s OK" he said, "we are staying on the highway it´s faster." He weaved around two big semi trucks from the shoulder and we made it to the airport on fumes. We ran to check our bags - no issues, ran thru security fast and easy since you don´t have to take your shoes off and made it to our gate 10 minutes before they boarded the plane. I need a beer so bad but nothing opens before 8 so I will try to just chill - our B&B is nice, it is cold and rainy and we are here. Yep - life is good!

Hola - a real quick update

2009-05-11T18:51:00.000-07:00

Because we have been having more fun than I have time to write about. My most favorite things about the vaca so far

1. The exchange rate because 1,000 pesos to $1US is crazy. This trip so far has been cheap.

2. The vino - it is that good. We went on a winery tour and bought a bottle of special reserve red, a bottle of champagne and a nice wine opener for $9US - crazy.

3. The people - so nice and friendly except for the gang of pickpocket dudes who were hunting us like those poor antelope on the Animal Channel. It was weird - that will be a post all by itself.

4. The food - has been fabulous and worthy of an entire post. Remind me to tell you about the mussles dish we had tonight.

5. Everything else - this has been a kick ass vacation.

Now I must pack´- tomarrow we leave for Ushia and out flight leaves here early, we gotta be up at 4:30am - YIKES!!

Hold the Pisco Sour - I think I'll have sweet tea

2009-05-07T05:57:00.000-07:00

Our first drama didn't take long to happen. We were checking in at Bradley Airport in Hartford and imagine our surprise to find that indeed we were flying to Atlanta on May 6 but we were not leaving for Santiago until May 7th! Turns out that Hubby just paid attention to the time changes (3 of them) for our flight since he made the reservation but did not pay attention to the date. So - here we are in Atlanta looking for something to do today. I have a dear friend who lives down here but she has sort of put a hold on all friendships she enjoyed from our previous company (don't know why) so I am respecting that but it would have been nice to meet up with her since we are here the whole dang day. Anywho - we rented a car, are thinking we'll head up to Stone Mountain and also go to the Atlanta Farmer's Market for some good, artery clogging southern food and sweet tea.

The lesson learned here was - two people should always review travel plans which we will now do. I thought Hubby had this all figured out sonce he has been working on these plans for almost a year. But it's no big deal - we are just going to roll with it.

Head South HB and It's Cocktail Time Because I'm on Vacation!

2009-05-05T16:57:00.000-07:00

Today is the big day - we are off to Santiago Chile, then Ushuaia, Argentina and ending our two week tour in Buenas Aries. We just finished packing and only started packing about an hour ago - one bag each for two weeks. It isn't as hard as I thought. But I must admit I packed an empty bag that I can fill with vaca stuff for the trip home.

In Santiago it will be cool but not cold, snowing in Ushuaia and warm again in Buenas Aries. I will try to post a couple of times from the road if I can. The house sitter/kitty sitter is all set, plenty of food & booze in the house for them and I think we are ready to hit the road. We may try to hash in Santiago and are going to take our time and do what we want everywhere.

This will be one of the first drinks I try! They say it was invented in Peru but I have read every South American country has their version of the drink - sounds nummy!

Pisco Sour

Ingredients
1/4 cup (2 oz.) pisco
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon pasteurized egg whites
Preparation
In a blender, whirl 3 ice cubes, pisco, sugar, fresh lime juice, and egg whites. Whirl until smooth (you'll no longer hear the ice cracking against the side of the blender) and serve straight up in a martini glass with a dash of aromatic bitters and a wedge of lime.

Cheers!

Friday Fill-ins and It's Cocktail Time!

2009-05-01T07:51:00.000-07:00

TGIF is all I have to say this week. It seems like I have been running around and not getting caught up - maybe that pre-vacation panic? Anyhow - the town of East Haddam is swine flu free - at least the school is good and dis-infected. Whatever....

And...here we go!
1. The first rule of working in an office and getting along is sometimes keeping your mouth shut.
2. I don't care that much for clams except in chowder.
3. When I think of carnivals I think of cotton candy.
4. Daffodils are my favorite spring flower.
5. Things on my desk include many types of post it notes - I love them.
6. Latin music makes me wanna dance, but I'm not very good.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to getting help finishing knitting a pair of socks I have been working on for 5 years, tomorrow my plans include hashing and Sunday, I want to sleep in and cook dinner for our house sitters/cat babysitters

And now for happy hour - since champagne is one of my most favorite things to drink - we'll be trying this tonight.

Red Cicada

1 oz. Vodka
2 oz. Pomegranate Juice
Champagne
Combine Vodka and Juice in a shaker with ice, mix well. Strain into a chilled wine or cocktail glass and top with champagne.
Garnish with blueberry stuffed red raspberry.

Cheers!

Pull Up the Bridge!! Oh and Ten on Tuesday

2009-04-28T15:12:00.001-07:00

The epicenter of Connecticut's swine flu outbreak is here in River City... or so the First Selectman and School Board seem to think. Two kids in the middle school went to Mexico (I am assuming with some adult supervision) last week and now are sick. So they are closing school tomorrow so they can "disinfect the school". The poor kiddies in town are going to get a week of summer vacation between all the make up snow days and now this. Don't get me wrong - I hope those kids (and all kids in town) are safe and if sick get better soon but really....shutting down the entire school? Am I missing something or is the CDC not telling us mere mortals what the hell is going on? Shouldn't some common sense be exercised and not the Chicken Little mentality of the sky is falling? Can I get a day off of work because I drive by the homes of where kids who went to the infected school live? Whatever.... I will continue to wash my hands and cover my mouth if I sneeze and use some common sense which will hopefully get me safely through the storm.

Now to Ten On Tuesday - Ten Words People Would Use to Describe You. I am going to try to keep it to one word or a short phrase (thanks Carole for the idea). Please feel free to leave a comment if you agree, dont' agree or think I'm not taking this whole swine flu thing seriously enough - and you can back that up with some medical info...

1. loyal

2. friend

3. wife

4. daughter

5. good cook

6. great mixologist

7. funny

8. realist

9. mellow (that might be a stretch)

10. fun to be with

Ok - now go wash your hands!

So much to catch up on.......

2009-04-26T10:36:00.000-07:00

Spring has finally hit & I think I had me a case of spring fever. I have barely read any of the blogs I follow, most unusual and haven't posted here for over a week - also unusual. But now that I have raked my garden in the 75 degree spring weather and am totally spent - I'll sit down here and catch you all up on my past week with the cocktail of the week as a bonus. Plus this will prevent me from starting to drink beer too early in the day since the third game of Red Sox - Yankees series is not on until 8 tonight - I want to try and stay awake. It has been an awesome series to be sure...

Ok - last weeks cocktail the French 75, should have come with a warning because really, it is that strong but also that damn good. I think I am going to have to apply a label to those kind of cocktails - I came up with this DTOH - Drink This Only at Home. These cocktails can get you into some serious trouble although you should NEVER drink and drive anyway. Before we finished the bottle of champagne with the French 75's, I managed to take the sunset shot above off our back patio. It's not too bad considering we had drank several of those French 75 things.

In other exciting news that you are breathlessly waiting for - I finished Training Buddy's quilt! Hubby & I met up with her, Training Buddy Husband & Princess yesterday at a local picnic spot for a picnic and Christmas gift giving. It was so timely, too. Yesterday was the hottest day since October so I am sure the quilt came in handy last night. Here's a couple pics, one with feet and the other an attempt at an artistic shot with a camera that isn't set to take artistic shots.

It took me a lot longer to quilt than I thought it would - it is all hand quilted - yikes!

Now - the cocktail of the week. I should start out saying I probably made it wrong so it might taste better if you follow the recipe. I got it from Ina Garten - The Barefoot Cantessa's new cookbook Back to Basics. I like Ina even thought she comes across a little snobby sometimes in her show from East Hampton and drives Hubby nuts. But for the most part I find her recipes easy to follow & they usually turn out good. I was intrigued to try this recipe because it was a famous cocktail that Gerald Murphy used to make. Now , who is Gerald Murphy you may be asking yourself. Well he and his wife Sara were well known in society in the 1920's & 30's for being the "it" couple in high society. I read what I thought was a great book about their life "Everybody Was So Young" and would highly recommend it. F. Scott Fitzgerald was a great friend and was said to have modeled characters in his book Tender is the Night from Sara & Gerald. Ernest Hemingway was another great friend and of course their grand daughter is a great friend of Ina's - but of course she is. So I like to have fun and drink glamorous drinks , even thought I am in Moodus and not the Hamptons, so thought I'd give this one, Juice of a Few Flowers a try. We didn't like it but I didn't follow the recipe exactly - it might have been better if I did that. But give it a try - don't use gin like we did at first ( because Ina said that's how Gerald used to make it) it is better with vodka.

1/2 c fresh squeezed oranges (2 oranges)

1/2c fresh squeezed pink grapefruit juice (1 grapefruit)

1/4 c fresh squeezed lemon juice (1 lemon)

1/4 c fresh squeezed lime juice(2 limes)

1 c good vodka

Fill some martini glasses with ice water to chill the glasses. Or if you have a restaurant sized freezer in your cooking bar like Ina does - put your martini glasses in there to chill. Mix all of above ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake a good thirty seconds to get nice and cold. You can rim the glasses in extra fine sugar if you want (we didn't). Pour into the chilled martini glasses and hopefully enjoy more than we did. I think I used too much grapefruit juice which was a little sour, not enough OJ and too much gin (vodka for the second batch) in proportion to the juice. I think it is supposed to be more like a screwdriver than a martini. The theory of this drink is good and I mean the Murphy's were the shakers of their day so if they liked it I should probably give it another shot & just follow the recipe. All the reviews at foodnetwork.com are good so I think it was me.

So that's about it - I hear a glass of prosecco calling my name - just prosecco because opening the bottle, pouring the drink - how easy is that?

No Friday Fill Ins but it's Cocktail Time

2009-04-16T17:02:00.000-07:00

Sorry for not posting for a week - so much to catch up on. First of all the Habib Kotie concert was amazing - better than I ever thought it could be, I must give a shout out to our friend in Florida - Yeast Infection, who introduced me to African music. Hope you read the blog - thanks, dude! Really, the music was great and if you ever get a chance to see Habib in concert - it is so worth it.

Then, Monday I was sick which sort of sucked. I am not sure if I had the flu or a little case of food poisoning - whatever it wasn't pretty but all is well now.

Then Wednesday I did my last training shift for my hospice training on the inpatient unit. I will be done with the entire 54 hour training this Saturday. I know that sounds like a lot of training hours, but considering the work I really don't mind.

Looks like they don't have the new Friday Fill In up yet so why don't you follow the link and fill it in for yourself when the new one is posted, they are fun to do. I may post again tomorrow but more likely, since it supposed to be 70 degrees out, I will be out on my back porch enjoying one of these - a French 75. I made a nice discovery this weekend, ok maybe not so nice for my liver but nice for the package store. After 22 years i can once again drink gin. See, back in high school, we used to raid our parents liquor cabinets ( don't tell my Mom) and we would pour shots of whatever was in their in a Ball canning jar "Grandma's Jelly Jar" we so cleverly called it. Then we'd drive down to Taco John's get a large Mountain Dew and mix whatever we had with the Mountain Dew. Is it a wonder I even have a liver? Anyhow - for some reason - all of our parents always had gin in the house but not one of them actually drank the stuff so it was easy to snag and then water down. One fine summer day I was hanging out with my friends Tim & Reba & we decided the gin might be tasty poured into a can of Diet 7-up instead. We got very drunk, Reba puked on the electric blanket in the back of Tim's Falcon (we called it the Flunkin), we thought she dead she was so drunk and I haven't been able to drink gin or Diet 7Up ever since - until last weekend. (Reba survived just fine - we sobered her up a little bit, took her home and I think she got in trouble and was very hung over but OK). So now that I am back in the gin saddle - so to speak - I'll be tipping my glass to this tomorrow night.

French 75 Ingredients:

- 1 1/2 oz Gin

- 2 oz Lemon Juice

- Champagne

- 2 tsp Superfine Sugar

- Garnish: Cherry

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice except champagne. Strain into a champagne flute (or collins glass). Top with champagne. Garnish with cherry.

Friday Fill Ins and it's Cocktail Time

2009-04-09T18:39:00.000-07:00

See - I promised I'd write something tonight. Really, after I cleaned up the kitchen from 3 weeks worth of ignoring it (ok - not quite three weeks) because of basketball, the Red Sox played this afternoon (and lost) I had nothing else to do. Or rather that I felt like doing and since gym nazi is already in bed- I better speed this up.

And...here we go!

1. Anonymous...no, just trying to stay undercover.

2. Vacation is a great thing.

3. Let me embrace thee, sour adversity, it will always get better.

4. Daffodils and cocktails out on the patio are what I look forward to most about Spring.

5. Who needs therapy when you can buy quilting fabric, yarn or fancy booze.

6. Peeps MUST go into the Easter Basket!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to Hubby making me a surprise martini, tomorrow my plans include cooking an early Easter dinner and Sunday, I want to sleep in and then enjoy Habib Koite concert at the Iron Horse!

And now - cocktail time!

PassionFruit Martini

This is the 3rd time I have tried to type this - I'm tired so without all the witty commentary I had before blogger became such a pain....

Mix in a martini shaker over ice
2 parts good vodka
1 part Passion Fruit Jenever

Shake vigorously and serve in a chilled martini glass - enjoy!!

This stuff is also awesome in champagne for a mimosa with an extra kick.

And Nico's Dad (who I think reads this blog ever so faithfully - go check out Habib's You Tube video - I think you'll love this music)

I've been a bad blogger

2009-04-09T04:00:00.000-07:00

Seriously - where does the time go? I have not got home at night all week before 8. And the night I got home at 8 I had to watch the UCONN Women dominate the NCAA championship. So.... little time for blogging. I will catch up tonight - promise. In the meantime I can do the Ten on Tuesday - 10 food you hate - there is one specific food and one category of food. Specific - beets - hate them! Always have - don't know why but there you go. Category of food - Indian. hate may be too strong of a word - I find it hard to eat Indian food since my trip to India and the unfortunate mango Popsicle incident. That being said - I have to go into work early so will follow up on all of this AND a Friday cocktail recipe tonight!

Friday Fill- Ins and a new feature - It's Cocktail Time

2009-04-03T04:17:00.000-07:00

Friday is here & I am excited because it means basketball all weekend! Hubby & I also enjoy a Friday night martini & I have decided I will share our favorites with you each Friday. This little goal will hopefully keep me honest with my blog postings as well.

And...here we go!

1. Angel or not, I will always have fun.

2. I try to be true to myself instead of any way you want me.

3. As my mother used to say, you're full of potential and can be anything you want to be.

4. I try to drink lots of water after I'm done working out or doing something strenuous.

5. Even in the most crowded of rooms I can usually see over the crowd because I'm 6 feet tall.

6. For me, no day is a day fraught with peril.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a ginger martini cocktail, tomorrow my plans include my last all day hospice volunteer training & dinner with Training Buddy & Princess and Sunday, I want to sleep in & watch the UCONN women win!

Ginger Martini

We used to only be able to get this fabulous ginger liquor in NYC but it is now available locally - YEA!! This martini is so easy and so damn good - go to the link of the web site to see their cool little video - cheers!

2 parts good vodka (we use Hanger One Buddha's Hand Citron vodka)

2 parts Domaine de Cantone

Shake in a martini shaker & pour straight up in a chilled martini glass- garnish with a lemon twist

The Other Nine on Wednesday

2009-04-01T10:36:00.000-07:00

I must admit the NCAA is getting in the way of my blogging. I am trying to watch as many of the games as I can and as many as Hubby will sit through. he is not such a fan but is now a UCONN convert. This weekend will be the Final Four for both so life may be back to normal. Which will let me tackle my remaining 9 items on the my To Do Post..

1. Finish Training Buddy's quilt - almost done, really....
2. Start my mother-in-law's quilt for her Christmas gift.
3. Sort through boxes of Florida stuff because really, we have lived in CT for 8 years now.
4. Read all my back logged Hartford Courant's - why I must do that I don't know but that is just how I roll.
5. Hang up clothes because throwing them on the spare bed is not really proper storage.
6. Take a pic of our empty wood shed before Hubby's cleans it up and we start to fill it up again.
7. Rake out my garden - yuk...
8. Read more of the bazillion library books I feel compelled to check out.
9. Delete or watch the TiVo'd Oprah episodes I have - I think 2 weeks worth.

One of the Ten on Tuesday

2009-03-31T04:37:00.000-07:00

Today's list is Ten Things on My To Do List. And since it is 7:40 AM and I haven't showered or even started to get ready for work (scheduled to arrive at 8:30 - have a 9:00 meeting) I guess my number one item on the list is get off the computer & get ready for work. So the remaining Nine on Tuesday will be posted tonight after the UCONN Women's game....

Ten on Monday Night for Tuesday

2009-03-23T17:26:00.001-07:00

This week I'm early - what can I say. No basketball is on tonight for one thing so I thought I'd get this written since the UCONN Women play tomorrow night. But I have to complain about something here - we UCONN fans are so spoiled- the local PBS station broadcasts all the games ( that the national network doesn't pick up) so we get to watch our Lady Huskies all the time. Except when they are on ESPN wrap - around tournament coverage like now. It is the weakest excuse for coverage that I have ever seen. The premise is they only show the "interesting games", not the ones where someone, say UCONN, is ahead by a bazillion points. So as a result I saw about 10 seconds of the UCONN game Sunday. And ESPN is so schizophrenic - they don't even show one whole game which drives me nuts. So I will watch whatever game ESPN sees fit to broadcast tomorrow & listen to the Huskies on the radio. But I DO know I will not have to watch Pat Summit and the Lady Vols - right Scaley??

Ok - per usual, in no particular order...The Top Ten Things I Like to Do On Vacation

1. Send postcards - I usually make a pretty big production of it, buy the postcards, go to a cafe or bar, have a couple drinks and write those bad boys out. They are fun to send and I would like to think the recipients like getting something in the mail.

2. Find the best local restaurant - you know the place that isn't in the guide books but the locals all go to. A local speciality is a bonus, as long as the food isn't some weird dish like haggis.

3. Go Go Go - I rarely have a whole relaxing vacation but enjoy seeing all I can.

4. Read some good books.

5. Go out to a cool bar late at least one night - easier to do back in my wild & wooly days but I still try to hang with the big dogs at least one night.

6. Buy something for myself that will remind me of the trip - doesn't have to be expensive.

7. Get some Christmas shopping done - I can usually find a couple cool things to buy for someone else.

8. Spend some time with the locals - hashing is a good way to do that.

9. Have one special night out for dinner - Hubby & I will splurge one night out, but I don't want to get too dressed up fancy.

10. Come home safely - the best way to end a great trip!

I gotta start reading my blogs earlier...

2009-03-20T04:32:00.000-07:00

becuase now I should really be getting ready for work. This staying off the Internet at work thing is killing me - but it keeps me employed. So - I'll write more tonight - in between basketball games...

Well Oil Beef Hooked

2009-03-17T04:27:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Paddy's day! My favorite memories of St. Paddy's day - well those I can remember, often involve hanging out at the Irish Cottage Pub in Delray Beach Florida. It started out as a little pub in an old garage. Small, filled with atmosphere & the closest thing to a "real" Irish pub that I had ever seen. We used to go there quite regularly on a Saturday night for dinner & traditional Irish music with Nico's Mom & Dad. Good food, good pints and fun music. The house band always sang The Old Shillee & that was usually a sign it was time to go home. One night, there was a girl visiting from NYC and she got up and sang Danny Boy - she was a student at Julliard and when she sang I understood what the big deal was about the song - there was not a dry eye in the house.

I also have awesome memories of our trip to Ireland with my Mom 3 years ago. One place I have traveled that I would go back to in a heart beat.

So enjoy the day - I'll raise a pint of Guinness to Sean & the boys for all the awesome memories - and the title of my post? It was featured on their St. Paddy's day t-shirts - say it with an Irish brogue and a twinkle in your eye- just like Sean used to do!

I love smart men!

2009-03-13T04:22:00.000-07:00

This You Tube video is great! Thanks Nico's Dad for sharing!

Ten on Thursday

2009-03-12T17:43:00.000-07:00

I know it is supposed to be Ten on Tuesday but I had the fear of God - actually of the unemployment God put in me today at work. Turns out some jackasses have been on the Internet at work for "inappropriate things" and now the whole company is on Internet lock down. I have been weaning myself & trying not to post from work but still jump on Yahoo & Facebook for seconds (really) before I remember - hey I don't get paid for this and get back to work. Well now, my really nice company is having to defend it self against the jack asses and you can get FIRED almost instantly for being on-line for anything not work related. So, as much as I love to check out what Shana or June or Carole are doing - I love my job even more. And trust me - I know what it is like to work for a total wack job at a job that made me so unhappy so am very thankful for what I have now - thus I may post at night & possibly not when I used to. But I can still check what's up from home & lucky you, faithful reader, I can blog from home as well.
So Ten on Thursday - Ten Things I Won't Miss About Winter.

1. Driveway drama - because really - how many times do I need to get stuck trying to go up my driveway?
2. Terrible drivers - not me of course - I learned to drive on the tundra of Montana - the driver's in CT - not so much....
3. Hauling up firewood - I heart the fire in the fireplace but hate hauling up the wood. We have almost burned through it for the year so that won't be an issue much longer.
4. Cold feet - because I don't have a decent pair of winter shoes or boots. So much for my wood smarts ....
5. Cabin fever - not too much of an issue this year as we ended up going out and about even if it was crappy.
6. Sunset at 4:00pm - how do those people in Alaska do it?
7. I guess the cold - but I will be begging for 20 degree weather in August.
8. Not being able to have a cocktail on the back porch - we love to sit outside and have a cocktail - it will be nice to do that again.
9. The snowplow knocking out our mail box - we still haven't fixed it.
10. Scraping the car windows - just thought of that one. Dolan - I think of when you first heard that sound when you moved up the New England and were staying at our house - too funny! The look on your face when I told you what the noise was - I'm surprised you didn't jump in your car and head back south!

Gotta got sit my ass on the couch and watch the UCONN men's game - the women were awesome & won the Big East - hopefully the men can do as well. GO HUSKIES!!

Friday Fill Ins

2009-03-06T17:50:00.000-08:00

And...here we go!
1. Re-scheduling a meeting at work was my last random act of kindness.
2. Another place I love to visit is Seattle.
3. I used to suck in matters of the heart.
4. Coffee, tea or a mimosa? Mimosa please!
5. My friend Bucky & I have gone down separate paths - I miss her.
6. Our empty woodshed reminds me that there is plenty o' wood to split for next winter.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to drinking some nice wine from Argentina, tomorrow my plans include 6 hours of hospice volunteer training and Sunday, I want to sleep in!

It has been quite the week!

2009-03-03T17:57:00.000-08:00

Ok - I'm not complaining - it just seems I have been crazy busy & since I am NOT going to post from work and I live with a gym nazi who makes me get up at 5:30AM and we went hashing in New Haven last weekend and UCONN has had some killer games and it snowed about a foot so I had to drink port....I just have not had time to blog. But fear not - all is well. Last week we went & saw my fav Fred Eaglesmith in concert at the First Baptist Church in Willimantic. That was a change form the usual bar we see him in or at least at a festival where we have a drink or two during the show. This was a fundraiser for a local meals program and it was GREAT!! But I have a whole post about Fred here. I took a photo but it's not very good - but you get the idea..Ok - now that I have uploaded it I see it's really dark. But it is not the last of the crappy photos from this post ..so read on or I should say on on...

We went to the 2nd Annual New Haven Haz Mat Hash on Saturday. It was good fun - we got to see a few old hash friends and meet some new ones including this guy - Hi - I'm Gay! in his hazmet suit and everything...

I was the designated driver so I did not have as much fun as Hubby but we still had a good time and I even managed to get talked into setting a run in the near future. So what is the New Haven Hash you ask?? It is such a long story & has been very well covered here so it is best to go read it for yourself. They are a fun group of people and I have been hashing for 16 years - it's nice to get back in the groove.....

Ok - to wrap things up, the Ten on Tuesday is Ten Ways I Can Make My Life better - I am loving my life right now but I will give it a shot - in no particular order....
1.Stop checking out a million library books at a time - too stressful to get them all read!
2. Finish Training Buddy's Christmas gift - really, like before next Christmas!
3. Keep running - it has been hard to get in this sort of good shape.
4. Donate some time to a charity because giving back is a win win for everyone. I should be done with my hospice volunteer training by the end of April.
5. Keep up my reiki practice - it's easy and I feel great afterwards.
6. Find time to meditate - easier to do when I worked from home but my days are overall so much better when I do it.
7. Be more patient with Hubby - but the man can drive me nuts!
8. Be more patient with me & appreciate the moment - sort of obvious I guess.
9. Get ready for baseball season - Go Sox! But enjoy UCONN basketball now
10. Get to bed now - 5:30AM will be here sooner than I think!

Ten on Tuesday - posted on Wednesday

2009-02-25T04:16:00.000-08:00

Last night I had to watch the UCONN women's basketball game & then off to bed because I am still getting up at the ungodly hour of 5:30 to go to the gym. So the post half mary wrap up - my time was actually 2:50:02 - the last time I remembered looking up at the finish line clock it said 2:49:something. Whatever - I was happy to finish. The race itself was OK - about 4,500 people for the full, half & 10k races. We checked in on Saturday & got a glimpse of Frank Shorter & Bill Rodgers as they are big (well actually short & skinny) New England running gods. We did not want to wait in line for autographs (what would we do with them?) so went back to the hotel. We met our friend Dolan for dinner - thanks for coming to meet with us! It was a great place with nummy Mediterranean food & we enjoyed the company. The race started at 10:00 on Sunday - they did not have enough port o lets so we waited & waited & waited in line & only go to the starting line with about 3 minutes to spare. The route itself was through some neighbors hoods of Hyannis, down around a couple of beaches and back to the convention center where it started. It was windy, about 35 degrees & started to rain about 2 hours into the race. The worst part about the route was they did not close traffic - and since I was slow and did not have a police escort like the front runners, it was a little nerve racking worrying about cars coming behind you. The last mile was up hill - which seemed a little unfair but whatever. i kicked it in pretty good at the end - at least it felt like it to me but I am sure I looked slow as can be but again - whatever. The on-after was lame - I did eat chowder - I felt like I had to being on the Cape and all. let me tell you - it did not site well in my belly and I would not recommend that. But then we switched to beer which worked out just great. We showered and headed downtown to another on-after party at Tommy Doyles and DEVOURED a large order of steak fries with cheese & bacon & two hamburgers, with of course a couple pints of Guinness. By 5:00 we were tired, full & ready to change into the flannel jammies. Yep - that is the party animal side of long distance running. We headed back to the hotel, changed & opened a bottle of champagne & called it a night. A very good part of the weekend is there was a Trader Joe's conveniently located about 2 blocks form our hotel so we went & stocked up before we headed for home. All in all a good girl's weekend - thanks Training Buddy!

Now my Ten Favorite Ethnic Foods - how easy is that?? In no particular order..

1. Cuban food - I didn't have any until I moved to Florida and once I had it I couldn't believe I went my whole life prior without it.

2. Falafel - this stuff is so dang good - I can't go to NYC without getting some.

3. Mediterranean food - hummus, olives, good salads. I really love a good meze - we have fond memories of several we had when traveling in Cyprus.

5. Vietnamese food - the only vacation I went on where I gained weight form eating was Vietnam. I heart pho - I think it as good a chicken noodle soup for comfort food.

6. A good, authentic Mexican mole - the flavors are so nuanced - I really love the combination of over 20 spices.

7. Crepes - fell in love with these when we went to Montreal.

8.Foi Gras - I know it's cruel but I love it. It is true luxury & since I can't afford it much - most of the world's geese are safe from me.

9. Latino cooking - Puerto Rico, South America, you name it.

10. Thai - I like good thai food, not the fast food stuff.

A quick note - more later

2009-02-24T04:10:00.000-08:00

The race went pretty good - it did not start to rain until I had about 2 miles left to go. Then it was a slow drizzle, with cold winds blowing. It got cold fast but I finished - 2:49:something. So about what I thought - I had hoped for 2:30 but I didn't train for speed so there you go. Training Buddy did great - 2:25:something. There were runners who had hypothermia so I felt lucky to just be sore - although very sore. Gotta get to work - will write more later tonight when I post Ten On Tuesday.

It's going to snow....again...but I'll be running 13.1 miles in it this time!

2009-02-21T07:44:00.000-08:00

I guess I should have thought this running a half marathon in February in New England thing out a little better. If I did that - I would not be running in the snow tomorrow - or at least not running 13.1 miles in the snow. But I am going to go out on a limb and say it will probably be better than running when it's 90 degrees with 100% humidity. That will be my mantra. Training Buddy will be great - she has been training much more seriously than me - but she did that when we ran the Hartford Marathon a few years ago. I am going to run my race - slow but steady and be happy when it's over. We will enjoy the rest of the weekend on the Cape - regardless of the weather. So I better get packing.. send good thoughts our way!

Ten on Tuesday? Probably not....

2009-02-17T16:59:00.000-08:00

Normally I like a good challenge and Ten On Tuesday can be sort of fun and it gives me something to blog about. But this week is stumping me Ten Songs That Describe Me or My Life. And the reason this is so hard is I like dark, sad, depressing songs but my life is really happy. There are a few happy songs I like as well - Blue Skies by Donna the Buffalo - go check out this You Tube link - it really is a happy song - so I'm not all that dark! So I don't know why the majority of the songs I like are dark. But speaking of music, our town has this great summer concert series called "Music on the River" and we are getting ready to pick our bands. It is a free concert series put on through the town Parks & Rec Commission but we do ask for donations. Our community is very generous and we have always been able to get good local bands, a name band or two and cover the costs. But this year, not so sure how big we'll be able to go as we can't count on the donations. We called about Donna the Buffalo last year but they were too pricey for our little Monday night, 2 hour free concert. I hope to catch them at a festival this summer. There are some pretty amazing festivals to choose from. I also like Family Picture by Donna the Buffalo - go check this video out - you'll have a smile on your face and your head will be bobbin!

Ok - I better go & check all the blogs I follow because I haven't for a few days and I need to know what these people are up to. Only 5 days until the half marathon - keep thinking positive thoughts for Training Buddy & I!

How Romantic......

2009-02-14T10:02:00.000-08:00

Granted - Hubby & I both feel Valentine's Day is a Hallmark holiday but listening to Chris Issaks while I'm doing the dishes?!!?? Please - there is something wrong with that! And now we are off to buy cat litter - heart be still. But we are going out to dinner tonight at one of our favorite places to eat, Bistro Du Glace. Hope you all have a more romantic day that I'm having!

Cliff Walk in Newport

2009-02-09T15:58:00.000-08:00

Sunday was beautiful - so plans of doing housework vanished and we decided to go do something outside - we came up with going to Newport, RI to go for a walk on Cliff Walk. Now Hubby & I have been to Newport quite a few times since we moved to CT - it is a good time town & we have gone there and had , well a good time. So a couple of years ago when our friend Dolan suggested we meet there for lunch & go for a walk on Cliff Walk we were cool w/ the lunch part but had no idea what Cliff Walk was. Dolan could not believe, for as many times as we had been over there, that we knew nothing of Cliff walk. But see, Cliff Walk is on the edge of the island and we had never ventured past downtown (translation - the bars). Well, we met here at the beach and fell in love with Cliff Walk - it is very cool. I took lots of pics so you'll feel like you were right there with us...

We stopped and got direction on where to park at the Newport Visitor's Center - they had a map for sale for $3 but I left my purse in the car so no map. We parked on Narragansset Ave. and off we went. I told Hubby about the map & he scoffed - "What the hell do we need that for? I'll tell you what things are." So I will caption the photos with his quotes - you'll find he was really helpful.

"Looking back to where we parked"

We were about 5 minutes into the walk.

"Where we're going"

This view is south looking towards the ocean.

"A building - people lived here"

Ok - I checked out the web & this is "The Breakers", the people who lived here were the Vanderbilts.

"Don't take my picture"

Hubby going through the gate at The Breakers.

"You're going to run out of memory on your camera"

Looking back at the gate at The Breakers.

"I guess they keep geese off the lawn - why you asking me?"

Ummm because I don't have the $3 walk guide.

"I don't know what they are - I'm sitting down"

Hubby took a break while I took a photo of these concrete thingys on top of a fancy fence.

"Stop it !"

This part of the walk was very cool - the rocks are all pretty smooth but slick from the melting snow & ice.

"More buildings"

This is looking back where the rock path was.

"I guess the dogfox thing works"

Canadian geese floating around in the ocean vs. hanging out on the Vanderbilt's lawn.

"A pagoda - people don't live here"

I found out it was the Tea House that Mrs. Vanderbilt has built. You can't go check it out from the path.

"Watch out for spiders"

This is looking back from under the Pagoda.

"Gawd damnit, HB stop taking my picture!"

Hubby going up the stairs & out of the tunnel.

"I'm ready to go back"

This was the last shot I took because, well I ran out of memory. It is a nice shot and this was about 40 minutes from where we started. It was a beautiful day and don't you feel like you were there?

got fred?

2009-02-06T16:01:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I forgot to post about getting my Fred Eaglesmith tickets because , OMG he is the best singer/songwriter EVER! I became a FredHead listening to my local fav college (University of Hartford) radio station - WWUH. The song that totally got me hooked was this one - "Good Enough" off his CD of Drive In Movie. I love that CD - almost every song, although the least favorite of mine is what hooked Training Buddy - Wild Rose, off the same CD Drive In Movie. Toby Keith did a cover of Wild Rose & the record went gold so Fred got a gold record. Anyhow - the other song on this CD that is so so so so so sad & heart breaking is Drive In Movie & if that does not rip your heart out, you have no heart. I have seen Fred live around 8-9 times & his show is never the same but it is always awesome. The concert I'm going to this month is a fund raiser for a soup kitchen at the First Baptist Church in Willimantic, CT. And why did Fred pick this venue? Well I spoke to the Rev. for the church (also a FredHead) and he said all he did was call the promoter, ask how much Fred would charge for a show & when the good Rev. explained about his soup kitchen & the church & all Fred OFFERED to do a fund raiser. How cool is that? And his latest CD - which is also very good and old timey gospel stuff, Tinderbox has been nominated for a Juno - Canada's version of an Grammy Award. If I could vote - you know Fred would be getting mine. Anyhow - I heart me Fred Eaglesmith - if you can make a show - GO GO GO GO GO. If you can't, you can see a show here. Seriously - it is so worth it to watch his show. He writes smart, sad and sometimes happy songs and God can he entertain. He also paints & someday I will buy me one of his paintings, just to have. Anyhow - I know those of you who know me know I am not a church goer but Tinderbox is amazing - it is that good, hard core gospel stuff that moves you to the core. The only time I plan on going to church is to watch Fred - really - have I told you how much I heart this guy???

I am drinking a martini (lemondrop) as I write this and now that getting the links & pictures to match is getting a little challenging (no I am not running long tomarrow), I think I'll end this post. If anyone local is reading this - e-mail me & I'll give you the scoop on how to get the Fred tickets for the Willimantic show. And Training Buddy- we are all set. 4 tickets for the big show & maybe wings after at Bidwell?

Random Thoughts....

2009-02-04T04:28:00.000-08:00

Today - I got nothing. I think Ten on Tuesday was 10 Favorite Children's movies and you know what - generally I hate kids movies. Even the ones that say - no there are funny, subliminal adult things in this one - you'll love it! I usually don't, in fact my most hated kids movie - Finding Nemo. I know - I must be the only person in the world who hates Nemo. Hubby thinks there is something wrong with me because my favorite type of movies are the sad, gut wrenching depressing ones. Like Leaving Las Vegas ( LOVED IT!), just watched Gone Baby Gone and I very much enjoyed it. And I am not a depressed person - I can be quite chipper so who knows what is rattling around in my head. I have been busy watching UCONN basketball - both men & women and both are ranked #1 this week which is pretty cool. It snowed again - big deal except it took me over 1.5 hours to get home - usually a 30 minute commute. It is the kind of snow that sticks to the trees so it is very pretty. But I took Carole's advice and last night bought some tulips to remind me that spring is coming...someday. This photo of tulips is Carole's as well - she does beautiful work- go check out her blog!

So enjoying the snow but looking forward to spring as well. Ok - gotta got to work....I'm getting better at blogging from home - if I can get Hubby of the dang computer...

It's gonna snow ....again....

2009-01-27T17:23:00.000-08:00

Ok - I must admit some of the luster of 3-7 inches of new snow has worn off. That is what they are predicting for us, starting between 1:00-4:00AM and continuing on thru rush hour. The drive in won't be too fun as people in CT get totally freaked out about driving in the white stuff. As a matter of fact - someone was practicing this morning and had a big nasty wreck off the Argonne Bridge in Middletown - on the side of the bridge I was trying to cross over to. So - traffic was backed up for about 1/2 an hour. I was all zen about it - I had my knitting so I just sat there and knitted and waited and knitted. At least I got to work and I wasn't part of the wreck. I'm sure the snow part will be pretty - but then they are predicting possible freezing rain or sleet for the drive home - that will be really fun. This is the part about winter that isn't so fun - being on the road with people who get freaked out about being on the road or drive way too fast and think they will be fine because they drive 4 wheel drive. Speaking of which - Hubby almost went off the driveway coming home from the gym this morning because he was a) driving too fast and b) he didn't have his 4 wd vehicle in low. But I got to tell him what to do and he really listened, unlike this time and yes I was smug and believe I said "I told you not to drive fast down this driveway". I earned it - I grew up driving in the snow - he grew up in Florida.

This week's Ten on Tuesday is my Ten Favorite Articles of Clothing You Own. I hate to shop for clothes but - in no particular order:

1. My leather jacket - I do like this. It is big and roomy, a man's jacket & I heart it.

2. Jeans - I own one pair I really like and a couple of others I'll wear but don't love.

3. Sweat pants - have always loved them and have a nice collection from when I worked from home.

4. Sweat shirts - I like to buy them when we travel. When i was on the road for work in South Carolina I bought Hubby one from the University of South Carolina - their mascot is the Gamecock and the shirts has COCKS across the front. I loved it - he won't wear it.

5. A long sleeved Miami Dolphins t-shirt - a new fav I bought at Thanksgiving. I plan on wearing it this Sunday to Training Buddy's Super Bowl bash.

6. A teal & orange tie dye Dan Marino #13 t-shirt - it was Hubby's but I snagged it from him.

7. Hiking socks - heart the thick, wooly ones. I started knitting a pair about 5 years ago and have one almost done.

8. My Birks - shoes count for me because I love love love me the Birks.

9. A silk teal/blue jacket - it's pretty cool for work clothes but I don't wear it much because it's dry clean only & I hate taking clothes to the dry cleaner.

10. Flannel jammies - oh so comfy and warm - I have several pair.

What??? We actually have DSL?????

2009-01-25T09:42:00.000-08:00

I was so wrong - we CAN get DSL and am I ever one happy chick! The nice man from AT&T was here about 10:00am , right after we opened the bottle of champagne so we could have mimosas and he went right to work. About 30 minutes later, we had DSL! As soon as I went to my Bloglines page Hubby said " Uhh, guess I'll see you later tonight..." Wow - I can't believe it. And instead of paying $80 a month for notsowildaboutblue, we are only paying around $30 for much faster, more reliable DSL.

And the repair guy didn't get stuck because Hubby worked about 2 hours yesterday & another hour today sanding the driveway - here is a photo of just the beginning of the climb up the hill - he did an awesome job! And you'll notice a slight "ghost vision" of me in the photo as I took this from inside and you can see my reflection - too cold to go outside and not as good of view.

Ok - so watch out Facebook - here I come! Oh forgot - Training Buddy & I ran 10 miles yesterday. It went great but the last 2 miles coming back were very cold & windy. I'm sore today (thus the mimosas) but am happy to have that run over. Less than a month before the half marathon!

I just want to bang on the drum all day....

2009-01-23T12:42:00.000-08:00

I am so happy it's Friday, for no particular reason other than I love the weekends - but who doesn't. Work is keeping me busy - yea I have been able to get up the driveway every morning - yea - I have 2 Christmas presents knitted already - yea and I'm running 9.5 miles tomorrow - Ok - not so yea. But I think it will be our last serious long run until the half marathon and Dolan, I am not ignoring your amazing, great idea to run a half in NYC at the end of April. I think I'll have to answer that question on Feb 23 - the day after the Hyannis half mari.

The AT&T repair guy is coming out Sunday to see if we should be able to get DSL - my vote is he will say , sorry you guys can't get it and then proceed to get stuck going up the driveway leaving. I'll let you know what happens - have a great weekend!

1. Oh, I am so happy it's Friday!

2. For the most part I like changes, big and little.

3. During a sad movie or while watching Extreme Makeover Home Edition, I always cry.

4. Running 9.5 miles; are you kidding me???

5. Right now I'd like to be home with the kitties, by the fire, with a nice glass of wine watching Hubby cook me a wonderful dinner and then watching him do the dishes.

6. I guess my computer, is my favorite gadget.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing a little but having a pretty full schedule, tomorrow my plans include running 9.5 miles & eating breakfast with training buddy that will feature BACON, then going to a symphony concert and out to dinner in New Haven Saturday night and Sunday, I want to sleep in as always and maybe read one of the ten million library books I have or quilt or knit!

Thanks, Princess and Mr & Mrs Training Buddy for my great catnip cigar!

- Nelson

I missed Ten on Tuesday

2009-01-21T14:09:00.000-08:00

AT & T is coming out for a visit on Sunday so maybe, just maybe we'll get Internet then. Or not, the odds are about even for yes or no.
I did see a lot of the Inauguration events and they took my breath away. I loved the President's speech - a nice mix of tough love and reality without being mean. I do have have hope for the good ol' USA but agree it will take all of us to push & pull progress along. I know my brother feels different but until we agree to discuss politics (which we have agreed is probably not a good idea) or he comments on my blog - I get to write whatever I want.
I have a training tonight at a local hospice unit. I'm going to be a volunteer - something i have wanted to do for awhile. I have so many things to be thankful for - I feel the need to give back.
For all of my loyal readers who like to cook - please go check out Lydia's blog The Perfect Pantry. She writes beautifully about food and recipes and all things cooking. While you are there, go vote for her as the top food blog (she gives you the how to's on her latest post). I love reading her blog and if you are a foodie or a want to be foodie - you really have to go check it out.
Ok - off to a quick dinner, then my first training.

Oh what a beautiful morning.....

2009-01-19T07:21:00.000-08:00

It has been well established on this blog that I heart snow and last night we got about 8 inches of the stuff. What was really fun about that was, because we watched zippo local news yesterday, we woke up this morning totally shocked that it snowed at all. It snowed a little bit off and on yesterday and we knew that was going to happen but still. This is what the driveway looked like today, on my way to work.

And another awesome ever so awesome surprise awaited me thanks to Shana at So Not Zen. We didn't have the effortless hook-up of DSL over the weekend as promised by AT&T ( I could have told them it wasn't going to be easy, they are sending someone out to the house to check it out - ha! See driveway picture above, this should be interesting) so I did not have Internet access all weekend. On Friday, Shana awarded me this :

And to quote The Barefoot Contessa - How cool is that????? Really - I let out a little scream because this my very first blog award - thanks Shana for totally making my day! And I don't even care about the grammar but someone I'm going to award it to will. So now the hard part - I need to pass it on to 10 people. And then they pass it on to 10 people. When you pass it on you need to: post it to your blog and link to me, then link to the 10 blogs you're sending it to, then comment on those 10 blogs to let them know you did it. I don't read a lot of blogs but I will go ahead, at the risk of rejection, pass it on to the following blogs that I do read. These are some smart, talented, funny women and I do enjoy reading their blogs so go check them out! And Shana - if I could I'd include you on this list - thanks again!

Tosca (her Mom helps her blog I suspect)

Melissa

It's Tuesday !

2009-01-13T14:08:00.000-08:00

Short post - Ten Things I'm Good At. Those of you who know me, please feel free to comment. In no particular order....

1. Throwing a party - I think I throw a pretty fun party. I usually have a level of detail so people notice (like I clean my house) but try not to be stuffy.

2. Trivial Pursuit - I know a little bit about alot of things, for instance I know the Budweiser label by heart "This is the famous Budweiser beer...." Learned it in high school - good ol' Montana education system.

3. Buying gifts - I think for the most part I am damn good at buying other people gifts. I'm sure some of you may have felt I missed the mark a time or two.

4. Convincing people to run a marathon - Ok - I have downgraded to a half marathon but I have convinced more than one of you out there to run 26.2 miles. ( I couldn't find another logo so even though I didn't run it in 2001 I did run the first one & 2 more after that).

5. Traveling - I'll pretty much go anywhere & do just about anything on the road. Although I am gun shy from Third World countries after India, but that's another post.

6. Being a friend - I think I'm a good friend. Or if not I try really hard to be.

7. Watching sports - I heart sports - almost everything but especially football.

8. Collecting fabric -I'd like to say quilting since that is what I buy the fabric for but must admit I might be better at buying the fabric - I have a lot in my stash.

9. Enjoying good coffee - I heart good coffee and am ever so happy to have three awesome, independent coffee shops within walking distance of my job.

10. Being a good kitty Mom - my cats are so spoiled.......really spoiled.

Free at last!

2009-01-09T09:31:00.000-08:00

We have finally finished our year sentence with notsowildaboutblue. I'm guessing it may be an option for someone who lives in say, Kansas where there are no trees. But in Connect the Dots - satellite Internet sucks. It's so bad in fact, I am looking forward to getting dial up again. So a quick post during my lunch break.

Training is going good - only 44 days until the Hyannis Half Mary. We are supposed to run a ten mile long run this weekend but since they are predicting 6-10 inches of snow on Saturday, Training Buddy & I are going to opt for the treadmill. And what's better than running for 90 minutes on a treadmill?

On to the Friday Fill ins!

1. It's January; and it's cold.

2. Soup is what I crave most right now.

3. Cork and wine go together like bread and butter - I don't know.

4. Ice cream is so nourishing.

5. Let us dare to dream that we will make a change with Obama.

6. I heart my home.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to reading a good book - boring!, tomorrow my plans include running long and getting a hair cut and Sunday, I want to sleep in and play in the snow!

A Recipe for Success

2009-01-06T18:10:00.000-08:00

Well, life is getting back to normal. Back to work full time, watching what we eat, not drinking and we joined a gym. WHAT ??? WE... Hubby & I joined a gym? Yes faithful readers WE did. I have been going to the little workout room at work and since Hubby couldn't join that one (doesn't work in the building) we joined a real, grown up gym. And the shocker is we actually got up at 5:45 this AM and went to the gym. Maybe this clean living is agreeing with us. Well, Ok after two days it is agreeing with us.

I have the usual resolutions, but one thing I saw on one of my favorite blogs, The Perfect Pantry

really caught my eye. This is such a great idea and really hit home for me the issue of childhood hunger. We may not have had much extra fancy stuff growing up but we always had a good meal on the table. I think instead of focusing on me me me for my resolutions I will try to add some things I will start doing, not just stop doing. Supporting my local food bank consistently seems like a good place to start.

After a whole year, well almost the whole year of following this blog A Year of Crockpotting
I am having withdrawals. I hope you are having fun visiting the Mouse, Steph! This is a very cool site and the best part is she gives the real low down or verdict on the recipes.

And since it is Tuesday, I will re-visit Ten on Tuesday this week, Ten Things I Want To Do in 2009. Per usual - in no particular order
1. Complete in a reasonable time (and not hurt myself) the Hyannis Half Marthon next month.
2. Remember my resolution to give back, I am starting training to volunteer at a local Hospice unit this month.
3. Not get sick on our trip to South America.
4. Think positive more than think negative.
5. Continue to care about what I eat, drink & exercise.
6. Never have my friends or family doubt how much I love them and how important they are in my life.
7. Finish at least 2 quilts and learn how to knit socks.
8. Make it to a couple of Red Sox games.
9. Go watch the 'Fins play somewhere fun.
10. Not slide off the driveway during our bad weather, which we happen to be having tonight. Maybe I should put that one at the top of the list?

Chris Isaaks - You're Killing Me, Please....

2009-01-02T21:48:00.000-08:00

I so underestimated me & Training Buddy last night. We were ready to cash in the chips at 11:00pm but we made it to 12:30AM then headed for our place. Princess promptly fell asleep & it was a glass of port all around. Then 2 glasses of port, a couple of martinis and the room got hazy. Did I mention we were drinking martinis, beer, wine, prosecco, more beer before we went back to our place? It got ugly around 3:00AM so we hit the sack. I thought for sure we were so old we could never do more prosseco in the AM but I underestimated the ability of the the over 40crowd - we did just fine. And now I am sort of wide awake after Hubby went to bed, I listened to Father Figure ( George Michael), Nickle Creek, and the hot boy of them all Chris Isaaks' Please. I wish my girlfriend Ms. Nico's Mom was here - we would continue to listen to the ultimate party songs ever and feel like crap in the morning - love you girlfriend! I guess it is best I get to bed - again Happy 2009!

Is it 2009 yet? Or Holy Shit I'm Old, I can't stay up 'till midnight.

2008-12-31T19:55:00.000-08:00

Since I promised to post tonight & I'm drinking with Training Buddy who reads my blog - I am posting. I have had several martinis, glasses of wine, too much food and now coffee. All I want to do is find the soft spot on the couch and fall asleep because if the ball drops in New York City and I'm not awake to see it - it's still 2009, right? We are having a pretty mellow night and that's OK but I am in serious jeopardy of staying awake another hour. I was afraid we'd run out of booze and now all I want to drink is coffee. But hey - it's 11:00 - only 1 hour left to go. I look forward to 2009 with high hopes but am content in the moment of 2008 for now. It has been a good year and I want to count my many blessings. Great friends, a supportive family, a house , a job, a couple extra bucks to do things I want and buy snobby coffee every once in awhile. Life is good now and I have no doubt it will be good if not better in 2009. So goodbye 2008 - you were good to me. I am going to toast to 2009, do a spell check on this post and hit the sack about 12:05. Happy New Year!

Ten Best Momments of the Year

2008-12-30T18:02:00.000-08:00

Ok - notsowildaboutblue is working so hopefully I'll get this post in. I have sort of cleaned the house - more like moved piles of shit to secret hiding place so Training Buddy and family will have a place to sit down, sleep & eat breakfast. Since they are predicting 3-6 inches of snow & we have the driveway from hell - they need to be comfortable 'cuz they may be staying awhile. I have a glass of wine in hand, Hubby is snoring on the couch and the cats are all tucked in so it's just you & me, my bloggy friends.

In no particular order are my Ten on Tuesday. Of course, it is probably skewed by the most recent events but I can't help that - did I mention I'm drinking wine?

1. Mom's December visit - she was here for almost the whole month and we had a really nice time. She lives out West so I miss doing the everyday things with her - we had a nice chance to catch up & just hang out.

2. The Florida Friends #1 visit - I can't remember if I have a name for them, how about Nico's People. Nico's Dad, Mom & brother came up for a week - they hung out with my Mom for a couple of hours when we picked them up at the airport & then dropped Mom off for her return flight. We had visitors for the entire month of December last year & it was good fun...really. I think the highlight was Geocaching when it was around -10 degrees - they loved it! Or at least that's what they said when we went back to the car..where they were sitting freezing their Florida patooties off!

3. The first day of baseball - always a good day - no matter what year.

4. #2 Visit form Florida friends - Visit from the Lizard family - it was a little warmer for them in May. We had a very nice time, hanging out having the nice big bar b-que I planned inside since it rained (the house was packed but that's OK) and showing Li'l Lizard Boy the bees - he had on a pair of pj's with feet which was a nice bee suit & he showed no fear!

5. Our week in Maine - even thought it rained we managed to have a pretty relaxing time. I think we hauled up half our house - which, for those of you who know us, know we don't travel light. We even brought up our own basil plant (pesto) and mint plant (mojito's) because I don't think they have either in Maine.

6. Music on the River concerts - I am on the town Parks & Rec Committee & we sponsor these outdoor summer concerts down by the Connecticut River. They are always good fun - I'll make sure I post all about them this summer.

7. Meeting Dolan's ....main squeeze? fiance? love of her life? Finally ... we thought she was making it all up.

8. Thanksgiving with family - it was nice to get away & have an unusually low key week in Florida. However, my brother in law forced me to drink a copious amount of rum and cokes one night so I hurt myself- thanks, Cliff. Glad you hurt yourself as well : - )

9. The election results - I still get goose bumps thinking about it. Can you imagine what the inauguration will be like?

10. Getting water back - thank God. I would be the worst pioneer woman, although I do like to chop wood.

Honorable mention but I've mentioned it several times already - leaving my old job and getting my new best job ever.

Also starting my blog - it has been fun and I've met some very cool people!

Ok - time to get another glass of wine, happy New Year's Eve eve. I will post from our neighbors tomorrow and most likely will be thankful for spell check after a couple of martinis.

Catching Up...

2008-12-29T18:36:00.001-08:00

I can't believe I haven't posted since Christmas Eve. Well - I guess I can since our notsowildaboutblue did not work all weekend (shock!). I have been busy at work and trying to stay off my little blog anyhow so guess I will have to get a little patient about posting. And with less photos for awhile. Our Christmas was quiet, mellow and that was just fine with me. After the drama of the well it was nice to not worry about too much. Except slip sliding down our driveway but that will be a constant theme over the winter. I did not get the quilt I was working on done for Training Buddy & family which was a bummer. But once I realized it wasn't going to happen and I accepted that fact, I grew a hell of a lot more peaceful. So I wrote a poem as explanation and now have until Super Bowl Sunday to finish the darn thing - I'll post a photo when it's done. I also did not finish a knitted hat I started for Hubby about 3 weeks before Christmas while I was also trying to get the quilt done - I so like to stress myself out. He didn't mind & I finished it last night. I will post a photo sometime this week. Our plans for NYE are pretty calm - we'll be walking up to the neighbors to hang with them. Training Buddy, her Hubby & their Princess will be joining us & spending the night here. So I started to frantically clean until I found a skein of yarn, some needles & the pattern for a really cool martini dishtowel (link for the pattern is saved at work - I'll have to dig it up and post it later). Guess what I did - yep stopped cleaning & folding clothes & began to knit while watching the UCONN men's basketball team get killed by Georgetown. They, UCONN, not Georgetown, really played like crap. But, hey - did ya'll see them 'Fins? What a great game! I don't know how they will do next Sunday but we'll be watching and the best part is the Patriots are OUT OF IT !!! Ok - really that's the second best part, the first best part is we beat the Jets & Brett Farve played like he should have retired. I will admit I was doubtful about Chad Pennington in the beginning but he has been amazing. I so want to get on a plane and go watch the game but we got the bill for the well repair...$1,8000 ....ouch... we'll be watching the playoff game on TV. I am trying to label this post and it won't let me type "quilting" - just "quilting drunk". Hmmmmm wonder if Blogger knows me better than I think. Those are all my random thoughts for now - oh wait - we have no snow because it all melted, it was like 60 degrees here yesterday but we should get snow on NYE - any bets on Training Buddy getting stuck on the driveway?

Happy Christmas Eve!

2008-12-24T04:08:00.000-08:00

The good news is we have water. The well boys fixed us up yesterday and the better part is they are sending us the bill. So, since it is the American way we can pay later! Yea - because who needs a $2,000 hit to their bank account 2 days before Christmas.
I am going to work but need to start posting from home - we'll see how that goes. Our notsowildaboutblue sentence will end January 7th and I am so excited to cancel their crappy service & get dial up - our best option out in the wilds of Moodus.
So I hope we only have to work until about 2:00, then I need to wrap Hubby's gifts and we will go down to Training Buddy's house for Christmas eve.
I got the below story from a friend at work and think it is so fitting for the holiday; Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice or whatever you celebrate.

An old Rabbi once asked his pupils how they could tell

when the night had ended and the day had begun.

“Could it be,” asked one of the students, “When you see

an animal in the distance and can tell whether

it’s a sheep or a dog?”

“No,” answered the Rabbi.

Another asked, “Is it when you can look at a tree in the

distance and tell whether it’s a fig tree or a peach tree?”

“No,” answered the Rabbi.

“Then what is it?” the pupils demanded.

“It is when you can look on the face of any man or

woman and see that it is your sister or brother.

Because if you cannot see this, it is still night.”

~ Tales of the Hasidim

And finally, above an ever so cute photo my friends the Lizards. Now, does anyone know any modeling agencies looking for cute kids? Cuz I think this kid has a future. I hope you were all good and get what you wished for!