Terceira 2008--Our Trip To The Azores...Part 1
Category: Travel and Places
Hello everybody! I hope you are all well.
As most of you know, we went away on vacation to Terceira for a couple of weeks and now that we have returned, I would like to share some of my pictures with you as well as tell you about the adventure (plus, I've received a couple of impatient comments LOL--love you guys!).
It is impossible to share all the pics, as there are 725 of them in total and that would probably be madness. What I would like to do is break up the blog in several parts and highlight some of the larger events, so I hope that is alright with you.
A little background for those who don't know, my husband was born in Terceira and lived there until we got married and I imported him here to the U.S. My mother is also from this island, but my father is from another island in the Azores (Sao Jorge) so we spent many summers there and that is how I got to know Joe. His family still lives there, so we go back and visit when we can.
Going this year with the kids being a little older was great. They can now appreciate it more and understand what we are showing them and I hope will hold as many memories as I do.
Now, being the diva that I am, I took several days off from work both before going (hey! I had lots to do, ok? ) and after we returned (hello? laundry, cleaning? It's not gonna do itself, ok? )
Once I returned to work, I had been away for about 3 weeks. No good deed goes unpunished (I just wanted to say that, but it really doesn't apply LOL) On Tuesday morning when I walked in my office, I was greeted by the following:
~EXHIBIT A~ ~EXHIBIT B~
Yes, as you can tell, the first is my telephone completely wrapped in scotch tape and the latter is my pens in my pen holder wrapped in scotch tape.
The Office Practical Joke Fairies paid me a visit (Dani and Media...my girls!) and I had a nice laugh with it. I was so amused, that I had to share it with you guys.
Here is a little history about Terceira (with my notes in parens):
Taken from Wikipedia: Terceira is an island in the Azores, in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, with an area of 396.75 km². The island's length is 29 km and the width is 18km; the perimeter is 90 km. Population is 54,996, down from a peak of 59,000.
Terceira's coast is dotted with quaint fishing towns, beaches and lava rocks. To the north are both a rocky coast and a mix of forest and vineyards. To the South are cattle grazing lands and the coastal area surrounding Angra, with its parks and hotels. The wide bay and beach at the pretty town of Praia da Vitória are well worth a visit, as is the lake at Caldeira de Guilherme Moniz, which is the biggest body of water in the Azores after to the ocean. (Didn't go there...oops!)
Away from the coast, Terceira is a wild and hilly landscape perfect for walking or hiking. Much of the interior of the island is a nature reserve. From the heights of the Serra do Cume (yup, went there), a visitor can look down on a patchwork of small farms, stonewalls and grazing cattle. (breathtaking scenery...I will post pics next blog)
Terceira Island consists of four overlapping stratovolcanoes built above a geologic rift called the Terceira Rift. The volcanos rise from a depth of over 1,500 metres (5,000 ft) on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. The youngest and only historically active volcano is Santa Bárbara (went there also-more breathtaking views), which comprises the western end of the island and is its highest point at 1,023 m (3,356 ft).
Most of the island is ringed by coastal cliffs about 20 m (60 ft) high, except on the south coast near Angra do Heroísmo. Here, an eruption of basaltic lava in shallow water formed the tuff cone of Monte Brasil (yup...here too), which protects and shelters the harbor of the island's capital. The cone is about 1 km (0.6 mi) in diameter and rises 205 m (673 ft) above the western side of the harbor.
Terceira Island is divided into the municipalities of Angra do Heroísmo and Praia da Vitória. Angra do Heroísmo, the historical capital of the Azores, is the oldest city in the Azores, dating back to 1534. Its historical centre is classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. (Basically what that means is that it has to be maintained historically--cobblestone roads, no modern windows and the facade of the buildings cannot be altered--there are always exceptions, unfortunately)
The main economic activity in Terceira Island is raising livestock and dairy-based products. The island has two sea ports, one at Angra do Heroísmo and the other at Praia da Vitória, and an air force base (Air Base No. 4) and airport near the town of Lajes. (Denise!!!!)
From Boston, it was a 4 and a half hour (red eye) flight. When you're terrified of flying, that can feel like an eternity! Luckily, the flight was uneventful (barely any turbulence) and with my son getting sick and vomiting all over his blanket, pillow and pants...we had other things on our minds aside from being in an airplane. And, no, it wasn't because of the food...though I will say, rubbery chicken, discolored broccoli and a block of rice may make most cringe.
We were greeted at the airport by all the family and had breakfast at my parents place and then headed up to my in laws house where we would be staying. After a little unpacking and resting, we all sat out front catching some fresh air. The kids were having a blast playing with their newfound friends, the cat and the dog: The cat is 'Montorras' (MON-TOUR-HUS) and he is ginormous! He may as well be a panther or something. Yes, he is on a leash and no, it's not out of cruelty. It is to protect him. Some crazy neighbor doesn't like cats and started setting out poison. Killed the other cat my inlaws had. Plus, he is such a big, lazy cat that if he were on the loose, he would end up laying down for a nap in the middle of the street and get hit by a car. So, you see, it is for his protection.
The dog is 'Tobias' (TWO-BEE-UZ) and he is little and such a cutie. Very playful and always bringing gifts (that's a pinecone in his mouth...when he first came over, I laughed because it looks like teeth LOL) He roams freely and goes and visits the neighbors. Everyone loves him.
The following are a couple of pics of a very normal occurrance in Terceira...cows on the road. To transport the cows from one pasture to another, they are walked down the roads. Creates quite a mess, if you get what I mean, but it is pretty cool to watch. The kids were fascinated.
The next day, we took off to do some exploring...volcano and cave exploring to be exact.
We went here: This is a very popular tourist destination. Most people want to go inside a volcano and check it out. I say most because folks who are claustrophobic are not usually interested. I've gone here a couple of times and think it is more awesome each time I get to go.
Here is a blurb taken online from showcaves.com: Algar do Carvão is a huge, about 100m long lava tube, which is the remains of a some 2000 year old volcanic eruption of the nearby Terra Brava (707m asl). The cave is the now empty tunnel of a lava flow. The name means coal pit in English, and was given to the cave because of the cave walls of dark black lava. Of course there is no coal found on this islands.
Very astonishing is the fact, that this volcanic cave contains stalactites and stalagmites. They were formed by silica, soluted from the lava, not by calcite as in karst caves. This is really exceptional, and the result of a special chemistry of the lava.
The cave is entered by going down stairs inside a shaft, a former vent of the lava flow. The end of the tour is a subterranean lake, formed by rain water. Depending on the season and the amount of rain water, the lake can be up to 15m deep. The whole cave is spacious, the passage is up to 45m in diameter.
The cave and the surrounding area was declared a natural monument after the initiative of the mountaineering club Os Montanheiros.
While inside, as you look up, this is what you see (if the sun is hitting just right):
There is an area that you can walk around before continuing down to the lake that looks like this:
I couldn't get a good pic of the lake because it is just too dark down there and my camera could not capture a clear pic, but on the way down, there were several of these creations:
It was one heck of a workout. I wish I had counted how many stairs there were. Some parts were so narrow that you had to wait for people to come up before you could go down. YIKES! The next stop was:
Here is a blurb taken also from showcaves.com:
Close to the cave are the Furnas do Enxofre, sulfuric springs, well worth a visit. The best time for a visit is early in the morning, as the area gets very hot when the sun shines on the black rocks.
At the cave starts a trail which goes around the Terra Brava. It is said to be probably the most beautiful walk on Terceira. But be careful with bulls, which are bred for bullfights. The walk takes four hours. (No walk for us...bulls? Scary! I wish I had gotten a good pic of them to show you)
Some pics (there is always smoke here and if you walk by close enough to one, it is HOT!):
The walkways:
A random berry that I made Joe hold so I could snap a pic LOL:
Now, for some hardcore cave exploration! We went here:
Another blurb from the web: The Gruta do Natal is considered one of the best caves for anyone new to the different lava features that are to be found in the Azores. This one has so much to offer, showing the beauty and novelty that this type of natural phenomenon affords. This spectacular grotto contains stalactites and stalagmites. During the Christmas season, whenever possible, the Christmas mass is held here, which is how the cave gained its name (Gruta do Natal means Christmas Grotto). It is 697 metres in length and it is recommended to conduct the visit with a guide. (you don't have to...they give you a map!)
The Christmas mass is held here:
I will let these pics speak for themselves:
(my sister says it looks like turds. Or pasta. Whichever works, really)
And on the way out, we had to pose with this bad-boy:
And to finish off this really long blog, I present to you some sight-seeing pics.
This is the island of Graciosa. It was a really clear day, so you could see it's shadow in the distance. Some say that on clear nights, you can actually see lights there.
This is the island of Sao Jorge (where my dad is from). Pretty cool, huh?
I had taken the 2 island pics from here and then Joe wanted me to get up on the wall to take a pic of me with some scenery in the background. I'm a dork. I can't help it.
And this final pic is of hydrangeas. There season has past and now it is too hot and dry there, but every so often, you could find a hidden one that was spared the elements:
And this concludes Part 1. It is my hope that you found it to be enjoyable. I am having lots of fun sharing these with you guys. I'll try to do Part 2 as soon as possible.
I just wanted to share a couple of pics that I took today. They made me smile and I hope they will make you smile, too.
I've been waking up real early this week. Before the alarm even goes off. I haven't done that in a LONG time. It feels good. It makes me feel like I'm ahead of the game and I am able to stop and get a coffee from Dunkin Donuts on my way to work, which is always a pleasant start to the day
Anyway, I pull into the parking lot at work. It's 8:04am. I'm the first one there...BOOYAH! I grab my bags and am walking towards the door and as I am fumbling for the keys to unlock it, I look down at the flower pots and see a monarch butterfly.
I don't recall ever seeing one aside from pics or tv shows. What a beautiful creature it is. It was sitting there, doing it's thing. It proceeded to fly up to me, about shoulder height. It flapped its gorgeous wings and returned to where it was. I'm standing there, smiling at it and try to touch it gently. It didn't let me. It flew off and I went inside to drop my stuff at my desk and ran right back to the door with my cell phone to see if I could snap a pic of it.
This is what I was able to get:
Can you see it? I tried again to see if I could snap a pic while it's wings were opened out. I thought I got it, but apparently it was quicker than my thumb and this is what I got:
It flew away just as I snapped it...can you see it at the top?
I must've looked like such a weirdo to anyone looking on. Oh well. I have tomorrow off from work, but if Monday is sunny, I think I may take my camera to work in hopes that it will be there again.
It really was so incredibly beautiful that it made me so happy to think of that gorgeous bugger. I know that sounds odd, but it really is the simple things in life that can brighten a day. Don't you think?
Here’s lookin’ at you, kid!
Current mood: amorous
Category: Life
Hi loves!!! *waves at screen*
I wanted to stop in and write you all a little note. And then I started to look thru photo albums and scanning pictures to share.
You see, this Saturday, July 19th is our anniversary. Joe and I will be celebrating 11 years of marriage. 11 years. Wow. It is such a trip to actually see that typed out. So, I have various pics that I would like to share with you guys. Will you take this walk down memory lane with me? I'll keep the writing to a minimum to help shorten this a bit since there are about 25 pics in this compliation of JoeCidology that I'd like to share with you. I hope you don't mind.
Here goes!
This pic was taken in Portugal. 1995. Please bear that in mind if you mention the white shorts in the background. Also bear in mind that I could've cropped the pic but felt the background added a little 'je nes sei quax' (I soooo butchered that, sorry)
Carriage ride at Central Park, NYC, 2004
January 1995. A pic that I had taken for Photography class in high school was selected for a calendar that was going to be sent out to local residents. Drug-free coalition I believe was what it was for and the theme was 'What makes me feel safe'. They used a picture I had taken of myself with a stuffed monkey for March 1995. I was 'Miss March' hehe. I was so proud to have Joe be able to attend the ceremony with me
One of Joe's military pics. He served in the Portuguese army when he was 18. I LOVE a man in uniform. It's HOT!
The proud soon to be parents.
Joe and mom having a snowball fight. His first taste of USA snow. 1995. I love the hat he's sporting
Portugal 1996. I love the sunset.
Just the three of us.
I love him.
He makes me giddy.
Tania's birth.
California vacation 2002. En route to Sequioa Park.
Joe's 30th birthday.
Another birthday pic.
July 17, 1995-The day we got engaged.
Did I mention I love him?
Just the 4 of us.
He could've smiled in this pic...geesh!
It is nearly impossible to get a pic of the 4 of us looking and smiling all at the same time.
See what I mean?
Portugal 2001
Same location in Portugal, 2004
We would back to this garden a few years later to take these:
Open your eyes, Joe!
And the last pic, which we dubbed 'The Martini kiss'...one of the few pics from our wedding that wasn't posed. We snuck a kiss while waiting for all the guests to arrive at the reception, sign the guestbook and take a seat. We had no idea the picture was taken until we got the proofs from the photographer shortly after.
I am so blessed to have Joe to share my life with. If you know him in real life, you know how calm and quiet he is and he is the balance to my spazoid ways
He is such an amazing man, husband, father and best friend. He understands me like nobody else. We have our moments, like any other couple does, but we always end up figuring it out or agreeing to disagree (of course, he then realizes that I am right and his life becomes that much simpler bwahahahaha)
I could never love another man as much as I love my Joe. He's my lobster.
He had me at hello (no, really, he did) When I hear his voice, my heart skips a beat. Every night while he is at work, I send him a good night text message (even if we're bickering...but then it goes more like 'good night, dumbass' )
The moment I lay eyes on him, there was something there that made me love him instantly. I know every 13 year old says that, but it's true. I never doubted that I wanted to be with him.
Joe, after 11 years of marriage...I want you to know that you are still the one. I love you, baby!
And this concludes Cid's mushy blog for today. Thank you for being here!
Part 2--The Answers **UPDATED 7/6/08**
Current mood: content
Category: Life
As of right now (4pm according to Myspace Tom, but in actuality it's 11pm) I have received 4 questions from the previous blog (Mixed Bag) that contained a game of blog tag.
I am going to use this opportunity to incorporated a new style of blogging that I have seen (and that I just LOVE) and use this format for the answers. Ok? Here goes:
Jeff, this last line says 'update this answer ' and that will most likely happen because to be honest, I'm not happy with this answer and I am going to delve deeper into my brain and find the answer that belongs...I just wanted to make sure I put up something before you go on vacation.
********************************************************************** I hope you like this! I tried to write neatly, but the paper being unlined made it complex LOL.
Will be back tomorrow to answer any other questions that may pop up
********************************************************************** **UPDATE JULY 6, 2008**
Hello there. I took a couple of days for the holiday weekend to do some family things, as well as some housework (which is neverending Ugh!) but I wanted to come back and make sure that I updated this blog and answer the two questions that I had left hanging (sorry, ladies!) So....here goes!
********************************************************************** If you folks have any other questions, feel free to leave them in the comments-either here or on the previous blog. I'll be sure to get them answered ASAP.
A Mixed Bag--Such Is Life
Current mood: tired
Category: Life
Where do I even start?
Ohhhh...I know! Tania's softball banquet. Last night, my little girl got her softball trophy for her team coming in first place. Here are a couple of pics from the night:
I can't even begin to tell you how LOUD it was at this banquet. There was roughly 600 people there and I think that about half or just under half, were 9-12 year old girls. The screaming/cheering/screeching/whatever sounds they make was absolutely deafening. Geesh!
Joe and I attended the festivities. It was very cool to see these girls all excited. We got to chat a little with the coaches. We had fun. I got up close to take the pic of Tania getting her trophy from the coach...you see, Joe spent the whole time sitting down. Why?
Because....
Joe has a sprained ankle. He got injured while he was working. Thankfully, he didn't break anything, but since it's his right ankle, he can't drive. So, I am his personal chauffer. I joke around and say that I am Driving Miss Daisy LOL.
He went to the doctor today for his follow up appointment and the xrays came back negative for fractured bones, so that is such a relief. But doc said it was a pretty bad sprain and he has to be really careful to not put weight on it (and he's stubborn, so I have to constantly remind him to cut the crap and lift his foot up and not bear weight on it...MEN!)
He wouldn't let me take a pic of his air cast or of the bruise on his ankle He's setting pic limits with me lol.
Now, I'm going to share a couple of pics with you that were taken today. It was a beautiful, sunny day and without warning, a crazy-ass thunderstorm and downpour passed over us. It was pretty quick, but it looked like it was going to be the Apocolypse! The amount of rain that fell was ridiculous. In fact, it flooded the street where I work and stranded a car.
By the time I made it out to the street, city workers had already blocked off this block of the street and were clearing out the drains. The water was gone in no time, but the poor woman whose car that was, was stranded
I looked up and could see the storm clouds. My cell phone just couldn't capture the detail, but I tried.
Last, but not least, you see this sweet woman here?
This is Brenda. She has tagged me. Since I adore her, I am going to comply with said tag
It is called the 'Ask Me Anything Tag', so here's how it goes: Ask me a question here on the blog comments. Anything goes. In return, I will take your questions and then post another blog with my answers to each of your questions (assuming you guys play along ) I think I'm supposed to pick 10 questions to answer, but what I'll do instead is answer each question, be it less than 10 or more than 10. Sound good? Good.
I'm supposed to tag others, but I won't. I just can't run around fast enough to tag all you guys, so you're off the hook
That's all folks. Have a fabulous evening!!! As always, thanks for your time. I really appreciate you being here. ~Cid~
Raindrops keep falling on my head..and other random moments
Current mood: bouncy
Category: Life
Hello, loves!
I decided to take a break from my never-ending project and put together a little something-something to share with my peeps.
This is going to be a kinda-long photoblog. I hope you don't mind.
You see, I'm not a fan of being a grown up right now. Too much responsibility and not enough play time.
This past weekend, we painted what we call 'the back room' (it's the so-called fourth bedroom, but the door to go out to the backyard is in there so it's the 'everything room'...computer is in here, desk, paperwork, futon, tv, bookcase, and basically anything that doesn't fall into a previous category ends up in here)
We got a new door to replace the rusty, old door that wasn't closing properly any more. What a relief to have a door here that won't open spontaneously (yes, it has happened )
We took advantage of the fact that the moldings around the door aren't in place yet, to go ahead and paint the room. Up until recently, all the walls in this house had been painted off white. Blah. We are slowly getting brave and adding color to rooms as we paint them. We are averaging about a room a year, though if I have any patience left, I may paint one of the bedrooms when we get back from Portugal.
In any event, let me share with you a few pics related to the aforementioned painting task: Joe doing the trims
Me with the roller
Another pic of me because Joe wanted you to see that I turned his painting pants into painting shorts
These pics were taken with my cell phone. I had packed the digital camera in one of the million boxes and out of shear laziness, used the cell to capture these moments.
Three coats of paint later (long story--2 should've done it, but...shit happens, ya know?) we finished and the room is now a pretty shade of green known as 'Hint of Mint'.
Here are a couple of pics taken with the digital (I found it! YAY!): The door. Can you see the minty walls?
The deSoL collage that Dani gave me for my birthday last year:
And...something that may look familiar to some of you From day 1, I knew EXACTLY where I wanted to hang this one. The wall coloring is quite off here because of the floor lamp that I have. Sorry.
Then, on Sunday night, we cleaned up real quick and ran out the door to meet up with Dani and see deSoL. They did a show in the area that had been added to their tour schedule not too long ago and we were very excited to see them again. In Lawrence, MA they were having Latino Week sponsored by an internet radio station. We drove up, and of course this was before I found the camera, so I used my cell phone to capture a couple of pics:
It was lots of fun. We were dancing and singing along. I really liked the energy in the air at that show.
As luck would have it, during the last couple of songs, it started to pour. We had no umbrellas and no rain ponchos. As many scrambled to take cover and others opened their umbrellas around us, we continued to shake our boot-ays in the pouring rain. Hence, the title of this blog Some folks laughed, some looked at us like we were crazy. We didn't care. No rain was going to drown our good time
After their set, we made our way over to their tent where they were autographing merchandise. Joe got me an autographed bandana. I'm such a bad-ass now I've seen bandanas on others and think they look cool. I put one on and I look like a dork. Speaking of dorks...
That's a random pic I found on one of the memory cards when I was looking for something else.
As are these:
And, my final random picture comes with a tip. Never play hide and seek with a cat. 1.) You'll be in your hiding spot forever. Cats can't be bothered to come looking for you. -and- 2.) Cats aren't very creative when it is their turn to hide.
That's all, folks. Thank you for your time. Have a great week!!! ~Cid~
The Memories Blog
Current mood: ninja
Category: Life
This is a new blog idea that is going around. It is really neat. Some of my friends are doing it, so I want to do it, too
It consists of putting together snippets of memories. You keep out names and give no explanation (unless requested lol). I'm putting them all out of order because it's more fun that way.
So...here goes...my list of memories. **************************************************************
You told me you had a crush on me. I didn't feel the same. You were my friend. Period. You will never know how much your words hurt me and angered me. I did the angry thing to your face, but went home and cried. Things were never the same after that.
It was a small basement and it was filled with smoke. They were drinking, smoking, and playing cards. I had better things to do outside, like playing hide and seek with my cousins.
You were my first sleepover. I never knew I could have that much fun at another person's house.
It was the weakest little cry I had ever heard. I looked over and saw you being carried over to the warmer. I cried in relief and happiness. You were here.
I'll never forget it…first day of school. Fourth grade. It was time to line up and the teacher calls on me. I walk over. You are standing with your mom. Your mom says to me 'will you please show my daughter around the school?' We became pretty much inseparable for the next couple of years.
You were singing 'Mr. Brownstone' one minute and the next minute you thought it would be an awesome idea to pin me down and fart on my head. It was so not funny.
I opened the box. Inside was the necklace and pendant that said 'AMOR'. Our names were engraved on the back.
I closed my eyes and let out a scream. Surely we were going to die. I opened my eyes and saw cows everywhere. We had crossed the median. How did we not hit anything?
I still don't know how we ended up in the rosebush. I could feel the bike tipping and we were going in. I reached out my hand. I ended up with thorns on my knuckles. You were crying. I told you to knock it off.
I was relieved that the anesthesia was starting to work but then I felt it--the knife cutting thru my belly.
'You have to look up at the sun and tell it that you're sorry you killed the bee' 'I can't keep my eyes open!' 'You have to do it or you'll die.' It's amazing it didn't blind me.
She was crying. 'Why?' I asked. 'Because I'm going to miss you.' I looked at her and said 'you realize I'm going to be living in the basement, right? I'm not going anywhere.' 'But it won't be the same.'
I've had stuffed animals that were bigger than you and to my relief, you let out the loudest cry to come out of the smallest baby I had ever seen.
I could feel a breeze but thought nothing of it as I walked back out onto the sales floor. A woman approached me and asked me to help her find something in the store. I walked in front of her. She whispers to me 'Do you realize that your skirt is tucked into your pantyhose?' I turned 20 different shades of red.
It was so stupid of me, standing on that little cement ledge at their house. 'She'll give me a piggyback ride from here.' When she refused to, I decided I would have to jump off. I scraped my back the whole way down. There was no need to put rubbing alcohol on my back.
He couldn't swim. The water was up to his hips and he bent down to make it look like he was swimming. 'Look at me!' He had the biggest smile on his face.
'Dad, that car is a piece of shit.' We were in the middle of nowhere. He started walking. We followed. We tormented him the whole way down to the city. Even when he got mad, we continued. We took pictures. He couldn't see the humor.
We were waiting in line to go on the waterslide. She was laughing hysterically. We could see the pee going down the ramp.
We pulled up into the hydrangeas. Broad daylight. We didn't care who saw. When we went to leave, the truck wouldn't start. You had to push it down the road. You got quite a workout that day. **************************************************************
That's all I could think of right now. Maybe if I went thru my pictures, I'd be able to remember more moments
Thank you for taking the time to stop in and have a look. I appreciate it.
Around 5pm today, as I was walking from my car to the lawyer's office to do her bookkeeping, I could smell it. It is such a distinct smell. One that always brings me back to that day in in October...20 years ago. Smoke. But not just any smoke. No. It is the smell of a housefire. I can't describe it, but it is so intense that I can taste it and I remember us moving our belongings to a relative's garage. Everything had that smell. Our clothing clung onto the smell, despite being washed, or maybe it was my nose that clung to the smell. Either way, it is unmistakeable.
I take my cell phone out of my pocket to call Joe and let him know that I am walking across the parking lot to the lawyers office (it is a habit that I cannot break. I will always call home when I am walking to Barrie's office).
"There is a huge fire at those condos near Route 128. I guess they're going to close down the highway because visibility is so bad" states Joe.
"That's the smell. I knew it!" I say to him.
Once I finished all the paperwork, I locked up the office and (again) call Joe to let him know I'm on my way home.
"I called in some dinner for us. Can you pick it up on your way home or do you want me to go and get it once you get here?"
"I'll stop in and get it" I respond.
As I am driving, with my window rolled down, it's all I can smell. It's all I could focus on (aside from the driving...an accident would be the last thing I need right now). The smell.
I park in front of the take-out restaurant. As I am walking to the door, I look down at my hands. They are visibly shaking. Why? I get to the counter and give the guy my name so he can ring up my order. I pull out the debit card. I'm still shaking. Can he see it or am I the only one that can see it? He hands me the receipt to sign. Is he going to question my signature because it is nowhere near the signature on the back of the card?
He doesn't even flinch. If he noticed I was shaking, he didn't even let on. I must be the only one who can see it.
Back to the car and then home. I walked thru the door and say to Joe "are there any windows open?"
There are 900 people right now who have something in common with me. Victims of a house fire.
Do they have any family that can take them in? Are they in hotels right now? Were they able to salvage any of their belongings?
You know, things that can't be replaced such as photo albums or drawings that their children made in school or their heirloom blanket that has been passed on for generations and once belonged to their great-great grandmother.
No lives were lost, and that right there is a huge blessing.
I feel their pain, but tonight, there will be no windows open while I sleep. I just can't do it.
(there is a link up there where it says October if you want to go back to the first time I wrote about the fire)
Commercials and questions
Current mood: blah
Category: Life
Hello there.
I'm here at home, in the back room/'play room' and am picking up some toys and nagging my kids to do the same and getting no results, ya know...same thing, different day.
The television is on and they are watching 'Saved By The Bell'. How weird is that? I used to watch that show when I was a 'tween (pre-teen) and my kids are now watching the reruns and think that Screech is a hoot.
Anyway. A commercial comes on and it so boggled my mind that I ran right over and had to do a search on YouTube for it. Let me share it with you:
Um...huh? Commercials don't usually bother me and maybe I'm in a little oversensitive mode right now but to a mother who had two preemie babies, and who did not smoke during either pregnancy, I find this kinda offensive. I fail to understand how a commercial like this would make someone who smokes say 'holy shit. I have to quit smoking.' It is probably just me, but I wasn't amused (and I laugh at some pretty inappropriate stuff) It's just me, isn't it? Nevermind. Sorry guys. But I'm still sharing it so you can see it and give me any thoughts you might have on it (if any).
Here's a commercial that I remember watching shortly after Superbowl Sunday and Joe and I could not stop laughing afterward. What do you think?
As many of you know, Joe has started working nights. Even though I'm home with the kids, I still get lonely not having Joe and get sad when I go to bed and am there by myself (well, the cat is with me LOL).
But these kids...they will keep you on your toes. Last week, Joe claimed that Daniel was an angel and was very quiet and let him sleep. I was very suspicious. As we all know, when a child is quiet, they are up to no good.
My suspicions were correct when I went to upload pics to Kodak.com last night (they're having a big 10 cent sale--that's a huge deal to me) and found a new 'scan' on the computer. I present to you, Exhibit A:
Only my son would find it a good idea to scan a Rice Krispies Treat wrapper. He told me it was 'great' when I asked him why.
Earthfest 2008...and Joe’s Birthday!!!
Current mood: content
Category: Life
Let me start off by saying--man. Today has been a fantastic day! Two awesome events crammed into one day and being able to sit down and blog about it to my peeps...it doesn't get much better
Today was Joe's 32nd birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY!!!
We set out to go into Boston with my BFF, Dani, to see the Adam Ezra Group perform at Earthfest (yes. We are total groupies now to two bands--deSoL and AEG ) We had no idea what Earthfest would be, but let me tell you, I think we will be making this a yearly trip because it was that cool.
This all took place at the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade along the Charles River. You know, where the Boston Pops perform and where the July 4th fireworks in Boston are held. To have lived in Massachusetts for as long as I can remember and to never have been here is really strange, but there is a first for everything.
There were three music stages. The Kiddie stage, the Main stage at the Hatch Shell, and the Boston Music stage.
We took the subway in. As we were crossing the footbridge, it occured to us that this was a big deal. There were tents and stands everywhere and the people were giving out free samples (some of the them full size and not trial size!) and talking about their products to folks. I have more granola bars and bags of granola on my kitchen table then I know what to do with (ok, ok, I know what to do with them...yogurt and granola, baby!!! YUM!) It was very interesting to navigate the tents and listen to the shpeel and grab all the freebies. They were giving away the reusable grocery bags, but we were never at the right place at the right time for those. I swear to God, they would run out right before we finally made it to the front of the 'crowd pile'. Oh well. We snagged some of the Whole Foods string backpack, which serves the same purpose, so it was a win win
We headed straight for the Boston stage to watch the Adam Ezra Group and we made it just in time WOO-HOO!!!
Here is a slide show of them and us having a great time:
And here is a short clip of them performing "Katie" (I was having a hard time standing still to record...I wanted to DANCE!!! That's why it's a short clip LOL)
When they finished their set, we made our way over to their tent to say hello. Adam was there signing autographs, taking pics and just chit chatting with the fans.
He is a cool, down to earth guy and you can't help but smile when you're in his presence. He is neat-o. He autographed Tania's Whole Foods bag and she is so excited!
He turns to me and says 'I saw you singing along with all our songs. That was cool.' That completely blew me away! How awesome is it that as he is singing, he is really looking at the crowd (and there was a very large crowd there)
Here are some pics we took with him:
Dani took this pic of us. I thought it was cute (even though I am slouching...geesh, you would think that by this age, I would know how to stand up straight lol)
I tried a sample of chocolate soy milk (VitaSoy)...OMG! I can't even begin to tell you how good it was. I've tried soy creamer in the past and pretty much rated it as yucky, but this one was really good. Yay! They have a new customer
One thing that upset me was in different areas, looking down and seeing food wrappers or paper or little plastic cups that samples were given in. Are you serious? You're at Earthfest, there are trash and recycling receptacles everywhere and YOU ARE LITTERING? How dumb can people be, seriously?
I also visited an animal rights tent, too, and got some recipes that are vegetarian and vegan, so I'm looking forward to trying them. We've been slowly steering away from meats (and it is a very difficult thing to do on a cultural scale) and recently, I have been very open to the alternatives and have found them to be delicious, so we'll see.
Here are some pics of the kids on the subway:
Then...off to dinner with the family: And that was the end to a fantastic day. I'll post more pics as an album in my pics section. I hope I haven't bored you to death . I just had to share my excitement with you guys
Now I leave you with a final pic here on the blog. These little guys were the main attraction as you came down the stairs from the foot bridge. They are another reminder of why we need to be good to our Earth and do what we can to help save her. One step at a time, we can do it.
) and after we returned (hello? laundry, cleaning? It's not gonna do itself, ok? 
)
mellow
amorous
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content
' and that will most likely happen because to be honest, I'm not happy with this answer and I am going to delve deeper into my brain and find the answer that belongs...I just wanted to make sure I put up something before you go on vacation.
tired
He's setting pic limits with me lol.
) I think I'm supposed to pick 10 questions to answer, but what I'll do instead is answer each question, be it less than 10 or more than 10. Sound good? Good.
bouncy
ninja
sad
blah
) We had no idea what Earthfest would be, but let me tell you, I think we will be making this a yearly trip because it was that cool.
. I just had to share my excitement with you guys 