I STILL KNOW IT JENN!!!

Thursday, December 30, 2004

Best acquisition from a(n) (ex)boyfriend: xm radio
Best newly acquired cd: Rhett miller, the instigator
Best actual new cd: old 97’s, Drag it Up
Best temper tantrum: maddy, at camp, when her bikini was half at home.
Best meal (that I can remember): demillos with beav and mila, or Georgia brown.
Best blast from the past: alisa
Best toddler: liam
Best obsession: Isaiah, Scooby doo
Best donuts: Rachael, july 4
Best concert: jon spencer blues explosion
Best transfer of body fluids: jon spencer’s sweat dripping on me
Worst transfer of body fluids: the guy next to me sweating on me
Best new airline: independence air
Best newly discovered lunch spot: pizza villa, Portland
Best coffee: peppermint mocha latte
Best cole slaw: mine on july 4
Busiest unemployed person: jen
Best supporter of the downtrodden: amy
Best karaoke performance: Emily
Most fab: leigh
Most adventurous: mila
Best deal: phone cards at mardens!

Excellent you can come down early before it gets nasty out.

it's done. 3 concert tickets @ 35 each, and 1 room for 4 @129. all done. get out your 80's dancin shoes, girls!

Why aren't you going to BC on Friday 4/1?

Thank BLOG I'll have something to watch in January.

well....i had something to say and now i've forgotten it.

oh yeah, this chick i had not ever heard of from my "job" called me today. i thought it was going to be about a real job but it was just a confirmation of my "job" starting next week.

i have an interview in methuen at a learning center sometime. the guy has to call me back.

We probably won't hit bangor till 5ish as we have to work tomorrow and nap.

Ahh it's the old "wintry mix" well maybe it will all be over by noon.

I haven't read the weather today. I hope you can get out before it starts up there. Anywho, last night we watched Nightmare before Christmas and, as predicted, my kids loved it. Isaiah has been humming "This is Halloween" all morning. It's really the ultimate movie for him anyway Xmas and Halloween all in one, the only thing missing is Scooby Doo of course. We also watched some George Carlin thing but I thought that sucked. My girl coughed half the night.

Wednesday, December 29, 2004

well, my friend alisa's parents live in thailand, and she taught scuba there, so they can't be that far from the coast. i don't know if she lost any friends or family, i'm waiting to hear back from her.

Just more proof that men are pigs isn't it. God. Leave your wife of 24 years to marry some twitty twat from the early show will ya.

I think you need to add some mustard to that pork.

I actually don't have any Real Raisin lipstick right now. I have raging raisin and something else.

Welp, I've purged my product, and if I do say so myself if that's the ONLY reason to have the BPE it's a great one. It MAKES you throw out that lipstick you HATE even though you're not going to give it away. Some of my featured product is: misc perfume, sunless tanning lotion, shimmer body lotion, fake nails, Godfather movie among MANY other FABULOUS things.

jen's blogging

today i painted maddy's nails pink. i let her paint mine purple. i'll be sporting that look for lrnye.

not much to report today. rk made me awesome poached eggs for brekky.

God will someone pull Phil Collins microphone plug. These kids movies wouldn't be nearly so annoying without him having to do every single fricking soundtrack!

Well they really couldn't compete with all those xmas shows could they. They need to develop some sitcoms.

I thought we weren't doing a big food thing!!! Jen is at my house. We tried to call you - no answer.

I'll ask Suzanne. Tell me how it's possible that Jen hasn't even said hello to me all morning. Suzanne says she'll take Liam.

Blog Review: Reservoir Dogs

Well obviously QT has made some pact with the devil that if he provides full employment to Tim Roth and Mike Madsen he will become richer than god. Anyway this movie SUCKED. I know it's his first smash hit but in my experience if QT himself is in any film you are well advised to ignore it entirely. He must think he's pretty clever though, even though he is not. DON't watch it for yourself unless you like very unclever and unwitty conversations and torture.

We don't know what time we're arriving. I say don't make cupcakes unless you really WANT to. I would plan for us late afternoon because I'm going to take a nap. I think it's just supposed to rain.

He'll have to cancel practice so you can come early. Did you find a sitter? Is the weather supposed to be bad?

I didn't think of it but I should have bought you all hooks for your kitchen walls for your aprons.

Luckily you're sick at the beginning of the week so you can come to LRNYE.

Poor LTL. Do you have Dayquil to get you through. I need some coffee STAT. Ou est Jen?

Burlington Bridge Report

Bridge was held at the home of OS and SS, hosted by Tracey. Special guest was Jen. The cards SUCKED!!!! I've never had such bad cards. I only had 2 hands with more than 12 points and I'm not kidding either gram. The snack was popcorn, m & m's and hersey's kisses and a bunch of leftover junk that we had from xmas. Hopefully Jen throws that all away today. High was won by Lora ('cause Orlie passed it up), low - Faye, goose - suzanne. Next week the hostess will be Rachael.

God I hate winter. Everyday you wake up to a face-cracking hydration emergency. I can't GET enough moisture into my skin and when you're fighting wrinkles it's VERY serious. Last night we had JJ's subs for dinner. Bridge report to follow.

Tuesday, December 28, 2004

ltl if you're there, go start your car!

today driving home from r's i saw a HUGE doe on edith's front lawn. it surprised the heck outta me.

i have to really get started on this list thingy. today i've been running around, cleaning the house for bridge, and making coffee. and i desperately needed a shower so i took one, right after throwing my dirty clothes into a biohazard bag.

i'm not sure if dad is playing bridge tonight, or i am, or we're going to split. so much excitement!

i'm having jj's for lupper.

i haven't watched jerry or maury for over a week now.

rk's very first list

CD of the Year - Grateful Dead's "Workingman's Dead" - thanks JK.
Best Birthday Party Thrower - Jen
Best new recipe - pot roast - Janelle B.
Best bartender - Ralph T.
Worst new cocktail - Peppermint Martini
Best Mouser - Winker
Best Movie Collection - Godfather 4 cd collection
Best Impressionist - RK doing Sophia Coppola in G III
Best toy - Gameboys bar far!

ok my email is working today. Are you here today LTL?

Well apparently my server is down I cannot recieve or send emails for a while I guess.

Monday, December 27, 2004

Jen has consented to making me her famous meatloaf tonight. WE'll be having mashed taters and green beans with.

from the WABI website

Deadly Weekend on Local Roads
(WABI) Maine State Police are investigating a crash in Enfield Sunday that killed a woman-passenger.

It happened on Route 2 around 9:45.

Trooper Joshua D'Angelo says two vehicles were heading west when one bumbed the other from behind. Both cars spun out-of-control.

According to State Police, one of the vehicles hit a parked car ramming it into a house. The other vehicle hit a utility pole, snapping it in half. Both cars ended up on their rooves.

Two people inside the cars were rushed to Eastern Maine Medical Center. No word on their injuries.

Police don't know what caused the crash.

Well amy says she's not going to blog because it takes two hours to post. I say blog anyway, who cares when it posts and it might remind us to remember something we forgot. Anyway where is LTL?

No word yet.

Oh well don't ask me I was half asleep 1/2 hour - 2 hours what's the diff. I think Jake stopped to see if anyone was dead or dying in the car but it was gone I guess, yesterday, or maybe I didn't know where to look.

nope not a word. you'd think a respectable news bureau like wlbz would have thoroughly investigated.

i do NOT want to catch a cold but it seems impossible what with all the sickies around.

dad heard on his scanner that there was an accident in west enfield and they had to turn the power off to get someone out from under a car. but the power was out for 30 minutes, not a couple of hours.

We lost our power for a couple of hours last night with no apparent cause. We listened to the police radio too, and heard NOTHING. BOTH my children have minor colds today.

OMB I'm going to watch REservoir Dogs today too! How is it possible that we watch all the same movies all the time and don't even discuss it. It's scary really.

Well I just want to say thank you for all the wonderful gifts and prizes we received over the holiday. Gram we love the socks and sweaters. They are beautiful. Today JK and I are working. Not much on the schedule for the week except JK is going to be out on Wednesday on a site visit and LRNYE of course and then there are the lists to be prepared.

well this is sure exciting today.

Friday, December 24, 2004

can you believe that with all the wind we had last night mom and dad didn't lose power for more than 2 seconds? a christmas miracle.

Thursday, December 23, 2004

last night, mk said that although she likes a lot of music, her favorite
is slim shady, followed closely by hillary duff.

pickled herring? yippee!!! i love that crap.

i want to go to iceland so bad i could die.

mom says 'tell all the bloggers i said mmmmmmmmmerry christmas
since i can't tag'

This is what I'm making for xmas. Eggnog (spiked mightily), The Pud, Texas Caviar, Pickled Herring on cucumber slices.

Update on the Unwell

Georgia went home last night. Aunt Ruth has been relocated to Colonial Acres in Lincoln. Flora has a cold. Still no word from Ash.

I'm sorry I didn't mail you this weeks NYT. There is a very fun article about partying in Iceland in it.

Jen, JK and I giggled heartily about the MK comment. Kids are so fun. Anyway, I'm having fun myself, wrapping presents. I have all these gifts I forgot about so I'm taking care of those.

this morning maddy asked me if i would teach her how to play the
piano. i explained that though rachael and amy were both afforded
music lessons as children hense having a musical sense put in their
minds at an early age, i have no talent, skill, and i can't even wrap
my head around music. i told her to thank gram (not you gg).

last night i didn't watch any tv but went to bed with maddy for some
girl talk. we layed in bed and cuddled and giggled and gossipped
about boys and she read me some of 'mrs. frisby and the rats of
NIMH'. then we settled down to sleep around 10:30. as i was
drifting off, she said, auntie jen, why do you want to hire a latin pool
boy when you win powerball?'. that kid remembers everything.

evo is an "italian brick oven" restaurant in bangor. the pasta dishes
SUCK ASS but the pizza is good, though i bet it has a tendency to
burn. i woke up at 5 am. went back to bed at 7:30 and got up at
9. i haven't been to r's for coffee. that's my story. i can't wait for my
latte or lattes today.

This is all true, but I can't stand to have my tree up until a day or two before xmas and when you have kids the laundry never ends. I only have 1 load to do for blogs sake. Besides, Jen had a long, tiresome day yesterday and she's sleeping in. I will bring you a latte to make up for it and you'll have all next week to use your EVO gc since Jen is staying until after 1/1.

I am truly sorry Snoop but I am determined to get my laundry done today and make room for my tree. What time do you get out of work?

Last night we had dinner at the 'rents. Finnan Haddie was on the menu and I cooked it per Orlie's wishes, leaving out the onions against my own judgement. After dinner we had a lovely game of bridge with Jen and JK vs. me and Suzy. We won though it was quite close. I CANNOT put down Pride and Predjudice though I will have to today as I only have three pages left. This is very much to my relief as well as JK's because it has commanded my full attention the entire week - and my Xmas holiday won't be ruined by it. Jen, Suzanne and i will be going to Bangor sometime this afternoon to pick up odds and ends but it will be 2 or after. Let me know if I need anything.

Wednesday, December 22, 2004

What NOT to say in personal ads

anything about being well adjusted, moon light beaches, candles, soft music, traveling or cats

better mention coffee, Salon.com and martinis

Well JK and I frittered away the afternoon. He's totally entralled in Pride and Prejudice (not) but I force him to listen to the exciting details anyway. We're having finnan haddie for dinner at the 'rents.

don't get sucked in!!!! they mail a lot slower that netflix and you'll also lower my stock price if you defect

also FYI

we believe two of the Bowers' are in the 133rd but haven't heard if they were near the attack yesterday or not.

...and I have some in my freezer for LRNYE

Leigh, FYI Suzanne got shrimp to have at the house just because she knew you and Maddy would want some.

FEstivus

I believe the word Festivus should be adopted by those of us who do not wanted to be identified as practicing Christians but still want to have a fun Holiday.

I hope that the BPE can include unwanted xmas gifts this year....

No of course you weren't SUPPOSED to. I just wondered if you would where CC was on vaca. Jen just told me what they got Liam for xmas. It'll be very fun for him I'm sure. I have a bag of chocolate cookies for him that I can't forget to take to Janelle.

I know it's ridiculous but what am I supposed to do with them. Are you taking a vacation next week LTL?

anyone want 2 half boxes of xmas cards? I'm only gonna throw them away!!

i saw that santa was going to be at petco for animal photos. i was sorely tempted to take max. maybe next year, then i'll be copying heather.

BBR

Bridge was held at the home of Suzanne hosted by Suzanne as well. It was bridge xmas. The cards were ok. Tracey and I got two grand slams in the first round, but I still came in third with a score just over 2400. Tracey got 2800+ but Faye pulled out a shocking upset beating Tracey by 30 points. Lora was low but Tracey got goose. Suzanne gave sweet xmas decorations for prizes. Though the treat is on hiatus for the winter I forced Suzy to make peanut butter fudge. After all it is xmas. Even Helen ate a piece. Lora SWORE at the cards exclaiming "Jesus" when she got a 9 high hand or something. Gifts were exchanged and here's the list - Me (from Faye): she made me peanut brittle which is one of my favorite things and it's WONDERFUL. She also gave me a jam and jelly service. Suzanne from me: pie plate. Lora: cant remember. Faye from Lora :xmas decorations in a sparkly xmas scene box that was the envy of all. Tracey from orlie: some teddy bear thingy i didn't really see. Helen from Suzanne: something else I didn't see. A good time was had by all. Next week bridge will be held at Suzanne's and hosted by Tracey. The special guests will be Hopie and Jen.

the problem with dull people is that they are so dull that they
can't even comprehend how dull they are. you should send a
picture of you sean liam and the cats all dressed as clowns or
something, maybe she'd get the hint, but i doubt it, she's dull.


mad blog props to amy for buying dinner last night!

Tuesday, December 21, 2004

i wouldnt' bother with the other one. coffee and raspberry? i think not. get the peppermint mocha again!

I'm quite shocked that you like fruitcake LTL!

"1. Favorite Christmas Song? it's christmas (baby please come home) (U2 Version)
2. Ham or Turkey? neither - disgusting unles sean is cooking
3. Ever had roasted chestnuts? yes
4. Favorite Christmas cartoon? The Grinch
5. Open Christmas presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? xmas morning
6. Best Christmas ever? Not really my favorite time of year, maybe the year JK gave me the gorgeous earrings.
7. Favorite Pie? hmm catch me latah on that I love all pie
8. Cookies or carrots for Santa and his reindeer? both
9. Fireplace for stockings? no
10. What time do you get up Christmas morning? whenever the kids do - could be 5 could be 8
11. Garland or Icicles? neither oh wait maybe i do have a garland but it's not one of those fuzzy ones
12. Real or artificial tree? Real-
13. Candy canes or fruitcake? both"

1. Favorite Christmas Song? it's christmas (baby please come home)
2. Ham or Turkey? turkey
3. Ever had roasted chestnuts? no
4. Favorite Christmas cartoon? The Grinch
5. Open Christmas presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? xmas morning
6. Best Christmas ever? one from a long time ago, probably the year leigh got her jem doll
7. Favorite Pie? my chocolate cream
8. Cookies or carrots for Santa and his reindeer? cookies
9. Fireplace for stockings? i don't even have a house
10. What time do you get up Christmas morning? when mom starts raving 'let's get this over with!'
11. Garland or Icicles? yuk
12. Real or artificial tree? Real-
13. Candy canes or fruitcake? canes

that car thing was obviously from amy

i hid a present i bought for amy so well that now i can't find it. doesn't that just figure?

That dinner sounds excellent. ARe you having chocolate pecan pie for dessert?

well, my car is ok, it was only low coolant which is logical since it
overheated almost every day this past summer and probably evaporated more
than usual. that was only $40, and since that has never happened to me
before, i am not too embarrassed by that simple fix.

well, i hope you have the job if you want it, snoop, i don't know why anyone
would want to live in that godforsaken place when there's plenty of job
opportunity in good ole portland.

According to troy at dead river convenice, the latte machine is up and
running!!! go get one now!!! (yes, i did call, troy is a nice guy)

HOw could you live in lincoln - isn't it a 2 hour drive?

Ha! One of the South Park opisodes was where they said "shit" on HBC and it became accepted language in the adjective form but not in the noun form. They had a "shit" counter in the corner so you'd know how many times it was said during the episode.

Bridge tonight - Suzanne is making peanut butter fudge (even though there are not supposed to be treats) due to it being xmas and my demanding it of her as the "only thing I REALLY want for xmas". (which is true)

the dude is actually working on the living room.

good luck today snoop wafflebuns!

i had weird dreams last night.

in one dream amy, cousin tammy, and i decided to go to aunt dena's
camp on west lake and take a canoe trip.

in the other, mom and dad got a new house that included a
conservatory and tracey l got mad at mom for never cleaning the
house so they both quit bridge.

what do you mean car doesn't work? in general? or just todday?

What are you serving for you elegant holiday meal? JK and I watched 4 episodes of South Park this a.m.

from amy

I'm glad Liam likes the advent calendar. I always loved them when i was
a
kid.

My blogging has been sparse lately because the e-mails are taking hours
to
post, which is frustrating and by the time it posts it is way outdated
(see
last night at 7:20).

Anywho, my day is going to be bad. I'm sick, my car doesn't work and I
have
no money to get it fixed because I left everything at home today.
hopefully
jen will bail me out.

One thing you should do, ltl, is call the houlton dd to see when the
latte
machine is going to be fixed. i vow to call every day until it is!
207-532-0785

Well what adventures we had last night. Around 3:30 JK and I were having a lovely cup of coffee when all of a sudden we noticed plumes of black rolling smoke coming from our house somewhere. We went outside to look and yes they were coming from our chimney so we called the boiler guy to come take a look-see. He came I'll call him "brent". He was going to clean our boiler tomorrow anyway. Well what do you know but a BAT had flown into the boiler and clogged up the works. That would have been bad enough but during the ensuing cleaning the control on our boiler got fried so that had to be replaced as well. Long story -short - there was no heat for 4 hours, but it got fixed. Meanwhile back in the states, I shut Isaiah's skipants in the back hatch of the jeep and now they are stuck in the latch and I can't get them out and I also can't get the back of the jeep open!!!!

It was in Mozilla that I discovered TAbbed browsing. Anyway, hopefully we can have a blog holiday.

Monday, December 20, 2004

Kilby Holiday Update 2004

Dear family and the rest of the family,

Our year has been the usual. The company is doing well and by well I mean that most of the time John and I can stay in bed and drink coffee until 10 and still manage to eek out a living. I have done nothing but the above all year with the exception of an occasional game of Mah Jong Solitaire or Canasta with Jen. Oh I shouldn't say that should I. JK and I DID get out of the country and over to Canada for a week - thanks to Jen. I have stopped smoking for the time being and only allow myself 12 cigarettes a day. John has quit his part time job as a pimp to dedicate himself to painting leaves on the stick pictures of leaves I draw when I get a cramp from playing too much solitaire. We've recently bought stock in the Jack Daniels Company since we seem to be consuming it by the barrell and so far, what with the shareholders discount, the return has been very favorable. Thanks for your continued support.

RK

I wish there was a latte machine here at work but I can't get the boss to shovel out $2000 for one.

go start your car!

I have not received ANY holiday letters and I'm a bit put out about it because I always get two. They are so braggy and obnoxious, it allows JK and I to sit around and talk about how sensible and unconceited we are, yet perfect at the same time. I'm sure you feel the same way.

true confessions

I go into complete panic mode when the bus is late. I can't stand it.

Jenn just bring your fleece and you can dress it up with your new purple scarf as if you'll need to dress up at ALL. Just bring boots and get by with various borrowed shoes from Mom and I.

it is SO hard to pack to go to burlington this time of year. mom and dad's house is so hot that i can't wear sweaters, but if i go out anywhere i'll be sure to want some. so i need casual and a little more than casual for going out. and the shoes! i need my regular winter shoes for just hanging out, heavy winter boots in case it snows a foot, sneakers for hanging around the house, and what about dress shoes? i mean, my god. what's a girl to do?

the roads are SO shitty down here. i don't know what it's doing in portland but i hope snoop isn't navigating the beetle on these shit-ay roads. i filled up my tank for the cold snap tonight!

from amy

I don't have any gifts to open so i haven't peeked at any > i have not gotten any letters."

from amy

I've used a_lot of lotion. A_lot. Suntan lotion, body lotion, face
> lotion, hand lotion, everything I could get my hands on. I also came
down
> with an unfortunate incident of dry skin which caused a really bad
rash on
> my legs and itched like hell. but i didn't give up on the lotion.
Jen
> gave me some good goat pee lotion that worked pretty well.
>
> I answered the blog poll earlier about shopping and presents but i
guess
> it didn't post.
>
> I'm glad the lemur like anything, maybe i'll just pick him up a can of
> spam for christmas. If i wrap it nice, he'll like it :)
>
> oh, yeah, i wanted to know if the houlton dunkin donuts in inside the
dead river convenience store or something like that. Well..... is it/???
good luck with your interview, snoop

I have used a TON of lotion and still my skin is dry and scratchy.

My schedule is quite clear this week, with misc wrapping and cleaning and getting my laundry all done (again). Wrapping is a daytime activity when the kids aren't here. Tonight we'll be delivering to Ralph and Ellen's house. I wonder how many things I will forget I've purchased and leave stuffed in a box or nook somewhere. I always do that (don't I jen). I wrapped all your kitchen gifts today and I have to tell you it was a great temptation not getting them all out and modeling them for ya. I really wanted to test them. I'm afraid you won't get to see each other's and won't get to see how truly glamorous they all are. Anyway, they're all wrapped now so that's done with. Wednesday JK is going to Bucksport and it's the last day of school. Thursday at some point I'm going to make Jen go to Bangor with me. Friday we're supposed to go to Pembroke. I think we'll be back in the late afternoon. Friday night we'll likely decorate the tree then Santa will come. I have to make something scrumptious for breakfast on Saturday when Ellen, Ralph and Leigh usually come for present time. Oh and I have to make the pud and the nog and that's it I guess.

i've been to rira many many many times and i have never seen a fly in the joint. also i've never had a bad meal. i will continue to go there until that changes.

i've used no more lotion than usual.

i've done tabbed browsing before, i dont' remember where.

this week i'm going to beav's tomorrow night and riding to burlington with them on wednesday and helping my mother clean the house wash every friggin red dish we can find and make pies. friday i don't know what i'm doing but i imagine at some point it will involve alcohol.

blog poll: how much fricken lotion have you used the past week?

blog poll: What is your schedule this week?

You should have told us about your experience at RiRa, I'll probably not go there again.

I've just discovered "tabbed browsing" in Mozilla and I AM LOVING IT!!!

Blog Review" ESS 1st grade holiday program

The show was VERY cute. My son had one line that he said so quickly and softly that I have NO idea what he said. Still they did an excellent job with all the songs. This year the program was much less diverse and a little too Christian for my liking but what can you do. I didn't complain to any authorities.

imdb.com has a trailer for willy wonka. it looks really funny.

i have received one holiday letter from my friend in montreal. surprisingly, i haven't opened or snuck gifts, even though i suspect amy's bag of kitchen gadgets holds something for me, i didn't look in it the whole time she was gone!

i think this is due to the fact that rk has been giving me stuff left and right lately, i haven't felt the need.

weekend update:

friday morning i went to p'land and met rk at the portland market. i told her she wasn't good at entertaining herself. after what she said (mine and beav's lunches were GREAT btw) beav and i went to target, homegoods, lindt, dd and home. we had kfc with scalloped taters and sauteed red cabbage for supper. it was SO good. we watched kb2 which beav liked but charles HATED.

the next morning we had scrambled eggs with onion cheese and salsa for breakfast and blueberry muffins for breakfast dessert. we went to dollar tree and miccuci's italian market which was PACKED. then we went home watched kb2 again and rolled bon bons. then i came home and screwed off for a while and went to pick up amy who landed at 11pm.

yesterday amy was sick in bed all day so i just mostly walked around trying not to make noise. i did wrap a few gifts at night and went to jake and katie's for beef stew for supper it was YUMMY!!! then we played 2 games of skip-bo. jake won both and the first time i was SLAUGHTERED but the second time i only had one card left.

this damned long blog better publish.

Ashley, I forgot to tell you how to take care of your pneumonia so here it is, according to my healthcare bible, the Healthwise Handbook.

Call a health professional. Increase your fluid intake to 8 to 12 glasses of water a day until you are urinating more than usual.

Get lots of rest. Don't try to rush recovery.

Take the entire course of all prescribed medications.
Stop smoking.

Call a health professional if there is rabid or labored breathing.

Well these tips don't seem very helpful to me but the book generally is good at these things.

Blog poll: have you received any holiday letters this year? Have you opened any gifts yet? Have you snuck and opened gifts you're not supposed to?

Update on the Unwell

JK is fast recovering from his cold. Aunt Ruth is going through ups and downs. She wasn't eating but did eat yesterday, they are thinking about putting her in the Lincoln nursing home. Georgia does NOT have congestive heart failure and is off oxygen she should be home in a few days. No news on Ashley.

i'm glad you finally got nip/tuck! it is good and i can't wait for the season 2 dvds to come out. i also enjoy the office. i tivo that when i'm at mom and dad's.

We love The Office as well, especially since neither of us has to deal with that crap anymore - that reminds me I need to update my Netflix.

Good luck tomorrow Leigh, I'll cross my fingers for a five figure salary for you! I'm so THRILLED that CC is joining the coffee generation. We've got Jen hooked, I think he's the last holdout!

Well here we are again. I have to leave at 10 to go to Isaiah's "holiday program". Yesterday I had a lovely visit with the Wonders in the a.m. I stayed 2 HOURS!!! It had been so long...we had a lot of catching up to do. BW made a SCRUMPTIOUS banana bread and we had coffee (with cremora of course). Then I went to Lincoln and got groceries and made a quick trip to Marden's. I came home and made chicken soup for JK and read and watched football the rest of the day.

Sunday, December 19, 2004

_It's a Wonderful Life_ in 30 seconds with bunnies.

_It's a Wonderful Life_ in 30 seconds with bunnies.

and gus bought me a great present too! you know those little games on keychains? well gus bought me haunted mansion clue. you can't really play it, but the board is the haunted mansion rooms and the figures are disney haunted mansion ghosts, and i described it as 'hot'.

NOTE TO GRAM

amy brought me the BEST gift back from florida! she brought me an old tin can of allspice from gram's cupboards! i LOVE old tin cans of spices!!!! if ANYONE has old tin cans of spices, i want them! i'll replace the spice with something that isn't 30 years old!

Saturday, December 18, 2004

SPecial x-mas song quote of the day

what do you get a wookie for christmas when he already owns a comb?

Today I'm making biscotti for delivery tomorrow and I might go shopping with the kiddos latah.

well, we do not have a Holiday party at the Eng. Co., so in lieu of it we go somewhere, usually Portland, to shop and relax. It's really a lot better than most corporate parties and i suggest you all recommend it to your bosses. We had a reservation at the Eastland. We took off Thursday morning. JK had a brief meeting in Brewer and then got a haircut and we headed south. We arrived in Portland at about 1 and had nothing to do till 2:30, when JK was scheduled for a massage. So we drove around. I showed him Peter's house and we found the place where his Friday meeting was to be. Then I dropped him at the Salon and I went and checked into the hotel. I had a litle rest and called Jen, then picked JK up at 3:30. He went to the museum and Jen and I went shopping, the details of which have already been blogged. But I do have to say that I absolutely LOVE my $10 old navy pj bottoms that I bought for LRNYE. So Jen left and JK and I went to Katahdin for dinner. It was very good. I had crab caked with roasted red pepper aioli (appetizer) jk had white bean, spinach, sausage soup, for entrees I had a roast duck with apricot glaze, greens and rice, jk had apple roasted pork with garlic mashers and greens, I had a lemon drop martini and a glass of pinot noir, jk had a pumpkin ale. We didn't have any dessert. We went back to the hotel intending to have coffee and dessert at the top of the east but we were exhausted and crashed by nine. What party animals we are. JK had a meeting friday morning and I got up and went int o the parking lot to chat with James for a while. That was pretty entertaining and I stayed an hour. Then I shopped around the market for a while and talk about customer service nightmares just TRY to get waited on in that place I dare you!!! Anyway i DID eventually get served. I got Ellen some petit fours (her fave) and coffee for xmas. I got some coffee for us for xmas, baguettes for my kids and that's about it I guess. Oh yeah I made Jen buy me ribbon candy for xmas and we looked at other little gorgeous things. Then I checked out of the hotel and we picked up Marc. We all (including JK) went to lunch at Ri Ra and I have to say it was pretty disgusting this time. John's was WAYYYY over priced ($13 bowl of irish stew) and mine was just gross - as it should have had a few vegetables in it I thought, since it was billed as if it did). Anyway after lunch we headed straight home stopping only briefly for gas, a Staples run and dinner (Stromboli from the Market cafe). Oh yeah, Gas was $1.75 at that truck stop right of the fairfield exit.

Friday, December 17, 2004

poor rr! this is exactly what you did NOT need for your holiday break! i feel for ya!

i'm off to p'land until sometime tomorrow. have a happy friday!

Thursday, December 16, 2004

so i met rk at target. i found the PERFECT black scarf for her there and so now she's all set with that. she shopped. then we went to starbucks and got vanilla creme. the guy overcharged us so gave us coupons for ANYTHING at starbucks in the future....i see a large latte in my future. then we went to old navy where she bought more stuff. they were going out to dinner but i am not feeling hungry so i decided to come back to berwick.

amy is realizing that all grocery stores outside of maine suck ass. it's just a fact.

well rk sounds bored out of her skull so i'm going to p'land to force her into some holiday shopping. blog ya sometime.

mark mckinney plays a canadian who lived in nyc, so everyone refers to him as 'the american'. canada is almost a character in this movie, it's mentioned so often.

the french pixie girl from pulp fiction is also in it

it's actually so bad that it's funny.

i happen to have 'the saddest music in the world' in my dvd player this very second! it's playing as i blog! dont' bother, it's so dumb and terrible.

i obviously need a typing refresher course.

i have paid $0.16 toward my student loans thanks to upromise! cool! leigh i sent you a remeinder...register your shaw's card!

i've eaten all teh food in the house so maybe turkey sandwich for lunch, maybe not.

well all the kitchen gadgets are wrapped. i'm mad at myself for getting everyone something really nice and not picking one of them up for myself. so maybe i'll just say amy's is mine.

today on 'maury'

shocking paternity results!

emergency blog poll:

i've had a latte every day this week. should i get one today?

i will bring ltl some choco chip cookies. do you want nuts? if so, what kind?

what's the point of a potent punch if you're going to drink beer? i'm just harassin ya.

actually it may be house of hunan, not pizza, but i had a P thing going.

oh i forgot about the damned red sox. they better not interfere with my plans of shopping and eating.

for lrnye i THINK rachael is making a very potent punch. i think that's the plan. punch pizza poker and potato chips.

i still haven't had texas cavier either.

i'm very upset and jealous that amy's received a ton of exmas cards and i've only received one....and two that we have to "share".

actually i'm not bored but i hate feeling like i'm missing fun. know what i mean? i like to have it ALL.

i'd like to go up and spend the afternoon and evening with rk and jk in portland but i'm going up tomorrow to spend the afternoon and night with beav and i can't leave the cats alone from now until saturday and gus has a vet appt tomorrow so i'd have to go up and back then up again tomorrow so i don't feel like it but i'm bored.

amy's cat was laying right up in my face, now my face feels all puffy and itchy. i need to go take an allergy pill.

congrats on your "raise"!

last night i watched the seinfeld story, nanny911, and wifeswap. tonight is the apprentice finale.....3 hours long i think? that's ridiculous.

the cups leak after an hour? that is a major design flaw.

i've been wrapping kitchen gadgets.

i think we should have until jan 5 to compile our lists, after all, the year doesn't end until lrnye. which we decided was going to be a pajama party, did that get put on the blog? are you coming ltl?

good morning...whoever is there!

Wednesday, December 15, 2004

i got it nevermind i'm a doofus

st augustine again?

I forgot to mention blog props to Channel five for showing the holiday store and Enfield Station school. The kids were so damn cute!!!

Oh yeah Tom and Jerry are very high on Isaiah's list right now too.

oh god how do i know? Isaiah likes that martian guy and scooby doo that's all i know about. Maddy would probably like any of the princesses, but really don't spend your money on tshirts they are so much cheaper at mardens. Isaiah would rather have a tiny snow globe or stickers.

LTL show him the marshmallow nativity, maybe he'll want that instead.

Get used to it, horses will be on the list for a VERY VERY VERY long time. I have told Madeline that YES she CAN have a horse when SHE has enough money to build and outfit a barn.

As for lists - start now and I think they should be published the week before LRNYE

go start your car!

you know those days that you wake up from a long nap and you're just FREEZING???? that's me right now. i'm about to make myself some hot chocolate.

Who would do such a thing? I can't believe you have enough snow to make a snowman. We only have an inch, having more than that is reason enough to leave if you ask me.

I've never been there but I love their "spongemonkey" ad campaign. Are they still doing that? I haven't decided on lunch yet as my breakfast seems to be sticking to me pretty well. That was mango, yogurt, raisins and golean crunch

i had a part of calzone. there's a ton left so it's supper too.

I too am all set for LRNYE, I've reserved my babysitter and everything.

well...it looks like this afternoon holds a nap for me. i'm going to slip into that nap by continuing the book 'infinite jest' which i've been working on for probably 4 years.

I'm not getting everyone's emails for some reason - I'm getting LTL's ok but that's it, so if you email me and don't hear back it's not my fault necessarily

vet report for amy

gus had his stitches out. he still has an open sore on his back and the vet told me to keep my eye on it. i'm taking him back friday to see if he should be on antibiotics longer. he's still not allowed outside. i'm goign to take a nap with him this afternoon.

I know nothing of the shrinking stickers though.


from Leigh Posted by Hello

he would LOVE that I'm sure jen.

that would be "Land of the Lost" holy cow, one of the best shows EVER.

rk, i think i'll take isaiah to the spongebob movie if it's still playing between xmas and new years

for a long time, i hated mo rocca because he seemed to be on tv all the time for no reason. one of those 'famous for nothing' guys, like charles nelson riley. anywho, he cracked me up on that show last night.

oh for some reason "blog this" won't remember my password so that's putting a bit of a damper on my blogging experience. i am NOT feeling quite so accomplished as jen is today. I will though after i finish the dishes. Consider that show taped. Now if i can only convince the 'rents not to erase it, we'll watch it when you get here Jen. I HAVE accomplished my laundry goals however and just need to get everyone packed.

good news for people who like airheads

nick and jessica's christmas special will be replayed tonight on mtv @ 10. i would suggest a certain sister of mine go to her parents' house to set the tivo.

last night i watched spongebob sqarepants for the first time. i laughed.

i also watched 2 episodes of that 80's show on VH1. i never sit through that show more than 5 minutes but last night i watched 2 episodes, both about 1984. i dug out my duran duran box set and reminisced.

i'm tempted to write to dunkin donuts corp to comment on the perpetually broken latte machine. if it affected me more often, i would. i'm thinking about catching a matinee of 'closer' tomorrow to celebrate being so productive and having all my christmas crap done, except my parents...

well i am pretty proud of myself this morning. i've finished two job applications and mailed 4 packages and an errant christmas card! yay for me!

BBR

Bridge was hosted by Helen and held at the home of xiuxianne last night. In attendance were all the regulars except for Lil and Gram who received and unexcused absence mark for being in FL and leaving us with only 7 players. It took forever to finish because we had to wait for a dummy every single hand. The snack was popcorn and cheese thingys like cheetos. There were no date squares, as the treat is on hiatus for the winter. The cards pretty much sucked but Tracey eeked out a remarkable win beating the rest of us by at LEAST 500 points (thanks to two grand slams). Low was won by Faye, Goose - Suzanne. Bridge will be hosted by suzy next week and we will have bridge xmas.

I just might go to the market as I would love to find some fresh figs to throw around - and maybe some nice cheese or something even though I don't like cheese. So it's all settled. I'm going to Pembroke xmas eve day and return the same day. Xmas proper will be the usual party with the 'rents, Uncle Jun's family, Aunt Lora and Unc. Philip and I guess that's about it. LTL you always have an open invitation, of course, if you care to attend. I'm trying desperately to get some card game going or something so it won't be as boring as last year. My duties are steamed pudding and spiked egg nog. I'm going to make the superalcoholic kind too. Thanks to Martha. So be prepared Jen.

i really want to see closer (just for jude law, the story looks stupid), and kinsey.

you should go to ri ra for suppah, then to top of the east for cocktails, then to the public market in the am for a bit of shopping, then have coffee with me somewhere.

i'll be out of the office friday too, fyi.

I don't think I want to see ANY of those movies except maybe Finding Neverland but then only on DVD.

i'm glad you're feeling better! thank blog!

last night for dinner i made tortellini with sausage and pesto. today i'm going to make a spinach sausage and ricotta calzone, though i'm not sure if it will be lunch, suppah, or both. probably both. i had a sausage craving so i bought a package of mailhot's. i LOVE their sausage. it's flavorful without being spicy.

FYI, JK and I will be out of the house and out of the office Thursday and Friday so I doubt there will be much blogging from my end.

Blog Poll: What should I do in Portland? (besides visit the lot)

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

here's your chance leigh!!!

Ailing Clark Pulls Out of New Year's Eve Show


American TV and radio legend Dick Clark has been forced to pull out of hosting his annual New Year's Eve party in New York's Times Square after suffering a stroke. The 75-year-old producer has hosted Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve for the past 32 years. TV host Regis Philbin will stand in for Clark when the show goes live on America's east coast on December 31. Ashlee Simpson will co-host. Clark was taken into hospital in California last week after suffering the mild stroke. From his hospital bed, he says, "It'll feel strange watching it (the show) on TV but my doctors felt it was too soon. I'm sure Regis will do a great job and I'm thankful that he was able to step in on such short notice." Clark also missed out on reading the Golden Globe Award nominations Monday morning - something he does annually. Actor pal Brendan Fraser stepped in at the last minute to replace him.

gus's vet's name is christopher lee....anyone else find that creepy? if you don't know who he is...look him up! shame on you!

i'm taking amy's cat to the vet today at 6. he's having his stitches out and (hopefully) will finally be allowed outside. then he won't have to bolt for the door everytime i open it only to be booted in the head. ha ha ha

well, i know that amy and gram went to st. augustine yesterday. a good time was had by all.

Hmm Leigh and Emily have obviously gone to visit Ashley and didn't tell Jen and I. How rude to leave us to blog all by ourselves and go off and have fun in sunny PA. I'm stuck here washing my floors dammit to hell.

NOT for when you're feeling blue, but funny otherwise...

http://www.badcookie.com/

that's hysterical. i'm not sure what i'm doing today.

Sta-Puft Virgin Mary and the Three Hershey Men

Over at Santa's Depot, you can buy a kit to make a nativity creche out of S'mores.

Says Lee's cousin Luke: "Doesn't baby Jesus look adorable? And tasty?"

S'MORES NATIVITY SET OF 4

$19.95

This adorable set includes 3 Nativity Characters and a 5.5" Creche.

http://www.santas-depot.com/shopexd.asp?id=6019

Blog Review

Dinner last night:

The chicken was good, but you only need to make half the sauce. I didn't have any apple juice so I used a little orange instead. I didn't make the potatoes per the recipe. I just tossed them in EVO and sprinked with salt pepper and garlic powder. They were ok but nothing to write home about.

I've started reading Pride and Prejudice.

I have to tell you that I just love it when the nuthatches and chickadees come out. They love the apple tree in front of my window because it is just FILLED with apples, so it's nice to be able to listen to them all day.

I forgot to tell you that I saw Cornel on Saturday and Aunt Ruth was doing much better then. The 'rents have their tree up and it looks pretty good for $5. The kids are all excited to get off the bus tonight and decorate it. Not much going on today, we've had flurries this a.m.

Monday, December 13, 2004

go start your car.

well now that i know you're like me, an elitist soap user, i'll share this proctor and gamble secret. gain is at least a dollar cheaper, and has the exact same cleaning formula. so save some money and buy gain! unless tide is on sale!

good news for people who like sale news

my local hannaford is selling 100oz bottles of tide for $4.99! go check it out!

i KNOW you don't need tide with your elitist washing machine, rk. i KNOW you use arm and hammer. i have heard enough of it. but some of us need to use good soap!

i'm not at all emotionally or mentally prepared for exmas, though my shopping is about done. except my parents, damn them.

leigh is home "sick" today, that's my guess.

I agree wholeheartedly. In fact I'm for arranged marriages if you can't make up your own mind. Of course you would have a say. Hmm let's see your friends get to pick your mate for you, but you get to pick the 5-10 people that get to choose your mate. I think that would work better than having your parents set it all up. Then you'd have a CHANCE at least.

Blog Poll: how ready are you for Exmas?

Bog Poll #2: Where the hell are you Leigh?

domestic complacency? i'm still laughing. you should run for office.

Poor RR, I'm sorry about Wade. And don't apologize, the blog is for all the bitching and gut spilling you have in you!!!

i'm so sorry, rr! trust me, right now, i'm a perfect companion for comiseration.

wackojohnny24ud.png (PNG Image, 409x337 pixels)

johnny depp as willy wonka

today i'm going to start going through some of these bags that have accumulated in my room. i gues that means i'm going to wrap presents. and i also will probably do some laundry. i should go grocery shopping and cook something for myself to eat this week but for the life of me i can't decide what.

from Cooking LIght online

Sweet Barbecue Chicken

1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup bottled barbecue sauce
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (6-ounce) can frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed and undiluted
12 small chicken leg quarters (about 5 1/4 pounds), skinned
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Cooking spray

Combine first 6 ingredients in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally.
Prepare grill or broiler. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Place on a grill rack or broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Cook 10 minutes on each side. Brush chicken with sauce, and cook an additional 15 minutes or until chicken is done, turning and basting frequently.

Grilled sweet potato wedges
Cut each of 4 medium sweet potatoes (about 3 pounds) into 8 wedges. Toss wedges with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin, and 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper; toss to coat. Place on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 18 minutes or until tender, turning occasionally.

Well the chocolate drop cookies rolled in candy cane crumbs are very good, however, Nana's molasses cookies are NOT as good as Nana's. However we DO have 12,000,000 as my children chose to cut out mostly 1 inch high xmas trees, so you can imagine how many individual cookies that makes out of a whole batch of dough. In addition to xmas trees they made a lot of 1 inch pigs and 1 inch pears and apples. There are a couple of regular size cookies too but not that many. Note to self - hide all tiny cookie cutters for use on pie crust only. They frosted and decorated two pans worth, but got bored and stuck me with the rest. The decorations definitely got simpler after that. No sprinkles. No multicoloring. Today I'm going to try to work. Most of the laundry is done except for two blankets. I also have to do a few dishes and get dinner of course. Breakfast is going to be poaced eggs on toast today. Dinner is going to be BBQ chicken with sweet potato wedges from cooking light. Let me know if you want the recipe.

Sunday, December 12, 2004

Saturday - hmm seems I was gone all day but I guess I should start with Friday. JK and I had a raucous game of bridge with the rents. The girls won +1000 to +100. This is the third win in a row for the girls and I must say it's shaken the confidence of the boys. JK and I came home and watched O Brother. Leigh, if you think of it remind me to get my movies next time I see you.

Saturday I did housework in the a.m. and in the afternoon Maddy and I went to Marden's where we picked up excellent deals. Then we went to Hannaford and got tons of groceries. I made cookie dough when we got home.

This a.m. Orlie made doughnuts for some reason and the kids put up more decorations at the 'rents house. We came home and made cookies which they are in the process of decorating.

Saturday, December 11, 2004

it's so early. i'm off to the airport.

Friday, December 10, 2004

Yahoo! News - Congress Expands Use of Terrorist Lists

Yahoo! News - Congress Expands Use of Terrorist Lists

note the phrase "some other reason".

now i forget, are we at war with eastasia or eurasia?

blog poll for us older bloggers

yesterday on xm i heard that 80's eddie murphy classic 'boogie in your butt'. BLOG POLL: do you think that song would be allowed on radio in the year 2004? i think not. we've actually gone backward in 20 years.

addendum

he actually brought cabernet. she demanded sauvignon blanc...because she was going to have chicken or fish...

i only know these details because i'm more nosey than snoop.

i was gonna say cranberry sauce and milk.

From Hart's Turkey Farm

The Following Children's Entrees Include
French Fries or Whipped Potato and Vegetable, Hart's Home Style Rolls with Butter
(unless otherwise stated)

Tiny Tot Turkey Plate (recommended for Age 5 or under)
Served with Stuffing, Gravy and Cranberry Sauce

4.75

the Strongbow Inn senior selection features:

All entrees below include choice of soup or salad, roll, choice of dressing or potatoes and apple pie (while it lasts) or ice cream for dessert.

with their turkey pie.

The Freeport Cafe serves their turkey pie with: salad bar, rolls , butter & choice of potato or rice

true confession #2

I got four or five emails, from real people, that i actually wanted to read while I was gone. I did read them but I was too tired to really answer them well, so I just sent them blowoff, one-liner replys.

You serve a green salad or three bean salad or anything else that is green. You have white wine or milk.

Update

Aunt Ruth is very poor today. She doesn't know anyone and will not swallow. You've been warned.

I've decided my grumpiness is due to either lack of hydration or caffeine,so I'm doubling my dosage of both water and coffee in hopes that it will cure my ailment.

blog props to amy for dinner last night!

i had a bunch of appetizers and 1/2 a cheeseburger. we went to smokin' bonz.

if you don't go pay for it, you'll have a good true confession for today. but i think you'll go back and pay for it. especially if you value good customer service, you should value good customer behavior. at k-mart yesterday i made the girl check the price of the frame i bought because it was a good 8 dollars cheaper on the puter than on the tag. i was right...it was on sale! yippee!

having been to bangor several times this christmas season, i would caution against it. if it's going to snow, and going to be busy, and you're NOT in a good mood, i would not bother.

true confession

I do NOT want to get dressed and take a shower today. So I'm going to the Post Office before I do all that. I'm going in my pjs. and YES I know it's 2:00 and I'm still in my pj's.

blog poll:

should I go to Bangor tonight?

true confession

yesterday when i went to ellen and ralph's to drop off cookies i went to pee and saw that some shampoo had spilled on the floor. i didn't pick up the bottle or clean up the shampoo.

I think it's going around. A similar incident happened in my house and got all out of control. Now we're both walking around saying "I'm not grumpy leave me alone".

ltl i'll be up at christmas, making more cookies i'm sure. so if i see you, you'll get some.

you should have just called them biscotti and dipped them in your TH.

well i went to sanford, here are my reportings:

went to the bank. everything went well. went to marden's . they didn't have plax there, they had it in lincoln for less than half price! i should have bought all i saw but i was po'. i got some kitchen gadgets and some phone cards. at mardens i saw a car that had two bumper stickers.... "superman had foster parents" and then "raising kids is like being plucked to death by chickens". now call me crazy, but i'm thinking they may not be the best foster parents....

then i went to shaw's. all went well, i did self checkout. i love that. then on the way home instead of going to dd i went to the local drive through place, jitters, and got a caramel latte. the boy working was one of the owners, very cute, and he flirted with me a little which just shows he's a good business man, because let's face it, folks, he wasn't really flirting with me.

FYI Maddy and Isaiah love Jen's cookies too. In fact they have eaten them all except one that JK and I shared. There is only one left.

i didn't get to watch the apprentice last night. i'm going to watch it tonight on cnbc or msnbc, whichever it's on. don't tell me who got the axe!

It's email your grandmother day. You must drop her a line once a week because she didn't want to go to FL. If you need her aol address let me know.

stop saying what i'm saying!

I think it also scans your email so google can market to you more effectively!!!

Today - laundry, coffee, Daria, napping, shopping, visiting Aunt Ruth maybe

Tomorrow - I think I'll bake chocolate cookies for the little computer geek - chocolate of course. Maybe we'll make ginger bread men too.

the stuff i read about new gmail said that they were going to scan all your sent and received emails to send both parties advertising. so i didn't get it.

When are they going? Leigh will want to go I'm sure. Tell me what you need for the brochure Leigh.

Hell, RR you should just email it to all of us and have us give you a review. You're bound to get a couple of useful responses. I'll let JK read it too.

the sox are going all the way to presque isle??? blog props boston red sox!

PBS kids is a great website. Liam's next words will probably be "it's loading". That was a great moment for me, when my kids could wait long enough for a game to load without screaming. The computer really taught them patience. Another good site is Cartoonnetwork, they have a couple of basic games that liam would probably enjoy. I don't approve of the game rival site, and I'm a little upset that they showed it to the kids in school. Although they didn't show them any bad games, some of the games on the site are: "War on Terror", "MJ Baby Drop" and "bagdad bowling" I wonder if I should complain to the principal?

pbs kids....and so it begins. if he's anything like isaiah, you'll have to buy him a computer next year for christmas because he's discovered gamerival.com and wants to play ALL the time. ha!

what smart young men you both make! nice job!

today: cleaning house, cooking for a, and going to sanford. and drinking coffee i'm sure.

Thursday, December 09, 2004

i'd be happy to help you ! just email it my way!

just got home. max is full of the BIGGEST purrs ever. amy must not have pat him ONCE>

So we got to Marianne's house and Morgan was there to meet us. We rested for a bit had a shower and a cocktail then went to PJ's for dinner. Morgan had oysters on the half shell and I had Tuna Sashimi (we shared though of course). It was EXCELLENT. For an entree I had pan blackened shrimp caeser salad, Morgan had shrimp salad salad (yes I typed it twice) and Aunt Lil had Fried Oysters. I actually had a BEER can you believe it!! It was perfect with the shrimp though, Sam Adams, Morgan and a beer too. Lil had water with the lemon removed. Lil and I got Key Lime Pie to go. Then we visited with Katie and Bob for a little bit. Katie had made us her lemon cake (which is to DIE for), so we weren't so excited about the key lime pie. We went back home and had some pie but it was disgusting so I only had two bites. Then we went to bed. Oh yeah, we made arrangements for my airport transportation. I woke up at 5 a.m. and watched news all morning and drank coffee. Aunt Lil didn't get up until much later so I was quite bored. We watched the weather and waited for my ride to the Airport. My driver was a hopeless republican and he was very excited that I lived near Bush. I said I hated Bush and I didn't live near him at all, only snobs live there. I thought he should know better to talk about Bush with a bluestater like me so I tipped him very poorly. After he said how great Reagan was I should have not given him any tip at all. So I got to the airport an hour and a half early. I went to all the quaint shops and bought the required snow globe and jewelry, that took me all of 3 minutes. Then I wandered around looking for the perfect scarf and the perfect coffee. I found a very excellent green scarf but didn't buy it. I found another very excellent orange scarf but didn't buy that either. I had a coffee (gigantic) and a yogurt and called Jen. Then I boarded the best plane I've ever ridden in and took off for Dulles. I sat by a very nice real estate guy. We shared magazines and chatted about architecture and sofa's and how good the coffee was and what there was to do at the Dulles airport for 2.5 hours. Got to Dulles cased the joint for coffee and internet, went into the old terminal went back, had a fruit smoothie with protein, then an oj, then a coffee went into all the shops, found the PERFECT soft black scarf but it was WAYYY over my $15 budget )it was $40 so I didn't buy it. Went to the gate, oh yeah I forgot to mention that at the Gate in Tampa there is no air conditioning. They could really use a mechanical engineer. So anyway, I watched people and listened to jet blue people moan about their late flights. I should tell you that my plane arrived 20 minutes EARLY. Apparently Inde allows for some delay when they tell you when you're going to leave and arrive so they're not held to the exact minute. Got on the plane and headed home. I didn't sit by anyone. The flight was very very good with only minor turbulence. It lasted about an hour. Landed in Portland, hopped a cab to Peter's and arrived home around 10:00

And now for the trip awards:

Cheapest Gas: Hess outside of Richmond, 1.66
Cheapese overall Gas: Hess
Worst Music: xm radio
Best Football Team win: VT on Saturday vs. Miami
Best coffee: Starbucks, Dulles
Best Airport: Tampa
Best Omelette consumer: Lil, three total omelettes in 4 days
Best Hotel: Comfort Inn, just outside of Richmond
Best Hotel attendent: Bess, Comfort Inn just outside of Richmond
Best driver: Me of course
Best sense of direction: Gram

I watched football all night and took a long bath. I got up very early in the A.m. and had a ton of coffee and a yogurt. Then the girls got all packed up. I got gas and talked to people in the gas station for 20 minutes. I like them, they were there last year and we had a lot to talk about for some reason. His grandkid was born right before we got there last year and he showed me pictures. Man, that kid is cute. The other guy that I talked to has a brother in Iraq and for some reason told me all about him. I was very sad about the whole thing of course. Anyway, we left SC and drove and drove till we got to Ocala, FL where we stopped at IHOP and had lunch. I had a tuna sandwich, Lil had a cheese omelette I think and Gram had french toast and bacon. Then we gassed up at BP and headed down 301 to Zephyrhills. We dropped GG at her place and raced for Tampa so we'd get there before rush hour. GG, we didn't take your route through Wesley Chapel. If you go past Walgreens the road goes RIGHT to I4 and it's VERY quick and easy. NO traffic to speak of before the Interstate of course. We had an easy drive to Largo and missed the heavy traffic entirely.

Now I'm off to make pizza because there is NO food in this house at all.

We drove and drove till we needed gas and coffee. We stopped at a Hess somewhere in SC. It was a great one too, with a Wendy's AND a DQ. Lil got a Frosty, GG got lemon cake and a cappucino, I got coffee and some trail mix. We drove and drove to Hardeesville SC with is about 5 miles from Savannah. We stayed at Comfort Inn. I got my own room because I hadn't slept very well for two nights. We ate at Shoney's. I had a patty melt, Lil and Gram had potato soup and something that I can't remember, maybe muffins. Lil had this giant chocolate thing for dessert. They had coffee and I had a coke.

I should state that we had breakfast every morning at the hotel. That's why we stay there. Free continental breakfast and the coffee is decent. So it's a good deal. Anyway we drove and drove till we got to a Cracker Barrel somewhere in NC. I had excellent salad. Lil had the ham and hashbrowns and carrots, GG had the Chicken and dressing special with some of Lil's carrots. I bought ornaments for the kids and Lil bough corn muffin mix and candy canes. I don't know what gram bought if anything.

I have no idea where we had lunch. Hmm, I remember driving through Milford PA oh, maybe we had wendy's for lunch. GG had milk, I had grilled chicken salad and Lil had a burger and a frosty.

We drove and drove till we got just below Richmond VA. I waved to everyone as I went through CT, NY and PA. We stayed at comfort in n and ate at the Waffle House. I had a fiesta omelette with no hot peppers, Lil had a cheese omelette and I can't remember what GG had.

We drove and drove and drove. I can't remember stopping anywhere but we must have gotten a coffee and gas at some point, but who knows. We drove to Vernon CT where we dined at the New York Deli. I had roasted vegetable soup with rye bread and a half sour pickle. Lil had something I'm not remembering right now and GG had Baked maccaroni and cheese and three bean salad on the side. We all had coffee. Lil took a piece of cheesecake home with her. It was very good. I wish I could remember...o I remember now, Lil had a bacon cheeseburger medium rare. It was too big though and the roll was too chewy so she only ate the burger. There.

We stayed at comfort Inn. A power line fell down outside during the night so we couldn't take the direct route to I84. No problem though, I went out and gassed up and found the alternate route which was very easy. We were soon on our way.

I went to the Newport Rite-Aid - my current favorite one, and now I'm just remembering that I wanted to stop there on my way home to pick up the tiny dancing and singing xmas tree for the Boy but I forgot to do it. Anyway, at rite aid I got a Trac-fon card, lotion, visine and I guess that's it, oh, no I got some dried fruit. I headed for DD but the line was too long so I just headed down the pike. Met GG at Freeport - with no episodes despite my driving like hell on wheels. She followed me to Peter's where I left my car for the trip. We said hello and good-bye to Peter and went to lunch at Eggspectation or Eggstravaganza or Eggstraordinairy or whatever it's called. I had turkey salad sandwich and salad. The dressing (balsamic vinaigrette) was EGGCELLENT. The turkey salad was not however, and the atmosphere was WAYYY too cold and loud for me. GG had ham quiche and Lil had swiss cheese omelette with fried potatoes that she RAVED about they were so good.

Travel report vol. 1

I picked GG up at 8:15 on Saturday morning. We drove to Lil's where Gram switched to LIl's car. She drove Lil's car to Portland and I drove mine. Our meeting place was the Freeport/Durham exit. I had to stop at Starbucks for coffee and Rite-aid for supplies. I got a regular coffee with skim and splenda. It was excellent, xmas blend I think, although it wasn't quite as hot as I generally require. I was starving however and there was NOTHING there I wanted to eat. So I drove.

I must also warn you that Jen's cookies are WAYYY too good. Jen, next time make them bite sized would ya? I can't eat a whole one. You do NOT want to share these cookies.

NO ONE answered my quiz so I'll do it for you. I had 195 messages - 6 of them were real messages the rest was junkmail. I need to download the Mozilla email thingy and try that out. Do you use that Ash?

Jen and Leigh are going to lunch today. Aunt Ruth is still in the hospital and is not doing very well. She's probably going to be in rehab for a while - or go to a nursing home. I'm hungry and there's nothing here I want to eat. Maybe I'll have tuna and carrots.

Disclaimer

I own 23 shares of Independance Air Stock.

All I know is all the Jet Blue flights were late in DC yesterday, so although I did have one ignorant customer service agent from Inde during the Everett ticket fiasco, I'll fly Inde again until I have a bad experience.

i've forgotten what i was going to say.

snoop, i'm gonna call ya when i get in the vicinity....lunch today i hope? if not call and leave me a message.

Well I'm back. I think it's going to take the entire day to get back into the swing of things though. I have coffee going and chickens fed. JK got the kids off to school. LTL, am I going to see you before xmas? I wonder if I should come up. I need to deliver presents. Perhaps I'll grab WW and come up this weekend or next. Anyway, I'm extremely logie, but I would like to thank Jen for taking care of my family so well. They didn't really even seem to miss me that much but I'm sure they did.

I would like to recommend Independance Air though. It was SUCH a great plane ride. I'm not one of those people that loves to fly. However, the flight from Tampa was on a brand spanking new Airbus and it was just fantastic. The flight from DC was on a smaller plane but it still didn't freak me out. What I really liked about them was that the planes didn't feel like they may fall apart at any second (like southwest's do), they had very good coffee, they had a variety of snacks (even though I didn't have snacks) they passed out hot towels and mints at the end of the flight and the crew wasn't hokey (like southwest's are) yet they were very very nice. They also served Canadian water.

Anywho, more about the trip later. I must first decompress.

Blog quiz: how many emails do you think I got while gone. LIst Junk mail and real mail seperately.

Wednesday, December 08, 2004

major, Major, MAJOR blog props to jk for watching clay aiken christmas with me and not even complaining! now really, what straight man would actually watch that with a girl knowing that sexual favors as return are out of the question?

Leigh, yes, go ahead and make us a brochure, but beware, i'm a very particular customer. You should go to borders and look at architecture books and mags because i want my brochure to be SLEEK. I'll email you or fax you our current brochure if you need some details, but not till i get back. Figures i actually found expensive internet service and jen isn't here to chat with me. i'll be getting off the net in a bit, but if you want me to bring you a starbucks from the airport you better tell me now.

Ok so you go to the Nation's capital and your stranded in the airport for 3 hours and not only do they have the nation's most uncomfortable stools at the internet terminal....they also have the nation's slowest internet connection! What gives!!!

i think when i was in petco around halloween there were costumes for cats and dogs. you could probably find some reindeer ears or something there.

i've made 3 batches of chocochip cookies this afternoon. i will be delivering them as christmas gifts on my way to s. berwick.

on that note, i still don't know when i'm leaving tomorrow leigh but i hope it's perfectly timed to have lunch with you (and give you your christmas present).

if you refer to a previous post, you will see that i was actually forced to listen to toby keith's greatest hits, on the day that jake put in the furnace at amy's. well, i'm not sure if it was his greatest hits or not, but it was toby keith. and let me assure you, that when actually listening to it, it's not the shortest cd ever.

right now i'm reading augustine burrough's 'running with scissors'. it's no david sedaris, lemme tell ya. but andrea promises it's his weakest effort, and 'sellevision' is really worth a read.

on that note, i recommend ecco domani pinot grigio as a white wine for people who don't like white wine. it's just dry enough, and it doesn't grab ya at the base of the neck like most white wines. very good in the florentine, too. i'm really writing this for myself, as i'll want to know what kind of wine i used when i made that KICK ASS florentine for johnny.

saturday it was cold. mom and maddy and i went to bangor. it was cold. i needed gas. so i pulled into the full service place. as he was pumping, i was gabbing on the phone. a girl from all the way across the pumps got out of her car to come over to me, knock on my window, and tell me i shouldn't be talking on a cell phone near a gas pump because it could spark and burn me all up. she had a syrup-y sweet southern accent.

yesterday, i went to steaks n' stuff to get chicken florentine fixins'. a bottle of white wine was required. at the register, the girl said "are you over 21?" and i just laughed and stood there. then i realized she wasn't ringing my bottle of wine in! so i said...'you're serious?' and she said yes. so as i was pawing through my bag i said 'listen, i went to school with that girl right over there! suzie's my cousin! they can vouch for me!" but i found my i.d.

well this evening i had a nice chat with a uvm friend i hadn't spoken to for 10 years!!!! alisa! i caught her up with everything, she caught me up with everything, and we decided that it's totally her fault that we haven't talked in so long. totally her fault, because she lives in ca and married a surfer. her third question for me was "how's pepper?" that was rough.

Tuesday, December 07, 2004

Hi From sunny Florida!!!

she can keep it. i just don't feel like fighting. she doesn't know i have a 5 x 7 for her.

i have discovered gingerbread flavored coffee mate. one spoon of sugar in mom's yukky maxwell house, some of that coffee mate...mmmmm...

good news for people who hate bridge news

due to inclement weather, bridge tonight has been cancelled! yay! you know what that means? i've been released from that obligation! so, i'm going to make john chicken florentine tonight and we'll enjoy a bottle of wine.

publishing your email address on the blog? that's daring. let me know if you get anything really wacky!

happy birthday tyler!

Monday, December 06, 2004

the worst show on food network

i love food network. but one show i will not watch under any circumstances is that family circle cooking with this girl who moves like she's attatched to a pivet. man, she annoys me.

a case of the dropsies

yesterday i had the worst butterfingers! i grabbed a cup off the bar and dropped it, the handle flying across the room. then i turned around and grabbed gram's butter dish, and it slipped out of my hands and chipped the bottom half all up! sorry gram!!! i hope it wasn't valuable!

ltl i mailed you rk's no.

no one's blogged yet? that's unacceptable!

this weekend i took mom and maddy to see the polar express. none of the eyes really freaked me out but i did find it very repetititve and dumb. and i really wish they hadn't let tom hanks be involved with a musical number. i really don't like tom hanks.i tried, i couldn't do it.

on the way home with dd latte in hand, mom maddy and i played my favorite game, "what would you do if you won powerball". i mentioned that i would send me and mom to a fat farm for a year. maddy suggested that i buy tyler some courage so that he would dare to take his (elitist) jeep off-road. ha ha ha!

Saturday, December 04, 2004

posted by rachael @ 7:38 PM  0 comments

Friday, December 03, 2004

Jen posted Crab Rangoons not me. My favorite thing of all time would be chicken wings. I wouldn't mind getting a used gift.

crab rangoons.

Well we've sent Jen off to lincoln to pick up chinese, mcd's and pizza. Blog Poll:

What is your favorite chinese food item?

I bought new FABU sunglasses at marden's today. $.78. I bought a sample size deoderant yesterday as well. I'm feeling very thankful for trial sizes this week. I have everything under the sun packed and I still have room for magazines.

JK says it's snowing hard in Rockland. I'm off to Suzanne's call me if you need me.

Blog poll: What have I forgotten to pack?

We're having birthday cake for suzanne this afternoon!!!!! Even Ellen and Ralph are expected to be there!!!!!!!!!!

I had a fat free bologna sandwich for lunch!!!!

CHEWY CHOCOLATE GINGERBREAD COOKIES
Makes 2 dozen
7 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Chop chocolate into 1/4-inch chunks; set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer,fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and grated ginger until whitened, about 4 minutes. Add brown sugar; beat until combined. Add molasses; beat until combined.
3. In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water. Beat half of flour mixture into butter mixture. Beat in baking-soda mixture, then remaining half of flour mixture. Mix in chocolate; turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Pat dough out to about 1 inch thick; seal with wrap; refrigerate until firm, 2 hours or more.
4. Heat oven to 325°. Roll dough into 1 1/2- inch balls; place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Refrigerate 20 minutes. Roll in granulated sugar. Bake until the surfaces crack slightly, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Jen and I made a mad dash to Lincoln!!!!!

my chocolate ginger cookies ARE fabu but they are not the roll out kind. They are the kind you roll into balls in sugar then they are perfect circles with crackly sugar on top. They are crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.

I'm going to email you all my tracphone number. I expect one phone call from each of you during my trip. If you're smart and want to make me really happy you'll decide between you who is going to call me on what day so I'll get one call each day. It doesn't have to be a long call and it can be from your child. But we like to have a call to break the monotony of the road. This doesn't apply to Jen because I'll talk to her 12 times each day anyway.

I say gingerbread men and chocolate duncan hines frosting. Name them Maddy Liam Isaiah Mama Daddy and he'll have fun.

r has a recipe for chocolate gingerbread that she says is fabu....

but i'd go for frosted sugar.

if money were no object, i'd build all bloggers guest houses on my oceanside commune.

I DID forget to report that Jen and I stopped at Irving in Newport on the way back. Now you might be skeptical about using dispenser hand lotion in an Irving, but you shouldn't be. They had the BEST hand lotion in there. It didn't stink and it wasn't greasy. I wish I had some right now.

Amy are you still sick?

did you have it in your pink cup? was it from starbucks or dd?

If I could give every blogger an extravagant present it would be a deluxe mini cooper but you'd have to go on a nation wide treasure hunt to find it first.

I've decided I actually want something for xmas. I want a black chenille scarf. It can be cheap too, but it has to be soft. So if you talk to JK tell him or better yet buy it and tell him to pay you back because he won't ever be able to find something like that.

i would like to sincerely appologize to all witnesses of my pig-like dinner wolfing last night. i was STARVING!

snow flurries have been spotted on Moores Road

and YES, Advent Calenders have been started. They are having fun with them. They each have 2.

...and to THINK I could have watched the Jessica and Nick xmas show and I totally forgot about it. I hold you personally responsible for not reminding me.

Oh yeah, Wednesday night we also watched Rudolf but we watched it on Suzanne's DVD's instead of TV. 9:00 is WAYYY too late for Isaiah to be up on a school night. So we watched it at 7:00 and had hot chocolate. Jen joined us. John watched with us too. It was very good and fun as always. The great thing about the DVD is that there are extended songs, no commercials and the color is a lot better. Plus you get the Rudolph trivia game.

After that, Jen left. JK and I watched season 4, disc 4 of the Sopranos and I'm SO glad that's over. Take it from me. The first two seasons of the Sopranos are GREAT I mean REALLY Great. Watch them. Then stop. Don't watch any more. They get boring and it turns into a big soap opera except running a fashion company they run a mob. Allegedly. You wouldn't know it though because they take out all the killing and drug use and just leave you with threatening glances and a little swearing every once in a while. They must have tamed it to appeal to a larger audience or something.

What am I going to watch now????

So Yesterday Jen and I hit the road at 7:10 a.m. and went to pick up Ev. We made good time and got there before 7:30. We packed him in and took off. ONly stopping for about 4 minutes.

We drove non-stop to Hogan Road where we stopped at DD for coffee. Ev - black, Jen - peppermint mocha latte, self - coffee with cream and sugar. I couldn't drink mine because it was disgusting. We drove to Waterville where we stopped for me to do a little banking and we threw out our coffee cups. I think maybe amy called or leigh - someone did but I can't remember who. We drove straight through to Exeter NH, where we stopped at mcdonalds for a pee break and we had a snack. Then we drove ev to the airport and dropped him off (2 hours before his flight). Everett seemed pleased. I dropped Jen and Ev at the door and decided to drive in circles while Jen showed everett where to go and what to do so I wouldn't have to pay for parking. Well, I did circle 5 times but then decided to park. I went in only to find that Bumpa's flight had been delayed an hour and a half. Well he didn't want us to wait even though we offered 4 or five times so we took off. Jen made sure the people that are picking him up in Florida were aware of the change before we left. Well we stopped at Barnes and Noble right by the airport and got coffees. Jen - peppermint mocha latte, Me - mocha, Figi water for each of us. Chocolate mousse cheesecake for Suzanne's birthday cake, a cute pink travel mug for Leigh for her Bday and that's it. I tried to get a starbucks gift card there but they don't sell them in Barnes and Noble starbucks so don't bother trying. Since we were able to get the cake there we didn't have to stop in Portland so we gassed up somewhere maybe I think and we drove non-stop to Freeport. Oh no we didn't get gas. We drove to Portsmouth and got gas there $1.88/gal. and then we drove non-stop to Freeport. We pulled into LL Bean and found a very excellent parking spot. The only problem was - a New Brunswick Volvo was parked behind up and their truck was open. Jen and I didn't know what to do. Should we shut the trunk? What if they'd been shopping all day and all their stuff was in it? They must have hit the trunk button when they got out or something. Or - what if they left it open on purpose for some reason. It was a real dilemma I tell you. Anyway we left it open, not wanting to interfere. So we went in to beans and did our shopping. We looked at everythink in the food department and bought maple pecans for a snack. Then we bought me some long underwear and Maddy some snowpants and left, stopping outside to get a wreath for suzanne from the Elks or whoever it was. The volvo was still there with the open trunk so we shut it, wanting to be concerned citizens and hoping that we wouldn't set off some car alarm. We didn't. We took off and decided we were hungry so we got a hot dog. It wasn't bad either but it wasn't red. It might have been Jordan's though. Ok so we headed to Bangor where we had a date for the birthday party. Turns out we squandered all our extra time at Beans. We did have time to pick up the rest of Leigh's pres though. So we went to Starbucks and I got her a gift card and what do you know! I hit happy hour and they were giving away free holiday lattes!!! So I got skinny gingerbread with no cream and I was SOOO happy. Then we went to the Thai place and I'll let leigh tell you about the party. It was very good though, as usual. The best thing about the entire party, though, is that we've settled the LRNYE details. It's going to be a slumber/pajama party. So bring your jams and your sleeping bag and we're gonna smoke too. And we're going to have pizza and Paula Dean's Southern Comfort punch. Is Sean going to come this year?

Well, I have a lot to blog but who knows if I remember it all. I'll try to get it done between loads of laundry though.

JK has gone to Rockland today so I SHOULD be able to get all my housework done. I really hope Jen comes down around ten to give me a coffee break though.

Ok first of all - the bridge report

I showed up at bridge 1/2 hour early only to learn that someone had been MURDERED in Burlington. This on top of the evening news that someone from Burlington had been killed in a car crash the very same day. How tragic. Everyone showed up at bridge right on time and the first question was who had been murdered. Well, come to find out this was erroneous information and no one had been murdered. Someone had come to the wrong conclusion when they learned 'someone from burlington was killed' they didn't have the entire story apparently.

Ok so bridge was fine. The snack was popcorn (though a little was burnt) and the treat was ELEGANT custard pie. A vote was taken and we will not be having treats through the winter because none of us need it. We will still have snacks though and next week there will have to be a treat because Suzanne wants to make red velvet cake. Prizes were won by - Faye - low, Tracey - goose and I can't remember who was high, maybe suzanne. I don't remember the prizes either. I remember someone got red napkins or something. A good time was had by all.

Wednesday, December 01, 2004

Isaiah loves Dom DeLouise

I always wanted one of those.

No it is not uggs. I already went through all this with Jen and Maddy. Maddy and Austin broke up FYI.

LTL, do you have fashionable boots to wear in the slush?

I'm just DYING to give you guys your xmas gifts. These are my guesses as to your reactions. LTL will like hers but never use it. A-lo will think hers is weird but will use it on occasion. Leigh will love hers and use it all the time. Jen won't love hers but will love the idea of it and use it all the time.

I should congratulate you RR on your impending second date. See? You were worried for no reason at all. Just goes to show you doesn't it. Anyway, hope you have fun on your second date. I'll wave to you on my way through PA sunday.

health research update - Burlington beat

JK is being treated for his cough with chocolate. The theobromine really does seem to work better than both Nyquil and that cough syrup we always buy, Delsym, yeah that's it. I"ll keep you posted. I've prescribed on little dove bite before bedtime.

Blog poll:

What should you do if you ask someone what to get someone for xmas and they tell you. So you get it, then everyone else wants to give that person (who is very difficult to buy for by the way because he doesn't like anything) that very same item? Should you be the big person and give the thing to his wife so she can give it to him? Or should you do that only if she has another recommendation? Or should you just ignore everyone else and let him get 3 of the same thing?

much thanks to all friends who called me yesterday.

mad blog props to ltl for emailing me all day and being a wonderful cousin.

LTL you're blog time settings need to be adjusted. You're posting an hour ahead.

Blog poll:

If it were your birthday tomorrow and you got to pick your gift, would you choose something practical or impractical but great and self indulgent?

road trip checklist:

milk chocolate (lil) - check (Dove little bites)
dark chocolate (R and GG) - check, same as above
purell - check
handy container of wipes - check, cup holder size
life saver wint-o-green individually wrapped - check
earplugs - check
allergy meds - check
vising - check
nose spray - check
tissues - check
trip-tik - check
gum -- check, Dentene Ice triple pack, clorets for a spare

What am I forgetting?

bottled water
travel mug
magazine

It's raining and blowing here in Burlington. I'm looking forward to the Sunday forecast for NY/PA so if anyone knows it please advise. Do you think I'll be able to blog from Dulles airport on Wednesday? I have a three hour wait.

Jen and I have made our trip to Lincoln for the day. We had to get a few groceries and run miscellaneous errands. I'm all gassed up for our trip to Manchester with Bumpa tomorrow. Trying to get dishes and laundry done and fit in a little work in between. Tomorrow we'll be taking off very early so there will likely be no bloggin for us.

Yesterday I had a couple of very bad experiences. The first being that I tripped apparently over a crack in the road (a la Jen) and went ass over teakettle, ripping my jeans and my knee. Didn't even spill a DROP of coffee though. How'd I do that? Anyway the second thing, which actually happened first, was ordering haddock chowder at the governor's and it was so disgusting I couldn't take more than 1 bite. It was slimy and gross and that's exactly what I told the waitress. Come to think of it slime is the only thing I really actually complain to restaurant people about. Hard to believe isn't it.