One for the Road

This blog entry is for Trisha. I'll be heading out to Florida tomorrow for work, and she needed at least one blog entry for the week since I won't be around. Here ya go babe!
Weekend was good. Last night headed out to Beer Garden with the girls for Denise's 31st birthday. Had a great time. Didn't know if I was going to like it because I am really not a fan of Staten Island bars. Just doesn't do it for me. Usually it's basically like a high school reunion with a cover charge. Just the same old faces over and over again. And you always have to say hello to the person and talk to them even though you didn't say boo to each other when you saw them everyday for four years of your life. But that's Staten Island for ya! But I guess it's not really where you go, it's who you are with. I hadn't seen Trisha or Melissa since September! How crazy is that? It was so good to see them and I always have such a great time with them, Jess and Denise. The four of them are family- cousins and in-laws to sum it up. It's so nice to see family members be so close like that, and I have to say I feel very honored that they always invite me to all their functions. A night out with them is a guaranteed good time with lots and lots of laughs. And not only did I get to see them, but Trisha's husband Timmy came out for a bit! I won't get into too many details (for the full story check out an old entry titled "No Colon and Still Rollin"), but after all he has been through it was so good to see him. He looked so good physically and he was in such good spirits. Timmy has had a long couple of years and I admire him and Trisha so much for being so strong.
Well, that's it for me for the week. I'll be back on Thursday with hopefully something good to blog about. Till then! Enjoy the pics!

The Heat is On

All winter long I have heard horror stories about people's heating bills being sky high. I thought they were crazy, mine have been completely normal. Until yesterday when the Keyspan bill arrived. It was double what it normally is!!! I almost had a heart attack. And anybody who has ever been to my house knows I am like a polar bear, so the heat is hardly even on! I can't even imagine what kind of bills people who crank up their heat are getting. It must be scary.
So people, if your gonna come visit us during the next month or so, bring your woolies.

Dumbasses On Ice

A few weeks ago, we took Grace to see Princess on Ice. This week, it was dumbasses on ice. Since Monday was a holiday and Grace's ice skating lesson was cancelled, we decided to take her skating just for the fun of it. Dad lasted about 2 minutes against the wall and decided to call it quits since his feet were killing him. Frankie lasted about 4 minutes against the wall and gave up. Mom didn't even attempt it. Me? This was my first time ice skating in about 14 years and I was about to give up when I got a pitiful look from Grace and decided I had to do it. She skated circles around me and most everyone in the park, but toward the end I was able to keep up a little more. And it was actually fun. And cheap! $5 to skate and $4 for the highly fashionable rental skates that hundreds of other people have put their sweaty feet into...so gross, but what can you do? It's all part of the experience.
Here's some pics of the fun!

Look Out Weekend

Not only is it Friday, not only is Monday a holiday, but I also have off today! Can this weekend look any better?
This week was pure torture and full of meetings as always. It seems like we had meetings to discuss upcoming meetings, followed by the actual meeting and then post meetings to talk about the meeting we just had. My head is spinning. So last night I headed to happy hour with some DK folks to burn off some stress. Had a great time and we all needed it. Nothing like some hard cider to make ya feel better. Of course it was pretty sweet for me since I didn't have to get up today.
Next week is looking just as hectic. But I do have plans with some friends that I haven't seen in forever, so that should help make for a pleasant week.

From Sunshine to Snow

Looks like I got home from my conference in sunny Florida yesterday just in time. I arrived yesterday afternoon and as soon as I got my bags and hit the Turnpike, the snow had started to fall. I was so thankful I was home already. While we were boarding the plane from Florida a Continental employee had told me that the same flight scheduled for Sunday had already been cancelled. Thank God I made it. The flight home was not as bad as I expected. I figured there would be two hours of turbulence, but we hit a few bumps and that was it. I was squished in between two men the whole time that were pretty funny and I was somewhat able to relax.
Last night we hung out at Javonne's (it's only upstairs so no travel was involved) and we drank, ate way too much food and watched Red Eye and Wedding Crashers. It was the perfect snowy evening. Now it's almost 24 hours later and the snow is still falling. I love every minute of it!
I was going to be totally lazy today, but I decided to get some stuff around the house done. Things that I have been putting off for way too long. Organizing the closets, drawers, throwing old clothes away and tons of other stuff. Plus since I ate so much last night I need to get in some sort of exercise since the gym is obviously not an option today.
Cant wait to see how tomorrow's commute turns out. I'm sure it will be a real treat.

Skiing

Well this weekend was the big ski weekend, except for one thing, we didn't get to ski.
Saturday afternoon we headed toward Big Boulder for our day of snowy fun. We started out snowtubing. It was fun, except it's been so warm out that there wasn't enough snow to really make it as fast as it should be. After tubing I was going to ski, Norbert was going to snowboard and Frankie and Cristina were going to most likely hang out at the hotel and nap. But the rain started coming down and just would not stop. We thought it would have been snow once we got on top of the mountain, but it was way too warm.
Since the rain would not stop and kept coming down harder, we decided to go shopping. And it was so worth it. Cristina bought her first Coach bag! It's a very important moment in a girl's life and was happy to be there. I also bought a bag, but a very practical one (sorry, I put myself on a budget so I need to convince myself it was a necessity). I bought a lovely travel bag since I will be going on many trips this year for work. It's very pretty and I swear I will use it every time I go away (once again, must convince myself).
Saturday night we brought some beers down to the indoor pool and hung out in there for a while. After that we headed up to the room, ordered some food in, played some poker and taboo and finished off what beer was left in the cooler. We were all pretty much fried by midnight. Man we're getting old.
So, to sum things up...Was I disappointed about not skiing? Yes, but it was impossible with the weather. Was I disappointed in the trip? Hell no! It was actually a relaxing vacation for once and I totally enjoyed it. Good friends, good food, good drinks and lots and lots of laughs. I give this weekend two thumbs up.
Here's some pics of the fun! FYI, I had my scarf, gloves and hat stuffed in my jacket pocket, so that's why I look so puffy :-)