A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in.

April Break So Far

Friday
4:20pm Got out of work and drove to New Haven to meet Kendra. Walked to Archie Moore's to have a drink and order out.
8:00pm Went to vacuum the Jeep. This made me very happy.
8:20pm Went to Alicia's to meet up with her and Heather. Caught up on life for a couple hours.
11:30pm Watched The Perfect Getaway.

Saturday
9:00am Finished watching the movie from the night before.
10:00am Watched The Invention of Lying.
12:00pm Started cleaning. It's going to take more than a couple hours...
2:00pm Went to the gym. Obviously.
3:50pm Bought 2 tickets to Jack Johnson for the July 9th show in Hartford. Yay! This is present number 2 for JT and JP. Our trip is present number one.
4:10pm Bought 2 Amtrak tickets for an overnight ride from San Francisco to Seattle on June 25th and a sleeping room. I think it's going to be the best train ride ever.

So far break is great,
JP

If you have accomplished all that you have planned for yourself, you have not planned enough.

First, Easter.


This pictures sums up my Easter weekend well. I drove up Thursday night and bright and early Friday morning I was up with Cris and the kids while they got ready for the day. Nate likes waking me up when I'm at the house. They came into the room around 5:30. Maddie picked out a dress JT got her and a sweater. We got downstairs and she added wings and a tutu to the outfit. She was the happiest girl in the house before 6am. About 15 minutes later Nate had managed to lock himself in the running car. He was 'driving'. I was able to get him to unlock the passenger's side so I could join in his fun. I pulled him from the car before he had a clue and off to school they went.

I went into Cris and JT's classes that morning and afternoon to see how things ran and gave a few times for the kids. 7th grade and kindergarten are very different worlds but both earned extra time outside that day. I ended up lifting an entire class of 5 year olds onto some zip line thing before making the rule of 'only one turn for everyone'. I got to see JT's new place, we drove back to Auburn, dropped off the Jeep at the movie theater and went to the house to play with the kids. We ended up going to a Chinese restaurant (it was great) and to see Shutter Island (also good).





Saturday was Daddy and Nate day, and Girls' day. JT, Cris and I went shopping with Maddie. All day she asked for shoes. All day. And picked out dresses. She ended up with 2 pairs of shoes and 2 dresses. I also found the flip flops sage ate last fall at the Pacsun outlet in Freeport. Exciting! We got back to the house and played outside for a while. JT and I went to the store. We picked up the house and made dinner. And then we all called it a night.


The next morning was Easter morning. We got up early to get baskets and find eggs. By we I mean we all woke up and the kids got baskets. Maddie is really good when you give her a direction. Nate gets distracted. :) After sleeping a couple more hours I got up and got ready. Before attempting to go to church I was able to get the kids to take a few pictures. Thankfully. Cris didn't think about taking pictures.


After a failed attempt at going to church we decided to go visit Dave's grandparents. Nate and Cris rode with me and we decided we needed a little coffee and a snack. Nater has already eatten more Munchin's than I have in my lifetime.


We drove down to Dayton to Dan and Michelle's for the Lavigne Easter events. A mini Lavigne family photo op.

The last week has been busy. I picked up 3 new 4th graders this week. 2 for consulting and suggestions. 1 for an FBA. I've been sick and took most of this week off from the gym. Like last week. I'm on some meds to kick the sinus infection and what ever else is going on in my body. By the end of next week I'll be done taking the meds and in better health.

I have a week of break ahead of me. More to come.
JP

But I awake each day with the new sunrise.

The rest of March

I didn't go out for St. Patty's day this year. By the time I got home that afternoon I really didn't have the energy.

Cris and JT came to visit that weekend. They got in with enjoy time to go to Bradley and Wall for a quick lunch before Cris got her hair cut and JT and I went back to the preschool.





We went to Fired Up to paint a few things and have a snack and a beer.


After dropping things off at the apartment we walked to the pub to have a couple beers.


JT took some pictures.


While we got ready for bed.


Cris was excited and liked expressing it through jazz hands.

The next day we went to the outlets for a few hours, stopped by Heather's to visit with her, Alicia and Michael, went to Erin's for a bit for a little ACES party, made sundaes and watched a movie. Sunday we were up and moving early and the girls were on the road before 9am.

The rest of March went by quickly. My tattoo finished healing for the second time and it looks much better. I started a couple more books but didn't finish any. March 31st marked 50 days left of the regular school year.

Next stop, April...
JP

The First 12 Days of March

During these first 12 days I've had an eye twitch. I'm not sure what that is. It actually started last month but comes and goes. Other than that, it's been pretty random.


Kendra and I started a book club. It's just the two of us. So far we haven't talked books but we have gotten together for the last 2 Thursday and I think the Friday before that. This picture is from the 4th. Dobbs liked my shoes. He did the same thing this week with some brown flats. We've decided it's our B club. Beer, Books, Boys and Bitching. It's like the UMF Hockey Club guys nights... minus the possible porn. We may get together this Wednesday for St. Patrick's day.


Last Saturday, the 6th, I changed my headlight. Sometime last month I noticed a small hole in my right headlight. I think someone shot at it with a bb. Suckers. The light finally went out some time during the week which forced me to change it.


Changing the light was more than popping a little bulb in through the back of the headlight. With Jeeps it's the whole headlamp. It took me a while to figure out how to get the light out and lots of muscle to unscrew everything. The end product was a working light. Woot!


While I was changing the light is when I got the text saying Heather had the baby. He arrived Saturday morning at 8:43, weighing in at 9.5 pounds and 21.5 inches. Big baby. His name, Michael Joshua. Michael after her dad and Joshua after Josh (her hubby). I wasn't allowed to know the sex or name of the baby until I shared my dream from the previous weekend. The Sunday before I had a dream where I was laying next to a little baby boy named Brian, and the baby was Heather's. It completely threw me off because I spent the entire 9 months convinced she was having a girl. Once I remembered I was supposed to share my dream, I got the details. Alicia and I went to Yale - New Haven Hospital to visit on Sunday. This is the only picture I took of him while there. And I took it with my phone. Heather and Josh fell asleep while we were there. Heather's mum and Larry came to visit. We took a picture and snuck out. :)


This week the weather has been warmer. I'm looking forward to spring and summer. I wore a skirt this week. I wrote flip flops in that day due to wet toenails but changed later on... and it was kind of cold that day. We're supposed to have 3 or 4 days of rain and then the sun will be back out. Tomorrow is daylights savings and we lose and hour. But the first day of spring is next weekend. Yay spring! Let's get it going. This is a picture of Denise's strawberries from Thursday.

Yesterday: Was one of those days. I was on time leaving in the morning, which is rare. I'm usually running behind and rushing to get out the door. I packed my things and ran out the door. Once the door shut I realized I didn't have my keys. This is when I proceeded to check my pockets a few times and try the door a few times. I called Lois, my land-lady to find out she is in Florida. I had packed my book and was able to do some reading while I sat in the inside stairwell. After about 30 minutes and my unsuccessful MacGyver (MacGruber? Ha.) attempts, the woman on the first floor (Lois' mother) invited me in to wait for someone to bring me a key. The family owns a construction company but it was closed yesterday. I had to wait for Jennifer (one of Lois' daughters) to come help Nana (92 year old woman downstairs) get ready for the bus to pick her up and bring her to the senior center. Then Jennifer was going to the shop to meet her brother and get my key. I didn't get into my apartment until about 10:15 am. In the mean time I hung out with Nana, did some light reading, played on my new BlackBerry (got it Wednesday), and talked to Jennifer. We also watched some TV at a loud volume. THEN: as I was driving to Ryerson there was some accident or something on the highway where everyone stopped really quickly by the Guilford exit. Oh my land, I thought everyone was going to run into each other. I got off the exit and took 80 into Madison. I called in a 1/2 sick day once I was in and told Berdest I would use the other hour and 20 minutes at some point. The school day went well. Steph Jarvis was sick and told me I was chipper. I'm pretty sure I was just moving faster than normal because I was going to be late for a meeting at another school. After work I drove out to Waterford to get my tattoo touched up a little, only to find the Waterford shop was closed. I used the phone to look up Flatts Tattooing in Groton, called and got directions there. This phone was my saving grace yesterday. Cory fixed it up, gave me tips on how to help the healing process and told me it may do the same thing (there were random lines/ spots without ink) because of the creases in the wrist area. I'm trying to keep it straight. The tattoo actually hurt this time around. Suggestion: don't go get one without being nervous. The adrenaline works in your favor. I drove back to North Guilford to have dinner with Heather, Christine, Stacey and Alicia. And Josh but he went to enjoy some down time. Michael peed on me while I was holding him. I had also seen him the day before and he didn't pee on me then. So now we're close. I'm glad I travel with gym clothes. I'm sharing all this because I'm really glad I'm at a place where these things are unfortunate but don't really bother me or ruin my day.

Next weekend JT and Cris come to visit. Mini missions? We'll see.
JP

Baby Boston Cream Pies

Making March Sweeter
Requested by JT

On the 3rd we had a baby shower at Ryerson for Tina. She is due April 2nd but will actually have her last day of school on the 15th due to swelling and high blood pressure. Anyway, we had her baby shower and I made a dessert. As always.

I came across this recipe on a blog of a Southern woman who makes great things. www.southernplate.com This is what she said you need:

- 1 can biscuits (five or ten count, NOT the flaky layers type)
- Vegetable Oil
- Sugar free french vanilla pudding (small box)
- 1 1/2 Cups fat free or low fat milk
- 8 ounces Fat free or light whipped topping
- 1 can chocolate frosting
I didn't use sugar free or fat free items because it was a baby shower.


Pour oil in the frying pan and let it heat up. I think my heat was medium-high and may have been a little too hot but still worked for me. Once the oil is nice and hot, throw some biscuits in. I found doing 2 at a time worked best. I would throw 2 in. Flip them and throw another 2 in. By the time the two new ones were in, the other two were ready to come out. I would then flip the second 2 and throw in 2 more. It took seconds on each side. Once they were browned on both sides they would get moved to a plate with a paper towel.


To make filling, mix pudding and milk together in your mixing bowl. Add whipped topping and mix until well blended. My whipped cream was still semi frozen, which created lumps and took longer to mix in. Let the container thaw first. Fold it over and make sure it's good and mixed.


I used a frosting bag with a pastry tip to pipe it into the donuts. You just poke a hole in them and fill. You can feel the donut puff up as you squeeze the filling in.


I moved some of the frosting to a bowl to heat in microwave. It should be for about thirty seconds but just until it looks more like a glaze. I dipped the top of each mini pie into the glaze and moved them to a glass baking dish to make it easier for fridge storage.


This is what they looked like when they were done. They were really good but I would change a few things. Or one thing. The filling. I think a custard would be much better. The flavor and fluffiness was not my favorite part. The fried up biscuits with chocolate on them were the best part. It made me want to make donuts.

JP

The Love Month Came and Went.

February wrap-up.

I need to get better at writing more often. Last time I wrote I was actually planning on going to Philly and northern VA at the end of February break. The day before I left Cris called to tell me Kate's Grandad passed away and the calling hours and funeral were in Houlton that Saturday. Plans changed and I packed to drive north.

I drove up that Thursday after the gym to get up there in enough time to play with the kids and wait for Dave to come home. It was girls night. :) JT had gone with Cris and the kids to a museum and they had planned on dinner out. Margarita's, Walmart and a movie. We're the coolest ladies ever. "When in Rome" was not the greatest movie and we were the only 3 in there. Nate wandered down the stairs at 10pm. First he asked for a snack, then he asked where JT was, then he asked where his present was. "Auntie, where my present?" I had told him Mrs. Margarita (our friend we were 'visiting') would send a present for him instead of him coming with us. Luckily Cris had Mike an Ikes left over. He got two. He questioned them. I'm pretty sure he thought it was a crappy gift but he accepted it. You can't make promises to a 3 year old. They remember when you forget.

Friday morning Dave took Nate ice fishing with the other males in the family. The goal was to catch a gooey fish. He ended up catching a little fish but not a gooey fish. Gooey Fish: a purple and brown fish that is shiny. And apparently hard to catch. Cris, Maddie and I watched some Olympics, played a little dress up and then went to Freeport to look at packs for the California trip and wander. Originally we were going to go take pictures of the guys fishing but Nater was cold with the wind, so we missed them.


Maddie playing dress-up while watching the Olympics.

Saturday morning Cris and I got up pretty darn early to get ready and drive up to Houlton. I really should have taken a picture of us. Cris looked pretty normal, besides the dress pants and slippers. I was wearing a dress and sweater with a sweatshirt, sweatpants, fuzzy socks and sneakers. And my big blue jacket. I was warm and looked like a weirdo. I realized I hadn't been that far north since Christmas of 2005. Super boring drive. I don't plan on doing that again anytime soon. But, it was nice to see Kate and family. I'm glad we were able to be there for her.


On the way up we stopped in or just before Island Falls to get gas. We were talking about how old the gas pump was when the teen that worked their caught us while washing the windshield. Oops. Ha. And I was taking pictures by leaning across the front seat in my get-up.


The drive back down was much harder than the drive up. Early morning driving with coffee was fine. The 5-ish hours back down weren't as entertaining. We stopped in Winslow to get us some Big G's for late lunch. Mmmm.

When we got back Cris dropped me off and went to Josh's 5th birthday party. I was able to get some stuff done for work while the house was quiet. The four of them came back, the kids ran upstairs for bubbles and pjs, and to bed shortly after. Cris and Dave went to the store, leaving me to listen for the kids and leaving Nate with his giant balloon. He was laying in his sleeping bag staring at the big blue balloon above his head. At one point I heard him moving around so I went to check on him. He had turned on the light to see the balloon better. "Nate, maybe you should close your eyes and think about the balloon." "If I close my eyes me can't seeeeee it." Good point, little man.


Nate wanted a picture of Elle. We then took one of Elle and Other Elle. "Good night, Nate." "You have a good night too!" He's a good kid.

At one point during the weekend we (Nate and I) practiced some self control. He could come sit next to me at the counter and we would practice keeping our hands to ourselves. Every time he would reach out to grab something in front of him he would have to get down from the stool for a couple minutes. I would explain why and tell him we'll try again in a little. He'd walk away bummed and after a couple minutes come back to say he was ready to try again. We'd talk about keeping our hands to ourselves and get up on the stool again. A couple times he reached out to grab things, I'd block his hand and he'd say, "Me getting that for you". It's going to take lots of practice.

The rest of the month went quickly. Seeing that there were only 8-ish days left. That Wednesday was Heather's last day of work. She was in Child Find meetings all day at the Preschool and I was working on a few things in the same building. Between meetings I'd bring her water and snacks, Millie (our lovely nurse) would check her blood pressure and legs due to swelling. It was quite the day. Due to how swollen everything was on Heather, I never left the building, just in case something happened or she needed to go to the doctor. She ended up making it through the day and waited until the next day to go to the doctor.


Heather on the 24th. We were at the preschool just before she left for the day. The next morning the doctor told her she couldn't come to work anymore. She was fine with that... until she was told all she could do is sit and got bored really quickly.

And that was February.
JP

Love is much nicer to be in than an automobile accident, a tight girdle, a higher tax bracket, or a holding pattern over Philadelphia. - Judith Viorst

Happy Valentine's Day! I think in college I was always a cynic or just despised the fact that people felt the need to wear lovey colors and get all mushy one day a year. I remember wearing blue and turning my nose up at things. I don't mind the holiday at all. I remembered to wear pink. I sent people 'Happy v-day" messages. I really like this holiday. Mostly because I get a kick out of calling it v-box day.

Yesterday I got up and ran around. I finished cleaning, got to the gym, Home Deopt and the grocer's. And I hung a mirror that is still hanging. One point for me. Michael and Phil stopped in as part of their brotherly roadtrip and I made them brownie cookie things. We tuned the guitar, we talked and we took pictures. They were lovely. As you know... ;)



Alicia and I had decided to go to dinner and hang out for a while last night. We ate at Su Casa, where they gave us each a single red rose... which is currently over by the stairs. We drove out to Whole Foods and wandered for a while and then went to see Valentine's Day at the movies. Taylor Swift's character was really annoying. I like the ensemble cast aspect. Big names and all some how connected. I would probably watch it again when it comes out on dvd.

Also, Alicia told me people don't call ice cream places 'scoop shops'. I thought a place that you physically scoop ice cream into cones was considered a scoop shop. Maybe that's just her...

Red hearts,
JP