It's all about the stuffing and other stuff

Anyone who knows me at all, knows that I love the stuffing. And nobody does it better than Grandma. That woman outdid herself this year and a fun Thanksgiving was had by all. I must admit that we probably had the most entertaining conversation around the table on Thanksgiving this year. I haven't laughed so hard in quite some time, as Loni and Scott shared with us that Jackson already knows about girl and boy parts.

I have to give a huge shout out to Jeff for requesting Grandma's famous coffee cake. I woke up in the middle of the night Thanksgiving Eve and said to myself (I'm not making this up - this really happened), oh no, I didn't ask for the coffee cake. Thankfully, Jeff was on his toes this year and asked for it. He and Lee were missed at the Thanksgiving table.

It was a really good few days off. Although Adam and I went our separate ways on Thanksgiving Day (we both wanted to spend Thanksgiving with our families - so we did), we spent the rest of the weekend together and it was a lot of fun. Some highlights included going to Pawtuckaway and seeing a really big owl devouring a grey squirrel - of course, I forgot the camera on that trip. But take my word for it, it was super cool. In addition to the wildlife, we watched the movie, Elf and it inspired us to attempt making our own gingerbread house.

After assembling it, we decided that our gingerbread house would probably be in the ghetto. And, I felt like a bear getting ready to hibernate as we made it - one gumdrop for me, one for the house, one tootsie roll for me, one for the house - and so on. Needless to say, I will be taking a break from the sweets for awhile. Below you will see the fruits of our labor.

As we baked the gingerbread, the ever-optimistic Kobe waits for some to land on the floor.

The aerial view. Note the candy cane fence in the far right of the picture - we tried to hold it up with fluff...If you're going to build a house, don't use fluff - it moves.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

We're in the midst of our first little burst of snow, I'm feeling like a little kid again. The first snow does that! Kobe and I took an early lunch and I took some pictures. Enjoy!

Big, happy sigh

"My flight was cancelled in Atlanta, so I had to be re-booked on another flight. What a mess."

"I had a three hour delay in Salt Lake."

I overheard several of these travel stories while checking into my hotel in NY last week. Secretly smiling to myself, because - for once - my travel experience was a breeze. The train was just so pleasant...No hustle and bustle. Show up, find a nice roomy, comfy seat and then head to your destination. I experienced no delays, the people were so friendly. It was just an all around great experience.

As for Manhattan, as one of my cab driver's said, "ahhh, it's just crazy..." At least the part of the city I was in, was. I was in mid-town, right in Times Square. It was cool though. I had a good time, feeling proud that this country bumpkin was able to hold her own in the big city. I was there to conduct interviews with some of our authors (while being videotaped!) for our web site. This was a big project that I had been working on for the last several months, working with them to craft some questions and just hammering out logistics. Thankfully, all of that hard work paid off, and everything went smoothly. Phew. So happy to have that behind me!

It was a really good trip, one thing I love about NY is being surrounded by people that are so different from me. I love hearing different accents and languages. For some reason, it makes the world seem a lot smaller and it's energizing.

I missed my boys though, and I'm happy to be home.

Riding the rails

Tomorrow I head to NYC for work (I always want to say Neeew Yooork Citaaaay?! - like the cowboys in that salsa commercial when I say New York City). Don't you? Anyway, I'm taking the train instead of flying this time. I'm told by my fellow co-workers that this is the way to go. Way more comfortable, a lot less hassle, more laid back. So, we'll see.

Back in my first job out of college, I did a lot of traveling for alumni events. I was an Assistant to the Director of Alumni Relations at a private secondary school. One of my former bosses was deathly afraid of flying...So, he never did it. But, he had to travel all the time for work, so he always took the train. On one of our trips, we joined him on the train. We flew into Denver meeting him there and rode the train all the way to San Francisco. It was one of the best travel experiences I've had so far. The scenery was incredible - through the Rockies and Sierra Nevada's. Just a good time.

I'm looking forward to my train ride tomorrow, usually I dread traveling to NY. The past couple of times, I've had huge delays trying to get home out of Laguardia and flying isn't on the top of my list of favorite things to do...Which you already know.

I'll let ya know! I won't be posting for the next couple of days, cause I'll be pretty busy. I'm sure to have some good stories to come home with and I'll share them when I return.

News from the 'hood

Although I've always known it to be true, apparently now it's official: Kobe is THE best dog. I've been stopped by two neighbors telling me that the other night in the clubhouse, a few folks started discussing the pups from the 'hood and Kobe was the unanimous favorite. I've had people coming over to bring him treats and everything. No joke. Kobe is da bomb.

Additionally, did you know that fairies fly South for the winter? According to four-year-old Maddy, she has it from a reliable source (the fairies themselves) that this is in fact true. No, they don't have coats to wear. I asked. So they have no choice but to head to a warmer climate. I also learned from Miss Maddy that the leaves will be growing back in some pretty cool colors, come spring. Be on the lookout for pink and purple leaves popping up. Should be quite the sight to see.

I finally got around to watching the movie, Sicko this weekend. If you haven't seen it, see it. If you have, what did you think? I'm curious.

If you haven't heard of this movie, here's a link:

http://www.michaelmoore.com/sicko/index.html

Oh, lordy!

I was talking to a realtor yesterday about potential rental homes for us to take a look at when we head down to FL for our pre-move trip. Of course, she was trying to "sell" Florida to me and "this is a buyer's market - we may want to consider buying instead of renting..." I stopped her in her tracks.

No way, sister - this is a short stop in our life trip. A) we're so not buying in a hurricane zone B) we're only going to be there long enough for Adam to learn how to fly a helicopter, build his hours and then we're gettin' the heck out. Just doesn't make sense to buy anything.

So as she continues trying to sell the Sunshine State to me she says..."Well, the summers can be (pause) rough. But how much do you really need to be outside anyway." I laughed at her. Seriously. And proceeded to tell her that we probably spend more time outside than in. Then she tried to sell me on surfing...Eventually she got the idea that, no really - we just want to rent - and we got to talking about some rentals and what we're looking for.

As I search craigslist to get an idea of rent costs I'm reading ads that include phrases like..."no stairs...one level" and I'm noticing that there are a lot of "Adult Communities". We're not going into this move with rose colored glasses. We know that this is not going to be our dream place to live. But, that's not why we're going. We're going with a purpose.

Adam has a dream and this is the place we need to be temporarily, while he works on fulfilling it. And building a better life for both of us. So. We'll go, and we'll deal - together. And we'll make the best of our time in a place that neither of us ever thought we'd find ourselves. Cause I know - if I had a dream that lead us there, he'd come along for the ride too.

I've started a list of things to do while I'm there. What should I add to it? Of course, "lucky" for you, I'll blog all about em as I start checking them off.

1. Airboat ride through the Everglades.
2. Sit by the river and watch the manatees.
3. Watch a shuttle launch.
4. http://www.orlandowatersports.com/ (how fun does this look??)
5. Visit the Keys.
6. Go to one of those cheesy alligator parks. You know the ones I'm talking about - where they dangle the chicken above the Gators and they snap at it.
7. Take advantage of an Early Bird Special.

You're welcome to join me for any and all of the above! Hint, hint.

Yummy in my tummy

I love trying new coffee flavors. I get bored with the same one day after day after day. Right now, I'm enjoying a cup of Green Mountain's Pumpkin Spice. It's got the same great taste of Shipyard's Pumpkin Head Ale - sans alcohol - cause that would just be a bad idea. Alcohol, 8:30 AM - working from home. Although, that does really sound good...Hmmmm.

Got a favorite coffee? What should I try next?

Because I can't think of anything else to write and I don't feel like working...

As I said, I curled up on the couch and watched some movies on Saturday. I ended up renting one of my favorites, because a lot of the new releases were gone - due to the storm. So, if I asked you what your top 5 goofy movies are - these aren't changing the world, but you could watch them over and over again. What would you say?

Mine:

1. Meet the Parents..."Are you a pothead, Focker??!!" I'm laughing just thinking about that movie.
2. Beautiful Girls
3. Sleepless in Seattle
4. Bring it On "It's already been broughten." Laughing again.
5. Adventures in Babysitting - I so wanted to be Elizabeth Shue!

A good little weekend

Loni and Jackson are troopers, for sure. I called them up on Saturday morning and said..."Hey, Noel is passing by - surf's supposed to be pretty large, wanna go check it out with me?" They said yes. Yeee haw! Off we went to the beach. Look at how happy they were to be there...

It was a pretty quick trip to the beach, due to the nasty weather. But the surf was definitely up...

Overall, I had a really nice weekend. Got to spend some time with the Newmarket Rowe's and then had some quality alone time, curled up on the couch watching some movies as Noel's rain pounded at my windows.

Sunday, Adam and I got into serious planning mode for our venture South for heli school. One of the major steps to Adam being able to attend school, will be selling his beloved project of many years. The Jeep. So, if you know anyone in the market for a super cool off/on road Jeep - let us know. I think, no - I know, his heart is breaking just a little bit to part with the Jeep. Sad.

Surf's Up!

We're supposed to get the remnants of Hurricane Noel today and tomorrow. This means some pretty big swells. So, I'm heading to North Beach to check 'em out. Hopefully I'll have some good surf carnage caught on video for you. I'll do what I can!

"Whatcha doing?!"

My new little four-year-old neighbor LOVES Kobe. She's home most days, and so am I. I leave the door open for Kobes to go in and out throughout the day...At first I found it a little annoying that I lost my peace and quiet. But she's sweet and I think a little bored:

Maddy: Heeeeeey!!!! Whatcha doin'? (as she pokes her head in my house)
Amy: Workin'. Nothing exciting.
Maddy: You gotta go to the post office today? (that's usually where I'm headed when I'm running out and she's out there)
Amy: Yeah, in a little bit.
Maddy: Oh. Well, I can keep Kobe busy while you're workin' if ya want.
Amy: OK, I'm sure he'd love that. Go for it.

A few minutes of silence.

Maddy: Heeeyyy! I tried to get him to play with his chicken, but he's just lying there.
Amy: Yeah, he does that. Sorry - he's a lazy old man.
Maddy: Hmmm. Well, I think I'm gonna go home.
Amy: OK. Bye!

A little while later...I walk out the door to go run some errands.

Maddy: Heeeeeyyyy! Whatcha doin? Goin' to the post office?
Amy: Yep.
Maddy: But you're gonna come back?
Amy: Yeah.
Maddy: When? Soon?
Amy: Yep, be home in just a bit.
Maddy: OK, well, I can play with Kobe when you get back?
Amy: Sure.

And so it goes...

To the Girlie out West

As I'm sending as much positive energy to my friend/cousin out West as I possibly can, everyday to heal and be well...Today I started thinking how lucky we are that she pushed us to do this whole blog thing. Some of us entered - reluctantly and with skepticism. But I'm glad we're all here.

Now that Halloween is over (yay!), tis the season for feeling thankful and well, I'm really glad we're blogging about what's happening in our lives. I'm getting to know some of you in ways that - living thousands of miles apart - I just wouldn't. We get to have little glimpses into what we're all up to and I'm really happy about that.

I'm glad that Mike joined us and that I got to participate in his little baseball playoff thingy. And that he's keeping us up-to-date on what's happening with the PA Warner's. Who knew Cody was such a poet? And it's cool to check in on Gary's blog - because well, we just never know what he's going to say next! And heck, I might not have even known that Jeff is in school had it not been for the blogs. OK, I might have, but with the blogs, we get little progress reports that we wouldn't have. And Karen, when she's done with school, hopefully she'll have some more time to let us know what she's up to.

Jen, Marc, Loni & Scott keep me laughing with their little kid and chicken stories and although I really don't get Marc's sense of "humor" it's fun to try and figure it out. And who the heck's Grandmother has a blog but ours? Not many!

Wherever our crazy lives may take us, I think it's just great that we can log on and find out a little bit more about each other. In between our real-life visits. And, "meet" new people, hi Lori! So let's keep it up. And thanks, Mag.

Oh, and Mom - I have started my list for the round-the-table "what i'm thankful for..." get ready - it's gonna be good this year. Heck yes it is.