What a week

It has been one hell of a week for me. I'll start with the more happy news. Most everyone in my life knows this by now, but I am pregnant with our second. I am in my 12th week and what a long, horrible, and sick road it has been. I have never been so sick in my life. It was never this bad with Dominick, where I was at least able to function on a daily basis. This time, not so much. I took more time off work then I did all year for myself due to not being able to get out of bed, or hold water down. Everyone says, "Oh, it's all worth it, don't worry, it will go by quickly." Mmhmm. These are the people who a) have never had sickness to this extreme or b) just don't want to hear you complain anymore. But, alas, come Thanksgiving Day, I was able to eat something besides crackers and water, and it has been a very slow, gradual slope from there. Although I still get sick in the morning, I am still able to eat normal foods, just nothing with grease yet. I seem to be back to craving cheese: mac and cheese, cream cheese, whatever. I have a nice list of places I have to eat when I feel back to my normal self again, if that ever happens. Which I'm starting to think, never will. I will always be falling asleep at 7:30 every night and I will never be able to eat from a restaurant again. So, that has been my life for the past couple of months. So far the #1 highlight happened a couple of weeks ago when I threw up in my car after dropping Dominick off at my mom's. Luckily I learned with Dominick to keep a plastic bag in the car, so it didn't go all over. But, still just as bad as you would imagine it to be. That story is definitely going in the baby book! Yay motherhood!

This week has been a sad one for my family as one of my parents' beloved dogs, Orion, passed away on Tuesday. We have had Big O since he was 8 weeks old and died at the age of 15 (almost 16). He has had problems with his hips and would lose control of his bowels, so we knew he wouldn't be around too much longer. My father came home from work on Tuesday and found him in the living room, so my mom came home and they called the vet. My brother, who had a special bond with O, wanted to have him cremated so he could have his ashes, so that is what they did. Their other dog, Sekkara, has been doing fine. She was a bit lost on Tuesday night, but my mom says that she seems to be doing just fine. We got Sekkara when she was 2 and we realized when we adopted her, that from her birth date and markings, that she was Orion's litter mate! Talk about coincidence. So brother and sister were united again. It was hard to explain to Dominick why Orion wouldn't be at Boppy and Grandma's house anymore, but I think his little brain processed about as much as it could, and he has been fine with it since. It will take some getting used to of being at their house and having only one dog there instead of two, but, such is the circle of life. We miss you, big guy.

Today is my last day of work until the 29th and I am so excited. I haven't taken the week of Christmas off pretty much since I started working out of college. Today we are getting hit with our first huge storm of the season: 8 to 12 inches by late tonight. It should start pretty much any time now and just keep going all day. We are pretty much guaranteed a white Christmas this year as this is the first of a couple of fronts that will plow through our area. I will definitely get some pictures of all of the snow as I'm sure we'll all be out shoveling and playing.

So, that is about all of the news that's fit to print on this Friday morning. Stay warm!

With Christmas comes memories

It's December and we are all busy with holiday plans, shopping, and for us nor'easterners, fighting the weather. For me, this time of year is heavy with memories, as I'm sure it is for many people. I come from an Italian family that is heavy on the Christmas traditions. The main day of tradition being Christmas Eve. For so many years, this entailed going to my grandparents' house for a huge feast: fish, shrimp, scuengeli (skoon-gee-lee, aka squid), artichoke hearts, cabbage and beans, soup, clams casino, spaghetti ali oliea (ah-lee-oh-lee-ya), and I'm sure I'm forgetting something else. And I know that I'm spelling a lot of that wrong, but I don't have my Italian dictionary around (ever), so just bear with me.

This evening ended up being my most anticipated evening of the entire year. I was more excited about going to Grandma's house on Christmas Eve than I was to see what I got under the tree the next morning. I would sit in my room or in the living room and watch the clock and count down the minutes until it was 4:00. We always lived close to my grandparents, so it was never a long drive. We would get out of the car, grab the presents, and try not to slip and break something on the icy steps. When we opened the door, we were welcomed by the most marvelous sights and smells I will ever know. The warmth of the house and the warmth from the kitchen seeped throughout the whole house and it was like a great big hug just for you. We would take off our coats and boots and unload the presents, kiss our hellos, then take our places around the coffee table for snacks (my aunt and I always permanently placed in front of the chips and dip). Soon my grandfather would come home from wherever it was that he had gone (often shopping for himself, because why not) and we would sit down for our big Italian feast. Oh it was so good. My grandma would spend a week getting everything ready: shopping for the fish (or sending my dad), preparing the various dishes, etc. Dinner was always accompanied with great conversation and at least one horrible joke that my grandfather told. We would stuff ourselves silly and then the men took over for the cleaning of the dishes and table while the ladies sat and chatted. Eventually we would all make enough room for some Italian cookies and coffee, then we could dig into the presents. When we were little, and my cousins were little, my grandma always turned the news on so we could see where Santa was at the moment. We all played with our presents and laughed and had a good time. Soon, the evening would wrap up and it was back home for us. We always had my grandparents over for dinner the next day and that always made me happy.

As I got older, my grandmother had more difficulties putting dinner together. When I was in college, after my grandmother's first stroke, I spent the day with her breading and frying the fish and getting things ready for her. It was the only year we did that, but I will always remember it. My clothes and hair stunk of fish, but I didn't care. I think Grandma and I ate more fish while we fried it then we actually put on the table. As my grandmother's health declined, we continued going to her house, but we all chipped in to get dinner ready and together. Once my grandfather passed, my uncle took over the job of telling the bad joke of the year (very often the joke of the man with the suit with a sleeve that was too long). More time passed and my grandmother went into a nursing home and we had to sell their house. My mother took over Christmas Eve dinner at her house and we were always able to bring my grandmother over for dinner from the home. In the summer of 2007 my grandmother passed and each Christmas season gets a little harder when we discuss Christmas Eve. I still look forward to it, but it isn't the same without my Little Grandma. I will always remember how I felt walking into that house on Christmas Eve: so overjoyed by every bit of it: the warmth, the food, the decorations, the laughter, every last second of it.

Now that I am a mother, I hope that my children have the same excitement that my brother and I had in going over to their grandparents' house on Christmas Eve. When they are old enough, I plan to tell them all about my Christmas Eve love and all about their great grandparents. If it is one tradition I am determined to pass on as a parent, it is this one. While I know my grandparents are looking down on us on all of the Christmas Eves to come, it still saddens me that they aren't here with us. But I have so many years of wonderful memories with them that I am grateful for all of it.

Not to be a downer in a time when we should be all cheerful, but I think it's only natural for us to think of those we miss and traditions we grew up with, etc. So here's to tradition, family, food, and love!

Derby Prom

I went to our 2008 Derby Prom last night. In case you didn't know, it's an annual event my roller derby league throws to celebrate our season by giving out awards, mixed with booze and dancing. I got all dolled up for the occasion, which was kind of fun. I was voted the Best Positional Blocker by the league (I'm notorious for my angle blocks) and also got Most Improved Endurance (so running the stupid bridge has its perks after all...). I was also quite surprised and flattered to hear I had been nominated (which means someone(s) voted for me in that category) for Hardest Hitter. Truly a case where I can say it is an honor just to have been nominated. (I mean, there are some hard-ass hitters on the league and to think someone thinks I am in that company?? wow).

Anyways, it was neat. Here's a pic of me with one of my awards.



In other news, I just picked out a stack of books from the library to read over the next week or two. I got:
Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
The Way the Crow Flies by Ann Marie MacDonald
Air Apparent by Piers Anthony (part of the Xanth series I'm a fan of)
The Terror by Dan Simmons

If you have any favorite books or authors, feel free to share them. I love to find new authors & books to read!

It has started

This morning I woke up to white all over the ground. Yup, on November 18th, I had my first snow covered drive into work. For the first few rounds of snow driving, people tend to be, well, stupid. It's like they forget how to do it. Then everyone is fine, then the longer winter lasts, the braver people get. That's when you see people off the road in a ditch. So, it is officially winter here in upstate NY. There is no turning back now.

I'm back...

All rightie then. Got the internet hooked up at my new place. No cable, so I am on a big movie watching kick. A coworker lent me a random pick from here DVD collection, and so far this weekend I have watched Clue, The Day After Tomorrow, The Net and Sahara. I liked Sahara a lot. I think that is one to purchase to put into my usual rotation. (I like to play my favorite movies over and over while I do other chores). While at Target the other day I purchased the Simpsons movie and 3:10 to Yuma, both on sale for like $10. Simpsons movie was cute and I've seen Yuma before and liked it. Which I was surprised I did, but there's also yummy eye candy. Speaking of yummy eye candy, the new Bond movie is out and I'm wondering if I'm brave enough to go to the theater by myself to see it.

I wish the weekends were longer.

Sickie McSick Pants

We've both been a bit MIA lately. Mary is without Internet at the moment and I have been sick as a dog. I missed several days of work and have been lucky to make it through the past couple of days here. It's not like I'm getting a whole lot done while I'm here anyway, but hey, I'm here. Since I've been sick, I haven't been watching movies, reading, or doing much of anything but laying half dead in bed. It does, however, give me a chance to watch some really terrible TV. Like Saturday when I watched a marathon of The Real Housewives of Atlanta. All I have to say, is wow. I know those are hours I'll never get back and I was half out of it anyway, but damn. AMC has been playing a lot of Clint Eastwood lately so I watched some of Dirty Harry on Sunday morning and even though I was in bed, it was the sickest I've been and I can't remember what else was on. Probably a good thing.

Life in NY has turned cold. Today we might be up around 60 and then we dive down into our winter mode - mid-30s - for the foreseeable future. We tend to usually get snow on Thanksgiving and not much of anything for Christmas. And if we do get snow on Christmas, we get about four feet dumped on us overnight. It's always a guessing game in western NY.

This is the first election where I left the news on all night. I ended up falling asleep somewhat early, but whenever I opened my eyes Obama had another state and kept inching higher, so I went to bed. At 1:30 when Dominick woke up, my hubby got up with him and said, "Oh by the way, Obama won" to which I replied, "Awesome!.... Zzzzzzzzzzzz". The next day was definitely a day full of hope and good feelings.

Oh, and if you want to see my attempt at Halloween, check out our Flickr page for a couple of shots.

It's votin' time

Make sure you get out and vote today! Because you don't want P Diddy coming after you:

Homer Draper

I love Mad Men. Mary loves The Simpsons. I am extremely, extremely sad that season 2 of Mad Men is over, but it was an amazing finale. A friend sent me the video of the Simpsons spoof of the Mad Men intro and it is quite fantastic. Check it:



And here is the original Mad Men intro:



Simply brilliant. If you've never checked out Mad Men, I can't recommend it enough.

Sunken Gardens

I made the trip to the Sunken Gardens in St. Pete today. Fairly easy to find, only $8 for admission, and it was pretty neat. I suspect there is probably more in bloom in the "spring" or "summer', but there was still a lot of color going on in places. I pretended to be a photographer and took a lot more shots than I'm currently posting. Just wanted to get a few of my favorites up and I'll post the others later. I don't actually know what each flower is off-hand. They weren't always labelled and if they were, I was exactly paying attention. It was actually a hot, humid day. It must have rained earlier, as some flowers and plants were still damp and parts of the pathways were wet.

Rock On Cello Men!

Nicki, I'm not sure if you still use Emusic, but if you are check this group out -- Apocalyptica -- if you haven't heard or listened to them already. They're a Finnish cello metal band. My kind of juxiposition! I downloaded the Cult album and so far, five songs in, I really like it. I researched them after I heard one of their newer songs on my XM radio this morning ("I don't care" from the 2007 Worlds Collide album). I guess they're mostly famous because of their Metallic cover songs. Cult is composed mostly of originals and I like it. Think it will be good work listening music.



Since I have Friday off (a rare gift from work!) I'm thinking about going up to St. Pete and checking out the Sunken Gardens. If so, I shall take my camera along and play photographer.

Oh, so far, no luck with World Series tickets. I should know better than to believe promises!

Hip Hip Hoo-RAYS!

Not since the 1995 season when I was a young, rabid Braves fan have I been this excited about a World Series. I got to go to Game 6 of the ALCS, and while that particular game ended in a loss for the Rays, it was still quite an experience. The amount of people packed into that stadium was unreal. I've been to a few regular season games in the Trop over the years, and never has there been just a crush of humanity like I experienced trying to get to my seat! And while I had never before experienced any dislike for Boston Red Sox fans, that night, I began to dispise the ones sitting in my section! How dare they come to our ballpark and root against the Rays! (More particularly, I began to consider throwing my drink and popcorn at the ones who felt the need to be rude and say condenscending things about the Rays as the Sox started winning the game. I mean, really, it's one thing to cheer on your team, it's another to be spiteful about it). Needless to say, there were several fights witnessed in the stands (and bathrooms).

I had the opportunity to go back for Game 7, but I had to decline as I had to work the next day and knew I would get home way too late if I went. I sent B off with my blessing and was intensely jealous that he got to be there and experience what it felt like when the Rays clinched the ALCS championship. I was at home, biting my fingernails, and experiencing a jubliation when that last out of the game was called that I haven't felt in quite some time.

I'm hoping I get to go to one of the World Series games this week. Take me out to the ballgame, please!

Indie

I have exploring new avenues of music for the past couple of months and have found my tastes to be veering into the more Indie persuasion. I have also been "rediscovering" music that I liked, but wasn't heavily into back in the day. The main example of this would be Matthew Sweet. While swapping DVDs with a co-worker, she is loaning me some CDs from their extensive music library. When she brought in some Sweet and Wilco for me, she also brought in the latest album from Spoon. They are fantastic! Here is one of my favs from their album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga:



I look forward to getting the rest of their stuff. I have pretty much had this album on repeat since I first put it in yesterday.

For a trip back in time, here is some Sweet:

A perfect weekend - A picture heavy post!

It's pretty rare that I would ever say that I am having, or have had, a perfect weekend, but I think this weekend calls for it. Beginning on Friday, I went out to a yummy dinner with my friend Laura and then went to see Bill Maher's new movie, Religulous. I posted my review of it up on BoO. Then on Saturday, I went for my acupuncture appointment, which is always wonderful. I have been pain free for two days now, it has been great. Also, Saturday was my five year wedding anniversary. The weekend was much like this one, weather wise, and throughout the day we tried to recount where we were in our blessed day. We went out and did some shopping, which included Halloween shopping. Dominick is going to be Thomas the Tank Engine (*sigh*) and we went back and forth and finally decided on being hippies. Again. We did it before a few years ago and had a lot of fun. So now that Dominick is old enough to go out and about, we figured, why not. We went home, tried on our stuff, then headed out to my favorite Italian restaurant for dinner. We stayed in (since we didn't have a sitter) and after D went to bed, watched many episodes of my new favorite show, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Brad got me the first two seasons on DVD along with the first season of Life for my gift. I got him three mail order subscriptions to his favorite comics for three months. We are geeks.). Today was pretty low key. We went to a local farm for their Harvest Festival. They have a huge pumpkin patch and lots of things to do: a petting zoo, corn maze, pumpkin launcher, tire races, petting zoo, train ride, a huge slide, food, all sorts of stuff. We spent about two hours there and then headed home and got some lunch. Shortly after I got a phone call from one of my dearest friends Dan, who became a father 8 weeks ago. He and the family stopped over for a while and it felt marvelous to see them and get caught up. I miss being in touch with him regularly as he has been an anchor in my life for a long time. But, life happens and here we are.


(At the rehearsal dinner for our wedding. Dan did a reading for us.)

Now we are winding down for the night and winding down a really wonderful weekend.

I finally have some fall pictures to share. I thought it would be neat to follow the course of fall by following a couple of trees in our neighborhood to show how much it changes before winter hits. The huge tree is a couple of houses down and has always been my favorite since my parents first built this house. The second is a tree outside of our sliding glass door out back.

Week 1:



Week 2:



Week 3:



What I love about weekends like this are the clear blue skies and how awesome it makes the leaves look.
And here are two shots I got from the pumpkin patch. I was mad because even though I put two new batteries in the camera, it kept dying. Guess it's time for a new one!




That about winds things up for this weekend. Since this has been a trip down memory lane a bit, I'll close with a picture of me and Mary from 5 years ago, I only wish it was a little closer ;)

musings

stained glass windows aren't up quite yet. they're even prettier when I cleaned the dust off them.

I learned one of my best florida friends is pregnant. I find I'm very happy for her and a little sad for me.

work is insanely busy. all the rest of this week (including saturday probably) and next will be annoyingly busy. I already had one mini panic/anxiety attack at work, wondering if we'd get it all done on time.

I'm not wild about music videos but I wanted to share a song I came across recently in my effort to branch out and find new music to listen too. I like the lyrics to this song and it's a catchy beat. Thea Gilmore and "this girl is taking bets"

Reviews and shtuff

I finally sat down and wrote up some reviews for Band of Outsiders. You can check them out here. Choke, Burn After Reading and some DVD reviews.

I am currently recovering from a nasty headache from last night. Saturday I had my third accupuncture appointment and felt lovely for the rest of the day. No pain in sight for the weekend. Then I fell asleep on the couch Saturday night with my head tilted to one side and that is usually enough. Last night I could barely get off the couch and the pain hadn't gotten much better when I woke up this morning. So with some hot water pounding on it in the shower, Advil, lots of Traumeel, it seems to finally be getting better. I'm really hoping that the acupuncture will be the cure all for these pains. If not, I think my last resort is to go to the doctor and see if there is something else going on.

I was hoping to get out and take some fall pictures this weekend, but it just didn't happen. This weekend looks to be more promising and since we are probably going to head to the pumpkin patch at some point, I think I will get plenty of pictures then. It is officially fall and I did a lot of work in the yard yesterday: pulling overgrown weeds and bringing pots in for the winter. I love fall so much, the crisp air and the changing leaves, but it means a long and brutal winter is right behind it. But I try not to think about it too much. It's how us New Yorkers make it through :)

Not much else to report. I have been meaning to post that if you are on Twitter, you can follow me on there as well. Here I am.

Friday video

Found via Dooce.

Fall is here

Fall has officially arrived in upstate NY. It is my favorite time of year: the air turns crisp, the leaves change colors, pumpkins, apples, apple cider, donuts, Halloween, it's just a fun time of year. Of course, it ushers in the long haul of winter, but I enjoy fall while I can. It has been raining a lot, so I don't have many pictures to post, but it is supposed to be a perfect fall weekend this weekend, so I plan on getting out and taking lots of pictures to share. My five year anniversary is coming up and we managed to luck out and get married on the one good Saturday in October that year. Sunshine, leaves peeking, perfect temperatures, it was great.



I did go to see Choke this past weekend and it was awesome. I have been slacking on writing reviews for BoO, so I will be doing that very soon. It was a great adaptation of the book and managed to get every plotline from the book into the movie without overdoing any of it. The performances were great as well.

Had my second round of acupuncture and it was just as good as the first. I have had one or two headaches since then, but I am thinking that it's just going to take a good amount of visits to get the pain under control. Until that point, I am going to buy a big tube of the Traumeel she gave me (as she calls it, "the elixir of life") and carry it with me all the time. I can't believe how well it works. Screw IcyHot or anything like that, this stuff relieves the pain within minutes, it's insane. So I have another appointment this Saturday as well.

Auction Finds

The last time I attended an auction was four years ago. I got on the mailing list, have been receiving notices of upcoming auctions and disregarded them. Until this week. For whatever reason, I opened the email, clicked the link to see pics of examples of what was to be sold off...and saw these totally cool stained glass windows. I knew they would look awesome on the walls in my game room and/or living room. I told B I wanted to go, he said ok, so this morning we got up early and headed out to St. Pete. The windows were alot larger than I expected. I asked B, do you think these will fit in your card? Sure, he says. Ok. The auction starts. They get around to where the stained glass panels are. There is a different set of 6 that gets auctioned first. We both liked those too, but bidding went high fast. I was trying to ask B if he liked those better or not, because I was only going to buy one set. He didn't answer in time and they were sold ($450). No biggie, I liked the colored glass better. Bidding starts. My heart is pounding. Bidding isn't as crazy as the previous set (maybe b/c these are bigger?). I have one main competitor but fortunately, they bowed out before I went over the mental limit I had set for myself. SOLD! To me, YAY!

Then we had to carry them over to the car. Again, bigger than I expected and heavy! But super cool. From a local chapel, I guess. Well, they didn't fit into the car. B had to call his uncle to come meet us with a truck. So I wandered back to the sale. Just as they were auctioned off a very cool modern couch. I had eyed it before but didn't seriously consider it because we had come in a car. Well. Now I knew there was a truck, so I went ahead and bid on it. SOLD.

It's going to go in my game room. The stained glass windows, I am thinking of painting the wood casements. Black? Cream? Might keep it natural for the set that's going to go in the living room. The other two will go in the game room. I will consider it money well spent ONCE they are up on the walls. I'm hoping they make as big an impact as I am hoping they will..... I will post new pictures when that happens.

This and That

I haven't had too terribly much to post about lately. Well, I could jabber on about work stuff, but once I leave the office, I try to LEAVE it all at the office. I find that this tends to work out better for my relationship too. Makes me a nicer person to be around!

I've gotten back into a running groove. Ran "the bridge" today, which was the first time in many many months. (I've been running a loop in my neighborhood the past few weeks). I definitely have a love/hate relationship with running.

I bought a t-shirt memory quilt kit the other day. Not sure what possessed me, as whatever sewing skills I have, haven't been used since I was a girl scout probably. But I do have a bunch of old t-shirts I refuse to throw or give away, but don't wear anymore and I suddenly totally saw how they would make an awesome memory quilt. Perhaps I shall photo document my attempts to create it...

"I like it when my clients bleed"

Not something you hear from most practitioners, but is something I'll remember my acupuncturist, Katie, as saying. I am no longer an acupuncture virgin after my first appointment yesterday. I walked in and had to remove my shoes, which I found a little unusual, but kind of relaxing. I checked in and took a deep inhale of the incense that was burning. It smelled very similar to a certain green illegal substance. So I sat and waited for Katie and took in all of the surroundings of this very relaxing place: herbs, teas, oils, incense, books, all sorts of lovely things. So I finally get called back and meet Katie, who is very nice. We sit down in a nice, small room with a bed and chair and she goes over the reasons why I am there: neck pain, headaches, sinus problems, stress relief. While discussing my neck problems, she asks if I had been in any accidents. I don't know why I didn't think of this years ago, it's funny the things that come back to your memory. I was in an accident shortly after I graduated high school where I was at a stop waiting for someone to turn and was rear ended by a Jeep at 35 mph. Bye bye Chevy Cavalier hatchback. From that accident, I had mild whiplash, so now I do wonder if that's a lot of the cause of my problem. After discussing my aches and pains, she explained acupuncture to me. She started off by showing me a needle, which is about as thin as a strand of hair and very flexible. She told me what I would feel, if anything, when she tapped the needle in, and what I would feel, if anything, after the needle was in. One of the things she mentioned while explaining what I might feel is that it is common for people to bleed. Keep in mind that the needle is not far in your skin at all. However, she said that since acupuncture helps to release endorphins in the body, if the body bleeds, it's a good sign because that means that the body is heating up and releasing some of the toxins. Thus came her quote of, "So, I like it when my clients bleed." Did I bleed? Yes, from a spot on my shoulder. Anyway. So she gave me a gown to change into and left the room. When she came back in, I laid face down and she started on my neck and back. The most that I felt was the tap of the "guide" and could barely feel the needle. She ran her fingers along the most tense parts of my neck and back and placed needles where they needed it. Since everything is connected, to treat my neck, she even placed needles in my lower back. It didn't take long for her to place all of the needles and then she brought a heat lamp over my back and left me to relax for a while. The heat felt amazing and I could feel things happening at certain points of the needles. When she came back, it was weird that I could feel the removal of the needles more than I could feel them going in. When I told her how good the lamp felt, she said that it is actually a mineral lamp that helps activate minerals in your body to get things moving. Whatever it is or does, I love it. She then took some homeopathic ointment and rubbed it on my neck and then placed a heat pack on my neck as well. When she came back, I flipped over and she worked on my sinuses. I had a needle on the top of my head, my hairline, one between my eyebrows, one above each eyebrow, one on each hand, one by each knee, and one on each foot. Again, it's all connected! She left the heat lamp on again and left and this time I dozed on and off. When she came back, she said to drink lots and lots of water and not to do much for the rest of the day. Since acupuncture kicks up the endorphins, it also releases a lot of toxins, so the best way to get rid of them, is through the urine. So lots of water was in order. Also, since one of the points of acupuncture is to up your energy, you don't want to expel it all in one day. There is a certain feeling you get after a massage of total relaxation, even a little spacey. This is even more so with acupuncture. I was pretty much floating through the rest of the day and was pretty wiped out by 5. So I will be going for the next 3 Saturdays, and then we'll decide from there what is the best course of action. My neck does feel better and much more flexible. We'll see what the week brings, if I get any headaches, etc.

The other major happening this week was taking Logan to the vet. He had been scratching and scratching at this spot under his ear and Sunday night I touched the spot and it was bleeding. Logan was also very bitey and didn't want anyone to touch it. So, Monday a.m. I called the vet and got him in that afternoon. This was the first time in the 6 years we've had him that we had to muzzle him. He was just too bitey, but our vet knows that he is never like that. So she got a good look inside his ear and at the spot under his ear. There was no sign of an ear infection, but she said what was on his skin was called a hot spot. Could be from allergies, but it's just a topical irritation. So they took him in the back to shave down his fur and clean up the area. I asked if he needed a cone and she said yes, so he doesn't cut it open again. So, we once again have a conehead in our house. It has been a few years since he had one on, so it took some getting used to. So he is still bashing around and figuring out how to get up and down stairs. I did take it off the other day, but he started scratching it again, so we had to put it back on. Well, maybe this week we can take it off. Either way, he is a very sad pooch...



Not sure why his one eye is closed, probably just the angle or something:

Update on the way

I was laid up for a couple of days with a bad headache then a stomach bug. But I have pictures to share of the return of our Conehead (our poochie who had a "hot spot" on the side of his face and had to go to the vet), so those will be coming soon. I am going for my first acupuncture appointment tomorrow (Saturday) morning, so I will be posting about that as well. I know you are all waiting with baited breath ;)

Friday insanity

Someone at work just sent me this and I had to post it. It's a 10 minute video of two guys skateboarding down Claremont. It's insane. I can't believe they don't fall... or die. And the suits are a nice touch.


Adam Kimmel presents: Claremont HD from adam kimmel on Vimeo.

More Spiritualized

Thanks to my buddy Jason for finding these and sending them on. When we went to see Spiritualized in Buffalo, we saw someone walking around with a camera the whole time. Now we finally know why. Good quality and great music. Not for everyone, but hey, give 'em a shot anyway ;)

Baby, you set my soul on fire...


Spiritualized - "Soul On Fire" - Live from boostmobile on Vimeo.


Spiritualized - "Sitting On Fire" - Live from boostmobile on Vimeo.

I could probably watch/listen to these over and over all day.

Head pains

I have suffered from headaches for as long as I can remember. It's genetic: my mom has them, my grandmother had them, it's just who we are apparently. Any time my head starts to hurt, I know I can call my mom and she'll say the same thing. Tension, sinuses, you name it, we get it. And they do, from time to time, turn into full blown migraines. This week was pretty bad for both of us, and other people we know. I was talking to a friend the other day about how bad it was (day after migraine means I am a total zombie) and she said she started going to acupuncture for her headaches and she was amazed at the difference. She was also a skeptic at this "new age" stuff, so she went into it not expecting anything. Now insurance covers a lot of it and low and behold, mine covers the place where she went, so my new venture will be going there for the first time hopefully in the next couple of weeks. I have wanted to try acupuncture and hey, if it can reduce my once a week headaches to once every other week or something, I'll consider it a win. I will be posting about it when I go.

Deadliest Bowler

I had an opportunity to go to the Tampa Boat Show and potentially see Time Bandit captains Johnathan and Andy in person. And perhaps get my picture taken with them and then post it here to make Nicki envious and jealous. It was within my grasp, certainly.

Then, in one swift moment, I changed my plans and went bowling instead. And I had a blast! Went with bf, Poison Apple and her husband and Kimical Warfare. I haven't been bowling in at least three years but I've still got it. Well, I scored 124, 131, then got to a 94 in the fourth frame of our third game before our family fun pack of 2 hours of bowling expired. Really got me sentimental at how much bowling I did as a high-schooler, either at the Rec Lanes or the CAC in Sheryl. (only bowled at City Lane aka Shitty Lanes once or twice). Always a shock to see how expensive it is to bowl now. $5.25 a game?? and $4 for show rental??? good grief. I also think it's funny how few people seem to know how to score a game. I had to explain how a strike is scored (10 pins plus score of next 2 rolls). I was on a jr. league that came in last place and I still have the "last place bowler" pin somewhere. After our bowling time was up, we went to the lounge and drank pitchers, played darts and goofed off until late. And us ladies set a date for our Scrabble Tournament! Whoo hoo!

Too bad tomorrow I have to go back for another week of crazy stress at work. Sigh....I hope I survive.

N(icki) F(riggin') L(oathes) football

Today is the beginning of the football season. My husband could not be happier. I could not be more... annoyed. I don't like football. It's not because I don't fully understand it or whatever, it's just, I don't know, it doesn't do anything for me. Living where we do, we are in Bills country, so win or lose, my husband tunes in religiously to see what they are doing this week. I'm glad that my husband gets so much enjoyment out of the game and that I always have a win-win for birthday/anniversary/father's day/Christmas presents: Bills tickets. For the SuperBowl, two of our friends come over and they grill up a bunch of meat, I'll make up some chicken wing dip for them, and they'll split a football ice cream cake. It's a day they all look forward to. I look forward to going into our room, and shutting it out after our son goes to bed.
So, here's to another season of my husband yelling at the players who can't hear him, to fantasy football stuff I don't understand or care about, and to finding something creative to do for three hours every Sunday while my husband plays out his affair with the television. After nothing but loud football for the afternoon, I prefer something more along these lines...

Friday fun

I love Kevin Smith movies. All of them. Yes, even Jersey Girl. And I did indeed love Clerks 2, and now every time I hear "ABC, 123" by the Jackson 5, I will always think of this scene (spoiler warning about 10 seconds from the end, so click it off if you haven't seen it yet). If I'm ever in a bad mood, this always makes me laugh, smile, and dance in my seat.

Red @ Night...Sailor's Delight

Obligatory Florida sunset pic.

Lou

Last night I finally beat Guitar Hero 3 on Medium. It says I Rock, but when the screen told me to "FINISH HIM!" I was already in the red. Luckily there wasn't much more to do and I got it. Then Dragonforce came on and I thought my hand was going to fall off. Now I am practicing on Hard. Basically I am relearning how to play. But I am mostly proud of finishing a Slayer song on Medium. My hand is still sore from it today. Yes, I am sore from playing a video game.

Family

Two weekends ago (at least...time has been a blur lately) I had to rinse off the patio floor where the stupid dog had pissed on one of my rabbit totes. So I stepped outside and started hauling the garden hose off the holder. I had it mostly unwound when I reached in to twist the nozzle...and noticed lots of frog droppings inside the interior of the hose holder. It was only THEN that I saw this guy on the wall at about eye level:

So I ran to get the camera, came back out, got closer and suddenly realized there were MORE frogs...

One of them is giving me the stink eye

I think they were under the hose the whole time

Anyways I spent at least twenty minutes staring at these little guys, trying to get an accurate count. I think there were at least six of them. Hard to tell, they kept moving around and my point of view kept changing. I haven't checked on them since that day. Truth be told, I felt kind of bad for disturbing them.

Veils

I am amazed that I have finished another book already. Last night before the season premiere of Prison Break, I finished Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk. Chuck is one of my favorite writers as he writes just what I like: dark, comedic, tragic, and satiric. Invisible Monsters is the story of a beautiful model who has an accident with a gun and is horribly disfigured. I knew one of the big reveals of the book before I read it, but I didn't see some of the others, which were pretty awesome surprises. Chuck has a great way of twisting things up at the end and leaves his mark in your mind. If you like the darker side of things, I highly recommend checking him out. The film adaptation of Fight Club was excellent and I am looking forward to Choke coming out in a few weeks.

I am on to reading my first novel by Neil Gaiman titled Anansi Boys. I was told to read American Gods first, but I have this one out from the library, so this is going to be first. My husband and I read several of his Sandman comics and loved them, we also watched MirrorMask, so I'm excited to read his novels.

August

August in NY has been a strange one. For a couple of weeks, we were having lots of cloudy days. But not just any clouds, big, overlapping clouds: white clouds covered with gray clouds. If that wasn't odd enough, we were only in the 70s. Usually we are around 90 and about 90% humidity with no rain. I'm surprised I didn't get into an accident every day as I was always looking to the sky when I was driving to or from work. I tried to capture some of them as best I could with my little Kodak camera.

I think this is my favorite one.

I really loved the edges and the contrast between the white and grey...

Peekaboo sun...

What does this look like to you?...

I think loneliness is an infectious disease. Passed from person to person the same way a yawn travels...insiduously.

I haven't read the Time Traveler's Wife yet. It's one my big list of books to read someday. Nicki's review leaves me optimstic that I might like it. A friend of mine recently sent me a box of "chic lit" books that she was done with. Not normally my preferred reading material, but they go quickly. In one week I've read four and a half. (After working to exhaustion, I'm too brain-dead to make conversation so I read. It's better than going to bed just to wake up right away to go back to work).

I've read: Talking to Addison by Jenny Colgan - It was ok. I kept skipping ahead because I got impatient with the main character. And it was a little too simple to see how things would end. If you're going to make it obvious how it's going to end, you should at least make the trip getting there enjoyable.

Spin Cycle by Sue Margolis - silly book about affairs and the washing machine man. Probably what most people call a "beach read"

Diary of a Mad Bride by Laura Wolf - I never want to get married (again) and have to plan a real wedding. Holy shit. I got a headache just reading about the fictional planning of one.

London Holiday by Richard Peck - I liked this one. Even though I could kind of tell what was going to happen, the characters are likeable and I was actually caught by surprised by something that happened at the end. I kind of feel foolish I missed it. But, props to author for that one.

Almost finished with High Maintenance by Jennifer Belle - Interesting main character but I'm getting annoyed with the douchebag boyfriend and I'm waiting for the shoe to drop. As I get more annoyed I read faster (re: skim) so I can hurry up and get to the end.

It's rare for me to Not finished a book, even if I don't like it. The only time in recent memory I have done that is with Anna Kourina (I know prolly mispelled that). Damn if I didn't try hard to like the highly praised "classic" but my god was it a total bore. And such a wordy bore! I gave up after 100 pages. Classic my ass.

Finished

I always feel like I accomplish a monsterous feat when I finish a book. I finished The Time Traveler's Wife last week and it was fantastic. It is one of the best books I have read in a while. It is a great mix of sci-fi (the time traveling portion), romance (the continuous love story), comedy, and tragedy. I highly recommend it. It is over 500 pages long, but it goes by fast since I found it hard to put down. They have made it into a movie starring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams due out around Christmas.
My next book, which I'm about 35 pages into is Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk. Chuck is in my top five of authors. I am anxiously awaiting the film adaptation of Choke to come out next month. If you like things on the more dark and sinister side, I highly recommend checking him out.

The Deer Hunter

I have finally finished and posted by piece on The Deer Hunter project I did with my father. Check it out here and let me know what you think!

Gimmie More Arm Baby

I suppose there may be many women (and men, I guess) wondering what it'd be like to be held by olympian Michael Phelps. Well I'll tell you what it feels like. It's a lot of arm. At least, that's according to my dream. I was laying in bed and Michael Phelps was holding me. And I remember thinking, "so this is what it's like to be held by Michael Phelps".

And now you know too. A lot of arm.

I've been working ALOT this past three weeks and it seems like even my dream life is taking a toll. I should have had a crazy sexy dream about doing it with Phelps in the Olympic pool as cameras rolled and people cheered and then crowned with his eight gold medals when it was all said and done with. But instead? We cuddle.

Doesn't seem fair. Damn you dreaming brain. Give me something better next time.

Licious

Last night's Project Runway was one of the best of the series. This week the designers had to create a look for drag queens. What's up awesome! It was one of the best runway shows yet. However, the more I watch this season, the more I can't wait for Blayne and Suede to get the axe. My favorite looks came from Terri and Leanne, but Joe's was also really well done. I highly recommend catching the rerun if you didn't get to see it last night. Tim Gunn's blog has all of the pictures from the show: Good Queen Fun.

Fur babies

I have mentioned my son a couple of times, but we also have three other children, they just happened to be covered in fur. Our biggest one is Logan. He is our six year old Rottie, weighing in at 140 pounds. He is really a big baby once you meet him, but he has that Rottie presence which sends people walking by our house to the other side of the street. Which always makes us laugh ;)

He had a couple of weeks of transition when we brought Dominick home, but now they are very much pals...

The ever protectful guardian...

Finally someone to romp in the snow with...

Lots of hugs on a daily basis...

Our other critters are cats: Charlie and Mystique. We are pretty dorky in that we have managed to name our pets after X-Men characters, and not by accident. My husband is very into comic books and X-Men is one of his favorites. Logan = Wolverine, Charlie = Charles Xavier aka Professor X, and Mystique is well... Mystique.

Before we got Mystique, we had Buffy. She was my first kitty and she was the first pet I had after I moved out my parents' house. I still miss her and it has been two years since we lost her to cancer.

The animals have always gotten along... more or less. The cats, in their true nature, love to torment poor Logan. He's big, so he doesn't move so fast, so they use that to their advantage. But, in his older age, I have caught him and Mystique snuggling up together. Some day I will be able to snag a picture of it. We have come to the conclusion that there will always be some four-legged critter wandering our house, and there will probably be more than one of them.

Crossing blogs

If you haven't noticed in our little blog roll, I contribute to another blog called Band of Outsiders. It is a movie blog with a couple of friends through work where we review movies, post and comment about trailers, and any other movies news/gossip/etc. Our head hancho gave the site a huge overhaul this weekend and it looks fantastic (the link is coming, hold on). Yesterday I was finally able to partake in a little project I have been wanting to do for a few months. My father is a Vietnam Vet and I had never seen The Deer Hunter so I asked him if he would be up for a little Q&A and then viewing of the movie. After a trip to Applebee's, we hunkered down for three hours and hashed it out. Most of this idea stems from an article I read in Vanity Fair about Vietnam war movies, mainly Coming Home and Deer Hunter. It's a long, but very interesting article that you can read here. I have about three pages of notes to compile into one cohesive piece, but I am determined to get it done by the end of the week. I will post here when I am done, but for the meantime, check us out over on BoO and let us know what you think!
Band of Outsiders

Awkward Timing

The timing of this storm is annoying for me, as we have certain deadlines we have to meet at work this week, and if we miss a whole day of work, it throws a huge monkey wrench in things. And now that I've just been promoted, I'm going to be running around with my head cut off tomorrow, making phone calls galore, trying to schedule everything. AUGH! I'm trying not to stress. But enough of that.

I am participating in my first football fantasy draft this year. I had to pick 3 NFL winners and 1 loser, and 4 college winners and 1 loser. Along with 19 other people, so that meant options got pretty limited pretty quickly. I did absolutely no studying up on it, I just made my picks based on whimsy. Well, that's not totally true. I do know more than I let on...but I'll never let them know that. For example, my first NFL winner pick was the Colts. Because I love Peyton Manning (he's such a nerd athelete and I so admire that). Then I picked Green Bay because I feel like they're going to have a burning desire to win and show that they don't NEED Brett Favre. "Favre? Favre who?" I was tempted to pick the Bills as my loser (sorry Brad!) but then figured with my luck, they'd have a good year. I don't expect to win or even place very high. I think my strategy was just to try not to come in dead last. Time will tell.

Haven't started my new short story yet. Surprise surprise. Maybe if I have a hurricane day I'll have some time to do so. Otherwise, it'll be another long long week of work. Oh, I guess I have a birthday this week, but I don't know if I'll have time to celebrate it in any way. Ho hum.

NPH

I am sitting on our couch on this sunny Sunday morning watching Sesame Street with Dominick when I happen to look at the screen and what should my wandering eyes see? Neil Patrick Harris with a funky light whitish grey suit on and.... wings. A tie that looks a lot like those curley cue ribbons you buy to put on presents, and he is singing about shoes. Using his magic shoe horn (aka a trumpet), he gave Sully green sneakers with yellow stripes. Neil continues to crack me up. I have only seen the Act I of Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog, but it cracked me up beyond control. I also have a very soft spot for Nathan Fillion...

A day to myself

I am on vacation from work this week, but instead of going anywhere, I have been doing things around the house and hanging out with my little guy and my parents. Today, however, was a day just for me. I dropped off the little guy at the sitter and headed off to an appointment. From there, I wandered around Borders for a half hour before deciding on what to get to use up a coupon I had. They are having a pretty decent $8 DVD sale, so I picked up Lars and the Real Girl and the unrated version of Serentiy. I saw Requiem for a Dream for $7. What a deal, but damn, there is no way I can sit through that movie again. From the buy one get one half of table I picked up The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and The Yiddish Policeman's Union. I am anxious to start to read both, but I am fully engulfed in The Time Traveler's Wife, so I will have to hold off. From there, I headed over to the theater and watched The Dark Knight for the second time. There were five other people in the theaters besides me and it was great. Large soda and pretzel nuggets in hand, a hunkered down for another viewing of my favorite movie so far this summer. And it was just as awesome the second time around. I still could've sat through another viewing and want to see the next movie already.



You can check out my review of it here. Keep your eye on the site as we are working on an overhaul of the layout and I think you'll like it. It sucks that my vacation is already winding down, but it has been a great and very much needed break from the grind. Tonight, I will hopefully finish up season one of Mad Men and watch the new Burn Notice.

The music of my life

I come from a fairly musical family, mainly my mom. She has played guitar since college. Her main musical outlet was playing in the church choir and playing and singing around the house. I remember going to her favorite guitar store, Stutzman's, to pick up or buy a new guitar. For quite some time, she had three guitars: a regular six string, a classical, and a 12-string. I tried teaching myself how to play, but didn't have the patience. When my mom wasn't playing or singing, she was playing her favorite albums: Neil Diamond, Jesus Christ Superstar, John Denver, just to name a few. I will always have a special place in my heart for Neil as I remember singing along to his songs with my mom on many occasions.

My father on the other hand, was all about the motown: The Four Tops, The Temptations, Aretha, and anything else from that era. It didn't take long for me to share in my dad's love for this music. We would also sing along to any of the song that came on the radio. There were no Butterfly Kisses at my wedding, it was My Girl all the way. From each of my parents, there is a certain genre of music that I have a deep fondness and love for.

For my brother and I, we picked up on all of these influences and turned them into our own. My brother picked up the bass and mastered that. Later, he also took to playing the drums. His music taste went from rock and roll, to heavy metal, to death metal. My love of metal came right from him. I think I was the only kid in elementary school wearing an Anthrax shirt (thanks to my brother). We listened to new music together and stayed up late on Saturday nights to watch Headbanger's Ball and record our favorite videos. For most of my life, my ears were filled with Scott Ian's guitar, James Hetfield's voice, Cliff Burton's bass, and Vinnie Paul's drums.

When I reached fifth grade, we had the choice to learn how to play an instrument. I managed to pick the least feminine instrument a girl could play: the trumpet. But, I loved it. I dare say, I was kinda good at it. Even though I received countless dirty looks on the bus when I had to sit with someone, band was worth it. We had fun at practices, concerts, and getting for our NYSSMA solos. I learned how to read music, how each instrument was crucial to one piece of music, and developed my appreciation for jazz (thanks to Mr. Rowe in elementary school). But, once the high school years came around, my interest in playing took a hard hit. After a fight with my parents and then with my band teacher, I packed away my trumpet and started the four most miserable years of my life.

I was still a metal head, thought I opted for jeans and a band shirt instead of the 80s/early 90s metal chick attire of skin tight jeans, a tattered t-shirt worn off the shoulder, sneakers, and over-processed hair. The grunge scene started up and I fell into the Soundgarden/Alice in Chains group. A bit more hard and noisy than Pearl Jam or Nirvana. I went to a lot of concerts in high school: Ozzy, Metallica, Aerosmith, Soundgarden, Megadeth, Biohazard/Sepulture/Panters (free tickets and backstage passes made this one of the best concerts I've ever been too), among many other club shows I can't remember.

Always sticking to my metal roots, bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beastie Boys (though I always liked them growing up), Weezer, and Nine Inch Nails were catching my attention. A different kind of noise and a different kind of rock. NIN made its way into my regular cd rotation and I traveled to Buffalo to see them live for the first time. Almost getting crushed during March of the Pigs aside, it was one of the best best concerts I've been to. There has always been something in the way Trent wrote and composed his music that reached a part of me that no other music has. Struggling with my inner demons, NIN has given me an outlet like nothing else.

Many years later, in a new age bracket (plus being a wife and mom), NIN is still my number one. My iPod has every release they've done and barely has room for much else. Nowadays, I have strayed from the mainstream and have started delving more into indie music. Along with NIN, my iPod contains, just to list a few: Lacuna Coil, Jane's Addiction, The Twilight Singers, She & Him, Saul Williams, The Sounds, Reel Big Fish, and the most recent addition of Spiritualized. I saw NIN for the second time about two and a half years ago, right on my birthday. I hadn't realized it until Trent addressed the crowd, but it had been 10 years since they had been in western NY. NIN was just as good, if not better, than the first time I saw them. I took my usual concert stance: close to the stage, off to the side leaning against the barricade, singing/yelling along, and letting every single beat wash over me. It had been since that NIN show that I'd seen a band live when my friend Jason asked if I wanted to go see his favorite band in Buffalo, Spiritualized. It was just as good as either NIN show I had been to, and on a much smaller scale. I can very much see why they are Trent's favorite band, as they are creeping up into my current top five.



Where is all of this going? I don't know. I had been thinking about all of this as I was painting our bedroom and watching/listening to Beside You in Time. Yup, I will probably be 50 years old, still blasting my car radio and rocking out while the kids in the next car over laugh and say, "Ha ha, nice try grandma!" And I will smile and say, "You don't even know."

Fuzzy Wuzzy Was A Bunny

I currently count 3 different marsh rabbits that like to come out from the water preserve to nibble in the grasses for breakfast and dinner. Marsh rabbits aren't as cute as your stereotypical cottontails, but they can walk on their hindfeet and they swim very well.

It makes me wonder just how much these rabbits swim, because after a good afternoon rainstorm, that marshy area gets pretty darn flooded.

The ones in the backyard don't spook to easily. Though they will pay very close attention to you if you happen to be stalking them with a camera...

So they are kind of cute, but I prefer my snugglebunnies...all five of them. I'll post proud parent pics of them soon enough. Though it can be awfully tiring cleaning their litter boxes and cages...every two to three days. I'm a slave to bunny poop!

In other news, I had a wicked wicked dream the other night and I'm totally inspired to write a short story based on it. If I do, I mean, when I do, it'll be the first piece of fiction I've written in at least five years. I can't wait. Hopefully I will get a chance to start writing it this weekend....

Attempting to grow a green thumb

This year I decided to give gardening a whirl. I've always liked flowers, but I just never had a desire to sweat like crazy to weed and keep things looking pretty. With some help from my in-laws, who have green hands, not just green thumbs, I have a rather colorful area around our front porch. The marigolds that they planted have taken over the joint...

This isn't the best shot, but the Snapdragons are growing nice and tall and making their presence known...


What I am really proud of are the two containers I have packed with Zinnias...


Every time I walk out the front door and see them, I feel like I have accomplished something. Hopefully I can continue the green thumb trend from here on out. It's funny to go down to Florida where everything is so much more tropical (big leaves, lots and lots of green) from up here in NY where everything is colorful and more... small.

Hello Mr. Frog

I've lived in SW Florida for...five years now. I miss certain things about living up north, but I have to admit I've started to become fascinated with the bugs (eeewwww and icky!), birds, wildlife and plants that you can find around here. It's such a variety! And where I live now (I've lived in a different town each year I've been here), there is a marshy area behind the back yard, and that really steps up what kind of...things...I might see.

Like this little green treefrog on my front door. My Audubon guide to Florida (which I bought three years ago to take with me when I kayaked) tells me that: these guys are only about 2 inches long, feed on branches and windows, are great leapers, and often sing in chorus at different pitches. Think they argue over who gets to sing soprano that night? I hear these guys all the time, singing out back in that marshy area. After a good rain, they are LOUD.

Coming home late last night, I almost stepped on another frog or toad in the driveway. I took a pic with my cell phone, but it came out really dark. He was kind of big and ugly, so my guess, per my guide book, is a giant toad. Glad I didn't touch him...the guide says he's toxic if eaten by animals and the skin secretions can inflame human eyes.

cool.

Welcome to a different kind of project

Hey there! Welcome to a different kind of project. This blog is a bit of a brainstorm between myself, Nicki, and my nearest and dearest friend, Mary. The main difference is that I live in Upstate New York and Mary lives in Florida. We are very similar, and also very different, but one thing that always brings us together is our desire to be creative. This blog is going to be a place where we can play with that creativity and discuss whatever is happening in our ends of the country. So we hope you like it and that you'll come back often! Here we are...