O-k-l-a-h-o-m-a

Last night we attended the 6th grade musical "Oklahoma" at Alex's school. The song is still stuck in my head... But that's ok, it was a very nice evening. The kids did a great job. One girl in particular was fantastic as Ado Annie. "I'm just a girl who can't say no..."

Alex decided he wanted to be on the stage crew instead of being in the cast. I'm not sure if it's in his blood to be "behind the scenes" on the production crew or what, but that's what he wanted to do. So he ran the spotlight, and did a terrific job. (I think the spotlight was bigger than he was!)

"Oh, the Farmer and the Cowman should be friends..."

Thursday Lunch at Friday's

Today I had the pleasure of attending a fun birthday lunch for a couple of former co-workers. We met them at TGI Fridays. It was a good time had by all! Melissa and I are pictured below. She's originally from Baton Rouge and I just love her accent! She is turning the big 4-0 tomorrow and will let me know what it's like since I'll be there soon as well... 

Below is Lorraine, the other birthday girl. (Just a smidge over 40) She's also a former employee and is from the area. She is enjoying life with her family, beyond the ol' 9. 

Behind her is Jim, he's our production supervisor. 

Below are the birthday girls. Terribly embarrassed at being the victims of the "Happy Birthday" musical by the wait-staff. They got free ice cream though!

The very talented wait-staff. One even used an empty water jug as a drum.

More attendees: Beebs, an editor/photographer and Jeff, the director.

More attendees, Julie (former employee), Mike (my boss) and Beebs...

Spam, Spam, Spam, Egg, and Spam

Well, with cost of everything going through the roof, it looks like Spam sales are at an all time high. Which in turn will mean that the demand for Spam will make the price of it go through the roof as well. I think I'm going to buy Ramen noodles in bulk. I think they're still only about 25 cents a package.

Holly Golightly

I love Audrey Hepburn. As a matter of fact, if I had a had a girl, her name would have been Audrey. One of my favorite movies is "Breakfast at Tiffany's". I have the movie poster in my office at work... and yesterday I found this great poster and frame at Target. (You can click on it to see it bigger.) It's now in my bedroom. I just love it! (If we have an entertainment/family room in our new home, the poster can go there... don't worry Eric, it won't be hanging over the bed.)

Ms. Fix It

Jenny has destroyed many things in my house. The downstairs bathroom floor was her first bit of work. When she was a puppy, I mistakenly kept her in the bathroom during the day. (With a gate in front of the door.) I should have crated her. She chewed a nice hole in the linoleum. I was going to hire someone to replace the flooring, but I decided to do it myself to save money.


Above is the before photo. Jenny is "helping". It kind of looks like she's pointing to the hole she chewed. I had already removed the molding and vent in this photo.


And here is Jenny once again. Proud of the new flooring. And promising with those big brown eyes that she won't chew another hole. I was very happy it only cost me $8.58, a few hours time, a little sweat and a couple of bruises, to replace.


The finished product. I think my dad would even be impressed by my handiwork.

Memorial Day 2008

We've had a great holiday weekend so far. We attended the Symphony on Saturday evening. It was a "West Side Story Celebration". The Syracuse Symphony Pops Chorus sang along with the symphony on many of the arrangements. It was wonderful. On our way out, we ran into Eric's mom Sheila, and Rich. A very nice surprise!

And yesterday (after some shopping and cleaning) we went to John & Louise's Memorial Day party in Phoenix. (NY) A great time as usual. Alex opted not to go, so he missed out on some great fishing and fun. Here are the photos of the evening.

Plans for the Long Weekend

Ahhhh. Rest and relaxation. This is the first long weekend I've had since January. Well, sure, I took 3 days off in April. But I don't think I rested or relaxed for a minute of that. I still am amazed how we crammed everything that we did into those 3 days in Cleveland. I was exhausted when we returned.


So this weekend is a welcome relief. We're not going anywhere. Not out of town anyway. Tonight Eric & I have tickets to the Symphony. (He won them at his Christmas Party.) And tomorrow evening we were invited to a Memorial Day party a friend of Eric's house. This will be our 5th year spending Memorial Day together at this particular party. It's always a great time. His house is right on the Oswego River. They have a bon fire after it gets dark and kids have fun fishing or running around playing games. Oh and of course there's great food and drinks. And my favorite jell-o shots.





This is a photo from last year. It was rainy. Some of the kids fished anyway. (Alex is in the orange.) But the party stayed inside. This year looks like it's going to be a beautiful day!

Let the Summer Begin!

It's 48 degrees this morning. And kind of drizzly. But there's hope for summer. This is the Friday heading into Memorial Day weekend afterall. It's early this year though. Maybe that's why it's cold. The 7-Day Forecast looks like more seasonal weather will be here this weekend. I hope so!

Jr High Blues

* Let me preface this blog post with a request. If any of you see, talk to, or otherwise interact with my son, please do not mention this blog posting. I'm about to enter a very sensitive area and will be discussing personal issues that my son would rather I not chat about so openly with the entire world. Basically, I believe he would be mortified and never speak to me again. So please, do not repeat what you are about to read. Thank you. *

Junior High age kids can be cruel. And they can be mean. It's such a difficult time in a young persons life. What, with bodily changes and hormones running amok. I remember the cliques, the teasing, the emotions. I had enemies, I had best friends, I had embarrassing moments, I had good times and some not so good times. I'll never forget during the summer after 8th grade when my boyfriend (John Holmes... yeah, that was his real name. Seriously. That was his name.) Anyway, John dumped me right before we went into High School because there would be "better" girls there. At least that's what his older brother told him.

So yeah, it was hard living through the pre-teen/early-teen years. But I think I'm discovering that it's equally difficult, if not a wee bit more difficult parenting a child through this time in his life. Being on this side of things, I know what it was like. I've been there. I lived through it. The ol' "If I knew then what I know now" thing really means something. Unfortunately, I can talk to him until I'm blue in the face about how it'll be over before you know it, how kids are just mean, how he should just ignore it, how he's a smart kid and how he'll do well in life. I have lots of advice. But normally it falls of deaf ears.

Tonight was a little different though. My son told me that today at school his best friend announced that the only reason he hung out with him was because he helped him with his homework. Apparently the best friend didn't like him at all. And he announced all of this at the lunch table. And the best friend's twin brother agreed. So my poor son, who has had some difficulty making good friends, not only lost his best friend, but was embarrassed in front of his other friends all at once. Now that's some serious trauma for an 11 year old kid. He tries to look at the bright side, but you know he's hurt. Man, I would be too! That's rough.

After spewing out my usual bit of lame advice, I came up with a gem of an idea. I told him that the next time his "best friend" wants answers for his math homework, just give him the wrong answers. He shouldn't be giving answers anyway, but at least this way, it'll teach the kid a lesson.

My son has been plotting all evening how he's going to make sure his former best friend gets a Zero on his next math assignment. Not a 40 or a 20, but a ZERO. I think I might have even heard a bit of evil laughter coming from him too. Revenge is sweet.

Dance Fever!

As promised, here's a fun video of little Kelly dancing (uh, spinning) to "The Sound of Music" at Eric's birthday party... she did this spinning thing forever. I hope she didn't end up throwing up later! She made us all dizzy just watching. She was just like the energizer bunny... 

And here is a video of the Birthday Boy Boogie-Woogie-ing with Kelly. 

Party time.

"Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest. " ~ Larry Lorenzoni

Eric's birthday party was a fabulous time last night. There was great food, great times and even some dancing. Yes, dancing. "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" was a big hit. The cake was also a big hit and quite tasty too.

The music from the player-piano created a back-drop for some very fine dancing. I will post a couple of videos tomorrow. I need to edit down them a little bit.

Birthdays & Pasta Salad

Today is Eric's birthday. Happy Birthday, Eric! We're having a dinner at his mom's tonight. I've been asked to bring my "famous" pasta salad. Not that Eric likes it. I don't think he likes anything with the word "salad" attached to it. Well, he enjoys a good fruit salad. Anyway, I was asked to bring the pasta salad, so last night I made two batches. One to go and one to stay. Alex always gets annoyed that I make things and take them away. So I made us a nice batch to keep here as well. Here's a photo of the pasta salad. And a recipe to follow.

Amanda's Pasta Salad
8 oz. elbow pasta, cooked, drained, set aside
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 small can of sliced black olives
1 cup Hellman's Light mayonnaise
2 tbsp vinegar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tsp Cavendar's Greek Seasoning (This is the secret ingredient!)

Mix mayo, salt, vinegar, pepper, Greek seasoning and sugar together and set aside. Add celery, onions, black olives and eggs in a big bowl with the pasta and mix lightly. Then add the Mayo mixture to the pasta. Mix well. Sprinkle a little extra Greek Seasoning over finished salad. Refrigerate. Best if made the night before.

And that's it. This recipe also substitutes perfectly with potatoes. Just swap the pasta for cut-up potatoes and you have yourself a perfect summer potato salad.

Lilacs in Bloom

Alex made a nice arrangement of Lilacs for me for Mother's Day. (We "borrowed" them from the neighbors Lilac bush...) I just love the smell...

Speaking of smells, a not-so-pleasant smell took over our building yesterday at work. Read all about it at RB's blog, she did such a great job describing what went on yesterday, complete with diagram.

Free Coffee!!

Get your free Iced Coffee from Dunkin' Donuts on Thursday! Don't forget! The offer runs from 10am-10pm. I think I can sneak in a couple of freebies with that much time... I travel by several Dunkin' Donut shops during my daily commute!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there, especially my own. Here's a trip down memory lane for my mom. I believe it's circa 1970? Love the 70's yellow carpeting... don't we all look young!

House Tour

We've been busy not only at my house, but at Eric's too. Today we spent the afternoon working on Eric's house. He stained the deck while I worked on the front yard and painted some trim.

We met with our realtor today. And it looks like we will probably list the houses within the next couple of weeks. We still have some minor adjustments to take care of at each house, but they shouldn't take too long. Here's my official house tour, minus the photos I've shown already. (And minus Alex's room & playroom, which I have been asked not to take photos of yet as they still need some work.)

The front. There are 3 hostas growing slowly in the bark mulch. And some fake red & white geraniums in the flower boxes.

This is the living room. We really don't spend all that much time in here. (Notice, there is no computer...) There is a bookshelf behind me. And a rocking chair, a little trunk and another chair. But no computer.

This is the dining room. Love my table, chairs and hutch. My dad the antique dealer / refinisher of furniture did those for me. He also did that little high chair in the corner back when Alex was born.

This is the kitchen. Normally the fridge is covered with junk, but the realtor suggested I empty it. So I did. It looks so naked!

This is my room. My computer (where I spend a good deal of my time) is at the desk behind me...

The full bathroom upstairs. Not terribly exciting, but it gets the job done. I love the water pressure in the shower... hope the new place has nice water pressure too.

This is the hallway upstairs. It's the cleanest it has ever been. Usually that trunk and little hiding spot next to it are dumping points for anything and everything. It also used to be my 'eBay' corner when I was heavy into eBay.

And there you have it. Minus 2 bedrooms, the garage and the basement, that's the whole house. It's just about ready to sell. I just hope it stays this clean!!

I've got nothing.

For the last 2 evenings, I have gone home and done absolutely nothing. And I rather enjoyed it. I painted for 4 straight days and I was tired! So I took a couple of nights off and relaxed. I'll get back to work tonight. Here are a couple of photos of the freshly painted walls and woodwork... the tricky part will now be keeping it clean and knick-free until it's sold. Having a dog and a child make that a challenge. 

Up next is the kitchen. I will post photos when that is done. The rest of the house just needs a good cleaning and organizing. The front of the house needs some trim painted and some yard clean up/flowers planted. And the window boxes need something pretty and colorful in them. Then I think I'm ready to sell!

Nothing but Noodles

I just noticed there is a "Nothing but Noodles" restaurant opening near the place I work! I am so excited!! Alex and I ate a restaurant similar to this near Chicago (called "Noodles and Company") when we visited Aunt Margi & Uncle Roger last summer and it was fantastic! I will surely be trying this place out as soon as the doors open... it looks like it's the same kind of place.

Cinco de Mayo and other things

I had no idea what day it was when I woke up today. I was very confused. Must have been the paint fumes. (I've been painting some rooms in my house.) It actually wasn't a bad day. Just busy. And it was a Dunkin' Monday. (They're a sponsor of our morning show... so we get free coffee on Mondays. Whoot!) Today on the show they made Cheesy Taco Cups and I got to try one. It was quite tasty. Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone!

This was a fun thing that made me smile today. I was checking my "google reader" with my favorite blogs and came across this on Red Sox Chick's new blog for Kyle Snyder. It made me smile, which is the point of the blog! I sent Red Sox Chick the photo of Kyle yesterday. I knew she was a huge fan and would enjoy it. I wasn't expecting her to post it on her site, but was happy to see it there. Thanks, Red Sox Chick!

Now I'm going to go spend the rest of the evening painting. I've been having problems with Home Depot matching some paint, but today they did it. So I'm anxious to get a fresh coat of paint in the entry/hallway. We're meeting with a realtor this weekend... so it might be on the market soon. I'd better get busy!

Loose change.

Alex has been collecting loose change for awhile. He rolls it up and puts it away. And forgets about it. Saturday we went to the bank and he ended up with $23 from all the change he brought back. He was rather pleased with himself. He's currently tearing the house apart looking for more change. So far he's up to almost $14. I'm thinking maybe I should have been saving all this change for myself! I'm amazed there's just so much change just laying around.

On another note, Alex made chocolate pudding and strawberries for dessert. He cut up the strawberries and made a nice presentation. Very impressive! And very tasty.

Paw Sox

Boy, I've been busy lately, not blogging as much. Sorry! Today Alex and I went to a Pawtucket Red Sox game. They were in Syracuse playing the Chiefs. As usual, there were more Sox fans than Chiefs fans. Which is a sad thing when you think about it. The Chiefs are the home team. The city and the ball club could really use some better marketing to get more of the community involved, but it just seems like they don't care. Which is a shame. It's a great ballpark and a great family oriented event. We do go to several Chiefs games when the Paw Sox aren't in town and cheer on the home team, but we're Sox fans at heart. So when they're in town, we cheer for them.


We usually get great seats for these games. My company has season tickets and sometimes we are able to use them, which was the case today. The seats are behind home plate, 3 rows back. Here's the view:

At one point, I looked behind us and saw who I thought to be Kyle Snyder sitting a few rows behind us. He's a pitcher for the Red Sox. The Pawtucket Red Sox. Last year he was with Boston, but was recently "re-assigned" to the PawSox. He was with Boston last year when they won the World Series.

Anyway, I did a double take. It had to have been him. Although I have no idea why he would be sitting in the stands and not the dug-out. I knew he pitched last night so he probably wouldn't be pitching today. I looked again and noticed he had a clipboard and a radar gun and was jotting down notes. I don't think I've ever seen a player work that side of things. At one point, it started raining a little bit, so we moved to the section behind us that had a cover. Kyle did the same thing. So we ended up sitting in the same row with him. I really tried not to let on that we knew who he was. He seemed to be enjoying the anonymity. I really wanted Alex to get his autograph for his glove, but it was probably best that he was too shy. If we had let on who he was, he probably would have been annoyed because other people would have been bothering him too. So we left him alone, but I did sneak in a photo, of course. (Below)

This photo (below) was taken before the game. Madera (42) was high-fiving his team-mate because they just announced he was the "K-man". The "K-man" is the guy the Chiefs pick to strike out... and if he does, then the crowd gets a taco from Taco Bell. As much as we wanted him to do well, we cheered for the Taco. Which we will be able to get, because he struck out.

It was a fun game. It didn't rain too much, so we went back down to lower seats. Oh and the Chiefs won the game 8-5. Oh well!