Alicia's Friends & Family Page

Wow, Really?

2011-08-29T22:08:00.003-04:00

I can't believe I haven't posted here in 4 months! Anyway, I just want to let you all know that I'm alright. We lost power for about 6 hours, and the tops of two dead trees blocked our driveway, but those are about all the negative effects we suffered from Hurricane Irene at the house. I didn't, however, go to work today due to flooding in our area. Below you can see the trees that came down. I forgot to take a picture before I moved the first one but you can use your imagination to put it back across the driveway. (The tree in the first pic took up the left side of the second photo.)

Waking up to nature in all its glory

2011-04-24T21:26:00.004-04:00

I've been pretty tired all week---I spent last weekend with Dad and Jan, and had a great time, but travel usually leaves me spent so this condition is not unusual.

Anyway, after falling asleep in the recliner on Friday night, this is what I awoke to find outside:

Yup, that is really snow on April 23rd. How cool is that? (Pun intended!) It was raining by the time I took these pictures so the accumulation didn't stay around very long.

Then, this morning, I woke up to this:

I'm soooo glad to live where I do!

I Had Fun Playing Games

2011-04-10T22:03:00.003-04:00

Last night Steve and I helped to celebrate a mutual friend's birthday. Our friend and his wife hosted a party at their house and, around 7pm, we all decided to go out for Chinese food. A little after 9pm we returned to their house to play games. The first game we played was the one that I had picked out for Steve and I to give Mike as his present. It's called "Unspeakable Words". Mike loves to play "Arkham Horror" so, since this scrabble type card game came with 30 little Cthulu tokens, I thought it was perfect for him. We had a lot of fun but, unfortunately, I lost my sanity pretty early in the game. Anyway, after two rounds of that we decided to play "Chrononauts" a game of time travel and wackiness, which I managed to win. Yay! :)

Today I did my taxes, and am pretty tired, but I'm happy they're done.

Ta Dah!

2011-04-06T11:01:00.003-04:00

Two posts in two weeks! I'm baaaaaack! :) Anyway, I had a great weekend, though it left me really tired. Steve's mom and sister came over and I finally got a chance to cook a meal for them. I made two kinds of wontons (a more traditional one with Morningstar Farms Veggie Crumbles and scallions and one with garlic and mushrooms), sauteed green beans, and elevated whoopie pies for dessert. It was fun but, after cooking for three hours, my feet really hurt. Everyone enjoyed the food and Nancy was especially impressed with the whoopie pies. These were an idea that had been kicking around in my head for awhile---ricotta cheese, vanilla flavoring, and sugar combined to make a cannoli style filling between some molasses clove cookies I had. Yum! Nancy stated after taking a bite, "these are awesome and I don't say that often!" Yay!

Long Time, No Post

2011-03-29T11:56:00.002-04:00

Okay, so writing on my blog has evidently not been at the top of my priority list lately. I've been sick a lot but I've also been spending time with friends, working, cleaning, and cooking. I've been much better about getting out of the house on weekends, including going to a local winter farmers' market sometimes. I'm organizing my time better, so that I'm doing chores around the house some mornings before I go to work, and even making sure to check my email once a week (for the last two weeks anyway). My life is a work in progress but I'm happy. I will try to post here each weekend because I tend to be really tired when I get home from work and don't want to turn on my laptop at that point. Oh, and it's maple sugaring season here in New England and I've been to the sugar shack in town twice already. YUM!

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-23T23:14:00.002-05:00

I hope you all like your presents and are enjoying some time off with friends and family. I've been meaning to post here for awhile; I have pictures of our first real snowfall of the year and jewelry I've made. I'll get that stuff up soon but, in the meantime, Happy Belated Hanukah, Happy Kwanza, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

Ooops!

2010-12-10T23:32:00.002-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a bit. I've been cooking, baking, working, shopping, etc. I'm getting back to my normal routine and having fun. I played the card game "Dominion" last Saturday night with Steve and a bunch of new friends and purchased a pair of roller blades for $5 at a local ski & skate sale. I did a news story at work this week, about local holiday festivities, and my boss said it's the best one I've done yet. Yay!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T11:00:00.000-05:00

I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful Turkey Day! I made Green Bean Casserole and Lasagna, yum! I have a lot to be thankful for and I hope you do too.

I Made Pizza and Rice Pudding

2010-11-14T12:56:00.003-05:00

Yum! Yesterday I got to try out two recipe ideas that have been kicking around in my brain for awhile. I put local tomato sauce, that I'd purchased at the farmer's market, on top of a store bought whole wheat pizza dough. Then I layered on 2 cups of mozzarella cheese, 1 package of MorningStar Farms Veggie Crumbles (that I'd sauteed up with Olive Oil and some fresh Italian garlic that I also bought at the farmer's market), an entire container of Ricotta cheese, and 2 more cups of mozzarella. It was a bit more like lasagna than pizza, and I'm not crazy about the whole wheat crust, but my friends liked it. (I brought the food when Steve and I went to play "Magic: The Gathering" with a few of our friends last night.) They also liked my first attempt at rice pudding: Sushi rice cooked with Half & Half, sugar, and vanilla extract. It was a little crunchy but the flavor profile was there. Next time I'd like to figure out a base for it, and I'll probably add cinnamon and nutmeg, but it was still good. It was nice to be in the kitchen again and to cook for people who haven't tasted my food before.

I Own "Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter"!

2010-11-11T21:48:00.003-05:00

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have wanted this book ever since I heard the author interviewed on NPR a few months ago. I looked into getting it but it was $25 so I figured I'd have to wait a year for it to come out in paperback. Instead, I bought it for 50 cents yesterday at a local senior center's used book sale. Yippeee! I was so excited when I pulled it out of the box that I actually shouted in the middle of the senior center's lobby. Oh, well. I can't wait to start reading the book tonight.

Pics as Promised

2010-11-09T21:28:00.003-05:00

I can now say that I've been in the same room as Michael Symon! I really like watching Food Network and I love "Iron Chef". Thankfully, a local charity hosts an "Iron Cook" competition every year pitting three local chefs against a celebrity. This year's guest chef was none other than Chef Symon. I had a great time listening to the friendly banter of all the participants and smelling the wonderful food they made. The charity raised a lot of money so this event was a winner all around.

Next up, a big thank you to my friend Jim. Having finished with a bunch (23) of his Dr. Who novels he passed them on to me. I couldn't believe it when I found a giant bag of books behind my desk the other day at work and, when I told him it might be awhile before I returned them, he told me not to worry about it. I will be baking or cooking up a treat for him soon for sure!

Finally, Halloween costumes. Steve dressed up for the party on Saturday night as a NY Giants "Superfan". That, btw, is a NYG Superbowl Champions Banner that is tied around Steve's neck as a cape.

I, of course, went as David Tenant's Doctor Who. At Mike's party on Sunday (where we read Shakespeare's Scottish play) everyone got who I was immediately because we're all SciFi/Fantasy nerds.

Halloween & Elections

2010-11-02T12:14:00.002-04:00

Sorry about not posting in awhile. I was sick for most of October. I did, however, get well in time to have a great Halloween and I'll be posting pics and details of my adventures here soon. In the meantime, I'd like to put in a plug for Democracy. Please vote today. It is very important to exercise our right to choose our leaders. Besides, if you don't participate, you don't get to complain later. :)

More Boardgames

2010-09-19T21:31:00.003-04:00

Today I met up with Steve and Shanon to play boardgames and eat yummy food at a local comic/gaming store. We played a game called "Ascension" than none of us had played before. It is a fantasy card game where you accrue honor by acquiring heroes and defeating monsters through combinations of cards. It was fun even though I lost by a lot. Then Steve and I played "Wasabi", the sushi building game which I think I've mentioned before in this blog. We ordered in from a local Chinese/Japanese restaurant and I enjoyed an order of steamed shrimp dumplings.

Last night, I made another one of my giant Greek calzones using fresh jumbo shrimp from a local seafood store and raw goat & cow milk feta from the farmers' market. The owner of the seafood store was really nice and explained how to de-intestine (de-veining is a misnomer it turns out) the shrimp since I told him I'd never worked with them raw before. It felt very satisfying to cook them from scratch and they smelled so good that I couldn't resist trying one as soon as I'd pulled them out of the boiling water. Yum!

Elections, elections, elections!

2010-09-13T21:41:00.005-04:00

If you live in a state that will be having primary elections tomorrow, please exercise your right to vote. I am about to research the last of the candidates I'll be voting on and am excited to cast my ballot. I have been doing a lot of work around the election as part of my job and will in fact be sitting at the polls tomorrow night in order to get local results. I can't wait. :)

Turkeys, Trivia, and Netbooks, Oh My!

2010-09-06T18:54:00.003-04:00

Yesterday began with a flock of wild turkeys in our yard. Susan joined me at the kitchen window to watch them proceed up our driveway, across the road, and into the woods on the other side. I tried to get a picture but the batteries in my camera were dead.

Later on, I convinced Steve to join the 21st Century by purchasing a netbook. CVS had one on sale for $100 so it made it easy for him to dip his toe in the water. We charged it up last night and, next weekend, I'm going to introduce him to web browsers, Youtube, and email. Woo hoo!

Finally, Steve and I sat down last night to play Book Lovers' Trivial Pursuit. It was much harder than either of us thought, especially given that we both read a lot. I think the game was actually intended to be played by teams, the instructions suggest it can be ideal for 16 people to play at once. My category of expertise is Children's Literature if anyone is interested. ;) At 12:30am, after more than 2 1/2 hours of play, we called it quits without a winner.

Busy, busy, busy.

2010-09-04T21:10:00.003-04:00

I've been doing a lot of work covering our state and local elections for my job and have been getting to be creative as well. Unfortunately, some of my creativity was channeled into creating a short memorial video for one of our volunteers who passed away a couple of weeks ago. He was an amazing man who, at 84, was an inspiration and a lot of fun to play games with.

I'm sitting here watching coverage of the U. S. Open and catching up on all the Facebook emails that I missed over the last year and a half or two. I got up early this morning and made French Toast for breakfast. Yummy! Then I did some chores before I headed out to spend a few hours in town. The Farmers' Market was a great place to pick up fresh produce. I ate my Asian Pear as a snack when I got home and it was tasty. Steve's here too so we might play some Magic in a bit.

Proof That We Play More Than Magic

2010-08-28T14:21:00.003-04:00

In case any of you were thinking that the only game I play with friends, and Steve's family, is "Magic: The Gathering" this photo should ease your fears. We went to Steve's mom's house a couple of weekend's ago to celebrate his birthday and we played "Sorry" (pictured) as well as "Guillotine" and "Monopoly Deal".

I'm bushed!

2010-08-22T20:52:00.003-04:00

I was pretty good at watching less TV over the last two weeks, instead getting chores done. I ate well, did laundry, vacuumed the house, went grocery shopping, and even had time for some fun. Oh, and I finally watched "Lost" Season 5. I can't wait to see how the show ends! Anyway, writing about fun reminds me that I saw "Despicable Me" yesterday. It took a bit to find the last theater around here that was showing it but I did and it was a very satisfying movie. I laughed a lot and really appreciated the "in jokes" for Science Fiction Fans, James Bond Fans, and adults in general. Other than that, I'm hanging out, talking with my family, and playing games.

I lucked out on Friday and purchased "Monty Python Fluxx", used, for $7.50 at a local game store. I hadn't found it anywhere else for less than $14 so I grabbed it as soon as I saw it. I also picked up a game I hadn't tried yet, but had heard about, called "Chrononauts". It's a bit like the "Fluxx" games, in that the cards change what's going on in the game a lot, but it involves time travel and alternate realities. It is actually three games in one and only cost $5! Steve and I played it last night and it was okay but I think it will be better with more people. I'm psyched to try it again.

I had a great birthday party!

2010-08-08T22:32:00.005-04:00

Thank you to everyone who came and I send good thoughts to those of you who missed it. I really had a good time, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, and we ate lots of yummy food. This party was exactly what I wanted. I was able to spend time with friends, some of whom I hadn't seen in awhile, there was a lot of laughter, and we even played some games. I have uploaded the photo album from the party, and the one from Diana's wedding, so check them out below. I may have goofed up some familial relationship titles, and wasn't sure of a few people's names, so please let me know if you see something. I don't want to insult anyone. I'm pretty tired so I'm going to keep this post short. I just want you to know that I'm very happy. :)

A Quick Update

2010-08-04T10:38:00.002-04:00

I haven't posted here in a bit because I've been quite busy. I'm up to my eyeballs in politicians at work because we are ramping up for election season, one of my cousins got married last weekend, and I'm getting ready for my birthday. Woo hoo! I'm doing well, though my radio show isn't getting recorded every week, and am having some fun. I'll post pics from Diana's wedding soon and perhaps from my party. Oh, and I'm listening to Sarah Vowell's "The Partly Cloudy Patriot" on CD. I bought it for $5 at a local used media store. It's awesome. I will post a more detailed review soon. Anyway, I have to head off to work now. I hope you are all well.

Not much going on...

2010-07-19T22:43:00.002-04:00

I just want to say hi. I'm reading Eve Brown-Waite's "First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria". I've finally paid off my car loan for real. (I thought I paid it off at the end of May but it turns out I miscalculated. Oops! Thankfully the friend who loaned me the money was very understanding about it.) Oh, and the big news is that on Sunday, around 5AM, Susan's daughter gave birth to a healthy, 9 pound, beautiful baby boy. Yay!

Heatwave!

2010-07-07T22:36:00.002-04:00

So, somehow I missed the fact, until a few days ago, that a heatwave consists of 3 or more days in a row in which the temperature rises above 90 degrees. I'm weathering the weather quite well and am thankful for air conditioning, breezes, and low humidity. I hope you all had a good holiday weekend. I had some fun playing games again with Mike and Michelle on Saturday. We played "Dungeoneer", "Shadows Over Camelot", and "San Juan".

Two Cool Videos I Just Had to Share

2010-06-28T13:21:00.001-04:00

You know that I don't do this often but these two videos not only hit my nostalgia button, they're really good. The first one was sent to me by a local radio station and, late last week, I showed it to the guys I work with. (*Warning, the song will get stuck in your head!*) In response, my boss just showed me the second video. I liked it so much I had to post the link to it here and share it with all of you. Enjoy!

Click here to watch the amazing video my boss recommended! (Sorry, it's not embeddable.---Is that even a word?)

I had Fun in the Kitchen Today!

2010-06-26T23:36:00.002-04:00

I really cooked again tonight. I haven't been doing much of that over the last six months to a year but we had a lot of food left over from Jessie(Susan's daughter)'s baby shower last Saturday. We wanted to use up as much as we could so, last Sunday, I made a calzone out of the leftover shrimp and feta cheese. I bought pizza dough, mozzarella cheese, and Kalamata Olives at the grocery store and put them all together at home. I'd never rolled out pizza dough before and I used all 4 cups of cheese. The calzone measured almost 1 1/2 feet and probably weighed more than a pound. It was very yummy!

This afternoon I used up more of the Feta along with some of the red wine. I bought mussels at a local seafood store and fresh basil at the local farmers' market. I took some jar sauce and added chopped baby portabella mushrooms, Feta cheese, fresh Basil, and Kalamata Olives. For myself, I steamed the mussels in the red wine and cooked up some sliced baby bellas and basil in olive oil for Steve and Susan. We each ate our fill over angel hair pasta. It was fabulous!

I had forgotten how much I like cooking and especially when working with fresh ingredients. Anyway, I'm really tired (so I'm not really proofreading this post) so I'll sign off now. :)

It's time for another Vlog post!

2010-06-25T21:32:00.001-04:00

Recent Event Photos & Video

2010-06-02T11:48:00.014-04:00

So, I'm pretty behind on blogging but I really wanted to share this stuff with you. I've been getting together with friends on the weekends to play games. Here Mike, his wife Michelle, Steve, and I are playing "Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game". It was a lot of fun even though we lost because Admiral Adama turned out to be a Cylon. Darnit!

Next, my sister graduated from college! I'm soooooooooo proud of her and she's going to be a great teacher. My mom, sister, her mother-in-law, and I had our nails done (yes, I can do girly things once in a while!) the day before Becky's commencement ceremony. This picture is of me at the salon after my nails have been painted a pale lavender:

It was also nice to spend time with my nephews. In this picture my older nephew, Jacob, and I are playing "Risk". He and I played for about 4 hours. Did I mention he's only seven? His dad, Ken, and Ken's mother are also at the table.

Finally, here's some video I accidentally took of the family after the graduation ceremony. I'll try to post the whole photo album soon.

There's a bird in our house!

2010-05-24T21:22:00.003-04:00

Susan opened the door to the deck, to dump some recycling, and a bird flew in. It made itself comfortable in the TV room and now is flying between the living room and kitchen. Our house is mostly open plan so we can't trap it anywhere with only one way outside. We have the deck door open and are hoping it will find its way back.

Btw, I am going to take a cue from my job and try to post weekly updates here so that weeks don't turn into months without me posting.

I recently returned from seeing my sister graduate from her teaching program, Magna Cum Laude I might add. I'm really proud of her and I will try to post those pics soon too.

That's about it for now.

Ooooops!

2010-04-05T23:05:00.001-04:00

I did it again. I let more than a month go by without blogging here. Sorry about that. I've been blogging for work, and other things have come up, so this hasn't been a priority. I was sick for a week in there too but that isn't really an excuse. Anyway, I attended Soup & Games Night again tonight and had fun. I was also just invited to a friend's 40th Birthday Party. It's going to be a lot of fun. On Friday I saw the Matrix again on the big screen. How much do I love the local midnight movie!?! I hope you all liked the April Fool's Youtube video I made for work. If you didn't get the email with the link, let me know. The people I heard back from thought it was cute. Anyway, I should head to bed but I will try to post here more often. I know, I've said that before but this time I really mean it! :)

Make a Conscious Choice to Buy Local!

2010-03-03T22:38:00.003-05:00

It's important! I am working on a post for a regional blog and have been thinking a lot about this subject lately. I also just finished a story about it at work. If you haven't checked out www.the350project.net yet, please do. It's the simplest, most down to earth, version I've seen of this message.

No Longer Snowed In

2010-02-27T18:43:00.005-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. Work has been busy, so has my social life, and then this week we got more than a foot and a half of snow. The snowstorm left us without power for 36 hours and without phones & internet access until this morning. Susan and I were making necessary calls on our cells (hoping we'd get power back before our batteries died), melting snow on our gas stove so that we would have water with which to flush the toilets, and bringing in lots of wood for the fireplace in order to keep warm. Thankfully, I had a stockpile of bottled water and regular batteries and Susan has a NOAA radio. I had a lot of work to catch up on once I made it into the office but, if you check out my organization's website, you'll see the results of some of my work on the homepage.

Finally, I thought I'd share some pictures I took of our beautiful winter wonderland (though I know that some of you have seen more than enough snow recently). Enjoy!

The view from Susan's deck doesn't really do the depth of the snow justice, because that's where we took a lot of snow from since it was easy to reach with our slippers on, but it is the best example I have.

Finally our driveway, notice all the dark stuff? The temperatures have been so warm, even during the snowstorm, that the ground is a muddy mess. We actually asked our plow driver to stop plowing, though there were still some moguls in the way, because if he didn't we'd get stuck!

Oh, and I couldn't resist sharing this picture of Casey. She had so much fun bounding through the snow that she exhausted herself. I call this one, "Pooped Pup"!

Organizing, 'Nuff Said

2010-02-15T20:57:00.002-05:00

Well, maybe not. I was quite productive this weekend, after experiencing a rough work week. Work wasn't bad, just tiring and a little stressful. I did, however, complete my third topical story for our website and it was up all of this long weekend. I ran around completing errands yesterday and now have a six shelf, cloth, organizer hanging in my closet (I needed someplace to put my sweaters), a new 4GB USB flash drive ($12), and "Fringe" season 1 ($9.99 at Best Buy).

I am a little ticked at Best Buy, though, and am not really sure I want to be giving them a shout out in this blog. They changed their rewards program so that points now expire at the end of every year. This would be fine, I think, if points posted right away, but they don't. They take 35 days to post. I don't think corporate has realized what this means to consumers and I'm considering writing them a letter. I mean, there will be a month, or a month and a half, each year when, assuming I can get the same item for the same price at another store, I will not have any incentive to give my money to Best Buy. It also means that I just lost 131 points and have to start over. GRUMP! :)

Soup & Games Night was Awesome!

2010-02-01T22:35:00.002-05:00

I had a blast again tonight. I played "Hearts" with a large, and rotating, group of people (sometimes we played solo and other times with a partner). I think there were seven or eight people sitting around the table for the last hand and there were three teams of two that time. I also got to play "Cosmic Wimpout" with two of the game's creators. How cool is that?! I was very rusty and didn't get very far but it sure was interesting. At the very end of the night, we demonstrated the game "Apples to Apples" for the folks at our table who weren't familiar with it. We laughed a lot the last time we played it and have put it on the agenda for next time. If you aren't familiar with these games, I suggest you Google them as they are lots of fun.

A Couple of Quick Updates

2010-01-27T10:10:00.003-05:00

My piece on homelessness is up on my work's homepage. It won't be there for long because we are trying to keep the homepage current and we have a new story coming in today, I think. If you want to see my piece and don't have my work website, or you don't see my piece when you get there, email me and I'll send you the link.

My first radio show, featuring "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll, Chapters 1 & 2, will air on Saturday. Unfortunately, I don't think any of you are in the listening area but I will try to put it online somewhere and let you know.

Another First for Me!

2010-01-23T14:27:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, I conducted my first phone interview. As you know, my background is not in journalism. My new job description, however, includes providing up to date content on our website. When we don't have new videos, I sometimes need to create them. In an effort to provide more topical coverage I am getting my reporting feet wet and covering the issue of homelessness in our town. The manager of a nearby shelter agreed to a short interview but I didn't have time to drive out of town to conduct it. Instead I went into our radio studio and did the interview there. I got a chance to practice with new, to me, technology and hone my communication skills. It was scary but, in the end, satisfying.

In other news, I wrote an essay based on my previous blog post and plan on submitting it to a friend's blog. I'll let you know if it's accepted.

A Sad, Sad Day for Massachusetts.

2010-01-20T10:51:00.002-05:00

Wow. I'm still stunned. Not to mention upset. I've been following some of the news coverage of what happened in yesterday's election, to fill the late Senator Edward Kennedy's seat in Congress, and I think that many of the people who voted for Scott Brown are going to realize they made a mistake. I predict that, within the next six months, "Don't blame me, I voted for Coakley" bumper stickers are going to start appearing on cars around the Bay State. If this one vote really means that the entire nation heads back down into the awful mess we were in under the prior administration, Massachusetts voters for Brown will feel even worse. It will be interesting to see where we go from here once the election hoopla has subsided. Stay tuned.

Help with the relief efforts in Haiti

2010-01-14T13:08:00.004-05:00

I heard a great interview this morning on my favorite public radio station that prompted me to post this. There is an NGO already on the ground in Haiti, that has not been incapacitated by the earthquake, and it can use lots of help as it aids people. The organization is Partners in Health and its website is www.pih.org. It is not strictly a disaster relief organization but it is, and has done so in the past, functioning as one for the moment because it has the infrastructure in place to do so. If you've been looking for a way to help, this one comes highly recommended.

Ok Go's new music video

2010-01-12T17:48:00.002-05:00

For all my fellow music nerds out there!

Click on this link to watch the Youtube video (I think Capitol Records refused to allow embedding so you can't watch it without leaving my blog. Sorry.):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJKythlXAIY

Photos I've been meaning to post.

2010-01-09T00:02:00.004-05:00

(In no particular order)

Christmas 2009 at Steve's mom's house:

Me on my snowboard last weekend (I hope to post a slideshow of this soon!):

Hannukah 2009 at my house:

Hannukah 2009 with a good chunk of my family:

Me on a date! Psych! Me on the set of my friend's parody of "The Bridges of Madison County", not coming soon to a theatre near you (my acting skills are pretty rusty):

Wire wrapped pendant (my first!) that I made today with a stone an acquaintance gave me as a New Year's present:

My second (and awesome, in my opinion) wire wrapping project. These were stones that Susan's aunt picked up on a beach and tumbled, that Susan asked me to turn into earrings. Thanks to some terrific tutelage at my local bead store, this is the result:

Happy New Year!

2010-01-06T10:04:00.002-05:00

Sorry this is late. I had fun at a party and then an awesome time snowboarding over the weekend. Susan took pictures of the latter and I will be posting them shortly. I hope you all are experiencing a wonderful start to this decade.

I'm Fine and I had a Nice Christmas

2009-12-30T22:12:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to let you know that I'm okay incase any of you heard about the tragedy that happened recently in a nearby town and were worried about me.

I had a lovely Christmas with Steve's family and I'm now the proud owner of new toasty slippers and both "Glee" season 1, part 1, albums. Yay!

Also in the, "YAY!" category: I was officially promoted today and my pay raise will be retroactive to when I started my new duties. Woohoo!

Happy New Year everyone!

Season's Greetings!

2009-12-24T14:10:00.002-05:00

Happy Hanukah!

2009-12-14T23:26:00.004-05:00

I hope you are all having a good holiday season so far. I spent Saturday night with my cousins Jonathan & Page; Jenny, her husband Jason, and their 18 month old Joslan; and David along with my Uncle Les & Amy and Aunt Marjorie. We had a lovely time talking, eating the yummy dinner (complete with Jonathan's latkes) that Page cooked, and lighting the Hanukah candles. That side of the family sends their love and holiday greetings to the rest of the family and hopes you are all well.

Snow, Snow, Snow

2009-12-10T23:14:00.001-05:00

Yay! We got our first real snowstorm of the winter. 9 or so inches collected in our yard and Susan valiantly shoveled it off the most important parts. Our plow guy came a just the right time to get me to work on Wednesday and I, mostly, enjoyed the drive in because the snow looked so pretty. Sorry, I don't have pictures because I was focused on getting to work. Unfortunately, I still haven't tried out my snowboard because now the snow is covered with ice. Oh, well, maybe this weekend since it's supposed to be warmer.

I have a Snowboard!

2009-12-05T21:45:00.002-05:00

Thanks to my cousin Jonathan's advice I am the proud, and excited, owner of a primo board. I got up early this morning and went to our local Lions' Club's Ski & Skate Sale. I was able to get a nice used board with really good bindings and boots for only $90. That's cheaper than renting a board and buying a lift ticket! It snowed all day today so I might even get to try it out tomorrow. Woo hoo! :)

2009-11-28T17:59:00.001-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T11:29:00.001-05:00

I am grateful for all of my friends and family and hope that you all have a wonderful holiday. :)

It's cold outside, there's no kind of atmosphere...

2009-11-21T03:59:00.009-05:00

Yes folks, I have the "Red Dwarf" theme song stuck in my head. I'm all alone more or less. I just can't seem to stop singing it. I want to fly, far away from here. Of course, that could have something to do with the fact that I've watched 6 episodes of the show in the last 3-4 days. Fun, fun, fun, in the sun, sun, sun.

For those of you who have Absolutely (Fabulous) no idea what I'm gibbering on about, "Red Dwarf" was a BBC show that lasted eight seasons during the 1980's and 1990's. I want to lie, shipwrecked and comatose... It was a hilarious science fiction comedy series starring Craig Charles, Chris Barrie (The actor who played Lara's butler in "Lara Croft Tomb Raider" and who might just have been the best part of both movies.), Danny John-Jules, and Norman Lovett. Drinking fresh mango juice. The basis for the series is that a slobby, normal, space-going, guy named Lister awakens from stasis, where he was confined for 18 months because he refused to turn in his contraband cat for dissection ("With all due respect sir, what's in it for the cat?"), to find he's been asleep for 3 million years and that everyone else on board is dead. Goldfish nose nibbling on my toes. His only companions on his journey back to Earth are the ship's AI (Holly, that has an IQ of 6000), a cat-man descended from the cat he refused to turn in (and to whom he's now a deity), and finally (and causing the most laughter) a hologram of the person who annoyed him the most prior to his extended stay in stasis (his roommate, Arnold J. Rimmer, Technician 2nd Class *insert goofy wobbling salute here*). Fun, fun, fun, in the sun, sun, sun.

If this post makes no sense to you whatsoever, watch this (it's a slow build, but worth it):

Congratulations! Now you too can have the "Red Dwarf" theme song stuck in your head. (Btw, who knew there was a third verse?!?)

"Parallel Lives: The Kathy & Mo Show"

2009-11-14T12:06:00.005-05:00

I thought this play (written, and originally performed, by Mo Gaffney & the amazing Cathy Najimy) was hilarious when I first saw it during the summer of 1994 or 1995 in the black box at the theatre where I was an intern. It was groundbreaking then---dealing with abortion rights, coming out, age & race relations, and feminism in ways both funny and poignant (but mostly funny)---and still made me laugh when I saw it again last night.

Times have changed, however (for the better in terms of acceptance of sexual orientation), and parts of the play didn't impact me as much as they did fifteen years ago. Some of this is also because I've changed for the better as well. Yesterday, I found that I couldn't identify with the alcoholic single mother who shares about the empty place in her spirit because I don't feel that way anymore. I believe a few minor rewrites were done in attempt to make the play more relevant to this decade and our local area.

The show's producer, a former neighbor who started her own theatre company in order to provide roles for women onstage and off, is very cognizant of her audience and the fact that they are accepting, open, vocal, and exuberant. There was much cheering and laughter in the audience when a local spiritual retreat was mentioned by name.

I'm really glad that I went to see this play last night. I went on my own but ended up sitting with an old friend who was there. It was also nice to support theatre by women for, mostly, women. Those of you in my local area will soon be getting an email from me encouraging you to see this show. It's well worth seeing.

Happy 40th Birthday Sesame Street!

2009-11-06T23:38:00.001-05:00

As I was driving home tonight, "Fresh Air" was replaying interviews with key writers and creators who worked on the show. Some of it was funny, while other parts were sad. I was nostalgic and melancholy but grateful to have heard this retrospective. I grew up watching the show, have many fond memories of it, and am glad it's still around educating a new generation. Here's to you Sesame Street!

:)

2009-11-05T22:27:00.000-05:00

Ballgame over, World Series over, Yankees win, the Yankees win!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I was too tired after the game last night to post this)

Read My Friend's Book!

2009-11-03T12:00:00.000-05:00

Chelvanaya Gabriel recently published a book on skin care that looks very interesting. I haven't read it yet but I'll be buying a copy soon, from a local bookstore---not a chain, I might add. As I told her in an email, skin care wasn't really something I cared about until a year ago or so. I was having trouble with my face drying out and have been using moisturizer ever since. I used to think that was something only hoity-toity women who wear makeup do. Anyway, her book is called "Mindful Beauty Is In Your Hands: Natural Skin Care Tips and Recipes". Please support her, and take care of your skin, by buying her book.

Yankees Win!

2009-11-01T00:44:00.002-04:00

Yay!!!!!! They lead the World Series 2-1. Since I happen to be on the computer right now, and I just finished watching the game, I thought I'd share. :)

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T21:35:00.004-04:00

Tonight, I went back to a town I used to live in because they usually go all out for this holiday. I really had fun making my costume and most people seemed to enjoy seeing it. I thought you might like to see the pictures I took:

I had a lot of fun this weekend.

2009-10-26T23:23:00.002-04:00

The masquerade party we threw at work this weekend raised a nice chunk of change and everyone liked my costume. I'd been telling people all week that they'd have to wait until the event to find out what I was going to be, but that it would be funny. I'll be posting a picture soon so you guys can laugh too.

On Sunday I went to a local comic store and learned how to play two new games. One game, Tsuro, wasn't too exciting to me but I think it's because we were only playing with two people. The other game, MyWord, was a lot more fun and we played it with seven people. I liked it so much that I ordered it and it was nice to meet some new people.

It's SNOWING!!!!

2009-10-15T21:47:00.001-04:00

Yay! The first snowfall of the season. It isn't sticking but it looks pretty. Casey, Susan, and I popped outside for a few minutes to enjoy it when I came home. I know it's early but it made me happy. :)

Very Special Post!

2009-10-12T14:42:00.004-04:00

As promised, here is my very special vlog post. "Glee" was the inspiration for this (and, hopefully, a series of future) post(s). One of the main characters posts a video of herself singing every night on her Facebook page. I can't keep up with that pace but I've decided to reinvigorate my talent by periodically posting karaoke videos here for you to enjoy. I'm my own worst critic so I'll admit there are some rough spots, but overall I think it's not a bad first attempt considering I haven't had a voice lesson in a couple of years. Thanks to the website www.karaokeplay.com for providing the means to do this online for free and of course the music and lyrics are copywritten by Elton John and Tim Rice and I intend no infringement. Enjoy!

I wrote my first press release today.

2009-10-07T23:08:00.003-04:00

I told my boss that I don't want to be a marketing director, however, I was asked to do this because of the writing skills I've demonstrated. We are going to be throwing a Halloween party fundraiser near the end of the month and are putting together a lot of publicity in a short amount of time. In addition to the press release (which was kind of fun since I had free reign) I'm also producing a video PSA spoofing the popular "Where the Hell is Matt?" videos on Youtube. It's nice to flex my creative muscles. Yay!

Announcements, Announcements, Announcements!

2009-10-03T16:00:00.002-04:00

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile.

That's partly because I'm planning a very special blog post that will be up soon so keep checking back here.

In the meantime, I need to apologize to Caissa and Becky for ignoring their comments on this blog. I'm sorry you guys. I didn't realize I'd gotten any comments because the email folder they are automatically forwarded to no longer appears on the sidebar in my inbox. I only discovered the comments today and I do appreciate them.

Finally, if you aren't watching Fox's new dramady (I think that's how you spell that word), "Glee", I highly recommend it. I know I'm a chorus geek but you don't have to be one to love this show. You also don't have to be a teenager. I think it's a bit like "Desperate Housewives" for the gentler generation. "Glee keeps making me laugh out loud, want to see what's going to happen next week, and enjoy the musical numbers. For you "Criminal Minds" fans out there, never fear. I've been watching "Glee" each week on www.fancast.com because the two shows are on at the same time. Enjoy!

More car stuff, but it's better now.

2009-09-13T21:21:00.002-04:00

So, my car was all fixed from the transmission stuff on Wednesday but on Thursday night my brake warning light came on as I was driving home. I slowly drove to my mechanic's on Friday and they replaced my two rear brake cylinders, one of which was leaking. I went to a local fair on Friday night and ate my way through it while my friends and I walked around. I enjoyed fried whole belly clams, cheese fries, and funnel cake. Yum!

Saturday I bummed around the house all day and watched season 2 of "Heroes". They kind of cleared up the questions I had surrounding the season 1 finale and that was nice.

Now, I'm watching the U. S. Open Women's Final. The two competitors are very powerful so it's a good match to watch. I'll be happy no matter who wins.

Not the weekend I had planned

2009-09-08T23:01:00.004-04:00

I had planned on being a homebody during Labor Day Weekend. I was going to get in some relaxation time between chores. However, my dad called while I was having breakfast (around noon, see my previous post) on Saturday. He told me that he was in a nearby state and asked if we could get together. Meanwhile, Steve had been asking me all week to visit his family with him. I made plans to do both and we arrived at Steve's mom's late that day. On Sunday morning, as Steve and I were headed to meet some friends before I headed to meet my dad, my car died. AAA rescued us and later towed my car back across the state to my mechanic's garage. AAA Plus is a great thing! Anyway, Steve and I spent another night with his family and they drove us back home late Monday. Yesterday my mechanic discovered that a valve connecting the transmission to the radiator had failed and let all of my transmission fluid gush out. He fixed it today and I get to sleep in my own bed tonight, which is good because I'm exhausted.

By the way, it's hard typing a blog post while watching tennis, but that's exactly what I'm doing. Earlier I watched Melanie Oudin go down to Caroline Wozniaki (sorry, I know I spelled that incorrectly) and now I'm watching Roger Federer (hopefully) defeat Robin Soderling in three sets. Some parts of this match have been exciting but it's been pretty quick.

Alicia's Activities

2009-09-05T02:35:00.003-04:00

Getting together with friends is important to me and I feel like I don't do it enough. To that end, I've decided to send out an invite each month asking you to join me in a variety of activities. I sent an email recently to some of you that live nearby but I was really tired when I sent it and may have missed some folks. If you didn't get the email, and you're in the area, please let me know and I'll send you a new one. Anyway, I'm also really tired now because I just came back from the first activity. I went to a midnight showing of "Beverly Hills Cop" with my friend Curt, his two sons, and some of their friends. There were about 20 of us in the theatre but we enjoyed ourselves. Now I'm headed for bed. Goodnight. :)

I need to kvetch about "Heroes"

2009-09-03T22:09:00.002-04:00

I just finished watching season 1. It was really good (Joss Whedon-esque lines like, "Didn't I throw you out a window?" come to mind) for the most part (it was a bit soap opera-y for a short time) but the final few minutes were a bit of a let down. I kept saying, (yes, I occasionally talk out loud to the TV or DVD player) "Peter, you can fly!". I really, really, hate plot holes, especially big ones. A brief synopsis for those of you not familiar with the show: it's kind of like "X-men" and "Wildcards" because normal human beings realize they have extraordinary powers and are learning to control them and interact with the rest of the world. Some of them find out that a giant nuclear explosion is going to destroy half of NYC and they want to stop it. Peter Petrelli's power is that he can copy the powers of any other person. He's a really good guy but he finds out that he's going to absorb a nuclear radiating power that he can't control and then he's going to explode and cause the catastrophe. He's also absorbed his brother's power of flight. Oh, and he can regenerate. To me, this seemed liked a no-brainer. As soon as he was about to explode he could just fly high into our atmosphere, explode (yes, I know there would still be environmental problems but one thing at a time), regenerate, and come back down. NO ONE suggested this the entire season. Finally, at the last moment his brother flew down and flew him up into the sky sacrificing (we assume) himself in the process. I'm pretty sure I didn't miss any on screen explanation for this necessity, such as Peter concentrating so much on trying to stop the explosion that he couldn't fly or that he could only use one power at a time, but if I did, I apologize for my criticism. If not, however, I stand by my irritation and disappointment with the season one finale. GRUMP! GRUMP! GRUMP! Thank you for you attention. :)

Well, it's September

2009-09-02T23:11:00.002-04:00

The weather turned pretty quickly, but it's still nice. I wore a sweatshirt this morning but was sweating when I took my walk (in my short sleeved t-shirt) this afternoon. Whenever I start to think about the changing seasons I stop and appreciate how beautiful my surroundings are and I come right back to the present.

Work is busy, I've been updating that blog a lot because we are upgrading. Check it out because I've been posting many pics and details. My boss liked my idea for a new show so I may be producing some more.

I'm tired and need to go to bed. I'll post more later. :)

I won!

2009-08-25T21:53:00.004-04:00

Woo hoo! Our local Trader Joe's called me yesterday to let me know that I'd won their weekly drawing. Everyone who brings in their own shopping bags gets entered to win a $25 store credit and this time it was my turn. Yay!

Brunch with my family

2009-08-23T13:43:00.003-04:00

Yay! I got to spend more time with Page, Jonathan, and Aunt Marjorie today. We went out for brunch at a local place famous for its' "no frills dining". There were seven of us all together, as you can see from the photo, because Jonathan and Page had two friends over (Lonnie, who is practically family since she lived with Jonathan, David, & Uncle Les during the summers while she was in college, and Jake who lives around the corner from Jonathan & Page) and Jonathan asked me to invite Steve because the two of them get along really well. In addition, Page used to canvass for PIRG (Public Interest Research Group) so she and Steve have similar experiences. Anyway, I ordered a dish called "El Paso" which is cornbread topped with scrambled eggs, cheese, black beans, salsa, and sour cream. Yum! I also ordered a side of grits because this place makes them really well and I haven't had them in quite awhile. Thankfully, we walked to the restaurant from Page & Jonathan's so I did burn some calories. :) I'm really grateful that I'm getting to spend more time with my friends and family now. This was a really nice morning, nice weather, good meal, and fun conversation. I can't really express it but I feel warm & fuzzy inside. :)

Partying with Jonathan & Page

2009-08-23T00:00:00.006-04:00

I spent most of today helping my cousin Jonathan, and his wife Page, celebrate his being cancer free for three years. It was really nice to meet more of their friends and neighbors, eat a really yummy cake, and see my Aunt Marge for the first time in 12 or 15 years. The party began at 3PM and I just got home a few minutes ago. Check out these pics! Obviously that's Jonathan cutting the cake. Below his single photo is one of Page eating the cake, then their adorable dog Lila---who didn't get any cake, and finally my Aunt who enjoyed the cake as much as the rest of us.

Another Brush With Fame

2009-08-07T12:31:00.002-04:00

Last night I was this close to John Hodgman, the actor who portrays the PC in Apple's Mac vs. PC commercials. I was on my way to meet some friends after eating my dinner at a local park, (local musicians perform for free at the park each week and they are really good), when I noticed an acquaintance of mine (a local radio personality) walking towards me in a group of people. As I said, "Hi!", I recognized the person who was walking next to him. They both smiled at me and I went on my way with a spring in my step. (C'mon, you already know I'm a geek!) :) Anyhow, I wasn't really surprised to see Mr. Hodgman because he has family in the area and he guest hosted a local radio show recently. I love living in this area! :)

Whoops!

2009-08-05T10:17:00.002-04:00

Okay, so I haven't posted in a couple of weeks. I've been busy since I got back from vacation. I've done way too much shopping because I had to stock up on everything I was out of. On the upside, while I was at the mall (yes, I went to the mall, pick your jaws up off of the floor now please) I purchased "Torchwood: Children of Earth" at Best Buy for $20. That's a great price for 5 episodes of a BBC series. I also found the "Dr. Who: The Beginning" three episode collection at FYE for $15. Woo hoo!

Anyway, what I really want to blog about is that I did my first professional voice-over recording yesterday. One of my co-workers is creating a promo for us and he asked me to do a couple of readings for him. I sat down to capture them in our radio pre-production studio for the first time and it felt great. I told my boss how much I enjoyed doing it and he said that he'll try to give me more opportunities in the future. Yay!

I'm baaaack!

2009-07-21T20:49:00.002-04:00

I had a lovely time with my family and I will be posting pics and perhaps some video soon. We took the boys to the Crayola Factory and to Northlandz. At Crayola Jacob got to paint, draw, and create while we all learned some interesting facts about the crayon business. Northlandz can't really be described, it has to be seen to be appreciated. I think Becky took some pictures that she may post on her Facebook page. Northlandz took years to plan and, I think, 4 years to build. It is a miniature train landscape, containing about 400 trains, housed in a 50,000 square foot two-story building. The details are amazing and a lot of humor is revealed as one travels through the displays. It was really cool. Anyway, I'm really tired. I got home late from work because I had to stay late. I goofed and accidentally set my alarm for 8:30PM today and woke up about 15 minutes after I was supposed to be at work. Thankfully, Scott was really nice about it. We made it work but it caused a few problems. Oh well, it was still a good day.

Fun, Food, but no fireworks.

2009-07-08T21:46:00.002-04:00

Last Thursday night I met up with Wendy, Lynette (accompanied by, now toddler, Aisla Rose), and Lynette's parents to attend a two-part concert at a local church. The first half featured "Rising Tide" in the church's sanctuary while for the second half we adjourned to the, slightly damp, lawn for dinner and a carrillon concert. I had a really good time and it was nice getting to see everyone again.

This weekend Steve and I went to his mom's to celebrate the fourth. We had lots of fun teaching his mom & sister to play "Magic: The Gathering". We also lit sparklers.

I'm really tired so this isn't the most well written post. Oh well, I at least wanted you to know what I've been up to. Happy Summer!

In the category of things you shouldn't say on national, live, TV...

2009-07-01T22:18:00.002-04:00

the winner is---Jeanine from "So You Think You Can Dance". Susan got me hooked on this show and tonight Philip & Jeanine did a really good, hard-hitting, hip-hop routine that centered around them being chained together. After the routine Kat Deeley, the emcee, asked them about problems rehearsing with the chain. They explained that it had broken several times and that they just kept practicing with it all week, attempting to figure out what they would do if any of the seemingly limitless possible tragedies that could happen with it did. Jeanine went on to say that, as a result, they had chains all over their apartment. The audience couldn't contain themselves and the look on Jeanine's face, when she realized what she'd said, was priceless.

Other than that, I'm looking forward to an extra day off this weekend and, surprisingly, doing a little clothes shopping. Oh, one more thing. In my bargain hunters column: I picked up a practically new Trivial Pursuit: Book Lovers Edition at the Salvation Army today for $6! Woo hoo! Now I just need to get some friends together to play it. :)

Whoo boy! It's been a few weeks.

2009-06-23T23:02:00.002-04:00

Mostly, I've been chicken to post on here because I really wanted to tell you all that I rode on a motorcycle for the first time a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, I can already hear my mom and my sister lecturing me about it. :) It's not something I want to do all the time, and it was completely unexpected (I needed a ride a short distance down the road and the only one of my friends going with me only drives a motorcycle---thankfully he had an extra helmet with him), but it was fun. I was scared of falling off but I also saw the appeal of being open to nature and feeling gravity as you make turns. I would probably enjoy it more in the future if I have a chance to drive one (slowly, on a closed course somewhere with no traffic!). :)

Today I went to my dentist's office for a cleaning and got a good bill of health. Then I had another routine doctor's appointment which also went well. I had the day off and got some things done around the house, in addition to getting some R & R. It was nice. I hope you are all well and that some of us will be going to a local concert soon.

Yay! More DVDs! :)

2009-06-01T00:03:00.002-04:00

I had a busy week and an even busier weekend. Saturday was a very long day that started with me getting up at 4:45AM so I could meet some friends and drive out to the eastern part of the state. I arrived home around 6:30PM and Steve came over at 7PM with sushi. (I had called him when I was an hour away from home and asked if he could meet me there with healthy food because I was going to be too tired to make something. He was wonderfully obliging.) We ate and then played Magic: The Gathering until around 9 or 10PM. I must admit that I have gotten Steve addicted to Magic and he has started buying his own cards. (I may have created a monster. I'll let you know.) Anyway, I slept for about 12 hours and then went to the mall today. I purchased "The Dresden Files" season one (which is pretty much the complete series since Sci. Fi. Channel was stupid and cancelled it after that) for $13 at FYE. Later, Steve and I went to a local used DVD/CD store and I bought "Heroes" seasons 1 & 2 for $16 each, the original "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" movie (which completes my Buffy collection!) for $5, and both "Fantastic 4" movies for $5 total. I haven't really bought too many DVDs in awhile so this wasn't too bad. I may also breakdown and buy some "Doctor Who" stuff on Amazon.com since a lot of it is really cheap and comes with free shipping if I spend $25 in one order. Oh, did I mention I got a raise and that I may get a promotion and another raise in the next few months? :) Yay! (Don't worry, I'm not going crazy with my spending. I need to increase the amount I'm giving Susan each month for household expenses and I'm still saving. It's just nice to splurge once in awhile.)

Dagnabbit! I must be writing posts in my dreams.

2009-05-27T23:34:00.003-04:00

I could have sworn that I had posted about what I did during Memorial Weekend but I don't see anything about it here. I worry, sometimes, that I'm losing my marbles. Anyhow, I want to let you know that one of the fun things I did over the weekend (in addition to house sitting and taking care of some really cute puppies and kitties) was to go see the new "Star Trek" movie. It was awesome! The first half was amazing and the second half was really good (it slowed down a bit so it doesn't get a totally amazing throughout review). J. J. Abrams rocks! I'd add details but I need to go to bed soon.

Tonight, after work, I walked to my car experiencing the beauty of Spring. It was cool, and rain was misting into my face, but it was just lovely and I wanted to share that with you.

Finally, I want to add my voice to the dismay, disappointment, and outrage over the CA Supreme Court upholding Prop. 8. I wasn't listening to NPR today, so I didn't get the details, but I noticed an article about it when I got online a short time ago. I know that sometimes judges have to vote for something they don't like because it's, technically, legal but I am saddened that hate & discrimination have been upheld.

So, do you ever feel like there aren't enough hours in a day?

2009-05-21T22:27:00.002-04:00

Hmmmm, it's been three weeks since my last post. Where does the time go? I've been working a lot of different hours and participating in social events. I thought I had posted on here since I saw Rising Tide perform (loved the concert!, btw) but, since that was May 6th and my last post was May 3rd, I realize that wasn't correct. Oh, well. There really isn't a good way to fit emailing/blogging into my morning routine (I'm still trying to figure out how to put my 15 minute walk back into it. That got blitzed when I was sick.) and when I get home at night I prepare for the next day. Once I'm done, it's usually time for bed, or a snack, some TV, and bed. I've been limiting my TV watching, though, and that's allowed me to get more done, but it's still hard to hop online. At some point I'll kvetch about the movie ("Wolverine") & season finales ("CSI: Miami" springs instantly to mind) I've seen lately and thought were "eh". On the other hand, "Dollhouse" and "How I Met Your Mother" had great finales! I almost can't wait for next season. :)

I got new sneakers!

2009-05-03T22:09:00.002-04:00

I did a lot (for me) of clothes shopping this weekend. I spent a couple of hours at Goodwill yesterday and came home with a cute pair of jeans and two dressier (than normal for me) tops for just $10. Today I went to JCPenny and, using a $20 mall gift certificate along with a leftover balance on a gift card from Aunt Nancy & Uncle Robert, got a pair of $50 sneakers that were on sale without having to pay any money out of pocket. I'm really glad I had that opportunity.

Food, Glorious, Food!

2009-04-29T22:23:00.003-04:00

I had a yummy salad for dinner tonight at a local Mexican restaurant. The salad starts with hot rice and black beans on the bottom of the bowl. They are topped with Mesclun greens, some kind of lemon & garlic dressing, guacamole, and pico de gallo. Yum, yum, yum! :)

Okay, okay, I know I haven't been posting much lately!

2009-04-28T00:19:00.002-04:00

I hope you are all doing well. I have been enjoying the lovely weather here and rediscovering Magic: The Gathering. That's a fantasy trading card game for those of you who don't remember watching me play in my college days. Steve and I have been playing a lot and I'm really enjoying it. In addition, one of the guys I work with is a rabid Magic player and we may get to play soon. I even checked out Wizards of the Coast's website and it's pretty cool and really helpful. Other than that, not much has been going on. I'm working a lot (I think I mentioned it's meeting season) and getting back into my daily routine.

I met a governor today!

2009-04-17T16:55:00.002-04:00

Massachusetts' Governor Deval Patrick was in our studio today at work to film an interview. I thought you'd all like to see this pic of me, my co-workers and friends, and the Gov! Btw, he was funny and gracious and he brought his adorable dog, Zoey.

"Dollhouse" is the best show on TV right now!!!!!!!!

2009-04-10T23:05:00.003-04:00

I know I haven't posted in awhile but I've been sick and working a lot. I will post an update about some of the time between posts soon but, for now, I just need to state that "Joss Whedon rules!". Ditto for Jane Espenson! Dollhouse isn't flashy but it is well written and acted, the characters seem genuine (I realize the irony---and I did use that word correctly), and the plot is extremely interesting. I really is the best show on TV in, what feels to me, a quiet way.

In other news, I went to the most amazing Seder last night. My friend, and fellow alum, Opeyemi, co-hosted a Seder for "Passover Orphans" (people who can't go home for the holiday and aren't hosting their own). I felt really comfortable and loved even though Opeyemi was the only person there that I had known before the event. The Seder was open and welcoming, while still being traditional, creative, and humorous. During the story of the exodus from Egypt, there were two lines that cracked me up while I was reading them. I had to stop laughing before I could finish reading them aloud. They were about when Moses petitioned the pharoh to let the Jews go: "First he tried asking, then he tried magic, then he tried plagues. That seemed to work!" (Did I mention this was the VERY abbreviated story of the exodus?) When we got to the part in the Seder where we open the door for Elijah, Opeyemi's friend David came in bearing candy to share and dressed as Elijah. Opeyemi accompanied him dressed as a mystery woman. While she acted out her character, we had to guess who she was. When she threw some of the candy over the table, to express her displeasure at being left out of the Seder and forgotten by history, we were all laughing too hard at her antics to guess. She turned out to be Lillith, the first woman (yes, before Eve), and she was representing all the women who've been forgotten by history. Oh, one more funny bit; I told our intern (who's a big role playing and fantasy card gamer) that I was going to a Seder I had to spell it out for him like this: S-e-d-e-r not S-a-t-y-r. Hee, hee.

I hope you are all well. I will post more soon.

My Taxes are Done!

2009-03-29T15:33:00.002-04:00

Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I finished my taxes before April! I just wanted to shout that to the rooftops. Thanks for listening. :)

Weird & Wonderful Work Stuff

2009-03-26T21:30:00.002-04:00

I worked with an amazing volunteer on Tuesday night. She's 9 years old but she's really together. Her father, who used to volunteer with us, suggested she help us out because she makes music videos with her friends and writes plays. She reminds me a bit of me when I was her age. It turned out she had a great eye for camera shots and all the folks at the meeting thought she was adorable. I felt like I had another little sister when I was showing her around and teaching her how to direct. I think I was smiling the whole time.

today, we had weird hardware issues. One of our PC's keyboard became waterlogged and a computer kept shutting down on it's own. Scott finally had to take a panel off of the side of it because we could smell something burning. After that, it seemed to go back to working normally. :)

I'm feeling much better now!

2009-03-21T18:15:00.002-04:00

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. I was really sick. I went back to work this week but am still resting a lot. Last night I watched the series finale of "Battlestar Galactica". It was good but I was blubbering for most of the last hour of it. I was still thinking about it today as I got ready to go see the Metropolitan Opera's live simulcast in HD of Bellini's "La Somnambula". That was also quite good though the setting of it was a little odd. They decided to stage it as a play within a play but then they kept blurring the lines of what was "real life" and what was rehearsal. I found it a bit jarring but kept getting back into it because the music was melodic and upbeat and the singers were very good. Unfortunately, just going to see the opera has exhausted me and all I really want to do is take a nap. I decided I should probably eat something first so I'm waiting for a pot of water to boil. After I eat some spaghetti I'll, hopefully, sleep. Oh, and I'm writing a radio play. :) I'll tell you all more about that soon.

Checking in

2009-03-11T18:59:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone. I just wanted to let you know I'm still here, still sick, but here. I went to the doctor yesterday and may be starting an antibiotic tomorrow. Thankfully, my boss is being super understanding and I've been getting lots of rest & drinking lots of fluids. I know you don't want my detailed symptom history so I'll just tell you what I've been doing when I can't sleep: watching TV and putting together the Puz3D cottage I got at the dump awhile back. Please keep sending good thoughts my way. Thanks!

I'm sick :(

2009-03-02T19:54:00.002-05:00

I had a productive week and an eventful weekend. I had a great time dancing on Saturday night but I arrived home to a bit of a medical issue with Susan. I helped her and went to bed around 4AM. Now I'm sick. Between the weather and feeling crummy I didn't go to work today. Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow. I'll keep you posted.

Pic & whirwind day.

2009-02-22T13:45:00.003-05:00

First up, as promised, my "mugshot" from the MDA fundraiser. Thanks to my cousin, Page, for sending me that. As you can see, I really did have a lot of fun.

In other news, as I write this, snow is falling quite rapidly outside. Steve called me earlier to let me know that it's wet and heavy, but Susan is actually on her way to play tennis (indoors, but still). I'm staying here because we're expecting a moderate storm and I don't want to drive in it since I don't have to. Unfortunately, the forecast caused Steve and I to have a bit of a whirlwind day yesterday. We had planned to drive out to the western part of the state in the early afternoon to celebrate his sister's birthday. Afterwards, we were going to spend the night and then help his mom and sister with some errands today. However, once we heard the weather report we decided not to spend the night. We also ended up with more errands to do than we thought so didn't arrive at Steve's mom's house until 6pm. We got to dinner around 7pm and stuffed ourselves almost silly on awesome Sushi. After Nancy opened her presents (she loved the earrings I made for her, btw) we ate yummy cake that Steve's mom had baked and I frosted and decorated. Around 10pm we headed over to Steve's sister's apartment to help her stock up on supplies since she's having surgery this week. Steve dropped me off at home around 12:45am. It was a long, but enjoyable, day.

I went ice skating!

2009-02-16T19:03:00.002-05:00

Every winter, for the last several years, I have yearned to go ice skating and, every spring, I've lamented that I didn't. This year I made a commitment to myself that I was going to go even if I had to go alone. Several weeks ago I checked out ice skating options nearby online. I discovered that for $9 I could skate at a local college's rink, including the skate rental. I sent an email to some of my friends in the area to see if anyone wanted to join me. Unfortunately, their schedules didn't allow them to but Susan and I gamely slid onto the ice this morning. I had a blast! It was really nice to be on skates again and it came back to me like riding a bicycle. I held the wall a bit at first but quickly moved into the traffic flow around the rink. It was a lot of fun and I think I had a smile on my face almost the entire time. Susan said that I can tell you guys that it started out about 20% fun for her but it went up from there as the time went on. She even mentioned wanting to take some lessons.

In other news, for those of you who like good television, Joss Whedon's new series, "Dollhouse", premiered on Friday night. I liked it. It's definitely different from his other shows: "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Angel", and "Firefly". It isn't funny all the time but there are some humorous moments. It does, however, have quintessential Joss mythology and the teaser-like end of the episode left me wanting more. In addition, Eliza Dushku is a great actress and it's really nice to see her dominate the screen mentally as well as physically. Unfortunately, Fox's promotions for the show are terrible. They are trying to make it seem like their Friday night line-up is only about beautiful, sexy, young women kicking butt and blowing stuff up. There is so much more to the show than that (and also, not any of that in the first episode at all) but I think it's going to alienate some of the audience who might otherwise watch this show. Please give "Dollhouse" a chance!

Thanks to those of you who sent support and donations to me for my participation in the Muscular Dystrophy Association's "Lock-up" Fundraiser. I raised a lot of money and had a great time. I sent most of you the link to the youtube video I created about my experience, but if you need me to send it to you again just let me know.

My sister reminded me again that I haven't really posted much about my trip to visit my family. I had a great time and it was nice to see Dad & Jan, Aunt Katherine, Uncle JB, Jocelyn, Sam (not Sammy anymore), Mom, Becky, Ken, Jacob, & Tyler. There was an awful lot of driving involved but I'm glad I did it. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see my friends from high school and college but I will try to schedule another trip at some point, just to do that. Highlights from my trip (besides getting to see everyone) were watching football with my dad (even though my team lost), walking Sadie (the adorable dog) with my Uncle, and holding my baby nephew Tyler. I also got to play on my nephew Jacob's Wii (evidently I ski jump really well). Okay, this was a pretty long post. I think I'll stop this one now. :)

I'm going to jail!

2009-02-10T22:44:00.003-05:00

For those of you who missed my email, I'm getting locked up tomorrow. Yup, you read that correctly. "They" are putting me away "for good". A good cause, that is. From 2pm to 3pm I will be "locked up" to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. I've raised almost $400 so far. If you'd like to help, please either contribute on the secure website the MDA set up for me (I emailed most of you the link a couple of days ago, I know it took me two tries, sorry---insert sheepish grin here) or bring it to my office and my co-workers will get it to me. You can also call me on my cell if you need more info. Thanks for helping out. I'll let you know how it goes.

How to Stay Warm

2009-02-05T21:22:00.003-05:00

So, I was walking by the bank clock again on my way home tonight and noticed that it was 15 degrees out. I, however, didn't feel particularly cold. I realized that this was due to all the layers I was wearing and thought you all might appreciate me sharing. To that end, from the ground up, here's what I was wearing today:

Hiking boots
Wool Socks
Longjohns
Pair of Jeans
Long sleeve t-shirt
Short sleeve t-shirt
Lightweight wool sweater
Fleece vest
Down jacket
Heavy, Thinsulate-lined, Gloves
Fleece, neck wrapping, hoodie
Knitted cap

I hope you all enjoy our six more weeks of winter! :)

Wild Turkeys!

2009-02-04T20:43:00.002-05:00

Yesterday morning before I went to work I found myself looking out our kitchen window. To my pleasant surprise I saw a flock of wild turkeys crossing our driveway. They were big birds and there were quite a few of them. It was a nice image for me to start my day with. I don't think Casey was quite as happy about it, however, because she'd been barking on and off for awhile prior to my seeing them.

Puns & Pals

2009-02-02T21:42:00.002-05:00

I'm quite proud of this one (mainly because I haven't done this in a long time): Steve brought over Sushi on Saturday night. After we had eaten we were discussing which car we should take to his mom's house the next day and who should do the driving. He looked at me and said, "I figured that since I bribed you with raw fish you would offer to drive." To that I replied, "So, this is a squid pro quo?" We both burst out laughing and had to tell Susan, which started her laughing as well.

In other news, I attended another "Free Soup & Games Night" in the town where I work. I only had one bowl of soup this time (potato & cheddar) because I also had a slice of flatbread pizza (new potatoes, caramelized onions, and-yuck!-bleu or gorgonzola cheese) and an amazing (hot out of the oven) pecan roll. Yummy! My co-workers couldn't come, and I didn't see the producer I was supposed to meet there, so I ended up at Tom's table again. This time I met two nice older women and we played Scrabble. I didn't do too badly. I came in third, but I put down some good words. After Tom and Johanna left, Faith taught me a game I hadn't played before. It's called "Quiddler" and it's a word game with cards. Each card has a letter, or two letter combination, on it and a point value. You are dealt and increasing number of cards each hand (from 3 up to 10 as the game progresses) and have to make words with them. It was fun and I picked it up quickly. I'm going to see if I can find a copy of the game for myself. I almost forgot, Tom also introduced me to a word game that only requires two people, paper, and writing implements. Each person picks a secret, five letter, word. The other player guesses a five letter word and the player whose word it is tells them if any of the letters in their guess are in their secret word. Play continues back and forth until someone correctly guesses the other person's word. It sounds like a game I'd like to try.

I weathered the storm. :)

2009-01-29T22:08:00.002-05:00

I worked from home yesterday so I didn't have to brave the sleet & freezing rain we had. I really love being able to work from home occasionally. I stayed in my PJs all day and got to pet Casey whenever I felt like it. Today, on my way back to my car after work, I noticed a couple of pretty things. The first was a conjunction of a planet (Venus maybe?) and the quarter Moon. The second was the lights pointing up at a statue from under the snow and ice. That was cool! Oh, and I had an interesting dream last night involving my family and the TV show "The Eleventh Hour". I wrote it down and will hopefully post it on my dream blog soon. I hope you are all well. Oh, and I will probably post soon about my recent trip down the coast to see my family. My sister pointed out to me that I haven't really mentioned it on here yet. I had a good time but have been recovering from a cold since I returned. I'm focusing on getting enough sleep and fluids so I haven't been posting as much.

I had a great time at Jessie's wedding.

2009-01-25T00:26:00.003-05:00

She was a beautiful bride and she and Matt are a great couple! I'm exhausted but I sang well, ate yummy food, and danced a lot. I was really nervous about singing because I've been sick and I was terrified that I would embarrass them. Everyone was impressed and I was relieved. Unfortunately, I think I may have overdone it because I don't feel so hot right now. I'm glad to have these wonderful memories of a beautiful, loving time that involved lots of friends coming together. :)

What a great inauguration speech!

2009-01-20T21:41:00.002-05:00

I'm really glad I got to watch it. We broadcast the three hours of special coverage by "Democracy Now" from Freespeech TV and I turned the sound up because we ended up with about 15 of us crammed into the small foyer in our office where the TV is. It was a nice way to get to know some of the other tenants in our office building. The folks from Community Action were having trouble with their reception so they asked if they could join us. Some people cried, a lot of us clapped, and everyone was glad they had seen it. I really hope this begins some positive change for our country and it was amazing to watch history taking place. It's about time! :)

Sara & Grissom, yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-01-15T22:13:00.002-05:00

CSI SPOILER ALERT!:

Hooray for Jerry Bruckheimer! He put Sara & Grissom together for a happy ending on tonight's CSI. I even teared up a little but I'm really happy. Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Wow, two posts in one night.) :)

Kids still say the darndest things!

2009-01-15T18:13:00.004-05:00

Guess what my sister told me today? Last night my five and a half year old nephew asked her, "Mommy, do you know where babies come from?" With a smile on her face my sister replied, "we get them from the store". Jake said, "no! The daddy puts his penis in the mother's vagina". (Jake got a book about the human body for Christmas and he really likes it. The other day he was telling me all about the organs and systems of the body. He also asked Becky what a fallopian tube is. I guess he found the part about the reproductive system!) :)

I have a digital camera!

2009-01-13T10:46:00.002-05:00

Mom got a new one so she gave me hers. Yay! I'll post a pic as soon as I get some batteries for it. :)

Stupid Giants! :(

2009-01-11T20:12:00.002-05:00

Arrrggh! Why is it that when I get excited about a team, and actually watch or listen to a game, that the team I root for loses? Oh, well. Now I'll be rooting for the Baltimore Ravens because Trevor Pryce (Price?, I can't remember how he spells his last name) and I were at school together. For those of you who don't know, he was really nice and even stopped kids from picking on me at one point. Go Trevor! :)

Ice storm today!

2009-01-07T12:04:00.002-05:00

I am home today due to the storm and I'm getting some rest and relaxation. There's a "Stargate: Atlantis" marathon on Sci. Fi. Channel because they are leading up to the series finale that will be shown on Friday night. I'm taking care of some necessary chores and then I'll probably go back to bed for awhile. I still feel like I'm fighting a cold or something.

Susan and I had an adventure today!

2009-01-04T21:04:00.002-05:00

This morning, Susan and I awoke to discover that the furnace had conked out again. It was 56 degrees in here at one point! Susan spent a good part of the day cleaning out a part of the exhaust system, with me assisting towards the end. Somehow this always happens on a weekend or holiday but we called the heating & plumbing company that installed the furnace and they sent a guy out to look at it. He quickly diagnosed the problem and began to fix it. The next thing I know, I'm hearing a small explosion from the basement. Susan and I both went running down the stairs asking if the guy was all right. We found him sitting on the floor of the room saying, "I don't know". The furnace had backfired and sent extremely hot air, soot, & ash directly into his face. We brought him upstairs and I called 911. The paramedics quickly arrived and, eventually, took the repairman to a local hospital for more treatment. He was in good spirits and kept asking worriedly if his goatee had been singed. A short time ago the company sent someone to pick up his truck and they told us that he's doing well and will be seeing an eye specialist tomorrow. Susan and I are just glad that he's okay. Oh, and the company sent another person out this evening to finish the repair so we aren't living in a refrigerator anymore. :)