FYI

2009-02-07T19:46:00.002-05:00

It's a B-O-Y!

So, I haven't been posting for a L-O-N-G while ... I tried to access my Myspace today in the land of dial-up and it kept on shutting down with some error, so forget it, I will go back to posting on my Blog.

So, the good news is we had our Ultrasound yesterday and everything looks good -- lucky for us little Henry is quite the show-off and had his legs spread WIDE out for all the world to see. I've posted a pic of his face. There is also a pic above of his legs crossed. During the ultrasound this was the point where he was swallowing or yawning or yelling -- either way his little mouth kept on opening and closing widely. I sure hope that doesn't mean he is going to be a noisy little one. (as I get a little kick in the tummy from the inside) I was going to post a picture of the ultrasound snapshot that showed us he was definitely a boy, but I figure why embarrass the little guy when he doesn't have a chance to defend himself. I am sure in the distant future, we will embarrass him enough when he is a teenager. We've decided that he is the offspring of the Terminator. Doesn't he look kinda like a miniature version? I wish my hospital had a 3D Ultrasound, because then you can actually see that he looks more like a baby and less like a little alien. Jim is over the moon happy now that he has someone to talk to about Camaros, cars, and such ... he is already searching for an Arctic Cat Kitty Cat for Henry once he is old enough to go snowmobiling -- which makes me miss snowmobiling this winter, as my OBGYN advised against it.

The whole experience was quite spectacular - to finally be able to see the little person inside of me. I've been feeling little flutters and movements the past week or so, but it was neat to see him moving all around. He was moving around so much that the Ultrasound tech would get him into view and then he would somersault out of view. Funny thing is Jim was a highly active baby in the womb as well. It should get quite interesting when I can actually start to feel him move more and have to re-locate his foot away from my rib cage. The only part that stinks is the ultrasound prep -- trying being pregnant, drinking 32 ounces of water and then holding it for 2+ hours ... yeah, not fun. Not to mention the fact that I had my regular appt before the ultrasound so I kindly asked the doctor not to push to hard on my abdomen, as I would not be responsible for the clean-up afterwards.

I've been in that pregnancy "glow" period -- the only complaint that I have is that I have had a really tough time sleeping at night. I'm not supposed to sleep on my stomach (for obvious reasons) and I read a couple of places that say it is not good to sleep on your back for extended periods of time because the weight of my uterus can lay on a major artery supplying blood flow down there. Although it may not be as true as they say, I guess I am just being overly cautious. I am sure by the time we decide to have a second kid I'll be smoking and drinking the whole 9 months -- just kidding ... I get these really bad leg cramps and it makes it nearly impossible to sleep through the night. Maybe it's just my body preparing me for the lack of sleep I have coming in the next couple months. Whatever it may be, I know it is all worth it because I can't wait to meet my son Henry :)

2008-10-09T10:41:00.002-04:00

To all the scumbags of the earth:

Dear Mr or Ms scumbag:

What gives you the right to steal stuff off my front lawn? Do you think that just because you have different political views than me and my husband it gives you reason to take the McCain/Palin sign from OUR yard. If that was the case I would come to your house/trailer/apt and steal YOUR lawn ornaments just because I have a different view on little gnomes and plastic deer than you do. I think they are ugly and tacky as hell. Instead of taking things that don't belong to you, why don't you spend your time more wisely and do something that will benefit America such as brushing up on your politics.

Sincerely,
Kristin

2008-10-08T11:19:00.001-04:00

Hot in Herrrreeeee

I guess I shouldn't complain seeing last week I was begging for heat at work, but this is a little over-doing it. I am sweating, flushed, and very uncomfortable in my office today. Not to mention that all the little old ladies keep their rooms at 85 degrees so when I go into see my patients I can barely stand being in the room for more than 5 minutes without having them call a code 1000 (medical emergency).

2008-10-07T09:11:00.002-04:00

BBQ Pulled Chicken

SUPER easy (but you can tell everyone it was difficult!)
Please note all measurements are kinda random - I just go by my instincts

1. Place desired amount of boneless, skinless chicken breasts in crock pot (I usually use one 1.5-2# package when I make it for Jim and me so we have leftovers and don't cut up the chicken breasts)
2. Add tablespoon of minced garlic (I use the jar stuff)
3. Add a dash of liquid smoke
4. Add around 1/4 cup Worcester sauce
5. Add enough BBQ sauce to lightly coat chicken - don't drown the chicken, just enough to cover the pieces. You can always add more later
6. Cook on low for about 5 hours, checking on chicken occasionally, turning pieces and adding more BBQ sauce as needed.
7. As the chicken cooks, you should eventually be able to tear it apart with two forks, making shredded chicken pieces. You'll know it is done when it tastes pretty darn good :)

2008-10-06T14:09:00.002-04:00

Poop

I feel like crap today, I think I am coming down with a cold :( Not to mention Jim and I were out in the yard for a good part of the day on Sunday spreading around 15 yards of crushed asphalt in the driveway in an attempt to make it look semi-decent. Our driveway isn't very long, but it's very wide -- about 6-7 cars wide (and if you know Jim and his car obsession, we need every square inch, plus the 2 car garage and the car port). All in all it looks pretty good -- and it will look much better once it is compacted more. I think my cheeks got wind-burned yesterday so that is not helping my situation. Not to mention the fact that Nono's house was around 78 degrees last night so I was going from one temp extreme to the next. I think that is what menopause is going to feel like.

Onto brighter notes, this weekend is Gilbert Lake (yay). I've already begun my packing and prep (One word: Virgo). I made BBQ pulled chicken last night for the Pavillion pot-luck) as well as got together a bunch of ingredients for the chicken corn chowder I will be making for Fri night dinner. I also make a killer corn muffin to accompany those dishes! It's a lot easier to make these items and then freeze them because the kitchens in the cabins are limited and they don't have hot water. I'm trying an old school recipe that involves baking (yes, me the anti-baker is trying to bake). My Mom used to make these cupcakes in ice cream cones for us when we were little -- well, I think she made them once and realized they were a pain and didn't make them again -- so I am going to attempt to make them and transport them 3 hours to Oneonta. Good luck. right? The only bad thing about making these items ahead of time is you smell them cooking and can't resist to take a couple bites ... or more ...

2008-10-03T10:06:00.002-04:00

Did this bother anyone else?

Did anyone else notice that Biden referred to himself in the third person like 3-4 times last night during the debate? It was kinda freaky. Also, he called "Bosnians" "Bosniaks." Does that mean we are "Americaniaks?"

Now, I don't consider myself a definite Democrat nor Republican, so I was anxious to watch the debate last night. I've actually tended to lean more towards the Democrate side of things in the past, until this year. I guess that's why I registered myself "Republican" in the primaries (not like it makes a difference in VT because they are such a liberal state). I was, admittingly, a little nervous for Palin, although I think she did a pretty good job, other than dogding a few questions and mentioning "Energy Policy" like a bazillion times. I was rather unimpressed by McCain's debate against Obama the other day - but I was only able to stay awake for part of it, so maybe I didn't give him justice. Some of you may know that Jim is a REPUBLICAN, so he was rooting for Palin, but we had a really good discussion last night about how we didn't feel prepared to vote for either ticket, not feeling that we had a great grasp on what either stood for. I guess it is partly due to the fact that there wasn't definite candidates for the tickets until a couple weeks ago. Usually, you know months in advance of the convention who is going to be picked.

What scares me is I feel that Jim is pretty well-informed on politics and so I usually get a lot of my info from him, or go to him for questions, but if he doesn't feel like we have been shown enough of these candidates, then what are other people going to base their vote on? I fear that they are going to base their decision on Bush's years of service and think, "Well, we don't like Bush and he's a Republican, and so is McCain, so I'll vote for Obama ..." I just hope people actually try and form an opinion for themselves rather than base it on previous leadership because I really think that McCain and Palin can do America justice.

2008-10-01T13:12:00.003-04:00

Move over Martha!

So I FINALLY bought a sewing machine! YAY! I am soo freakin' domestic it scares me. I've been getting into sewing, using Jo-Ann's (Jim's mom) really nice Bernina and decided that I wanted to take this wife thing ... I mean sewing thing serious. I have been making wine coasters of plenty for family/friends/gifts and have started to get the hang of it. It's actually a really easy project that involves scrap fabric and not too much time. I wanted to have my own machine so I don't have to impose on Jo-Ann every time I want to sew. She had suggested a White intro model that has some neat options on it (1/4 foot, walking foot, needle down button ... ) and when I searched at Jo-Ann Fabrics, they said that they were no longer going to carry the White brand. So my search continued in NH (no tax!) and we found a place called Vacman and Bobbin (hilarious, I know) that sold vacuums and sewing machines. They had the model there but she wanted $200 for the floor model. No thanks. I ended up buying it online and when all said and done (shipping and all) it came to around $143. I am anxiously awaiting my new purchase via UPS next week.

2008-09-30T10:03:00.002-04:00

What's up, THIRD ROW?

So, yeah, we had freakin' THIRD ROW seats to see Brad Paisley in Manchester on Thursday! (pictures to come) We didn't know what our seats would be until we picked them up at the arena that night. When the lady handed us our tickets it said "Floor Row CC" -- so at first we were kinda bummed seeing we thought our hopes of 2-12th row were shattered seeing we thought that the rows started with single letters then progressed to double. Boy, were we wrong, as the usher brought us closer and closer to the stage. Not to mention that the stage had a section through the middle that went out into the audience and we were seats 3 and 4 away from that. I mean, we were soo close Brad almost sweat on me.

All in all vacay was really nice. We had beautiful weather and managed to pack in a lot of sight-seeing, as well as relaxing. We did some shopping at the outlets (gotta love tax-free NH), hiked Mount Major, saw Castle in the Clouds and did some hiking there, went out to dinner a few times, and cooked in a lot ... we cut our trip short by one day, coming home Friday instead of Saturday seeing it rained all day Friday and Saturday didn't look much better (plus, we missed the cats ... yes, mildly pathetic, I admit).

As soon as I get the chance to load the pictures (or should I say, Jim), they will be here.

2008-09-20T09:15:00.002-04:00

STUFFED.

Last night's dinner at Peppermills was really good. I had the penne gorgonzola with blackened chicken and Jim had the chicken parm. We split an order of hot wings and they were pretty hot, just how we like them. They also had this interesting breading on them, almost like mashed up Italian breadcrumbs. We sampled the Switchback Pale Ale from the Switchback Brewing Co in Burlington, VT. It was unfiltered like a Hefeweizen, which I like, just not as cloudy.

Afterwards we went to the Madison Brewery and they were out of my fav, so I settled for a Sucker Pond Blonde and a Raspberry Wheat. We sat at the bar because it was pretty crowded and the poor bartender had to make strawberry daquiries all night. I mean, come on people, who goes to a brewery and orders a strawberry daquiri?

2008-09-19T11:49:00.002-04:00

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N!!!!!

Only 2.5 more days of work and then it's VACATION! Jim and I are headed to NH Sunday after I get out of work for the entire week! I cannot wait! We'll be celebrating our 1st Wedding Anniversary Monday and eating our cake top -- I am hoping it's not too freezer burnt seeing we wrapped it really well and it has a layer of fondant over it as well.

Lots to do in the coming weeks -- we have Brayden and Abbey's 1st Birthday parties, Anniversary, Brad Paisley concert, Gilbert Lake ...

We're headed to Peppermills for my Birthday dinner tonight and then to the Madison Brewery for some drinks. They brew their own beer there. My favorite is the Honey Wheat or the Raspberry. The atmosphere is pretty cool as well.

2008-09-18T09:31:00.003-04:00

Have tissues ready -- you will cry laughing

Scott sent this to me - it's from the past weekend at LBI. Jim and I couldn't make it, and now I wish we were there! Mamacita can REALLY move!

SHAKE IT

2008-09-15T10:22:00.002-04:00

That's it, folks, I'm hooked.

Last night Jim wanted to watch the 2 hour season premier of Fringe, a new show on Fox. I wasn't too interested in it seeing it looked a lot like X-Files and I wasn't into that. Well, I'm now hooked. It has a crazy plot line and I just hope it doesn't 'jump the shark' after the first couple episodes. The first episode (post pilot episode) is on this Tuesday. Check out: www.fox.com/fringe/ for more info. Girls, yummy Pacey from Dawson's Creek is in it as well.

Countdown to vacation: 6 days!

2008-09-10T16:18:00.002-04:00

Top 10 Reasons I heart the Fall season

1. Our Anniversary 9/22
2. My Birthday 9/17
3. Annual trip to Gilbert Lake
4. Leaves changing colors
5. Autumn leaves scented Yankee Candle
6. Fleece jackets
7. Fresh apples from the Apple Barn in Pownal, VT
8. Picking out pumpkins
9. Eating pumpkin seeds
10. Pumpkin spice Green Mountain coffee (starting to sense a pumpkin theme?)

2008-09-09T16:17:00.002-04:00

Enlightened Fettucini Alfredo

Due to popular demand for my yummy recipes (shout out to Ryan and Christi, woot woot!) here is a low-fat version of the otherwise tubalicious fettucini alfredo:

1. In a large pan, add 1 cup fat free half and half to 2T flour, and a little S&P, whisking continuously until thickened. Trust me with the half and half and don't use skim or 1% milk, it won't thicken the same.
2. Once thickened, remove from heat and add 1/2 - 3/4 cup parmesan cheese(I use the tastier Pecorino Romano).
3. Add to 14 ounces of fettucini, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and parsley and serve. I also sometimes stir in some cubed, cooked chicken with a side of broccoli.

2008-09-02T09:51:00.002-04:00

Eat this now. Thank me later.

We made this last night and today I have leftovers to look forward to.

Chicken Enchilada Bake

1. To make the sauce: Mix together in a medium bowl, 1/2 cup sour cream (I used a 6 ounce container of fat free plain yogurt), 1 cup salsa, 2tsp chili powder, 1 (10 and 3/4 ounce) can condensed fat free or 98% fat free cream of chicken soup.
2. Add 1 cup of the above mixture to 2 cups cooked chicken (I used 2 ten ounce cans of chunk chicken and shredded it with my fingers) and 1/2 cup shredded mexican-type cheese
3. Heat 6 flour tortillas to get them pliable (6 inch round)
4. Divide the mixture evenly amongst the 6 tortillas, rolling them up and placing them in a 11X8 or so shallow pan (I used my pyrex dish)
5. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchilladas and bake covered at 350 degrees for around 40 minutes.

Next time I make this I made add a little hot sauce to the mix to make it spicy and also top it with some more of the shredded cheese. It was soo good ... and easy!

Is it noon yet?

2008-08-28T16:42:00.003-04:00

I don't care who you are, that's funny right there!

We were watching America's Got (no) Talent the other night and this rather large 350-400+ pound man was singing. When he was done, Pierce stated that he was the Michael Phelps of singing. Conversation ensued ...

Me: "I think he eats as many calories as Michael Phelps does in one day."
Jim: laughs

pause

Me: "Actually I think he just ate Michael Phelps."
Jim: laughs more

Lord, I apologize for that right there, and please be with the starvin' pygmies down there in New Guinea, A-men.

2008-08-24T09:14:00.002-04:00

Like a Retard at Chuckie Cheese

I just got done reading Jim's newest post and it inspired me to write one of my own. To find out what the reference is from for my title, see Jim's blog. It's highly amusing.

Well, it's another weekend I am working, but for a good reason, as I switched this weekend to have next weekend off to go to a friend's Wedding. It's a local Wedding in VT, so I'm excited not to have to travel anywhere this time. The only thing that stinks is that it is on a holiday weekend.

Last night we had dinner over our friends Mike and Erin's house. We've been trying to get together more often seeing I feel like I never see anyone anymore. Oh, and Hannah has a slight obsession with our cats. It was afun time and I wish I had the energy of a 3 year old because, boy, was I tired out after last night. We read and colored and swung on the swing set and played house and ... well, you get the picture. My favorite phrase of Hannah's is everytime she asks you to do something or does something herself she goes "good idea Kris, good idea." It was a lot of fun.

2008-07-14T16:44:00.002-04:00

Procrastinators are the Leaders of Tomorrow

That's right folks, tonight we FINALLY meet with our photographer after many months ... to pick out the photos for our album. Now, we have had our pictures since October --- and after many pleads from our Mothers, we finally sat down and picked out pictures for the album -- it was VERY painfull (j/k) I am excited to get the pictures into a nice album, I just don't feel like sitting down and going over all the details, but if I want our Mothers to speak to us again, we best get our butts in gear, if ya know what I mean.

Oh, and tomorrow I am golfing in the REACH Women's charity gold tournament ... watch out!!!!!!!!!1 I've NEVER golfed before ...................

2008-06-22T20:01:00.002-04:00

I kissed a girl ... and I liked it ...

Sorry boys ... and Jim ... and girls ... I was just listening to that song on the radio (it's hypnotic). loves da beat.

I'm at home ... land o dial-up-ness ... waiting for Jim to return from his trip from PA. Eventhough he has only been gone since Thursday and I worked the weekend to occupy my time ... I REALLY miss him!! The best thing to yet happen to me this Sunday is when he walks in the door and I can wrap my arms (almost) around him and squeeze him SOOO tight because I missed him soooo much. In the meantime, I made pizza and wrapped up the leftovers for Jim to have if he's hungry after the long drive. I watched "Little Black Book" -- DVR'ed from this morning ... and I currently have "Mr and Mrs Smith on 'pause' while I write this post. (don't worry, Brad, I'm a-coming ..." ...

I do feel really bad about not posting as much as I used to ...damn dial-up and 'websense' at work ... well, if you visit and I haven't posted in a while, check out: www.dooce.com .... I visit this site religiously and lovvvveeessss it .. at least u can't be mad at me anymore for not posting as I just refered you to that awesome site ... oh, and dooce ... if you're reading ... loves ya! (and chuck). Well, off to apply my cherry chapstick ...

2008-06-10T16:02:00.003-04:00

It's hot in herrrrrreeeee

Well, I FINALLY got my AC unit installed in my office today -- I was beginning to feel left out or not liked seeing as though the office around me had their AC's and I was just maneuvering a way to get what cold air I could from their offices to mine. We're currently under a tornado watch until 6pm or so tonight. No fear, because, as a former Ohio-in, I was subjected to tornado drills in school where we would get under our desks during drills. I also remember many nights where my parents would wake us up and bring us down into the basement until the tornado warning was over with.

I do have to add this nice weather, mowing in the 90 degree heat, and the help of a tanning bed has helped my tan progress nicely. I'm not usually a tanning-bed person, but I'm in a Wedding in July and I don't want to be the pale bridesmaid who sticks out like a sore thumb. We're supposed to get our dresses around the 15th (fingers crossed), as I will need to get mine altered. Nothing like squeezing things in in the nick of time!!! But, I have faith that I can get it done. Plus,I scored these cute $20 shoes to go with the dress. Go me!

The next couple weekends are jam-packed for us, as I am working the next two weekends, we still have a lot of work to do on the yard, events to go to, NH for July 4th, etc etc ... Gotta love the summer!

2008-05-27T21:20:00.002-04:00

Memorial Day Partaaaaaaaaay Weekend

Well, my liver is still recovering from this weekend -- I hear they can regenerate, so it's all cool. Chrissy -- damn those tic tacs! The weather was beautiful, the black gnats ate me alive, my right arm looks like a lobster. The house is finally back in order (me = neat freakazoid) and I am currently doing laundry load #782349256 with more to go! I also have a feeling I will be eating hamburgers for the next 5 days. We even still have a full cooler of beer, but no rum ... hmmm, so let's party again (once my liver does that regenerating thing). I love throwing parties, but I pay for them before and afterwards with all of my obsessive cleaning (thanks for the trait, Dad).

This week should go by fast, as tomorrow is already Wed (love you 4 day weeks!) and I have Relay for Life on Friday -- there's still time to donate online!!!! I've raised $420 already and my goal is $500. I still have Red Sox Box Seats to raffle off at 10pm Friday night as well ($10/chance). Plus, Saturday I am going to Fer's house to go watch the Sex and the City Movie, YAYAYYYYYY. Bring on the cosmos!

Can't wait for a girly weekend with my sister :) Fer- I promise not to be a mooch -- lol you know what I mean ...

2008-05-15T19:08:00.002-04:00

I think I should be mad ... but I feel guilty for it

I have a fellow co-worker who is out on medical leave ... before she went out, she was very nervous about her surgery and feeling like she was going to be lonely. So, I promised to make a baked ziti (my specialty) and come over for dinner one night at her house -- I would cook, clean up, and take care of EVERYTHING. She was ALLL for it. Well, time came and passed and no word from her. I finally talked to her on the phone and she pretty much dismissed my kind gesture which made me kinda mad. I understand what she went through and I totally respect the fact that maybe she realized she wasn't up for dinner company. So, she had an appt at the hospital this past week and I told her I would bring the food, put it in the freezer in the kitchen and she could take it when she was leaving, seeing she was coming down to the dept to visit everyone. Well, I reminded her when she was there about the baked ziti in the freezer and she said she wouldn't forget it ... and ended up forgeting it. I know it was prolly a matter of forgetting but just the different stages that led up to the one this week (there were a couple of the same that I'm not feeling like typing about) made me feel really crappy and wondering why I even bothered reaching out to this person. I felt really neglected and underappreciated because not once was I thanked for my gesture. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I only did this for the gratification, but, sometimes ... it's nice to know that the things you do ... even if they are just starch, tomatoes, and cheese ... are appreciated ...

2008-05-09T13:59:00.001-04:00

WHAT have I done????

I've been growing my hair for a little over a year now. It started with wanting it longer for the Wedding and ended with me cutting most of it off today.

At first I though I liked it until I tried to take a pic to send to my Mom to show her and it just looks horrible and I want to cry :(

2008-05-08T19:44:00.002-04:00

Yes --- it's a beotching session

Gosh, do I wish I didn't live in the boonies -- aka: "land of dial-up."
Actually, I think VT should change their state motto to that: "land of dial-up."

I get so frustrated b/c there is sooo much I want to blog about (and soooooo much I am SURE you want to read about) that dial-up is so not condusive to me expressing this.

Well, long stories short ... I did go shopping Thursday night after work seeing the baby shower didn't get over until after 4pm (by the way, Jen, you are an uber-cute pregnant mommy) ... and didn't find my shoes. I did find them at a Macy's in NJ while I was there this past weekend for the most expensive bridal shower I will likely EVER participate in (let's just say that my suggested contribution of $600 was reduced to $300 ... I wrote out the check and that's the end of it. Ask me and I will tell you the sans-cliffs noted version in person.) BUT the shoes were way too uncomfy to wear all day .. so I am still on the search.

So, I must end this post on a sad note, but well-deserved ...

A friend of mine lost her father earlier in the week and I am sending out my deepest condolences to her and her family. She is one of those people who are one in a million and would do anything for a friend without thinking twice. I just want her to know that many of us would do the same for her because we have so much love and admiration for her. Love ya L.

2008-04-27T10:16:00.002-04:00

The best pancakes in the UNIVERSE

This morning I made Stonewall kitchen pancakes. They are the bomb-diggity. My parents brought them over for Easter morning bfast and I have enough mix left over to make a couple batches more. They are so light and fluffy and have a hint of vanilla that is ooohhh soo yumalicious ... check it out ...

Yesterday, we spent another couple hours in the yard raking, and do I have the blisters to prove it or what. The saving grace is that we HAD to end our work by 3:30 -- as the Yankees were on ... which is WAY more important than anything else in the world ... except for those pancakes ... hmmmm ... Today I have a baby shower to go to at 1pm and I am hoping to get over the the "mall" (called such "mall" as the selection of stores and inventory really sucks) as I need to find silver strappy shoes to wear in July for Nicole's wedding. My sister found a really cute pair of Bandolino Jaykes (in silver)but they are either out of stock in my size in like every store off and online or way too much money. pooo. Plus, I am looking for some new warmer-weather clothes as my selection currently sucks and I am not impressed with how some things are a little tighter this time around :( However, I may not have the time seeing the baby shower might not get done until like 3 or 4 and then I have reservations at la restaurant de Nono tonight. Second option is going Thursday and meeting Jim in Pittsfield for dinner before his guitar lesson. Which leaves me with shopping and packing for our trip this weekend in only one day. I guess we'll see.

2008-04-23T21:07:00.002-04:00

It's getting hot in heeerrreee

yeah -- so, after my short weekend in DC of high speed internet (pics posted on MYSPACE) -- all pictures to be posted once Scott and Jen get their ASSES IN GEAR AND POST THEIR PICTURES (Fer- you have the excuse of a crappy internet; Scott ... stop playing rock band and post your goddamn pics). P.S. readers, I appologize for the crappy spelling errors ... I guess I had a couple toooooo many Sam Summers as I wrote that post ... no promises with spell check tonight as it's on low-speed internet, so it's not worth the extra 5 minutes it takes to selllchek ... hahah I meant spellcheck ... WhaTeVerrrrr ...

So, this past weekend, Jim and I worked in the yard trying to grow grass -- we can tell that the work Marshall did is a BIG improvement from last year, as this Memorial Day weekend BBQ will only highlight a trickling stream in the backyard, rather than a small man-made pond. I guess extreme bocce is out of the question this year ...

So, this post will be random, as it is kinda like a snapshot of what I have been wanting to say for like 3 weeks of posts. It's the headings of like 15 posts I would have wrote about if I had highspeed internet ... or if they let me blog at work again ... Here's the list. Call me if you want more info: 8675309
1. I just ate a goldfish cracker Harriet licked all of the cheese off of ... and I'm OK with that.
2. Jim and I are going to see the EAGLES in BOSTON in JULY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3. There's stll snow in my yard ...
4. ... It's 85 and April ...
5. I hate my job this week
6. Skinny Girls' Margarita
7. Memorial Day Partaaayyy
8. You annoy me, but I'll still be your friend
9. Baby fever
10. Jeep Wrangler for Sale
11. I think my cat is "special needs"
12. Curtains, Drapery, and Mice ... oh MY!
13. Jim and I are going to see the EAGLES in BOSTON in JULY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (really excited ... deserves two posts) ...
14. Real Housewives of NYC ... let's discuss.
15. My wisdom buddy.

2008-04-10T15:33:00.003-04:00

LIVE from D.C. ..... it's my BLOG!!!!

so, we made it to DC in one piece -- well, two, because Fer and I count as one piece each. The flight was very short and uneventful other than the guy who sat next to me who peeped over at my magazine everytime I tuned the page. Oh, yeah and if anyone knows the answer to "what city does Niagara Falls supply the most power to" it would be greatly appreciated, as the screens on the plane turned off at the end of our flight right as they were going to reveal the answer to the trivia question.

right now Fer and I are hanging out at scott's pad waiting for him to come home from working so we can do some fun stuff. As the host with the most he has left us with a fridge filled with Sam Summer ale (a fav of ours). We're likely going to a Washington Nationals game tonight which should be fun seeing it is BEAUTIFUL outside! I love thinking how I still have a load of snow in my yard and right now I am enjoying 75+ weather wearing a tank top and slip flops. I do miss my hubby and kitties! Ok, well, off to sit on the deck and chill because I'm on vacay and you're working suckas!!!!!

xoxox
kiki

2008-04-07T09:27:00.003-04:00

An e-mail from my Mom

My parents were in Florida for a couple days and they return today. Here is the e-mail I just received from her:

"Hi there

Just checking to see if our flight is on time. Any chance its 75 and sunny in Hartford so I can wear my shorts home? I refuse to take off my flipflops though. Talk to you later tonight.

We get in around 3 - but then have to stop by the accountant's office to pick up our taxes.

Love Mom"

Did I mention it snowed last night in Vermont?

2008-04-05T15:01:00.006-04:00

Working, blah

Before I get to the post -- you'll notice I've posted pics from Fry-Partay 2008 last weekend. In order they are: Scott and Abbey, Brayden, Cole, Hannah (note that she is wearing the Ozzy and Harriet shirt we got her for X-mas), Jim and cole (Jim's not as pissed off as he looks, he's mid-blinking in the pic), and Me and Hannah. Enjoy!

This weekend I am working --but it is TOTALLY worth it because a week from today I will be in Washington D.C. wreaking havoc with my sister and my two best friends in the WHOLE WIDE world, Nicole and Scott. Fer and I fly in to Reagan a little before lunch time Thursday and since Scott can't pick us up right away, I have scoped out a cool restaurant we're going to -- they have their own microbrews, so I am excited to try those. Nothing like drinking in the middle of the day -- but isn't that what vacation is for? Plus, Reagan is a huge airport, so they have little shops and such, so I am sure we can keep ourselves entertained (and out of trouble) until Scott can pick us up. Nicole is driving down from Jersey Fri afternoon after work, so Friday night the whole gang will be together. Scott, being the good chef he is, has promised to whip up a gourmet dinner for us girls of the Asian Fusion flare. Yum. I'm looking forward to going back to the zoo and to some of the museums. Jim and I were in DC September 2006 and we saw the Monument, Arlington cemetery, some museums, and the zoo ... but there is sooo much more I want to see. I am sure I'll have many pictures to post when I get back.

2008-03-29T09:37:00.002-04:00

Ronnie Morris

If you'e ever in the North Adams/Adams area, I highly suggest you check out Ronnie Morris. Last night Jim and I had a date night and we went to the Bounti Fare Restaurant to eat (my new fav restaurant now that they have expanded the menu) and we were going to watch the new movie 21 which supposidly came out into the theaters Fri ... but, of course, it wasn't playing in North Adams and we didn't feel like driving to Pittsfield. To our luck, Ronnie was playing at the Bounti Fare so we stayed and listened to him play. I think we've become groupies. This is about the 4th time or so we have seen him play. We did have that one experience where we told our friends about Ronnie, so all of us went out to eat with the intention of listening to Ronnie afterwards. To our surprise it was someone's birthday and they had hired this comedian guy to "perform" at the birthday party. Jim was sitting near the front and became part of the comedy with this guy who was dressed up in shorts, suspenders, an "I love Weimaraners" shirt, big bug-eyed glasses, etc etc ... he was Rednecked-up. Jim became the "gay guy" and the brunt of most of the jokes. I have pictures on my cell phone if anyone wants a good laugh. Let's just say Jim refused to stay last night if it was anyone's birthday ...

Oh, I got the blue crab ravioli with a mix of the marinara and cream ... it was to die for. My other fav items are the clams casino pizza, chicken alfredo pizza, and the cedar plank salmon ... very yummy! Plus, their salad bar and peel and eat shrimp are pretty tasty. Oh, and they have Steel Rail on draft too.

Well, I'm off to go snowmobiling eventhough I'm slightly hung over from last night so it should be interesting. Then, tonight is our Fry-Partay 2008! I'll try and post pictures. As for now, here is my fav picture from Easter:

2008-03-23T14:40:00.002-04:00

Hippity Hop

Well, Easter has come and gone (for me) and I am tre-tired. Maybe that's why it's close to 3pm and I am still in my PJ's. Gotta love lazy Sundays.

Yesterday was so much fun having everyone over for dinner. It went by too fast and I wish I could re-wind 24 hours to re-live yesterday again. I have sooo much food leftover in my fridge, I won't have to go grocery shopping for 4 weeks. I posted some pictures to my MySpace, so check them out.

2008-03-21T20:26:00.002-04:00

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaapppy Easter ...

to the tune of Frosty the snowman if you get my drift

This weekend we are having my Mom, Eldest Dad, Fer, and Nono over for Easter (Jim's parents are going camping in PA ... crazy! ...) As all of you know, I am a clean freak when it comes to having people over ... even if it is my own fam ... I clean the house bottom to top and I just can't help myself. I even tell myself as I am cleaning that I am crazy and that noone will notice if I swiffer the floor or not. But I know ... and so I do it anyway.

As the lovely entertainer I am, I also have some Easter surprises up my sleeve ...
1. I am addicted to collecting salt and pepper shakers -- this Easter it's a bunny and a chick for the S and P in a little basket ... tre cute ... until you have to fill the little bastards ... not fun.
2. I am in the process of switching over from making bunny ice cubes to bunny jell-o molds. I know, I am TOO F-IN THEMED FOR WORDS.
3. The place-setting this year is duckies ... so I found these 75 cent mini rubber duckies dressed as Easter thingies for the center-pieces of the table settings. I found a sheep, egg, and some with different colored bunny ears. I know you don't understand ... I'm rambling ... if I had 10% more than dial-up I would post pictures.
4. Finally, I am wearing bunny ears I found at WalMart for $1.00 (plus applicable sales tax) I will wear tomorrow ... all day ... and prolly post a picture of ... because if I have enough wine and I get enough encouragement, I will endure the 4.8978 hours it takes to load it on this webpage.

Happy Easter bloggers.
Let's eat meat!

2008-03-17T18:50:00.003-04:00

Happy Half Birthday to Me!

oh, and Happy St Patrick's Day too ... yada yada yada ...

I may be one of the rare few who LOVES to celebrate my Birthday. I love it so much, I will even celebrate my half birthday. It's no coincidence that it falls on St Patricks Day either ... I know so many of us dread our birthdays ... the way I look at it is that it is the day my Mom gave birth to me. Why should I not be thankful and look forward to living through another year? I'll be the gal who's 90 and doing Irish car bomb shots on her 90 1/2 birthday. I also have another excuse to celebrate St Patrick's day is because I am 25% Irish (75% Italian). Plus, Mamacita is a big Irish fan. I try to make Irish soda bread every year and send it to her, however, this year I didn't because of the whole oven not working fiasco. I did send my yearly St Pattys Day card, though. Sorry Mamacita, next year, I'll send 2 loaves! Oh and speaking of the oven -- I posted a blog to my Myspace about it if you want to read it ... it's a long story ... and I had to vent about it but lately I have been unable to post because certain sites have been blocked if you know what I mean --

So, what did I do today? I luckily got up by 8am (coincidence) to greet Preite Oil at my door (in snazzy purple polka dot PJs) so he could fix our furnace. I made a casserole for Wed night. I went to the mall and bought some curtain rods for the bagillion windows in our dining room, as Jim's Mom has offered to iron my curtains (NOTE: I DO NOT IRON .. but I do have an ironing board, go fig ... just decor) in exchange for dinner Wed night. Thanks Jo-ann! I found a cute tablecloth for Easter dinner this weekend (cross fingers, hope nothing else breaks), bought two tops at NY and CO (did you know you get a discount there if you have AAA?), browsed through the baby section at Target (can't wait to have kids) and found a cute onesie that said "I'm new here" with a picture of the earth for Jim's cousin's baby, etc etc ...

I got a lot accomplished and still have a lot to do this week seeing I go crazy everytime I entertain (we're having Easter at our house Sat) -- but I love to do it.

I'll try and post more (I'm trying to help you not be bored at work, Jill, hehe) -- I have so much to talk about but so little patience with dial-up (I played 5 games of free cell before I could start to post this blog).

Off to call Jen-fer-fer and find out what the hell she was doing at the chinese club 2000 in NH this weekend!!!! lol

2008-03-11T19:21:00.002-04:00

Sad day.

Today we got the sad news that our friend's Mom passed away yesterday. It's times like this that makes me really thankful for the people in my life and for what I have.

Be thankful for in a moment, these things shall pass.

Sending out our thoughts and prayers.

2008-03-01T14:40:00.002-05:00

Cat Naps and way too much f'in snow

As I was watching a movie today on the couch, Harriet decided to join me, as she usually does. It basically starts out by her walking back and forth until she finds a comfy spot and then when your hand is tired from petting her so much, she does this cute little roll over and look REALLY cute move and I can't resist. Although, today, she fell into a deep sleep and was having one of those dreams where her body was twitching and she even let out a little peep sound. Kinda like when you see those dogs running in their sleep in Disney Movies.

On a second note, we have way to much snow and there is nowhere else to put it. We have a mountain high enough to reach the kitchen window above the sink and it is above the fence in the front yard. I can probably jump from the snowbank onto the roof of the workshop. NO MORE SNOW. I guess I should probably go outside and shovel because it's not going to move itself (unless it conveniently slides off the roof and onto the deck once again.)

2008-02-29T13:08:00.003-05:00

TGIF!

Not only is today Friday, but the bestest husband in the world (that's my husband in case you didn't know who I was referring to) sent me an e-mail today saying he was going to take care of preparing dinner, cooking, and cleaning and all I am supposed to do is relax tonight ... yes please! I am so excited! I am hoping my People magazine comes today, but since it usually doesn't ... I'm going to make a quick stop on the way home and pick up a trashy "OK" magazine, or a similar counterpart, and some red wine. Pj's and couch here I come!

I do want to add that I did get up Mon, Tue, Thur, and Fri mornings and worked out! Wed I slept in, but after work, I did some heavy duty cleaning around the house, so I counted that as exercise. Go me!

2008-02-27T19:30:00.002-05:00

Kiki hearts Fer

This past weekend my sister came to visit, which was a MUCH needed weekend for her and I both. She's been kinda bummed lately, as have I, and I hate it when my Jen-Fer is sad because she makes me happy so I want to make her happy. I had such a great time this weekend with her. We went to Chowderfest Saturday afternoon and ate way too much clam chowder. Strolled in and out of the shops downtown (freezing our butts off!) Then in the afternoon we took a trip to the North River Winery in Jacksonville and did a wine tasting. Then we played Monopoly (she kicked my ass -- damn those hotels on Park Place and Boardwalk!) while we sampled our winery purchases. At night we went to Harrington's in Adams and listening to Ronnie Morris play guitar and sing while we lost badly at Keno. As in my previous post, I get really lonely here a lot and it was so nice to be able to open up and have fun with someone so close to me. I dont feel like I have many friends here so being able to hang out with my sister meant the world.

Love ya Fer!

2008-02-15T11:11:00.002-05:00

Try this.
Thank me later.

Thanks to my Mom, I have a new guilty pleasure. Ask for 1/2 coffee, 1/2 white hot chocolate at Dunks. No sugar or cream needed. It's like heaven in a little cup (or medium or large, whatever you prefer). I think I am going to try the Milkyway hot chocolate today instead of the white hot chocolate. It gives you that little sweetness without all the calories of a regular hot chocolate (especially the ones from Dunks).

Yum-a-lum

2008-02-04T11:41:00.000-05:00

Depressing

Some days I just get really depressed. I took the day off from work today (pre-planned) and instead of meeting up with friends or having something to do, I am sitting here, still in my PJ's, with nothing to do and noone to spend the time with. I just feel that sometimes I don't have any friends around here and it just gets really lonely. I feel left out of certain loops or that I have nothing in common with others. I'm just in need of some friends and I don't know what to do.

:(

2008-02-03T15:48:00.000-05:00

GO GIANTS!

Yes, I will admit it, I am one of those church Superbowlers ... you know, the type of people who only watch football on "holidays" .. and in this case, the Superbowl. I think I just like it for the commercials and half time show ... or should I say, what the half time show used to be pre-wardrobe malfunction. I think I am the only person in America who is EXCITED to see Tom Petty. Yeah, he's pretty used up (you would be too if you did as many drugs as he did ... maybe still does?), however, I see him as a great musician. It's better than Paul (snooze) or the Rolling Stones (snooze snooze). I think I am REALLY excited about this year's Superbowl mainly because my Dad is a HUGE Giants fan and I really want them to win for him, hence, my unusual excitement over football.

Jim and I are throwing our own 2 person party this year (4 if you count the cats). We're busting out the fryer complete with wings, popcorn chicken, pizza rolls, and potstickers. I even made some healthier options like homemade guacamole (I make the best -- my recipe is even in a published cookbook --), lettuce for the popcorn chicken if salads are preferred, pretzels, and cut-up veggies. Granted, we'll likely never fry half of the stuff we got ... but we do have the option to. Unfortunately, Direct TV was unable to set up our high-def service until this coming Thursday, so we will just be watching normal def (is that what it's even called?) ... but on our new sweet a$$ 50 inch tv ... waa-freakin-hoo!

We were also very productive this morning on Superbowl Sunday. We had bfast at Linda's diner (BEST and CHEAPEST place around), got our taxes done (yay big refund!!!), had lunch with Nono, hit up Wal-mart, and did some grocery shopping. So, it's time to sign off now and go think about how to spend this glorious tax return (or should I say what is left over after we pay our taxes).

GO GIANTS!!!

2008-01-29T14:55:00.000-05:00

de TV, de TV ... (de plane, de plane ...)

Over the weekend Jim and I bought a SWEEEEEEEEET a$$ TV (50 inch LCD HD TV) using change he has been saving up forever ... I was going to blog about it, but Jim made up a good post, so just read his: (to see the cool pictures, please refer to his page as well) -- yup, I am being L-A-Z-Y-!

"Monday, January 28, 2008
For just pennies a day, you could help feed a starving kid that'll just grow up to father another bunch of starving kids...

...or you can buy a really sweet tv. :D

I've been wanting a big screen tv for a very long time, but I wouldn't buy one until I could get hi-def service, because I hate stretching the image to fit the wider aspect ratio of the tv. DirecTV finally added the albany stations in HD recently, so we decided it was time. I had been saving my spare change for a while... somewhere around 10-12 years. I had a giant plastic beer bottle full of change that I'd been adding to for a long time. It weighed too much for me to carry it upstairs, so it's been sitting in our foyer since we moved into the house a year and a half ago.

On Saturday Kristin decided that it was time for the tv. I poured the change into a 5 gallon pail so that I could carry it to the Coinstar machine at the Big Y. The change filled approximately 2/3 of the 5 gallon pail, and it weighed over a HUNDRED POUNDS!

Carrying this 100lb bohemith was a feat in itself. The 5 gallon pail was barely able to hold up to the strain, and I wasn't doing much better with trying to carry it. I lugged it into the Big Y, and immediately drew a crowd. The coinstar machine is great because you don't have to deal with the pain in the ass of rolling it all... which honestly, for me, wouldn't have been possible considering how much change we're talking about. The problem with coinstar is that they take 9% of your total, which in my case, would have been a fairly significant amount of money. But... you have the option of getting your redemption on a gift card instead of cash, and when you do that, you get the full value of your change... i.e. no 9% fee. Circuit City was one of the gift card options, so we did that. Below, you can see our totals from our receipt:

So... off to Circuit City we go! We intended to head to Keene to get our new TV in order to save on sales tax. Unfortunately, Keene didn't carry the TV I wanted. Of course, thanks to the fact that Circuit City only employs idiot teens who don't know anything about their job, it took me most of the day (and 3 different sales guys over the phone) to learn this. So, we headed to Holyoke after dinner on Saturday for our TV. In addition to our $782 in coin money, DirecTV also gives you $300 off any HD TV when you sign up for DirecTV Hi-def service, which we intended to do anyway. So, all totalled, we only wound up spending a few hundred dollars out of pocket for our snazzy new Sony KDF-50E3000 that now resides in our living room. :)

Posted by Jim85IROC at 8:38 AM"

2008-01-20T15:26:00.000-05:00

I think I have a new favorite restaurant.

I've never really been a fan of the Bounti Fare in Adams, MA ... until recently. It's a funny thing too because that is where Jim and I had our first "date." I remember getting some kind of pesto chicken pasta and it was lacking basil and flavor ... basically it was coated in oil ... and lots of it. And it was prolly all in my teeth ... not a great first date meal.

Jim always likes to go there because he loves the food there (black diamon tips), but I have always been sorta under impressed. The only thing I really liked there was the Chicken Nicholas dish(chix breast with an alfredo sauce over wild rice) --- hence, why I agreed to have our rehearsal dinner there ... plus, Jim knows Dave (the owner) and he always treats us good. They recently changed their menu (and didn't add the chicken nicholas -- it's only available on the catering menu --) but they did add a whole bunch of yummy entrees. Friday night I had the clams casino pizza for my meal and it was awesome (and so were the leftovers -- it's a rather large individual pizza) and the crab cakes for an appetizer -- equally yummy. I had a great bourbon salmon on a cedar plank special a couple weeks ago. There are a bunch of other menu items that are new that I cant wait to try. So, next time I want to go out to dinner and I say to the Bounti Fare ... I am sure Jim will say YES.

Occasionally, they will have live music, as they did this past Friday night (by the way, he will also be there this coming Friday the 25th) -- I would highly recommend going to see the show ... and it's free, even better.

2008-01-19T12:37:00.000-05:00

BLAH part deuce

I am feeling incredibly lazy and chubby today.

2008-01-15T11:20:00.000-05:00

Gift cards, Gift cards, Gift cards ...
(Marcia, Marcia, Marcia ...)

We got a couple gift cards to Macy's for our Wedding and we CANNOT seem to spend them for the life of us. We went to the mall the other day and found NADA. We didn't really have much on our registry from Macy's and pretty much got the things we wanted, so we were going to buy a new handheld vacuum (the new stylish cone ones) with one of the gift cards and then Jim and I were going to take the rest and blow it on clothes and stuff we needed/wanted. Jim couldn't find a pair of jeans to save his life (the selection SUCKS at our mall) and I didn't find anything either.

I was thinking of going on one of those website where you can sell/trade your gift cards just to get rid of them. I would much rather have a Home Depot or Target gift card seeing we seem to go there every other week for something for the house. Especially now, seeing we are getting ready to paint the hallway.

Anyone wanna trade for a Macy's gift card? I have about $175 worth of them?????

2008-01-13T13:02:00.000-05:00

I never thought I would want it to snow!

I've always been one to hate the cold weather and snow ... until now.

After going snowmobiling last weekend, all I want to do is to go again and again and again ... this warm Spring weather sucks ... yes, I am not running a fever ... We are supposed to get 4-6 inches tomorrow, but that is not going to be enough to go snowmobiling. I am actually WISHING for snow and LOTS of it! Call me crazy. Maybe Jim slipped something into my water to get me to feel this way ... or maybe I have just found a new hobby.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

2008-01-12T10:13:00.000-05:00

Rant

I hate wallpaper.

That is all.

2008-01-09T08:46:00.000-05:00

One thumb Up

The movie was pretty good last night (not as good as the yummy pad Thai). It was funny in parts, but also ended up being unsurprisingly sad, as well. Go see it. I can't wait for Juno.

On to more ...

Wanna know another thing that bugs me? I was reading my People magazine on Saturday and they were highlighting all these people who lost great amounts of weight. They said how they did it and showed before and after pics with before and after weights/sizes, and their height. The one thing that bugged me is that a lot of the women said that their size as a lot smaller than it should be if you calculated it out based on height/weight. Yeah, I can fit into a 2 in some stores, but it's not my actual size I would say ... it's all a trick by different companies to get women to buy their clothes because if I am a size 6 at the Gap, but a size 4 at Banana Republic, well, OF COURSE I'll spend the extra $50 for jeans that in reality are the same size, because it's not like they magically make my ass smaller (at least only psychologically). I mean, if you lost over 120 pounds, celebrate it and don't say you are 5'4", 143 pounds and a size 2. It happened on the biggest loser last night also (yes, I did catch the last 30 minutes). The woman counter-part of the team that got kicked off ended up losing some more weight after leaving the show and she said she was something like 5'4, 179# and a size 9. Unlikely. So, ladies, be proud of your "size" ... it's just a number anyway.

2008-01-08T09:03:00.000-05:00

Lars and the Real Girl

I'm going to go see this movie tonight at Images Cinema in Williamstown (half price night, yay!) with my friend Sharon. Every once in a while we do a dinner/movie night. It usually involves sushi, which is my favorite. Plus, Jim doesn't care for sushi/Thai food, so it's nice to find others who I can share really good food with. I;m looking forward to this movie because (A) Ryan Gossling is H-O-T and (B) it looks pretty funny. The next movie at Images is Juno, which I CAN'T wait for. Images is a cute little cinema on Spring Street in Williamstown that runs movies usually shortly after they are out of the theaters. It's a nice, small, theater, but make sure you bundle up because I think they are opposed to turning on their heat.

I'll let you know how it goes.

2008-01-07T09:41:00.000-05:00

Watch out trails, here I come!

Saturday Jim and I went snowmobiling and I made my maiden voyage all by myself ... no more hanging on for dear life to the back of Jim's sled that is only made for 1 person. I actually impressed myself that I went 60 miles that day seeing the trails were rather bumpy towards the end of the day. I wasn't cold thanks to my new gear. The only thing that held me back on the trip back was the fact that I had the Vulcan death grip the whole way up, so I had to stop frequently to allow my arthritic-feeling hands a chance to recover. Hopefully once Jim adjusts some things on the sled I can go longer because, man, I LOVED it! Here are some pictures. Please not "pretty boy" Jim who matches from head to toe in arctic cat gear ... unlike me. This is coming from the man who says to me "It's not a fashion show, it's snowmobiling." I think this year for my birthday I want a matching coat :)

2008-01-04T11:15:00.000-05:00

I am getting SO MUCH accomplished!

Every night I have been trying to do one thing after work, rather than just sitting on the couch and wasting away my night watching tv. Last night I tackled the spare bedroom/wedding leftover room/exercise room/etc ... I cleaned it up threw out a TON of stuff ... thank goodness it is trash day today. You can actually see the floor in there. Now all Jim needs to do is get the futon up there and we'll have another place for guests to stay .. hint hint --- anyone wanna come visit???? Tonight I'm not sure what it's going to be ... I may try and take down some more wallpaper in the upstairs hallway.

Now that Jim has the other sled fixed, I am making my maiden voyage all by myself snowmobiling on Saturday. I've gone with Jim before, but that was just me holding on for dear life on the back of his sled and occasionally driving. I;m excited and hoping it warms up a little bit.

Sunday is Jim's Birthday, so wish the birthday boy a Happy 31st!!!!!!

2008-01-03T11:39:00.000-05:00

New Year, New Me

So far it is day 3 into the New Year and I have started to whip my butt into shape. I've been trying to be better about exercising, better about eating, etc ... I actually got on the elliptical for 30 minutes last night AFTER work. GO ME! I do like to exercise, for the most part, but I really wish there was a gym closer to me because that would help out a ton. When I lived near the YMCA I would go just about 4-5 times a week, if not more, in the MORNING BEFORE WORK AT 5:45am!!! Exercising after work is just a chore to me, especially when all I have is a cheesy elliptical in a crowded room with JUST enough room to clear my head without bumping it on the ceiling. I am looking forward to the new gym to open in downtown North Adams. I would go to the YMCA again, but it is kinda far in the other direction from my house, and it is pretty skanky there seeing they don't keep up maintenance nor cleaning of their gym. So, once the gym there opens, sign me up. I don't think I will be able to get up that early before work, as I don't like getting ready in their locker rooms (ie: what if I forget something for work, then I am screwed). Plus, the amount of stuff us girls have to carry with us is crazy. Who knows, if they are uber-nice, I may be persuaded. That way I can go home right from work. The tough part about trying to exercise after work is I am the one who has to go home and make dinner. I rarely get time to sit and relax before I have to get everything together so we don't eat at 8pm. I guess I would go to the gym a lot more after work when I was single because I could get home whenever and just cook up some fast fish, broccoli, and a sweet potato and eat that every day of the week and I was fine with it. I guess I just want to be back in shape like I was before.

2008-01-02T11:18:00.000-05:00

Things that are pissing me off

1. Stalking Issues Again

I have this site counter on my page and it tells me how many hits I get each day, when, and where people are coming from. Previously, I had blocked my site to by request only because I was having some issues with people stalking my blog -- aka: checking my blog like 5 times in a day. So, I may have to do the whole block thing again and invite only those I know read my blog within reason. If this happens and I forget your e-mail address to invite you, just let me know.

2. Gift Slackers

I'm not going into this one, but it is irritating me.

3. People who are self-indulgent

Ok, so you are going through a little bit of a sticky point in your life, but don't make those around you who are having wonderful events in their life feel bad.

2008-01-02T09:59:00.000-05:00

Capital "L"

Yups, I'm hooked on the Biggest Loser. I had initially wanted to see if a certain couple was on, as my friend from college, Joan, and her sister had tried out for this season and even had call-backs. Unfortunately, they did not make it, but they said they had interviewed with a really funny gay couple who they were certain to get on the show. After the first 15 minutes ... I was hooked, as Jim was too.

It will be interesting to see the transformations of the contestants. I hope they start talking about how they are making changes to their diets, rather than just having them exercise like crazy and drink Brita-filtered water as a cheesy attempt at a free-ad.

Well, seeing I haven't blogged in a while, it's going to take me some time to get back into the swing of things.

~Happy New Year~

2007-12-25T17:32:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas bloggers of Kiki.

Although we don't have snow this year ... falling ... at least we have snow on the ground ... oh, and I'm not working. We had tried to volunteer in Hartford this year handing out presents to kids and helping with lunch, but because we could not go for the pre-background check earlier in the month, we were not able to help out this year. Basically, it was a timeframe of 2 hours one random Tuesday night in Hartford. It's kinda sad that this world has come to this .... you need a background check just about one month before you actually want to HELP OUT and VOLUNTEER on a HOLIDAY. So, instead we were selfish, opened up gifts and then just vegged all freakin day long. We had some appys this afternoon, drank some wine (I got a new wine chiller that sets the wine temp to the exact temp it is supposed to be served at. My Merlot is an exact 63 degrees right now. Yum. Oh, it also helps to relax when I have the Shiatsu pillow my sister gave my Mom on my lower back giving me an awesome massage ....

What did Kiki get this year? Well, although I like to give more than I like to receive, I will still tell you most of them:

1. Wine Chiller
2. Wine log book
3. "K" ornament
4. Season 2 of the Girls Next Door
5. Snowmobiling helmet
6. Bath and Body Works stuff
7. Jewlery
8. Cornbread Cookbook
9. Stuff for the cats
10. Snowmobiling hat
11. Home Depot Gift Card -- for Jim and me and the house
12. $75 gift certificate to Tranquil Moments Day Spa -- woot woot massages!!!
13. Glasses for the kitchen
14. Penguin tea boy timer
15. And other stuff I can't think of right now

Peace out elves

2007-12-24T19:26:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas Eve

I'm in CT and having a WONDERFUL time with my family. Every other year I get to spend the actual Christmas day with them, as Jim and I spend equal holidays with each side of the family. My Mom is making our traditional shrimp scampi we have every year on Christmas Eve (not Holiday eve ... as the priest at church pointed out tonight .... I'll save that for another post when I feel like posting about it .... ) My Mamacita is here and everything is good in the world ... or so it seems. I just love being here at my parents' house, spending time with them, it means a lot to me to just sit at the kitchen table and talk with Mamacita and my Mom about not much at all ... but after the fact, it always seems like much more. It's such a warm and cozy place.

I hope you feel the same way I do because, damn, it feels good.

2007-12-21T09:14:00.001-05:00

Good thing you're pretty

There is this one high-schooler who works part-time in the kitchen who is kinda ditsy. Let me set the scene before I go into the conversation I had the other day ...

It was the day of the Employee Holiday Meal: usually the part-time kids have to make a couple sandwiches for each of the nursing floors for patients. I was there talking to one employee while the ditsy one was listening.

Other employee: Do I haaaavvvve to make sandwiches for the patients
Me: No, we are just going to roll the patients through the cafeteria so they can enjoy the Holiday meal also.
Other employee: Laughs .... oh, ok ....
Ditsy One: (totally serious) They are REALLY going to bring the patients through the cafe ... wow ...
Other employee: She was JUST kidding ...
Ditsy One: OOOHHH .....

It's a good thing she's pretty.

2007-12-19T12:03:00.001-05:00

CRAZINESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Oh goodness, it's Employee Holiday Meal today and that means the cafeteria is like church on Christmas. Did I mention it was free.

This week has been VERY busy outside of work as well. It seems like every night we have something to do.
Monday: Visit Nono and then Jim had to get the sled from Mike's house to ours
Tuesday: Wrapped presents, cleaned house that way WAY over-due for a cleaning, Jim
worked on the Camry that is falling apart -- literally
Wednesday:Going to visit Nono again ... which means yet another take-out meal, Jim
continues to fix the car
Thursday:Jim working on some kind of transportation, Managers reception downtown
for me
Friday: See above for Jim, Freight Yard Pub with members of the rec comm for a wrap-
up after the Holiday party last week .. and an excuse to get together and
drink beer
Saturday: Visit with friends and then to the mall to finish up X-mas shopping
Sunday: I have to work in the morning, then it's off to Connecticut to RELAX!
Monday: Relax
Tuesday: Relax
I think you get the point ...

2007-12-18T16:20:00.000-05:00

Deck the halls with Blah

I've been feeling poopy lately (and I don't mean gassy). I don't know if others around me around rubbing off on me, if I am getting stressed about last minute X-mas shopping (which I don't really have much of left), or if my pants being a little tighter is depressing me.

I hope that I will find the Holiday cheer in me tonight by wrapping up a couple presents I have yet to wrap. Maybe a glass of wine will help also.

2007-12-17T09:42:00.001-05:00

Wedding Announcement

ch-ch-ch-ch-check it out.

2007-12-13T15:30:00.000-05:00

UGH, snow.

It's snowing like a mutha outside. Luckily, I can wait for Jim to get out of work, come visit Nono, and drive me home. The Camry will have to spend the night at NARH. Of course, I am one of the people that live the farthest away, but always end up being the last to go home ... go figure ... I'll remember that next time it is nice outside and I want to book it home early. I am planning on leaving by 2:30 tomorrow ... so I guess I'll make it up that way ... they can leave early when it's crappy out, so I will hold down the fort and leave when it's nice out. Deal or no deal.

2007-12-12T14:13:00.000-05:00

Oh Smishmas Tree

The tree we got this year is a very pretty tree .... a very pretty tree that likes to shed like that's it's job. By the time Smishmas comes around we are going to have one Charlie-Brown-looking tree, oh and a clogged vacuum cleaner. I can't wait to drag it through the house and have needles fly everywhere during it's grand departure.

2007-12-10T12:43:00.000-05:00

Not your ordinary (hare) bear

Last night Jim, Harriet, and I were watching Planet Earth on the Discovery Channel (Ozzy was staring up into the lampshade at the light bulb -- yeah, it wouldn't hurt him to watch something educational once in a while) and the funniest thing happened ... when I say that Harriet (hare-bear) was watching the show with us, she really was. She was getting all into it, especially when the birds were on the TV and that one time Jim had to put his hand over her eyes because 2 squirrels were doing the "deed." And, yes, he did actually shield her eyes -- what a good Dad! Her ears would perk up if something interesting was happening. It was the funniest thing and I swear she is half-human and smarter than most people I encounter on a daily basis.

2007-12-07T10:34:00.000-05:00

Get well soon, Nono

Well, I didn't end up going to the party last evening, Nono was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. He's doing ok today, just needs some rest, meds, and O2.

I was in the room when the nurse was doing the initial intake, where they ask you questions about your past medical history, if you smoke, meds, etc ... here is the part that made me laugh like crazy. As a side note, the nurse would usually repeat the question twice and then I would have to yell it into his left ear (the one with the hearing aide) -- I just didn't feel like writing all that:

Nurse: "Do you drink?"
Nono: "No."
Nurse: "Do you smoke?"
Nono: "I used to"
Nurse: "When did you quit?"
Nono: "Oh, like 30-33 years ago"
Nurse: "Do you abuse any substances?"
Nono: "Pause ... You mean like DOPE? .... NO."

I love that man.

2007-12-06T15:55:00.000-05:00

Darjeeling Limited

Last night, my friend Sharon and I went to Images Cinema in Williamstown to see the above movie -- don't ask me to pronounce it again, it was difficult enough at the movie counter. It was pretty good, pretty funny. Adrian Brody was really good in it. I also had some awesome, tasty sushi beforehand. I love raw fish, except for the fact that they have me two of my least favorite sashimi in my sushi boat (yup, it was a boat) -- octopus and eel. YUCK-O.

Tonight I am going to my co-worker's house for a Silpada jewelry party/wine fest. I told her I would go, but i can't afford to buy anymore Silpada jewelry seeing I just went to another party about a month ago. She was ok with that. I told her I would help drink the wine and eat the yummy snacks.

Then, it's home to pack and make oreo truffles for our trip to the condo in NH this weekend. Can't wait!

Cheers.

2007-12-05T11:25:00.000-05:00

Did you ever realize how sexist Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer is???

Last evening, we watched the Rudolph special on TV and I realized how little sexist comments were placed throughout the movie. Example: Rudolph's Dad to Mom: "You stay here, this is Man's work." in reference to him going to look for Rudolph when he ran away. I guess it was made in the 60's ... but, still.

2007-12-04T10:03:00.000-05:00

HOLY SNOW, BATMAN!

It snowed and snowed and snowed yesterday ... and I was SOOO glad I didn't have to work. I watched as the roads and our yard filled up with snow and I didn't have to do a damn thing. I did end up shoveling sometime around 2:30 or 3pm, only for the walkway to get filled with snow once again. When I went to get the mail, the snow from the driveway and the plow was up to my knees. It got my PJ's wet :( Yup, I wore my PJ's alllll day long. No shower. No make-up. It was heaven.

We also set-up our X-mas tree last night. We're hoping the cats don't knock it over ... I guess only time will tell when I get home tonight. They don't really care to climb up in it, they just like to drink the water in the base. Like it isn't hard enough to keep the tree watered the first couple days, I now have to compete with the cats drinking the water also. This is why we keep our toilet seats down also. Trust me, ladies, if your guy never puts the toilet seat down, get a cat or two and he'll put it down every time. Because cats swimming in the toilet is not a pretty sight.

2007-12-02T09:00:00.000-05:00

Almost done ... and I haven't even stepped foot in a store!

This year, like last year, I have done a majority of my X-mas shopping online. Places like Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com are giving us rural-residents free-shipping (ok, so everyone gets free shipping, just about) so we don't have to truck all the way to the mall and deal with crowds and the hassle. I do like going shopping during the Holiday season, don't get me wrong ... however, I like to go when I just need little odds and ends for people. That way, I am not stressed to HAVE to get a gift ... rather, I just need to suppliment what I am getting that person. I even have most things wrapped ... all we need is our tree ... which we are going to get tonight after I get out of work.

By the way, if anyone you are shopping for asks for the movie "Ratatouille," do them a favor and DON'T buy it for them. We rented it last night and I found it highly disappointing. I have been waiting to see it ever since it came out ... and I am glad I only paid $3.40 for it at The Movie Gallery, rather than $9 at the movie theater.

2007-12-01T09:37:00.000-05:00

Heaven in a bowl

You MUST go to the store, buy these ingredients, and make this NOW. You can thank me later.

Ingredients:
2 chicken breast cooked, cut up
1 quart fat free half-and-half (or you can use part FF 1/2 and 1.2 and part light
cream)
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup sliced baby carrots
2 cans regular corn
1 can creamed corn
1-2 cans potatoes, cut up into "spoon size" (I use these instead of having to
cook the potatoes and cut them up)
salt
pepper
red pepper flakes
1tsp thyme

Process:
Melt butter/margarine in soup kettle.
Add celery, onion, carrots, and red pepper flakes, cook until tender
Add flour, cook for 2-3 minutes
Add the rest of the ingredients
Bring to boil
Turn down to simmer until served.

2007-11-29T10:00:00.000-05:00

Poor little sweater dog

On my way to work everyday, I am greeted by this poor little dog, who is usually wearing a sweater when it's colder outside, yapping away and pulling on his chain so hard to try and attack my car in the road that I can't believe that his head hasn't popped off yet. either that or he has some serious marks around his neck from his collar. I always feel bad for this little dog because he must have some sort of Napoleon complex where he feels he has to try and attack anything bigger than him ... which is a lot of things. He thinks he is all Mr tough dog, when in reality,he's just a little dog wearing a sweater.

2007-11-28T09:17:00.000-05:00

Why thank-you 99

Last night we went to the 99 restaurant for my father-in-law's (still feels weird to say)birthday because that is his favorite place to eat. Usually I am underwhelmed with their food. Until last night.

I ordered the crab cake and cedar plank salmon dinner combo. It was one of the tastiest crab cakes I have ever had. Side note: I am obsessed with crab cakes lately. If a restaurant has them on their menu ... I HAVE to get them. It's like their bread crumb and crabby goodness drugs me and will not be satisfied until I utter the words "I'll have the crab cake." The salmon was grilled on a cedar plank and had this yummy bourbon glaze over it. I would definetly get it again and again and again ... knowing my luck, they won't have it next time I go there. The best crab cake so far was this little restaurant in Wilmington that Jim and I stopped at on the way to the condo for our honeymoon. We sat outside on this little porch and had a great time.

2007-11-25T14:13:00.000-05:00

Unlucky Number 13

Last night Jim and I watched "Ocean's 13." I was hoping Ratatouille was available, but no dice. I thought it would be as interesting as the previous movies. Nope. It was kinda cute, but not highly interesting and action-packed as I had hoped. It kinda ended and then I kinda fell asleep on the couch at 9:30pm. Sad, I know.

FUTONERIFFIC:
Tonight after work, Jim and I are going over to pick up a futon at a co-workers house. It's a cherry-like wood with a new and improved futon/mattress that she is selling for $100. too much??? good deal??? I plan on putting it in the exercise/leftovers from the Wedding room ... once I find the time to bring my dress to get it preserved. Any suggestios on where to go? Usually when we have more than two people stay over the house (we have a queen bed in the spare bedroom) I usually rely on my parents' cots for the extra guests. I thought it would be nice to have a couch/sleeping apparatus on hand for those occasions. I eventually plan on taking down the ugly panelling in that room, painting, adding some storage for towels/gym equipment, etc ... and making it a nice exercise room/extra sleeping area. I am also looking to get rid of a perfectly good papasan chair with a purple pad. Any takers??? $70 or best offer. Basically, only the cats use it right now and it takes up too much space. I think this little exercise room will be very cute and much better than having a twin mattress in that room, as I can use the futon to relax on after my heart-pumping work-outs.

2007-11-24T09:49:00.001-05:00

So mad at ABC

JUST because it's a Holiday weekend doesn't mean networks can't show new episodes of shows ... although, I don't blame them because they are clinging at strings to spread out the episodes they have left due to the writer's strike. I was all set to watch my FAVORITE show Friday Night Lights last night (and then Las Vegas, but I usually fall asleep during that one because it's on later) and I was disappointed because it was not on. Although, I did get hooked into "The Family Man" movie with Nicholas Cage and Tea Leoni. It was pretty good until the most disappointing ending to a pretty good storyline. Then, I fell asleep on the couch. Yeah, I live an exciting Friday Night, folks.

2007-11-23T14:55:00.000-05:00

Pasta and clam sauce

Jim's not a big fan of my linguini and white clam sauce (homemade, so tonight I decided to mix it up a bit and make red clam sauce. I'm taking the easy way out and using a pre-made sauce (I'm working the Holiday, I don't have much energy). So I bought 2 cans of pre-made red clam sauce, and jar of regular pasta sauce, and some of this Smart Taste thin spaghetti ... it has more fiber than regular pasta, but looks like white pasta ... (sorry hunny, now you know my secrets to fool you into eating more fiber). I'm just going to combine one can of the jarred clam sauce with the regular pasta sauce for Jim and then I can heat up the other can of clam sauce (I like more clams) and add it to my meal. Wahhhllaaa ... dinner is served bitches.

2007-11-23T09:13:00.000-05:00

The Day Aftermath

I am so sick of poultry.

Having 3 Thanksgivings in a month is really too much. My body is now rejecting anything with a wishbone or drumstick.

I think the day after Thanksgiving is the worst day to work. It seems like everything is going wrong today and I just don't feel like dealing. Plus, I have two more days until I have a day off again.

2007-11-22T09:11:00.000-05:00

Gobble, gobble, blah.

Working holidays really depresses me. Christmas is the worst, Thanksgiving is second. New Years I could care less about. I'm here on Thanksgiving while my family travels to Mamacita's house. And it's not like I can go up after work because I am here Friday, Saturday, AND Sunday. I'm just sad today.

:(

2007-11-20T09:18:00.000-05:00

Jim did always want me to go off-roading in the Jeep more often

I just don't think today is what he had in mind.

I was driving along to work this morning at a reasonable speed because of the snow and ice and ahead a bus turned on his "I'm stopping to pick up those kids" lights. I tapped on the breaks, but I must have tapped to hard and the Jeep started swerving left and right. I was trying not to have the Jeep veer to the left, as that is where the little kiddies were ... and the bus. Every time I thought I was gaining control, the Jeep would do some funky Dancing with the Stars move and I eventually went off the road, over a small ditch, and close to a tree. Luckily I didn't hit anything and I was able to get back over the ditch and back on the road.

Today proved that I will have to fork over $500-600 and get better snow tires. Just what I want to spend money on before the Holidays ...

2007-11-19T12:48:00.000-05:00

Hello, my name is Kristin and I am a condiment abuser

Jim always picks on me because I always put large portions of condiments on my plate, even if I am not going to use all of it (unless it's parmesan cheese ... and when I say parm cheese, I really mean Romano ... but that's what it has always been called in my house, so I go with the flow). You name it, hot sauce, ketchup, mustard, gravy ... I leave a bunch hanging out on the plate to be discarded down the drain. I guess I never really noticed this until he points it out. I have a feeling it's going to take a while for me to get past this. Untile then, we'll be thankful that ketchup doesn't cost as much as gas.

2007-11-19T09:16:00.000-05:00

Some issues in Kiki's blog land

I was having some issues with people on my blog, so I decided to open it up to invite only. I went through my address list, and think I got everyone. Let me know if there is anyone you know who JUST CAN'T LIVE without my blog. :)

Oh, and feel privileged for being on the list ... you can shower me with gifts via my home address .... 16 .... you get the picture ...

2007-11-17T16:47:00.000-05:00

Jen-fer-fer's Blog Post

I'm letting my sister post on my blog since she is a dedicated reader (and I heart her). If you leave her comments but don't leave me comments, I'll be sad.

You should SO leave me comments because I am just THAT good. We are having "pseudo Thanksgiving" right now and it is absolutely amazing. I don't like Thanksgiving food to begin with, but my madre makes the most amazing sausage stuffing that I just cannot resist the food! My bf is currently sleeping...aka the youngin of the group...he just doesn't know how to keep up with us old people :) But I love him none the less so it is okay :) I hope that we play Pictionary later on tonight because I am really amped up for it now and it is going to be a good time. Right now I think we are about to have dessert so this post might end abruptly...but it's dessert so it is totally worth it. Oh and P.S. Kiki is the best and you should read her posts because obviously they don't give her enough to do at work...haha just kidding!!

...Peace Out!! :)

Oh and don't stalk...that's just creepy...

2007-11-17T16:41:00.000-05:00

Who ARE you?????

I have this site map thing and it tells me who is on and when and from where ... usually I can't make heads or tails of who is who BUT there is one person from Oradell, NJ who frequents my site. Who are you dear blog groupie????? Represent.

2007-11-15T12:52:00.001-05:00

So long, farewell

I won't be posting for a couple days (*tears*) as tomorrow I am at a conference at Jiminy Peak (tough life, I know) and then it's off to CT for the weekend. YAY. Miss me. Miss me lots.

Tonight Jim, his parents, and I are going to BJs to get quantities of large stuff. I mean, who DOESN'T need 40 pounds of kitty litter???? I know we do. The only reason we sorta have a membership is because Jim's parents got one and they gave Jim their second card. Otherwise, I really don't see the need for it, considering the closest BJs is in Greenfield, which is quite the hike. AND, you can get most thing sat Walmart now ... ie: 50 rolls of TP, 25 rolls of paper towels, etc ... But it's free, so we'll take it. The one downside of going tonight is that I will be missing Survivor and CSI. Luckily, both shows have kinda "jumped the shark" so it doesn't break my little heart so much.

Smell ya lata.

2007-11-14T09:07:00.000-05:00

Can you believe it's ALMOST Thanksgiving????

Unfortunately, it's my holiday this year, but I'd much rather work Thanksgiving than Christmas any year. This weekend we are going to CT on Saturday for pre-Thanksgiving. I'm looking forward to my Mom's sausage stuffing. Just give me that and a can of fake cranberry sauce (I like the way it takes on the shape of the can) and we be rockin'. I never was one to get up early and go shopping on black Friday,mainly because I like to sleep off my turkey hangover the next day. Getting up at 4am???? Not for me suckas. Usually by the time it actually gets to be Thanksgiving, I am so sick of turkey. Last year we had Thanksgiving at our house seeing it was the first major holiday (well, other than Halloween, but no kid in their right mind would travel up and down our road when cars are whizzing by at 60mph, so we don't do anything for Halloween.) Our oven broke. Luckily, Jim's parents live 5 minutes down the road, so off the turkey, my Mom, and I go to bring the turkey to her oven. It seems as though something always breaks when we have some event at our house. For Easter, it was the garbage disposal. For Jim's surprise birthday party, it was the trash compactor. If only that gawd-awful fridge would go next ...

Speaking of Thanksgiving, our friends Jay and Jill sent us a picture of their son Brayden, isn't it the cutest???

2007-11-13T11:59:00.000-05:00

LMN -- enough said.

LMN: Lifetime Movie Network. Yup, I'm hooked. Yup, I'm a girl.

I was off yesterday and had every intention of taking down wall-paper (for anyone who knows me and knows our house ... this is always a long project that usually involves many weeks of half-torn-down wallpapered rooms and hallways.) After a while, I just don't notice it. However, that job got put off to the side. I ended up hanging out a little, making a new meatloaf recipe for dinner, paying some bills, working out, getting sushi and a movie, and vegging on the couch watching gotten (bad grammar) movie and watching a Lifetime movie. It had Denise Richards in it and I almost didn't recognize her because she had Brooke Shields-esk eyebrows and she was like 20 playing a 15-year old girl. It was a movie about this lady who hadn't seen her childhood friend in over 20 years and then she finds out that her friend has been in jail for 15 years for shooting two police officers. So, it is her duty now to prove her friend's innocence. A really funny part was that everytime the lady came to visit her friend in jail, her friend would have her buy her candy bars and doritos and chocolate milk because the friend was a vegetarian and it was hard to eat like that in prison ... yeah, because junk food is a WHOLE LOT healthier, lady. She might as well eat the meat. lol.

I rented Music and Lyrics. I usually rent chick flicks when Jim isn't going to watch them with me because he usually complains about my taste in movies. It was a cute movie. I suggest renting it.

2007-11-11T08:52:00.000-05:00

Do you ever wonder if your keys have are planning a conspiracy against you?

My office key and my house key are pretty much identical, except for the fact that my office key has a small "Do not Duplicate" on the backside. Everytime I go to open my office I grab my house key off the key chain and vice versa. It's like they are conspiring against me. They especially like to do this when I have a bunch of grocery bags balancing in my hands, trying to open the door. It's a pain and I just haven't remembered to pick up those little color-coded key covers at Walmart. Hopefully today I will remember because today is Sunday and we usually visit Nono on Sunday, have dinner, and then take a trip to the dreaded Walmart for thinsg we need and thinsg we don't.

2007-11-10T13:17:00.000-05:00

Better than a Denny's Special.

I'm not a big breakfast person. Don't get me wrong, I have to have something in the morning to kick my brain cells into gear, but it's usually a little packet of oatmeal, a whole-grain english muffin, or something to that effect. I do, however, like to have breakfast for dinner, and that's exactly what we are doing tonight followed by a showing of Transformers, as Jim is dying to see it again after the bestest wifey in the world (me) bought it for him. I'll prolly fall asleep half-way through on the couch.

I'm making pancakes that will be topped with some syrup from the favors we gave out at the Wedding (over-ordered by a little bit). I've heard it's yummy ... and locally from VT! I think I also have some eggs ready to hatch in the fridge, so we'll whip up some of those. I don't know it tonight's dinner will compare to the paella I made last night. It's my Mom's recipe and it is AWESOME. By the way, make sure you have some time set aside for this recipe ... takes a while, but WELL worth the wait.

Paella alla Awesome
1/2-3/4# uncooked shrimp
1/2-3/4 bay scallops
1/2-3/4# chicken
(note, I always get more towards the 3/4ths side because I like to snack on them while I am cooking)
EVOO
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups chicken broth
12.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
1/2t paprika
1/2t (optional) saffron
S and P
8 ounces corn
1 cup medium grain arborio rice
4 ounces pimentos
some garlic - 2-3 cloves
some hot sauce - couple dashes or more

1. Saute the shrimp in a little EVOO until pink (I use my electric skillet). Remove
2. Repeat with scallops and chicken -- but you'll want the chicken not pink and if the scallops turn pink, we've got problems
3. Put some garlic (to your liking) in the pan with onions, about 6 minutes
4. Stir in tomatoes, saffron, paprika, and hot sauce, about 3 min simmer
5. Add rice, and broth. Bring to a boil
6. Cover and simmer over med-low heat for about 20 minutes
7. Add back shrimp, scallops, chix and corn, and pimentos, cooking about 5-10 minutes or until rice is tender.
8. Eat
9. Thank me for giving your taste buds a wonderful experience

2007-11-08T10:14:00.000-05:00

50th Birthday Weekend Re-cap

The long awaited blog.

yups.

We drank a lot of wine .... we drank before noon (mimosas) ... we had a blast ...

At Haight-Brown Vineyard touring the wine cellar

Fer and Josh (note the cool wine barrel table in the background)

Jim, Dad, and Josh PUSHING the limo out of the ditch ... yup, not going back to THAT winery

Josh puttingback the planter the limo took out

Jim posing ... aka: had a couple glasses of wine ...

This was one of the menu items at lunch. It made me laugh. I had crab cakes. They were yummy.

Mom and Me (Note the numerouse decorations in the background compliments of eldest Dad.)

Fer posing with a grape shovel ... just like Vanna White

Mom and Dad at HB

Eldest Dad

2007-11-07T16:37:00.000-05:00

Who would of thought working in Healthcare would get you such crappy benefits?

Bring out the bells and whisltes, it's annual enrollment time. OH BOY.

Last evening, Jim and I sat down to figure out what plan would be the best option for us for medical, dental, and vision. Knowing that it currently costs me $40.85 a week for JUST ME for medical, I kinda figured we would be going with his plan. Looking at the book (kinda a pamphlet) that GD gave him, it looked like we only has 4 choices and they were both under some obscure health insurance plan called United Healthcare, to which none of our PCP's are members of. I logged onto the site and discovered that were were actually elligible for some other plans under Cigna. The one (most expensive, of course, bust still cheaper than mine) involved NO dedictibles and only a meagerly $20 copay for MD visits, $200 copay for a hospital admission, and $100 for ER ... after the co-pay, the rest is covered 100%. To boot, his coverage averages out to about $53 per week FOR THE BOTH OF US. I did tell Jim I was only marrying him for his health insurance. His dental was cheaper and better than mine also. The only thing my company had going for it was it's vision plan .. woopie doo.

Speaking of needing health insurance, I am still feeling sick. Coughing a lot more, sneezing, and feeling crappy. I am taking a trip to the good old WalmartUSA tonight to get me medicated. Feel sorry for me. Send flowers.

2007-11-06T10:23:00.000-05:00

It's beginning to feel a lot like sickness ...

Today started out pretty good, especially considering it was day TWO of me getting up early to workout before work (thank you new Britney Spears songs on the iPoddie to pump me up in the morning). After that, it all went downhill. I feel really congested and when I cough, it's not one of those "I got a tickle in my throat" coughs, it's more like one of those "looks like those little mucous guys from the commercial are setting up shop in my chest" kinda coughs. I feel icky. Blah. And I have major cramps. I love Midol.

I know everyone (yes, all three or so of my readers) are wanting to read about our exciting weekend ... once I get the time (between figuring out what Health Insurance plan Jim and I will go on and picking pictures for our album, etc ...) I will post about the weekend. Plus, I don't feel my story would do justice without pictures, because reading about how Jim, my Dad, and my sister's boyfriend had to push the limo out of a ditch just wouldn't be the same without pictures. Yes, that happened to us.

2007-11-02T15:59:00.000-04:00

Thank goodness it's FINALLY Friday!

Man, did this week drag on ... and I believe this post will just be a random assortment of thoughts I have inside my head.

I had a hair pseudo-emergency today and made an rash appointment to get my bangs cut shorter, but I don't feel like going all the way there (yes, it's ONLY a 12 minute ride) and I also think I kinda like them longer ... when they behave. Guess long it is ... unless they meet the rath of me and a pair of scissors tonight. So, I cancelled.

I have a bunch of errands to run tonight after work: get some things for tomorrow, pick up a prescription, get some money, pick-up subs for dinner ... my shoes are killing me and I forgot to bring flip-flops to change into. I am hoping to have enough energy to harvest some pumpkin seeds from the pumpkins we have yet to carve. It prolly won't happen. Oh well. At least I am being realistic.

My Dad decorated my Mom's office last night so she came into MANY MANY black baloons, streamers, and confetti all throughout her office this morning. I denied having anything to do with it, of course. I am sure the cleaning staff is going to LOVE that clean-up job tonight. Nothing like confetti getting stuck in your vaccuuum. If I were them, I would re-arrange her furniture and turn all her picture frames upside down. Just kidding.

Britney. Yes, she is a train-wreck, but I like the songs on her new album. As I was cleaning the house last Saturday before the fry-partay, I had the TV on the 20 on 20 XM station and they were playing Britney's full album in-between the countdown. It's has a good beat to it, so I will buy it tomorrow on the way to CT. Jim- guess what we'll be listening to from Pittsfield to CT???? I'm saying I am supporting her kids -- because they are so darn cute. Man, I want kids.

2007-11-01T14:21:00.000-04:00

Well, so what if it was a short post.

I'll laugh at anything:
I have no idea if anyone else but myself and Jim will find that last post funny .. but everytime I think about "her baby bag" it puts a smile on my face and people ask me what I am laughing at. You may think it's weird, but i guess you had to be there. It was kinda short and in an attempt to make this day go by faster, I'm posting again.

Flu shot:
I got a flu shot on Tuesday at work and my arm is a little sore. They had to place it in my deltoid, which is higher than where they usually stick it. Funny thing is I never felt her give me the shot. Maybe that's why it hurts. Or maybe because I am so incredibly buff ... yes, so buff.

Tree stump: 0 Jim: 1
The other night .... wait, let me re-phrase that ... the other FREEZING night while I was curled up on the couch with a cat in my lap ... Jim wanted me to come outside and hold a flashlight while he "quickly" took this stump out of the backyard so when the guy who is putting a drainage system in the backyard could fill in where the roots were. Well, little did we know, this was a SUPER stump. Jim kept hacking and hacking at this stump with a shovel until we discovered the mothership. The root was the diameter of my leg (buff leg). The hatchet was a little more effective. After what seemed like an eternity, and 2 asthma attacks for Jim, the stump is no longer part of our landscape. I wish I had pictures because this was the funkiest stump I have ever seen. I wanted to mount it on the wall in the living room.

Work bonding time:
Tonight is the Hospital's annual employee recognition dinner at the Williams Inn. I'm not too overly fond of the Williams Inn, but I go because it's free food ... and over-priced drinks (unless you luck out and sit at one of the Doctor's tables, like I did last year, and scored free drinks all night.) Gotta love being cute and young. I realized that night I really like Grey Goose and Sprite. Another reason to go this year is because two people from my department are getting awards, so I want to go to support them seeing none of their fellow co-workers will go. It's sad that this department won't do anything outside of work together, even if one of their co-workers is getting honored. Stuff like that makes me mad.

2007-11-01T09:46:00.000-04:00

It's her baby bag

Last night, I was holding Harriet and rubbing her stomach (she loves to lie there and get any form of attention) and I noticed she had some loose skin on her underside, so I showed Jim and his reply was:

Jim: "It's her baby bag."
Which, of course, sent me into a laughing fit.
Me: "What's a baby bag."
Jim: "I dunno ... it's where the babies go."

Oh my goodness.

2007-10-31T09:08:00.001-04:00

Gimme a head with hair, long, beautiful hair ...

Has anyone seen the movie "Hair?" I remember watching it in highschool because I had this wacked English teacher who loved the movie ... and was probably into drugs. I even have the soundtrack ... on tape ... somewhere in a box in the attic compliments of a classmate who bought it for me and we would blast it on our way to Friendly's after a hard day of work at Caldor. Yup, I worked at Caldor. Another thing I remember about this teacher was that he always would use inappropriate words, but in a context that would sorta make them inappropriate, but not enough to get him fired or anything. One word that comes to mind is: penetrate. He would love to use that word. So, my friends and I would try to fit the "word of the week" into our papers. I was usually quite good at this.

Anyway, the whole reason for the title of this post was that I had someone compliment (I think) my hair yesterday ... but it was in the weirdest way. By the way, I had my hair cut a couple weeks ago so now I sorta have side bangs, but not really ... they were sorta Reese-Witherspoon-ish when I first got them cut, but now they are a little longer. So, here was the sorta compliment.
Person: "You know, I am sorta getting used to your hair ..."
Me: Pause
Person: "I mean, at first I didn't really like it, but now I am getting used to it."
Me: sorta smile
Person: "I like your hair."

Yes, awkwardness penetrated the silence.

(ooh, good use of the word)

2007-10-30T09:15:00.000-04:00

THE BIG 5-0H

This Saturday my Mom turns 50. We're planning an awesome day for her, but I can't tell you because she might actually read this blog. I have this deja-vu feeling that I may have already posted about this ... oh well .. because you'll read it anyway. I'm spending the next couple days, as my sister and Dad are also, getting last minute things together. I'll be taking plenty of pictures, and since I will be in CT, I'll have high speed internet, so you may get to see more than just three. By the way, is it just me or are the pictures not showing up sometimes on the blog? It's hard to believe that she is going to be 50, as she looks like she is in her late 30's/early 40's. When I brought Wedding pictures into work, everbody thought that my Mamacita (grandma) was my Mom ... and Mamacita is 74! I guess that's why I always get carded, or mistaken as 20 years old ... I've got the aging gracefully genes from that side of the family ... because I sure as heck didn't get the tall gene (my grandfather was over 6 ft tall).

2007-10-29T14:49:00.000-04:00

And it's just another Manic Monday

Do the weekends go by WAAAYYY too fast? I think so. Before you know it, it's Monday and back to the same old stuff. I was lazy this morning and slept in instead of getting on the elliptical, but I worked through lunch, so I am going to go home a little early and get a work out in before dinner.

I just found out that my 10 years high school reunion is next June. In a way I am excited to see people and in another way there are people I could care less about. I basically have 7 close friends from highschool ... sometimes just 6 ... that I still keep in touch with after highschool because I care about them and I care about what is going on in their lives. We see eachother for random road trips, at Weddings, and baby showers, They are the friends I call or e-mail out of the blue just to say HI and it's just like old times. We've already begun plans to pre-party before the reunion so it will be a little more tolerable.

2007-10-28T11:16:00.000-04:00

Fry-Partay Pictures are here!

Well, we didn't burn the house down ... but we did find Jim's calling in life -- a fry cook! Because I love you guys I am downloading this on dial-up.

Harriet, Hannah, and I

Brayden and Abbey

Fry-cook Jimbo (notice fire extinguisher in the back ... JUST in case)

2007-10-27T14:45:00.000-04:00

I come from the land of dial-up
(sung to I come from the land down-under)

What a dreary, rainy day, eh? I got the house all cleaned this morning, made a great leftover chili pizza for lunch, helped Jim drain the gas tank in the snowmobile, and I'm even fitting a blogging in. Aren't my readers lucky duckies!

Jim and I bought some great fry food last evening ... and, yes, we spent our Friday night at Big Y. We're are WAY too exciting for words. We bought regular and boneless wings to fry. We're also making homemade french fries with or without chili, and I am going to attempt to make crab rangoons. I have the fillin' chillin' in the fridge and ready to go. I also bought some veggies and cut those up so I feel like there will be something of nutritional value during the fry partay.

I don't have much to blog about, but I needed to sit down for a few before I hit the elliptical machine and then shower.

I hope to post some pictures of the fry-partay extravaganza ... because I know you are dying to use them as backgrounds and screen-savers on your computer.

2007-10-26T08:53:00.000-04:00

Fry-Partay

This Saturday we are having a fry-partay to break in the new fryer we got as a Wedding gift. I was opposed to a fryer at first, as I thought Jim would want to use it every day, ie: frying cereal, oreos, cat treats, well, you get the idea. This fryer happens to take 5 quarts of oil ... holy oil batman! Therefore, he cannot justify the expense or hassle to fry everything everyday. The other part of the partay (note: not party) is to visit with Brayden and Abbey ... two new additions to our friends' families. It's also my sneaky way of hinting to Jim that next year we should get one of these cute babies. (Hi Jim!). If we ever happen to have a boy I am already set on the name Henry James after Jim's grandfather. I know it's thinking way ahead, but I'm a Virgo and that explains a lot.

Well, time to get this Friday started and do some work ... and also try and find a good batter recipe for Saturday.

2007-10-25T14:38:00.000-04:00

Survived another health fair

Today I was at the Williams health fair. We had quite a lot of people visiting the hospital's booth seeing this year we brought many interactive things for people to do, which was great. I did get sick of asking people if they had a pacemaker before I tested their body fat, especially when they gave me weird looks ... but I wasn't in the mood to use a defibulator today. We scored some lunch from Hot Tomatoes and some gelato compliments of the college. I am also enjoying my new collection of pens. Gotta love free stuff! I'm wearing the new dress I got from NY and Company and I am especially excited to FINALLY have the outfit to wear my cute new red shoes and Silpada red beaded necklace. It's a good day.

I wasn't motivated enough to get up early and hop on the good old elliptical this morning (I think I was still experiencing a salt coma from Lua Halle the night before), so I am going to have to do that after work. I may go for a run seeing it is so freakin' nice outside. Do bears like to roam in the early evening as well? I can't wait until we set the clocks back in about a week because I am sick of it being so dark in the morning. I like to have the option of running outside rather than being confined to my sorta exercise room/leftover Wedding supplies/fly magnet room upstairs.

I'm missing some reader love lately ... no comments make me sad (but they better be nice comments or I don't want any) ... just kidding folks.

2007-10-23T16:36:00.000-04:00

It's a Dietitian's dream day!!!!!!

... and not only because the department secretary filled her candy dish with peanut M&M's (I'm a sucker for those!) ...

We got the body fat analyzer we ordered in today!!!!!! (I know, I am a dork). It's this portable device that will measure your body fat percentage (fairly accurately) via Bioelectrical Impedance. All you have to enter is your height, weight, age, and sex, then hold the handles while the unit sends a minor electrical charge throughout your body. I can't wait to use it at the Williams Health Fair on Thursday. Yippee Skippeee.

2007-10-23T11:08:00.000-04:00

Let's hear it for Senior Citizen Monday
woot woot

Ok, just because your older than dirt doesn't mean you have the right to drive 15 miles under the speed limit in your ugly box of a Honda Element. This was my day yesterday stuck behind not one but 3 people going slower than anyone should ever have to. Don't get me wrong, I do like old people. I just don't like when they inconvienience my day.

I was also stopped in Target Monday by an elderly lady and this is how the conversation went:
Old Lady: "Excuse me .... pause ... oh, you would know ... pause ... where is the toy section?"
Me: "I'm sorry, I don't know ... it may be over that way???"

Ok, just because I look young doesn't mean I am going to know where the toy section is. The way she asked me kinda implied that I was 13. I was a little offended. It's not like I was going to ask her were the depends were ... because ... pause ... she would know ...

I also must say that I am the BESTEST wifey evaaaa because I got Jim the special edition 2-disk DVD Transformers movie when I was at Best Buy. Yeah, I did feel kinda geeky when I was purchasing it. You're welcome hun.