Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Sunday, January 18, 2009
New Year...New Post - Part 1
So it has been FOREVER since I have posted and figured that while I was laying in bed watching it snow I should update my blog a little.
So here goes it...
September/October - My life revolved around a public client with a filing deadline and I did little more than work/sleep. However, with this client I was able to travel to Tacoma for two weeks (it was supposed to be three but I won't get into that here). I was able to spend time in Portland on the weekends (three in total) and visit with the family. One of the weekends mom, Pete and I made the trek down to Corvallis to pre-game with the Cole's which was fun. Once kick-off rolled around, we rolled on out of town. Once the reports were issued on Day 60, a plane ticket was issued and I was back out west for the ASU/OSU football game (November 1). I was going to try to surprise mom, however, when she started making plans that did not involve the football game I had to tell her. Another fun tailgate with the Cole's. We had to sit through a few sprinkles during the game but nothing our handy ponchos couldn't handle. The Sun Devils lost but not after staging a serious come back in the last four minutes...so we heard.
November - Work slowed a little. I was assigned to help out on an engagement but ended up doing a little more than helping (another thing I won't get into here). I was able to sneak away to Cincinnati for Thanksgiving and spent some quality time with Miss S. On her "first" Thanksgiving we all were thankful for the same thing...that she was FINALLY with our family. We went on walks, did some arts & crafts and checked out Zoo Lights...very fun weekend...can't wait to go back in the spring (pictures at the bottom of the post). On the morning I was to leave I saw my first snow flakes of the season, unfortunately it wasn't enough to cancel or delay my flight.
December - The countdown was on for the 19th to arrive and I could head west for two weeks. When the 14th rolled around and I got the call from mom that snow had arrived in Portland my thoughts quickly turned to "Dear Snow, Please be out of Portland on the 19th and not quite to Boston. XOXO EOB". Someone listened because my 6:30 am flight on Friday the 19th was able to take off close to on-time and I was able to land in Portland a mere 7 hours late. The day went like this:
4am - Alarm goes off (hit snooze a few times, obviously)
5:15 - Cab arrives
5:45 - Through security, breakfast, water & magazines in hand (reading - yea right, I need some sleep)
6:15 - On the plane and something is mentioned about Dallas...someone is clearly wrong because my layover is in Phoenix.
6:17 - The captain comes on that due to strong headwinds with the incoming storm we have to change our route and refuel in Dallas in order to avoid severe turbulence. I am so not making my connecting flight in Phoenix seeing that my layover was less than an hour and this is US Airways/America West (pick your poison).
Made our quick stop in Dallas for a little fuel and were back in the air. Luckily during our stop we were able to make calls and use the restroom. Called dad and told him our shopping date was on hold...see I hadn't done any shopping before I left so dad and I had these grand plans to go shopping after I landed around lunch time.
We landed in Phoenix, thank goodness I had upgraded to a "Choice Seat" and was in row 7, I was able to get off the plane and head right to customer service. The line was already pretty long (shocking, I know) and it would only get longer once the rest of the plane was emptied. After an hour I was rebooked on a flight to Las Vegas and then to Portland. BTW - The nice lady put me in first class for my flight to LV, all 45 minutes of it : )
As we landed in Las Vegas it was crazy to see the place with snow! I do remember seeing snow falling one December when I was driving to Scottsdale Fashion Square, that was as close to snow I got my eight years in the desert. Made it to my gate without incident and boarded for Portland. Landed in Portland to see snow falling and have my luggage waiting for me...it was able to get on the non-stop flight from Phoenix to Portland. Called dad and he headed across the river to pick me up. We went to dinner and then to the mall, but I was in no mood to shop. 17 hours, 5 airports and 4 take-offs/landings later I was ready for bed.
Woke up on Saturday to snow. By now my mom was not happy with the snow. Yes, she had a three week Christmas vacation (so not fair, we never got these when I was in school) but she was also stuck in her place (private drive to home = no plowing/sanding by city). Dad was called and made the trek to pick up Pete, mom & me for a trip to the mall. Thank goodness for the 4 wheel drive & studded tires! Did a little shopping but there is only so much a girl can do when the three people she needs to buy gifts for are with her...so I bought myself some boots. Uggs to be exact, even though I SWORE I would never own a pair of "Ugg-lys".
Sunday found mom and I staring at each other as the snow continued to fall. For real? This only happens where I reside. It was this day where I was truly thankful for my Boston home. Though I am not in Boston proper, I am within walking distance of a grocery store, gym, restaurants, and public transportation. Yes, I have to watch where I walk and walk a little slower but I can get places.
Monday rolled around and dad was called again to come and pick-up the family for another day out and about. This day was huge for me, I was getting my haircut. (Yes, I still make appointments to see my hairdresser from high school when I go to Oregon.) I hadn't been able to get an appointment the other times I was home in the fall so I was WAY OVERDUE for the mop to be chopped. With the snow still coming down there wasn't much time for anything else but a haircut and lunch. It was decided that if we were going to attempt to make it to North Bend for Christmas we needed to leave on Tuesday. So dad graciously offered to help us retrieve Grams from "The Home" and bring her back to moms so we could hit the road when Pete got done with work on Tuesday morning. I attempted to make dinner that night and the three of us enjoyed a few games of Five Crowns.
Tuesday I won the "Sister of the Year" award. I shoveled the 12 inches of stuff (8 inches of powder, 1 inch of ice, topped with another 2 inches of powder) from moms driveway so Pete could get his car into the garage. Did I mention all she had was a pointed shovel? Who has snow shovels when they live in the valley? Luckily my hard work paid off and we were on the road a little after 2pm. Our first stop was in Woodburn to take off the chains as the roads were clearing and we expected them to be clear after Salem. According to MapQuest, Woodburn is approximately 25 miles from mom's house and it SHOULD take approximately 30 minutes, we made it in 3 hours...HOURS. We made it to the Cole's house in 8 hours (1 hour for dinner at Elmer's in Eugene).
Wednesday was Christmas Eve...the Big Guy is coming tonight I sure hope I have been good enough this year to have a full stocking! W had to work, the boys did boy things, Mom and Grams did their thing at The Mill, and I baked cookies with the girls (Santa's gotta have something to eat when he arrives). After the cookies were done, the kitchen cleaned and us girls showered and dressed we headed to The Mill to pick-up Mom and Grams. The Mill has a new pool so I watched the girls splash and enjoyed the humidity from the deck. Miss M was so proud of her new skills she has learned since we went swimming back in July. We met up with the family for lunch and then W and I went on our Christmas Eve shopping spree, I still had NOTHING for Pete.
With the state of the economy there weren't as many presents under the tree as in the past but I think everyone did ok (insert sarcasm here). Santa found everyone - thank goodenss!
To be continued...it's time to go shovel!
So here goes it...
September/October - My life revolved around a public client with a filing deadline and I did little more than work/sleep. However, with this client I was able to travel to Tacoma for two weeks (it was supposed to be three but I won't get into that here). I was able to spend time in Portland on the weekends (three in total) and visit with the family. One of the weekends mom, Pete and I made the trek down to Corvallis to pre-game with the Cole's which was fun. Once kick-off rolled around, we rolled on out of town. Once the reports were issued on Day 60, a plane ticket was issued and I was back out west for the ASU/OSU football game (November 1). I was going to try to surprise mom, however, when she started making plans that did not involve the football game I had to tell her. Another fun tailgate with the Cole's. We had to sit through a few sprinkles during the game but nothing our handy ponchos couldn't handle. The Sun Devils lost but not after staging a serious come back in the last four minutes...so we heard.
November - Work slowed a little. I was assigned to help out on an engagement but ended up doing a little more than helping (another thing I won't get into here). I was able to sneak away to Cincinnati for Thanksgiving and spent some quality time with Miss S. On her "first" Thanksgiving we all were thankful for the same thing...that she was FINALLY with our family. We went on walks, did some arts & crafts and checked out Zoo Lights...very fun weekend...can't wait to go back in the spring (pictures at the bottom of the post). On the morning I was to leave I saw my first snow flakes of the season, unfortunately it wasn't enough to cancel or delay my flight.
December - The countdown was on for the 19th to arrive and I could head west for two weeks. When the 14th rolled around and I got the call from mom that snow had arrived in Portland my thoughts quickly turned to "Dear Snow, Please be out of Portland on the 19th and not quite to Boston. XOXO EOB". Someone listened because my 6:30 am flight on Friday the 19th was able to take off close to on-time and I was able to land in Portland a mere 7 hours late. The day went like this:
4am - Alarm goes off (hit snooze a few times, obviously)
5:15 - Cab arrives
5:45 - Through security, breakfast, water & magazines in hand (reading - yea right, I need some sleep)
6:15 - On the plane and something is mentioned about Dallas...someone is clearly wrong because my layover is in Phoenix.
6:17 - The captain comes on that due to strong headwinds with the incoming storm we have to change our route and refuel in Dallas in order to avoid severe turbulence. I am so not making my connecting flight in Phoenix seeing that my layover was less than an hour and this is US Airways/America West (pick your poison).
Made our quick stop in Dallas for a little fuel and were back in the air. Luckily during our stop we were able to make calls and use the restroom. Called dad and told him our shopping date was on hold...see I hadn't done any shopping before I left so dad and I had these grand plans to go shopping after I landed around lunch time.
We landed in Phoenix, thank goodness I had upgraded to a "Choice Seat" and was in row 7, I was able to get off the plane and head right to customer service. The line was already pretty long (shocking, I know) and it would only get longer once the rest of the plane was emptied. After an hour I was rebooked on a flight to Las Vegas and then to Portland. BTW - The nice lady put me in first class for my flight to LV, all 45 minutes of it : )
As we landed in Las Vegas it was crazy to see the place with snow! I do remember seeing snow falling one December when I was driving to Scottsdale Fashion Square, that was as close to snow I got my eight years in the desert. Made it to my gate without incident and boarded for Portland. Landed in Portland to see snow falling and have my luggage waiting for me...it was able to get on the non-stop flight from Phoenix to Portland. Called dad and he headed across the river to pick me up. We went to dinner and then to the mall, but I was in no mood to shop. 17 hours, 5 airports and 4 take-offs/landings later I was ready for bed.
Woke up on Saturday to snow. By now my mom was not happy with the snow. Yes, she had a three week Christmas vacation (so not fair, we never got these when I was in school) but she was also stuck in her place (private drive to home = no plowing/sanding by city). Dad was called and made the trek to pick up Pete, mom & me for a trip to the mall. Thank goodness for the 4 wheel drive & studded tires! Did a little shopping but there is only so much a girl can do when the three people she needs to buy gifts for are with her...so I bought myself some boots. Uggs to be exact, even though I SWORE I would never own a pair of "Ugg-lys".
Sunday found mom and I staring at each other as the snow continued to fall. For real? This only happens where I reside. It was this day where I was truly thankful for my Boston home. Though I am not in Boston proper, I am within walking distance of a grocery store, gym, restaurants, and public transportation. Yes, I have to watch where I walk and walk a little slower but I can get places.
Monday rolled around and dad was called again to come and pick-up the family for another day out and about. This day was huge for me, I was getting my haircut. (Yes, I still make appointments to see my hairdresser from high school when I go to Oregon.) I hadn't been able to get an appointment the other times I was home in the fall so I was WAY OVERDUE for the mop to be chopped. With the snow still coming down there wasn't much time for anything else but a haircut and lunch. It was decided that if we were going to attempt to make it to North Bend for Christmas we needed to leave on Tuesday. So dad graciously offered to help us retrieve Grams from "The Home" and bring her back to moms so we could hit the road when Pete got done with work on Tuesday morning. I attempted to make dinner that night and the three of us enjoyed a few games of Five Crowns.
Tuesday I won the "Sister of the Year" award. I shoveled the 12 inches of stuff (8 inches of powder, 1 inch of ice, topped with another 2 inches of powder) from moms driveway so Pete could get his car into the garage. Did I mention all she had was a pointed shovel? Who has snow shovels when they live in the valley? Luckily my hard work paid off and we were on the road a little after 2pm. Our first stop was in Woodburn to take off the chains as the roads were clearing and we expected them to be clear after Salem. According to MapQuest, Woodburn is approximately 25 miles from mom's house and it SHOULD take approximately 30 minutes, we made it in 3 hours...HOURS. We made it to the Cole's house in 8 hours (1 hour for dinner at Elmer's in Eugene).
Wednesday was Christmas Eve...the Big Guy is coming tonight I sure hope I have been good enough this year to have a full stocking! W had to work, the boys did boy things, Mom and Grams did their thing at The Mill, and I baked cookies with the girls (Santa's gotta have something to eat when he arrives). After the cookies were done, the kitchen cleaned and us girls showered and dressed we headed to The Mill to pick-up Mom and Grams. The Mill has a new pool so I watched the girls splash and enjoyed the humidity from the deck. Miss M was so proud of her new skills she has learned since we went swimming back in July. We met up with the family for lunch and then W and I went on our Christmas Eve shopping spree, I still had NOTHING for Pete.
With the state of the economy there weren't as many presents under the tree as in the past but I think everyone did ok (insert sarcasm here). Santa found everyone - thank goodenss!
To be continued...it's time to go shovel!
Photos to accompany Part 1
Yes - In the 4th photo Miss S is wearing an Oregon Duck sweatshirt. That was partially remedied by the Cole's at Christmas and will be fully remedied by me at somepoint this year!
Friday, August 22, 2008
Restaurant Week - Summer 2008
Here in Boston we have a Restaurant Week two times a year (now, it's actually done for two weeks). These weeks give folks like me a chance to check out the fancy shmancy place for relatively "cheap". Most restaurants have a three course fixed menu (I say most because my roommates both went to a place where the regular menu was the Restaurant Week menu). Some restaurants offer lunch and dinner, while others offer one or the other. Lunches are $20.08 and dinners are $33.08 (get the .08?). Over the last two weeks I have been to four meals (three lunches and one dinner).
- Lunch #1 - Oak Room (Copley Square) - Creamy New England clam chowder, five-ounce flat iron steak with pomme frites in a rosemary jus and individual brulee tart with seasonal fruit.
- Lunch #2 - 33 (Back Bay) - Ursula's caesar salad, root beer braised short ribs, and summer berry pannacotta
- Lunch #3 - Stanhope Grill (Back Bay) - Chopped salad, rosemary marinated grilled flat iron steak, and decadent chocolate brownie.
- Dinner - Smith & Wollensky's (Back Bay) - Caesar salad, filet mignon, and chocolate cake. (This dinner is a now a tradition with Dan and Alison, usually we visit Flemings but we weren't digging the menu this time around.)
If there was ever a concern of an iron deficiency, I think I have taken care of that over the last two weeks! Now I must get to the store for some fruits & veggies!
Three Babies and a Bride
So I have completed SLACKED with posting since I returned from my hiatus, and haven't even finished my hiatus updates. Tonight seems like a great night to get caught up (even though it is a Friday and Super Diamond is in town)!
I woke up on Saturday (8/9) to emails from two different friends that they were expecting babies mid-February. Very exciting. For one friend it will be baby number 2 and for the other it will be baby number 1...Congrats to both the Satter's and the Jagger's. These two babies will join Baby C who will make his or her appearance in December. Auntie E is going to be busy!
Last Saturday (8/16) I got to celebrate my friend/classmate/co-worker Ann's upcoming wedding by going to her bridal shower thrown by her sisters. It was a great afternoon to honor Ann. A few things that I thought were great (read as "Note to Winnie" for when that day comes)...her sisters had it at a hotel, the games were voluntary, and two people helped with the gifts.
I woke up on Saturday (8/9) to emails from two different friends that they were expecting babies mid-February. Very exciting. For one friend it will be baby number 2 and for the other it will be baby number 1...Congrats to both the Satter's and the Jagger's. These two babies will join Baby C who will make his or her appearance in December. Auntie E is going to be busy!
Last Saturday (8/16) I got to celebrate my friend/classmate/co-worker Ann's upcoming wedding by going to her bridal shower thrown by her sisters. It was a great afternoon to honor Ann. A few things that I thought were great (read as "Note to Winnie" for when that day comes)...her sisters had it at a hotel, the games were voluntary, and two people helped with the gifts.
- By having the shower at the Marriott there was room for everyone to mingle and sit down to eat. The food was all prepared for the event, they even cut the cake. Once things started to wind-down the hotel staff got a cart, loaded up gifts and took them to the car. The sisters were able to enjoy themselves and visit with the guests just as much as Ann.
- There were two (2) games, the first was a picture board where we could guess Ann's age in each picture (12 pictures in total). The sisters "corrected" the guesses during lunch. The second "game" was wearing a clothes-pin and if you said the groom's name it could be taken by whoever you were talking too.
- While Ann opened her gifts one sister was taking notes as to what was given and the other was making sure the bows were saved for the rehearsal dinner and putting opened gifts aside.
While the above makes it sound like the shower was rushed, it did not feel that way at all. We were there from 1-4 and the time flew by in a good way. Congrats Ann & D! Nice "crafty" work Sisters!
Saturday, July 26, 2008
I'm back!
So my "plan" to blog everyday while I was away didn't quite happen. However, I remember very well what happened and am going to add posts below documenting my month away. My time away was GREAT and I am very relaxed and ready to start my 5th year at work. I have some new challenges ahead of me and am very EXCITED for them to start. So check out below for what has been going on with me for the last 4 weeks!
Friday, July 25, 2008
Hiatus - Day 28
I get to sleep in my own bed tonight - yesssssssss!
I didn't know when this "hiatus" started that I would look forward to this day so much. Of course, it didn't go nearly as quickly as I wanted it to. I woke up for this final day of training feeling like I had been hit by a Mac truck...and I didn't even drink the night before! Must have been a sympathy hangover for all of my fellow tablemates. Training started promptly at 8am and finished at 3pm (no getting out early for us). We made our way to the train station in Newark at the same time the others made their way to Newark Airport.
Today, the new thing I learned is that there are 2 Penn Stations - Newark Penn Station and New York Penn Station.
Got to the train station with plenty of time to spare only to find that the bar was closed (not my idea but an ice cold water sounded great at this point). Got onto the train headed home, keeping tabs on the progress of the flight that we could have taken. We made it home first. I later found out that they sat on the tarmac for over an hour with no air conditioning - I love the train.
Made it home to a big pile of mail - I love getting mail. The majority was junk but it was mail to sort through none the less. My bed looks fabulous and I can't wait to jump in!
I didn't know when this "hiatus" started that I would look forward to this day so much. Of course, it didn't go nearly as quickly as I wanted it to. I woke up for this final day of training feeling like I had been hit by a Mac truck...and I didn't even drink the night before! Must have been a sympathy hangover for all of my fellow tablemates. Training started promptly at 8am and finished at 3pm (no getting out early for us). We made our way to the train station in Newark at the same time the others made their way to Newark Airport.
Today, the new thing I learned is that there are 2 Penn Stations - Newark Penn Station and New York Penn Station.
Got to the train station with plenty of time to spare only to find that the bar was closed (not my idea but an ice cold water sounded great at this point). Got onto the train headed home, keeping tabs on the progress of the flight that we could have taken. We made it home first. I later found out that they sat on the tarmac for over an hour with no air conditioning - I love the train.
Made it home to a big pile of mail - I love getting mail. The majority was junk but it was mail to sort through none the less. My bed looks fabulous and I can't wait to jump in!
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