bye bye gift cards

it sure didn't take that long to either SPEND or ALMOST SPEND our gift cards to:

• Macy's (empty... and now i own new lovely, lovely earrings)
• Home Depot (1/2 gone...i dunno what the heck you buy at home depot...but it sure made randy happy)
• Linens & Things (1/2 gone...i bought randy a 5 gallon boil kettle for his brew kit & 2 new cookie sheets for myself)
• Borders (3/4 gone...randy bought me some books)
• Starbucks (didn't touch any of them...and I got 3!!! I'm saving them for when I go back to work next Wed for my $5.05 mint mocha lite no whip frappachino)

SuperBad

Derek got this movie as a holiday present from Neil, and sitting across from the table of the two I heard them say something along the lines of THIS MOVIE IS THE GREATEST. Ok, that was enough for me - I had to see it (although I had no interest to see it in the theatre since I went from tears of laughter streaming down my face from 40 YR OLD VIRGIN to being kinda disappointed with KNOCKED UP. Anyway. last night randy & I popped it into the dvr & after 10 minutes of d$ck, d$ck, d$ck, c*ck, c*ck, c*ck, d$ck...I got frustrated & turned it off. My orig review of this movie is that it was SUPERBAD, and not in a good way - I mean...

...do guys REALLY talk like that?

Come on!!!

Then Derek told me again, YES - that is how 17 y/o's talk. No way! Yes Way! No Way! Yes Way! Really? Really. Hmmmmmmm. So, this evening I gave it a second chance. I'm glad I did - toooooooooooooo funny (that is once you get passed the first 15 minutes of c,c,c,d,d,d,c,c,d)

Oh, here is something else I just found out (from checking out the imdb website): YOUTH IN REVOLT is definitely in the works....and no other then Michael Cera is playing Nick Twisp!!!! I can't wait - it is being directed by the guy who wrote CHARLIE BARTLETT. I remember the director mentioned it at the Q&A about being a project he wanted to do, but he didn't confirm back then that it was an absolute done deal (oh - see CHARLIE BARTLETT - trust me, this is another damn funny movie that I recommend). I wish I thought first about marketing schoolyard fights - I would have made a FORTUNE marketing to the guidos how they kicked the rockers a$$, and would have marketed to the rockers the same vhs tape (remember - this is going back to the 80's) the same tape with a bit of 420 (LOL).

this week is flying by

first off - I got a good haul in the present dept this year...lots of gift cards to places I'll shop at....like:

• Borders
• Starbucks
• Bath & Body Works
• Linens & Things
• Macy's
• Cheesecake Factory

and then I got stuff I wanted, like: audio books, fuzzy slippers, toaster over (yes, I WANTED ONE), nick twisp books, etc. I hope randy really liked his present from me - I got him a complete brewing kit from http://www.midwestsupplies.com/. Now I just got to save up 54 empty bottles & we are ready to begin.

I've been off work now since last thursday & don't have to go back until after the new year...so what to do during this 12 day vacation? I dunno really. So far, the only major "outings" were 1) Saturday night when we all went to Ruth Chris Steakhouse to celebrate my parents anniversary & 2) seeing I AM LEGEND on Sunday night (no one told me that this was a zombie movie!!!!!)
I don't count last minute shopping (which somehow I still wound up doing - bought the eggnog at 4pm Monday afternoon) as an outing.

Okay, so now I'm off to the mall to spend some gift cards. Derek is gonna use his Sports Authority card & Randy is gonna use his Barnes & Noble & Home Depot card. I think I might have enough to come home with something shiny!!!!

drum roll please to the WH'r who knows this is for her......

final package is in transit - I hope you enjoy it!!!

ok, maybe i had a bit too much to drink tonight...but I just wanted to say I loved being your SecretSanta Renee!! Time to get some sleep {{zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz}} - michelmoba

Indiana is coming to town

whoooo-hoooo....btwn xmas & new years Ms K and her gang are coming to town. I cant wait! Orig the whole family was gonna camp out in my living room (which would have been fun), but sherri found them an apt to stay at by her. Will post pics once they get here - I cant wait to see how big the boys are now. Last time i saw Max he was under 2 y/o!

when small towns rule the world

get this for small town law.....because there is only one supermarket in my town (which closes by 11pm nightly), the CVS refuses to sell any "grocery items" during 11pm-8am. Don't beleive me that I can't buy a bottle of pepsi at my 24 hr CVS?

Check this out:

Happy Birthday Honey

Chanukkah / B-day Party at my M&D yesterday

PS: look how STRAIGHT my hair is - thank you Brian{{mwaaaah}}

what's the matter with a few xmas lights?

DAMN...there always has to be one show off on the block!!!

Trans Siberian Orchestra performing "Wizards of Winter"

Wine Party

What could be better then having everyone come over with a bottle of wine & a sidedish? I think that makes the perfect evening....and that is exactly what barb did :)

maddie just couldnt be left out - so we gave her a seltzer....quite the taste for the bubbly!

decorating - here we go again!

I came home to the nicest surprise.....randy decorated our front bay window! Everything else is still still sitting on my living room floor, but he found just the right items / lights to WOW me as i pulled into the driveway

and this is what greeted me when I walked in my front door!

what ever happened to ant hills?

so when amie says she's going on a hike, where does she REALLY go? How about climbing Mt Kilimanjaro!

at a little pit stop at the crater's rim, also known at Gillman's Point (mighty impressive)
basically at the top of Africa....nice going AMES!

PS: these pics are from Summer 2007...can't you tell by the ice shelf?

crab rangoon update

ok, so thanksgiving dinner tonight was a lot of fun (everyone left about an hour ago & the pics are to be uploaded later on)....but for all those who couldn't sleep on my indecision on frying or baking.......I decided to go the FRY method. I did find out since this was my first attempt to fry anything, that you have to clean out your oil btwn each batch (so batch 2 came out a bit icky...good thing fern & I made like 5-6 batches). I served them with a sweet & sour dipping sauce, and not one was left over - YUUUUUUUUUMMY!

Starbucks Dilemma

so, do i buy the christmas blend for my non-jewish friends & the holiday blend for my jewish friends? I realize the pic is a bit blurry (hey, it was too early in the morning to have a steady hand - i hadn't had my grande skim sugar free vanilla extra foamy caramel machichatto yet, yanno?)....but now back to the issue - should I give the holiday blend to my Muslim friends or hold out & hope that they come out with another version in oranges for Diwali?

now here is another issue - who is having more fun on the packages??? If you are into singing, ok then maybe I'd say the Christmas Blend, but if you are into Ice Skating, then the Holiday Blend, right?

So what if you are a ice skating opera singer?

Oiy Vey!

crab rangoon

decisions /decisions - should I bake or fry?
I want to serve them as an appy on Thanksgiving.
Every recipe says to fry....but I'm not that good at frying - guess I'll have to have a trial run w/Sherri on wednesday.

rockin in da 'boken

last night I was at a DMB concert at the IZOD center (my last for 2007, bummer!)....if I knew my nephew was such a rock & roller, I would have taken the little dude with me!!!

~~ Todd rocks out in Metallakid ~~

Post Anniversary Dinner

Strange Night.

Randy orig made dinner reservations at The Bacchus Steakhouse http://www.thebacchuschophouse.com/ for this past Wed, but I told him to postone it to Saturday JIC i couldn't get out work on time. The place has awesome reviews, and i've been dying to go there - but now that I've been there, idunno if i'd come back

1) we arrived on time for our 7:30pm reservations. The hostess asks us if we want to get a drink at the bar first (?????) Why would i want to stand around drinking at a bar, when I could drink at a table w/o the crowd. If the table wasn't ready, that is one thing - but it was still early, so there were plenty of tables still open.

2) luckily when asked if we wanted to be seated in the first room "with the entertainment" or in the back room, we selected back room (VERY GOOD CHOICE - SEE BELOW)

3) the timing for our first round of drinks & appetizers were fine (except randy's appy, which was Gnocchi w/ Truffles & Mushrooms was AMAZING and mine, which was the special - Sauteed Shrimp Risotto, was EHHHHHH)

Things went kinda downhill from here...basically, we were forgotten.

4) took over 45 min from removing our appy plates to bringing our steaks and asking us if we wanted wine with our dinner. Randy ordered this humungo Porterhouse steak (rare), and i ordered the Filet Mignon (medium). Mine came out Well Done - blech, so I wound up eating some of randy's (which was too rare for me, so I wound up dunking it in ketchup).

5) after dinner we were given dessert menus. It took another 30 minutes to take our order - the pumpkin cheesecake - and then another 40 minutes to bring it with the cordials. The dessert was really yummy, but by that time i was getting bored with the place.

Oh, forgot to mention that during #4, the live entertainment began. I thought it might be a Harry Connick jr type piano player....OH NO...it was a James Brown impersonator (and i mean a damn good one) singing friggen loud. If i was in that first room - I would have picked myself up & left before dinner. All I could think of was The Bistro, circa 1989!!!!

It wasn't a BAD meal, but after reading reviews & viewing their website, I did build it up in my head....and I was a bit disappointed.

halloween "cuz" style

this is a bit freaky...."scary movie" is actually the cutest 9 y/o girl w/long blond hair, and it's pretty obvious that little "tigger" is not one bit afraid!!!!!!

Sarah & Landon

happy anniversary to ME

happy anniversary to me,

happy anniversary to me,

happy anniversary to meeeeeeeee,

happy anniversary to me!

xoxoxo

cuteness goes trick -or- treating

so my little "SUPER" nephew gets ready to change into his halloween costume

VOILA! Now he's "MONKEY BOY" ....and if he just knew how to peal a banana at 10 mths, he'd really be "SUPER-BABY" !

update on my pool

so as I mentioned a few weeks ago - we decided to take the pool down since the liner split (it was a toss up to repair since we just purchased a brand new filter earlier this summer). Unfor, with all the trees where I live - I'd have to spend another 10 grand to cut them all down so that enough sun could comes thru to keep the pool warm enough. Here is pics of Randy at work:

i'm really not ready to put this sign away...look for it next year - maybe next to a slip & slide (or a hot tub)!
chewie's not THAT upset - it just gives him another 25 feet to run around!

Wave to Aunt Mishy

if a picture is worth a thousand words...then this one of cousins is worth millions!!!!!

Emma & Landon / Todd & Sherri

(Sunday, Oct 28th....4pm)

Halloween

I loooooooooooove Halloween...next to Chanukkah - this is my very favourite holiday!

in case you can't figure it out, dude, Randy & I are hippiesBryan & Donna (the hosts)
and the best - the killer bee (who found her peeps on SNL)

Turtleback Zoo

I could have not have asked for a nicer day then last Sunday (it was a perfect 75 degrees in NYC)....so, Randy & I went to the zoo (ok - I went with kids, whatever). I took a gazillion pics of the animal (some were so close - like the bears that come right up to your sneakers) Barb, Maddie & Me (taking a breather after spotting 2 baby bear cubs)
the GATOR swimming up to us to check out the action
hey Maddie - that's SOME PIG, right!
what kinda of zoo would you have w/o a petting area (with a nosy sheep that wants to eat out of your hand)

or pony rides?!?!

(and this is where the "no higher then 36" rule come in)

so tired

last night I went with sherri to Webster Hall to see the New Pornographers. I didnt really know their music that well (I just downloaded it off Napster on Monday), but that's ok. Easy bopping tambourine music. We didnt even get home that late...I'm just tired. I wish today was friday instead of thursday.

Happy B-Day Isabella

I can't believe that patty just had her second baby - she looks AWESOME! Here we are at Isabella's 2nd b-day party this past saturday

Auntie Ivette with the birthday girl!

Mint Mocha Light Frappichino

today was a sad, sad day....i think i might have to cut back on my morning indulgence {{SIGH}} Starbucks just raised their prices again my grande no whip peppermint mocha light frappachino (which looks a lot better in person) now costs $5.05 Dammmmmmmmmmm - why does it have to taste so good!

Halloween Decorating

Spent Saturday night at Sherri's. After a long night - todd past out (ergo=long night) & sherri and I began our evening relaxation....building a gingerbread haunted house
While sherri knocked out the roof.....
....I created windows and a door.........

....VOILA! Damn good house from two tired ladies!
almost good enough to eat (in fact - Sherri & Neil began deconstruction two days later!!!)

annoying commuter

if you've ever commuted on an express bus, then you know that there are certain laws that all follow:
1) No extended talking on the cell phone...the phone rings, you answer, you cover the speaker area with your hand & then quickly hang up. Extended talking (especially in a foreign language is a no-no)
2) No chit chatting among yourselves above a whisper...this can be a problem when someone starts to cackle laugh
3) Keep your legs closed so that you don't squish the person sitting next to you (it's not like they want to sit next to you....it's either that or standing)

OK, so basically: shut up & get out of my space

On my ride home last night i was in the 2nd row. On my bus, the first row is about a foot lower then all other seats. Take a look at how the guy in front of me was sitting...i was sooooooooooo creeped out!

i love my neighborhood

here is my neighbor's front window (and you should see the graveyard scene on their front lawn!) Kind of freaked her out when I pulled over in my SUV & the flash went off on my camera phone

this is the bedroom windows....kinda spooky, huh?
~~decorating RULES~~

SITC - update on pics!!!!

turns out my carrie / miranda / charlotte / mr big sighting at Bryant Park was the WEDDING SCENE!!! Here is a pic of Cynthia's dress from TMZ.com:

At the time, I didnt realize what that whole big hair thing-y was on SJP's head (now that I realize it's part of her vail - what IS she thinking? ewwwwww), and with a coat one - I couldnt tell that she was wearing a wedding dress....but I can totally confirm that Kristin Davis was def wearing that black dress when she walked out

SITC movie is GONNA happen

how am i soooooooo sure????

well, on the way to the PA after work today, at approx 5:20pm in front of Bryant Park, Shannon, Lorena & I were hustled to move out of the way cuz they were about to film a movie scene. Normally I dont bother to stop - but when I glanced over - I saw a black towncar.

DING DING...could it really be Mr. Big's car?

YUP!

Of course, all I have on me is my dinky cell phone that takes "ok" still pics, but when you have NYs Finest hustling you along - this is what you get:

I know it's blurry - but it's Chris Noth in a tux (damn he's hot!)
Then a sec later the ladies walked out of the Bryant Park Hotel - I HAD to snap....here's Cynthia Nixon. The actual order was SJP, then Kristin Davis, then Cynthia...but my Charlotte pic is a complete blur....and take a gander at what happened to my SJP pic (I can tell you that she is the tinniest little thing)

Unfor, Kim Cattrall didn't emerge & I only waited another minute (guess that's my NYC impatience coming out)

Landon takes a vacation

...oh yeah, mom, dad & sis go along for the ride...but it's pretty clear who is in charge

sarah, emma & landon (guess being on the lake on a gorgeous day can make a kid pass out!)

ok, mom & dad - time to drive home...I know the way!

thought i was kidding - HA! - sarah is the backseat navigator