Sightseeing

We went driving around sightseeing today. Look at all the cool stuff we saw all within an hour's drive from inlaws' house!


The picture above is just a pretty road. In this area you can drive for 15 minutes turn off a main road for about a mile and you get ruraler and ruraler as you go.

More prettiness...

Downtown New Hope, Pennsylvania...

While driving around New Hope I saw this sign

And of course I made David pull over...and bought one of each of the beef and game jerky! I haven't tried them yet...

Here's the Delaware River...

The Bridge over the river from New Hope into Lambertville, New Jersey

Lambertville prettiness...

We had a great time and a nice easy day...I love just driving around going up and down random streets. You never know what you'll find!

Vacation Styles

Some of you may know that Hubby and I met online back in 1995 before it was a "thing", we met in an AOL chat room. He lived in PA and I lived in Miami, so our entire "courtship" occurred by telephone back when there were way fewer cell phones and no free long distance plans - so you can imagine the cost!

Despite the soaring phone bills really all we had was talking, so for over 2 years we talked at least once, often twice a day. So, we had a lot of time to talk about all the stuff you *should* talk about before getting married - such as politics, views on child rearing, views on family, how we'd handle finances, etc. So much so that when we took our pre-wedding retreat (a Catholic thing) we had already talked about literally *every issue* they told us we should discuss before we got married.

You know one that the retreat people didn't mention and we didn't discuss? Vacation Styles. Do you view out of town vacations as an opportunity to relax, if visiting family just hanging out with them at home watching TV, sleeping in late every day, etc.? Or, do you view them as opportunities to go out with or without an agenda) and explore places you don't know or return to favorite places, do some sightseeing, just walk around and soak in the place?

Someone should have suggested that we discuss it. So I am hereby advising any and all people who are planning to get married to discuss it. It doesn't have to be a deal breaker if you have differing styles, but at least everyone will know how to set expectations. We've been married 14 years and I'm still struggling with it.

In case you haven't guessed, I'm the second style described above. David...not so much. So what usually happens is as follows:

I want to go somewhere - anywhere really - and I tell him. He tells me he doesn't want to go. I try to convince him to go. He still doesn't want to go. I get all passive-aggressive. He gets pissed and says something like "FINE! We'll go, let's just go!", clearly not wanting to go. I get pissed and tell him to forget it, I don't want to go if he doesn't want to go because then it wouldn't be any fun.

WOO HOO Vacation fun!

Everything had been fine until now because with the holiday hoo-ha and his brother and family in from Texas it was reasonable to want to stay in. They flew back home today. So, we went through this exercise earlier tonight. We wound up going to dinner nearby *but* to a restaurant to which we'd never been...a compromise of sorts.

Tomorrow we're mostly staying in so he can watch football with hometown friends and I'm perfectly fine with that. It'll be fun.

Then there's Monday...(sigh)

What's your vacation style? Is it compatible with your SO's?

Pandora Pandemonium - Black Friday Edition

Look at what a pretty day we had today! Sunny and low 60s - perfect day to not be in the mall going crazy. Instead SIL and I went to a nice shopping village called Peddler's Village, had a lovely lunch and walked around. It was great!

So...let's see what Pandora gives us as we recover from Thanksgiving overindulgence. It should have been a Lola Shuffle this week, but I think I left Lola in Miami!

1. Waterloo - ABBA - Woooo...love them! And this is a great song as are the outfits in the video! C'mon, you want that blue gaucho outfit and white boots...don't lie.
2. The Delivery Man - Elvis Costello - I'd never heard this song, but I love this guy's voice, he just oozes cool.
3. You and I - Michael Bublé - Meh. I have Bublé issues. He obviously has a great voice, that not it. And I love his original songs, in other words not covers of other people's hits. I find he nakes the covers boring when compared to originals. Here's Stevie Wonder's original of this song - no comparison IMO.
4. You've Lost That Loving Feeling - The Righteous Brothers - What needs to be said? A great classic song, and they sound great.
5. Don't Tell Me - Avril Lavigne - I like this girl and this song has a necessary and surprising message, and is quite empowering for teen girls. YAY Avril!
6. On the Floor - Jennifer Lopez featuring Pitbull - JLoooooo and Pitbulllllllllllllll! Wooooo! My home boyyyyy! I love this song...straight up dance music that's it and that's enough.
7. Pride (In the Name of Love) - U2 - Another classic - vintage U2, all righteous and "anthemic" and awesome...
8. Aurora Lucis, Hymn for Easter - Gregorian Chant - Wrong holiday but very very pretty.
9. Going to the Fair - The Chieftains - I love Irish music, both traditional, like this one as well as classic rock and current stuff. These guys have been around frever and still manage to stay relevant and current. (I couldn't find a YouTube entry for this song.)
10. Have You Ever Seen the Rain - Creedence Clearwater Revival - Another classic! How great is this song and how great are CCR?

Good job Pandora! I hope you all have a great weekend and finish those leftovers!

Rainy Days and Tuesdays...

Bah...it's rainy and chilly and gloomy. Even though it rains a lot in Miami, it's usually a quick intense downpour, but before and after might not be super sunny all the time, but it's rarely dark and gloomy the whole day - that only happens a few times a year.

But the morning took a decided upturn when we went out for breakfast and I got my scrapple!

Scrapple is one of my favorite breakfast meats! You can have it savory, as is, or you can have it sweet which I did this morning by pouring syrup over it...yummy!

Tonight we're celebrating my niece's 6th birthday by going to a neighborhood Italian restaurant...and then we come back for cake - actually per the birthday girl's request, not cake, she wants cherry pie - and presents. And maybe later some board game playing.

For tomorrow, I'm lobbying for a visit to Wilmington and Dover, Delaware. David is less than enthusiastic but I've never been and wanna go! Wish me luck, I'll let you know how it goes.

iPhone Blogging

See that title...it's a lie. You, or maybe just me, can't Blog on the iPhone. I can type in the title...but then there's no way to get to the text body area. I tried to be good and Blog on the road during the last leg of the road trip. Epic Fail.

Anyway, we're here! We arrived to fog and rain but it's not too cold. It's supposed to rain a lot tomorrow but be dry and "allegedly" not too cold by Thanksgiving. We'll see.

When we got to my in-laws' house all four nieces were here and the nephew arrived shortly thereafter. YAY! All the Christmas gifts I ordered are here and ready to be wrapped. YAY! I already had my first Philly Cheese steak YAY!

And...I won $50 on a North Carolina scratch-off lotto ticket! WOO HOO!

Lets see what adventures await tomorrow!

Hello, it's me

Remember me? I'm the lying liar who lies. (Hanging head in shame - and even now I'm shamelessly using a picture of a cute little monkey to garner sympathy!)

I know, I know, you have no reason to believe me this time - I'm not sure I believe me! But at this very moment I truly believe I will Blog with some semblance of regularityish.

So...Happy New Year!

What should I start with...oh I know...vacation!

Some of you may know that Hubby and I took a long trip up North (eek!) for Christmas to visit my in-laws in the Philadelphia area, which was lovely except that...IT SNOWED!!! Needless to say, I wasn't happy. I don't really "do" cold weather, much less snow. I do it wrong...I don't know how.

For example clothes. We don't "layer" in Miami, so that entire concept is lost on me. So then I wind up wearing a sweater, because the TV weather person is telling me it 24F outside. That's "sweater" weather", right? Hence...the sweater. Fine. But then I get where I'm going and they have the heater set to 75F which is NOT sweater weather. So now I'm hot and sweaty and yuck.

OK, next time I go out I put on a regular t-shirt and take a cardigan. And the never-ending "put on-take off ballet" begins. Getting ready to walk out of the house, put on the cardigan. Get into the car, take off the cardigan. Sit in the car just long enough for the temperature to get comfy then at our destination. Put on the cardigan, walk 10 feet to the restaurant - BOOM! 75 degrees - take off the cardigan. Now what do I do with it? Drape it over the back of the chair so that it trails on the floor and picks up restaurant floor ick? Put it on my lap so that I can't put my napkin there? Request an extra chair that it can be the purse and coat chair?

See? Complicated. In Miami you put on what you're going to wear and you're set. Magic! (sigh)

That's all for today. For mañana...maybe more. The intention is there. Really. No, seriously, I mean it.

Oooh! Tomorrow is Friday maybe we'll have a Lola shuffle or a Pandora shuffle. Excitement!

The Lola Shuffle - The "Happy New Year" Edition

See the pictures above? That's William Penn atop Philadelphia's City Hall. The top one was when we arrived in the city om a clear, cold Philly day - the second one was half and hour later through snow flurries - ACK!

So...even though Lola shuffled a couple of days ago, she wants to shuffle again. In honor of the new year, this shuffle will only contain newly added songs...how exciting!

Ready?

1. Mercy - Duffy
2. Girls in Their Summer Clothes - Bruce Springsteen
3. Life in a Northern Town - The Dream Academy
4. Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis
5. I Kissed a Girl - Katy Perry
6. Bad Things (Theme from HBO's "True Blood") - Jace Everett
7. Dulce Locura - La Oreja de Van Gogh
8. Viva La Vida - Coldplay
9. So What - P!nk
10. Merry Happy - Kate Nash

I'll be in Philadelphia for a couple of more days then we'll be on the road again. Have a great weekend...stay warmer than I am!

The Lola Shuffle - The "I'm On Vacation and Don't Know What Day It Is/New Year's Eve" Edition

Yes, yes, I know Lola usually shuffles on Fridays and today is Wednesday - but Friday was all about Goose and such and on Friday I didn't realize it was Friday because I'm on vacation and don't much care what day it is AND I've been on a steady diet of cold medication (btw Lunesta and Nyquil are a lovely sleeping aid - just in case you needed to know that), hard cider and wine - that'll mess you up a bit! Apparenty it also contributes to extremely long sentences - whatever...:)

Anyhoo - I was in a blustery snow flurry today and freaked out a little bit because I'm from Miami and we don't do that. It's really cold today - the weather has been quite bi-polar 60 to 24 within a day - I mean come on!

So...the in-laws are going to a New Year's Eve party tonight so "the kids" (that would be my soon to be 40 year old husband and 45 year old me) are having a party - WOO HOO!

In honor of New Year's Eve Lola wanted to offer an end-of-the-year shuffle...and awaaaay we go...

1. You're My Best Friend - Queen
2. Easy - Lionel Richie
3. De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da - The Police
4. Heaven - Los Lonely Boys
5. Boat Drnks - Jimmy Buffett (perfect - apparently Lola is cold too!)
6. Wake Me Up When September Ends - Green Day
7. Tabu - Desi Arnaz (synchronicity: as I type this I hear Desi Arnaz talking - my MIL is watching "I Love Lucy")
8. Let It Be - The Beatles (Indeed! A great song on which to reflect on New Year's Eve.)
9. Swingtown - Steve Miller Band
10. Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are - Meatloaf (ya gotta love him!)

Have a safe and happy New Year's Eve and a wonderful 2009!

The Magnificent Beast! aka The Christmas Goose

Look at it! Look how pretty! It's a goose! My sister-in-law Cristi (she lives in Texas with hubby's brother and my adorable niece) was head chef for this year's Christmas dinner and I served as sous chef. I actually peeled potatoes. Don't start with me people (that means you Cris!) - I did TOO peel potatoes - look:

In addition to the goose we had a pear and Stilton cheese appetizer; grilled filet; wild rice, cranberry and sage sausage dressing; pear hard cider gravy; brussels sprouts with caramelized balsamic onions; rutabaga-potato mash; and green beans - served with a nice Malbec wine. For dessert we had "figgy" pudding, pumpkin pie and cranberry-pear tarts followed by mulled apple cider - brandy optional.

Neither of us had ever eaten, let alone made goose, so it was a combination of various recipes and Cristi's phenomenal culinary instinct. It was delicious - similar in taste and texture to duck, but with a stronger, gamier taste. I liked everything! The fig pudding - actually called Christmas pudding was intense with a little going a long way, but I'll have more later.

Look at the pear-Stilton appetizer, the dressing and the Christmas (fig) pudding:

Neat huh?

This is part of the family at the dinner table:



We ate a lot and laughed a lot - I hope your Christmas was as wonderful as ours.

The weather has improved it's in the 40s today and will go as high as low 60s in the next couple of days. I'm managing to keep the cold from hell somewhat under control, it got kinda hairy on Christmas Eve, but I'm feeling better now. We've mostly been hanging at the house with friends and family, playing games, watching TV, talking and laughing - lots of laughing! The next big event will be my other sister-in-law's (Hubby's sister) bridal shower - fun!

I'll post again when the muse strikes...in the meantime make merry!

We're Here!

After a three day road trip we have arrived at our destination. Warminster Pennsylvania - finally! It is frickin' frackin' freezing! 24 degrees - WTH?

Thus far I have:

• managed to lose my Hardee's virginity. I had never had Hardee's hamburgers before - now I have - they were great!
• yet to get a reasonable Internet connection on my laptop (I'm using my MIL's computer for this post because I knew you were all waiting with baited breath to hear about my life...)
• managed to catch a cold out of nowhere
• had a phenomenal dinner of chicken Florentine on a bed of Parmesan risotto in the most unexpected place ever
• eaten a lot of stuff I'm totally not supposed to eat
• listened to way too many Christmas carols on the car radio as we travelled up the east coast
• had a chocolate coke at Sonics (yay!)
• had yummy Waffle House coffee
• already had my first (of several) Philly Cheesesteak of the trip - Whiz wit

So anyway...more later. Tuesday I have to buy the wine and apple cider for the Great Goose Extravaganza a.k.a. Christmas dinner, as well as wrap presents like a crazy person.

Before I start, however, I hope to have breakfast at a funky little diner nearby called "Little Leo's" where they have awesome coffee and the best scrapple ever!

TTFN...:)

The Lola Shuffle - The "I Am Outta Here Edition"

Yep - starting mañana I am on vacation! WOO HOO! The western coast of Florida is beckoning to me...its warm tropical breeze whispers my name...right now the bottle of tequila for my first margarita of the trip (which I will be drinking tomorrow!) is being delivered...

But for now...Lola shuffles! Lola's all packed, her ear buds, charger and cable is ready to go!

1. Take Me Home - Cher (HA! Lola is making a funny. We're getting ready to *leave* home, so she shuffles up "Take Me Home" - get it? Silly Lola.)
2. I Only Want to Be With You - Dusty Springfield (Triple love this song!)
3. Juke Box Songs - Danny Collett & The Swamp Cats (Fantabulistic zydeco song - makes me want to dance like nobody's watching. I mean the song starts with "I'm gonna to go downtown, I'm gonna find me a bar, I'm gonna drink and drink until the song comes up tomorrow - oh baby - I'm gonna spend my money on jukebox songs, I'm gonna dance the night away baby...")
4. Mother and Child Reunion - Paul Simon
5. Southern Nights - Glen Campbell (Stop laughing! Yes - I have a cheesy Glen Campbell song on my iPod, this shouldn't surprise anyone by now.)
6. Lady - Lenny Kravitz (awesome song)
7. Iko Iko/Brother John/Jambalaya Medley - Terrance Simien (I guess Lola is in a zydeco frame of mind...Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez!)
8. Reasons - Earth Wind & Fire (That's right all 4.5 minutes of it - in school dances, this is the one you wanted to be sure you were dancing to with the guy you liked, 'cause it's loooong and slow...you ended up smelling like the guy's cologne. In my day if it was a *private school boy* I smelled like "Aramis" or "Polo", whereas if it was a *public school boy* I smelled like "Brut" or maybe "English Leather" - ah, memories...)
9. The Look of Love - Diana Krall (another nice slow dancing song - for grown ups)
10. Roundabout - Yes

Excellent job Lola - next up...Road Trip! WOO HOO!

Have a fantastic weekend! Next time you "hear" from me I'll be on the other side of the state.

The Lola Shufle - The "One Week From Vacation Edition"

Yes boys and girls, Hubby and I are taking a vacation starting a week from tomorrow. We're going to the lovely Florida Gulf Coast town of Naples, and we're going to see the sunrise shown above. I.CAN'T.WAIT! I so need a vacation and I so need that sunset.

So Lola, give me a shuffle to help me make it through next week...

1. Annie's Song - John Denver
2. It's Not Unusual - Tom Jones (always makes me smile!)
3. Low - Flo Rida featuring T-Pain (I'm sorry I love this song! "Apple bottom jeans and the boots with the fur")
4. Livin' La Vida Loca - Ricky Martin (WOO! Blast from the past - One of my dance-like-nobody's-watchin' songs!)
5. Cry! Cry! Cry! - Johnny Cash (great song, his voice is awesome in this one)
6. Both Sides Now - Joni Mitchell (the newer version, her voice is amazing, so poignant)
7. My City of Ruins -Bruce Springsteen
8. Slip Slidin' Away - Paul Simon
9. Basket Case - Green Day (Yeah!)
10. The Reason - Hoobastank

Excellent job Lola - everyone have a wonderful weekend!

The Lola Shuffle - The "On the Road Again" Edition

Well it's the last day of NaBloPoMo...it's been tough but there is definitely a sense of accomplishment. Congratulations to all who made it through.

Anyway, so we're headed to Georgia today. A quick shuffle is all I've got time for...go Lola, go!

1. Darkest Hour - Arlo Guthrie


2. Even Now - Barry Manilow


3. Mother and Child Reunion - Paul Simon


4. Calypso - John Denver


5. Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin' - Journey


6. You Can Leave Your Hat On - Joe Cocker (IMO, absolutely, hands down one of the sexiest songs...ever!)


7. Run to You - Bryan Adams


8. Come Fly With Me - Frank Sinatra


9. Dust in the Wind - Kansas


10. Let It Be - The Beatles

You know, I actually have "On the Road Again" by WIllie Nelson on Lola, but that would just be too obvious for Miss Thang.

I'm No Longer an IKEA Virgin!

YAY! I went to IKEA, I went to IKEA and I didn't even have to take a shuttle from a different parking lot...and I bought dishes and I ate Swedish meatballs and drank a Swedish Pear Ale. NYA, NYA, NYA, NYA, NYA...

Seriously, since people in South Florida are still insane about the IKEA, I just went to one up here in the Philly 'burbs where they've had one for years and are, you know, normal about it.

The prices are truly phenomenal - I bought a set of 6 place settings of dishes for $29 and 8 flatware settings for $20. Again, since we're driving home no packing issues. Oh and a nice kitchen clock for a whopping $3.99!

The restaurant was very nice and very well priced. The Swedish meatballs were super good and we shared Swedish Apple Cake - yummy. And the non-alcoholic pear ale was very good too.

So tomorrow we're back on the road. I have had a totally suburban vacation - it was relaxing and I saw a bunch of new places.

Oh - I almost forgot - RUN DON'T WALK to see "Beowulf".

It.Was.Awesome.

Although I could do without the whole CGI thing, the story was very well told and the acting was wonderful.

Slow Vacation Day and Book Cover Meme

On the vacation front thus far we've had a pretty mellow day today. We woke up late and went to my SIL's house for her world-famous cauliflower soup. Later tonight we're going to see "Beowulf" in IMAX. I don't even want to go into how geekily excited I am about "Beowulf" being made into a movie. I'll tell you about the movie and whatever adventures ensue tomorrow.

For now I'll offer this fun and easy meme I found a while ago and saved for when I needed content. Here are the instructions:

1. Go to the Advanced Book Search on Amazon.com.
2. Type in your first name in the book title and post the most interesting/amusing cover that shows up.
3. Again, as always if you want to play, please let me know in my comments section.
   

Fog!

OK, so here's the deal - we don't really get a lot of fog in Miami - and when we do it's like at dawn , not at 3:30 in the afternoon! We were leaving Philadelphia Park Casino and Race Track and had to drive in that mess! It freaked me out a little bit.

The casino was a lot of fun. Gambling recently became legal in Pennsylvania and the race track was one of the first places to open a casino. It's all slots and video versions of traditional table gambling. I wound up spending about $30 playing video blackjack.

Before going to the casino we had lunch at my favorite diner ever Club House Diner - it was awesome. And then after the casino, we had dinner with some of my in-laws' friends who I love to pieces, and we went to one of my other absolutely favorite places in the Philadelphia 'burbs Otto's Brauhaus in Horsham, PA (their web site isn't working).

After dinner we went to our friends' new apartment in a fabulous retirement community that made me wish I was 62 so I could live there. We played games and had a wonderful time. These people have become like an aunt and uncle and I enjoy spending time with them.

So...another wonderful vacation day. Hubby and I even got our picture taken with Santa - he was at the Diner!

Christmas Cookies!

So...it's 37 frickin' frackin' degrees right now. I'm cold. Hubby and I are going to an Eastern European place for dinner because I want Hungarian Goulash to warm me up.

The Texas contingent left early this morning and the older nieces came over to decorate the sugar cookies above - and YES I did help! (stop snickering Purplepassion) Here are the girls, working away:



A good time was had by all.

Did I mention it was cold?

The Lola Shuffle - The "Scrapple" Edition

As I continue going through the foods I must eat when in the Philadelphia area, I had scrapple for breakfast today. YAY! Scrapple makes me happy.

So Lola...now that your scrapple lust has been sated, shuffle on...

1. New World Man - Rush


2. Fever - Peggy Lee (Perfect song for her)


3. Songbird - Eva Cassidy


4. Hold On - KT Tunstall


5. Livin' On A Prayer - Bon Jovi (Joisey in da' house)


6. Go Your Own Way - Fleetwood Mac


7. In the Mood - Glenn Miller Orchestra


8. The Winner Takes It All - ABBA


9. Blessed - Martina McBride


10. Spirits in the Material World - The Police

Well Lola is certainly at her eclectic best today.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wow! We ate a lot.

Here's our Thanksgiving Menu:

• Cauliflower Blue Cheese Soup
• Turkey stuffed with citrus, sage, rosemary, thyme, onion and garlic
• Cranberry Relish
• Grandmas' Gravy
• Grandma's Stuffing
• Sausage Stuffing
• Cornbread Oyster Stuffing
• Potato Cheese Casserole
• Sweet Potato Pecan Casserole
• Carrots and Horseradish Casserole
• Traditional Green Bean Casserole
• Brussel Sprout/Apple/Craisin/Almond Casserole
• Grandma's Cole Slaw
• Creamed Pearl Onions
• Biscuits
• Sweet Potato Pie
• Pumpkin Eggnog Pie
• Eggnog Cheesecake
• Pumpkin/Cream Cheese Rolls
• Pecan Cranberry Torte
  
  I'm full and happy...:)

***HAPPY NOTE - I found out yesterday that Harlem Renaissance: An Awakening of the Soul the DonorsChoose.org project I've been supporting and for which I posted a link here has been fully funded. YAY! Thanks for those who helped.***

The Whole Fandamily!

This is the official family picture for 2007 - look how nice everybody looks...

This is the real us...

'Nuff said...:)