Favorite Comic Strip of All Time

My House (inspired by Gretch again)

My house is not my own, but has been generously provided by my Auntie B for a very generous rental fee. We intend to buy a house of our own some time this winter but this had provided a wonderful place for me and Chris (and Manny) while we save and I work in Massachusetts :-)

My house (like Gretchen's) is usually covered in a layer of dog fur. We vacuum/swiffer frequently but it just seems to never go away. Manny is like Pig Pen in the Charlie Brown cartoons with a cloud of fur flurrying around him at any given time

Most of the house is reasonably clean and tidy however our bedroom leaves a lot to be desired. I have had a life long habit of leaving clothes everywhere, and alas marriage has not changed this trait. I try and try to be better, but it is just my biggest struggle domestically speaking :-)

My house holds a wealth of exercise equipment that is rarely/never used. Chris started our marriage calling my exercise ball "in the corner ball" and will have conversations occasionally with it and how it is not used. When we moved to this new house he renamed it "in the basement ball" and has proceeded to tell me how occasionally he runs into "in the basement ball" in the kitchen at night when he goes to get a snack. Apparently "in the basement ball" would like to see some more action. Well "in the basement ball" can hope. Besides I don't know what he is complaining about he has "in the basement eliptical" and "in the basement yoga mat" to keep him company. Perhaps he is just jealous that "in the basement ab-rocket" graduated to "in the family room ab-rocket". Anyway I digress.

Hmm...this blog is getting a bit lengthy. Perhaps I will tell you more about my house tomorrow.

Need some inspiration...

Can't really think of anything particularly interesting to write today.

It's Monday. I am mourning the weekend.

Thinking about homeownership, and what I am really willing to pay...houses are expensive and I would really like to stay in Wakefield if possible.

Joke from Joseph

Joseph was offended I didn't include his joke in the earlier "joke" blog, so here it is.  It takes a minute to get it...at least it did for me :-) haha

Two goldfish are in a tank.  One says to the other, "you man the guns, I'll drive!"

Brain Vomit (inspired by Gretchen)

Here are the thoughts/emotions that are currently bouncing around in my head:

I love my job, just wish I didn't have to be here right now. I am tired and would rather be sleeping. Thank goodness this is only a 4 day week!

Money - Always envisioned myself as the stay at home mom, but honestly I make more and Chris is a trained teacher. Maybe it makes more sense for him to stay home when the time comes. That's his argument anyway. Depending on the day I agree or disagree. Hard to let go of something you have always just assumed would happen

Fat (I am ) - Ugh...I am sick of dieting, but I am also sick of being fat. Really need to figure out how to just slay this dragon. I have been exercising more, but need to get my diet figured out. One day I think Atkins, the next I think Weight Watchers. The problem is if you don't commit to one or the other you are just eating high-carb hich-fat everything. Not a good plan!

Red Sox Envy

Have I mentioned lately how much I love my job? Well I do, especially for perks like this. The magazine association in Boston hosted a media party at Fenway Park on Tuesday and we had a blast. Went through the Red Sox locker room, sat in the duggout, tooks some swings in Red Sox batting cages and had a great meal at the EMC club. See a multitude of pics below.

Red Sox Locker Room

Red Sox Locker Room
Sarah Lerz , Me, Suzy Hill
Sarah L, Casey M, Suzy H.
Leaning over the rail like the pros do
View from the duggout

Weird being in the park when it is empty

Go Sox!
We got 3 swings each in the batting cages. I hit 2 out of 3 (not bad)
Then up to the Green Monsta'
View from the Monsta' seats (getting a little dark)

Go Red Sox!

This Weekend in Bullet Points

Pics to follow...eventually.

Thursday:

• Company summer party. Lobster bake for lunch- Yummy! Many weird games to encourage "teamwork", ended with a large majority of the company playing beer pong (hmm)

Friday:

• 30th birthday party for our friend Kylie at our friends house. Good time, but not enough food for everyone. Cowboy themed. Karaoke machine was present. Had fun singing Dixie Chicks songs

Saturday:

• Welcome Home party for Chris's high school friend Matt. He has been in NYC for 10 years for college and then his residency at Mount Sinai hospital. He and his wife just moved back to Hollis, NH. It was fun to see all of the gang, and the mini gang that is developing now that everyone is having babies :-)

Sunday:

• After church we headed down to Boston Harbor with our friends Flip and Christie. We packed a yummy picnic and hopped a ferry to the Spectacle Island. It was about a 15 minute ride over to the island. We had great weather and a yummy lunch. Sangria, deli sandwiches, fruit, wine...good times. The guys played a lot of frisbee and Christie and I chatted and got some sun. Really relaxing day.

That's it for now :-)

Jokes from a Nun

A long time ago Chris befriended a nun who was a patient of his mother's up on Manchester, NH. It is been a few years since he had seen Sister Gertrude, so he and his mom went for a visit the other day. She is now 97, but apparently is only the 2nd oldest of the sisters, and is apparently still able to tell a joke or two. These jokes were right up my dorky alley, so I thought I would share with all of you.

Two hats were hanging on a hat stand. One hat said to the other "I'll see you later, I am going on a head"

One strawberry says to another strawberry "If you weren't so fresh you wouldn't be in this jam"

Other favorites of mine:

Have you heard about the corderoy pillow? It's making headlines

A man walks into the library and up to the librarian and says "I would like a big mac and fries please". The librarian says "Sir, this is a library". The man looking very appologetic lowers his voice to a whisper and say "oh sorry, I would like a big mac and fries please" (in hind sight that one really needs to be told out loud).

Anyway, enough window into my strange sense of humor for today :-)

S

All about the pics

Well clearly I am all about the pics, so here are some more from last weekend :-)
Saturday we drove 3 hours up to Maine for our friend Laura's wedding. It was really pretty and she looked great.

Me and Chris (Chris cut his hair with the dog clipper and used the wrong clip hence the short hair)
Sunday was the annual Cieto/Gartner/Castanino Mini Golf Championship. We were the defending champs, but alas it was not meant to be this year :-( Next year...next year...


Lisa exhibiting her skills
Chris's mom Dale taking a very tricky shot

Brother-in-law Don, and Chris's sister Lisa 2008 Champions

More random pics from the weekend

The view from our seats

Sara Bareilles backdrop
Sara herself


Counting Crows




Maroon 5

random pics

Dinner with friends (Chris, Melissa, Flip, Joel)
Christie, me, Melissa, Erin

Whirlwind Weekend

Well this was a whirlwind weekend, but we had a blast! Friday night Chris and I went to see Batman: The Dark Knight at the IMAX theater. If you have the opportunity, I definite recommend seeing it in IMAX. It was awesome. Also, I still heart Christian Bale...but I digress.

Saturday we had a lazy day, then headed down to the Comcast Center for the Maroon 5 concert. It was fantastic. Sara Bareilles opened ("Not Gonna write you a love song"), then Counting Crows, and finally Maroon 5. We had awesome seats (thanks to my Boston Globe rep), and VIP parking (which was especially appreciated since it was pouring buckets when we arrived).



Lastly, on Sunday we headed to church and then out to lunch and the Museum of Science with our friends Philip (Flip) and Christie. We went to see Baseball as America, a new exhibit at the MoS. It was pretty neat. They have tons of stuff on loan from the Baseball Hall of Fame, including Curt SHillings bloody sock. It was cool to see all of that history, and how baseball has played such a part in oiur history as a nation, but I felt they could have made it a lot more interactive.
Anyway, that is the short recap. More pics to come when I upload them from my camera!

Last Weekend

Well this last weekend was a lot of fun so here is a little recap.

Friday night a group of us went up to Lowell and had dinner outside during the Lowell Folk Festival. There was a lot of good music (and also a lot of not so good music), but it was a beautiful night and it was fun to enjoy dinner and walking around with friends. (Pics to follow when I can upload them).

Saturday was my friend Laura's bridal shower/bachelorette party. She gets married on August 9th up in Maine. Can't wait!
Anyway, the party was really fun. We started out the night at Grafton Street restaurant in Harvard Square. We had a semi-private area in the back for our group, which was great since we planned a bit of a lingerie shower. We laugh, we joked, we gave advise it was a great time. Laura got some beautiful things that I am sure she will really enjoy. Below are some pictures.

Martha Vineyard Photos in no particular order