Lobster Bake!

Last Saturday on September 6th we hosted our second annual lobster bake for Peter's family. I didn't take that many pictures (I was busy "hostessing"), so the following photos are the best of the few I took, and they unfortunately don't include everyone. Peter's family drove over from Rhode Island (about a 90-minute drive for most of them) and brought good stuff like fresh corn-on-the-cob, potatoes, and desserts, while we supplied the lobsters, mussels, and clamcakes for a mighty good end-of-summer feast.

Cooking the seafood required special pots that are best used outdoors. The grill was used to cook steaks for the non-seafood lovers (crazy people that they are! I love a good steak but lobster is a rare treat). Peter is in the blue shirt and that's his brother Paul. They do have a sister, but her name is Ruth, not Mary. (ha ha)

John liked the lobsters. I felt so bad that they were going to be dead and on our plates soon. Despite my guilt, they tasted very, very good. They had a lot of meat on them this year.
With Uncle James (Peter's step-brother), and a lobster that John took a special liking to (which didn't help my guilt!).

The mussels were so delicious. The bowl of melted butter is for dipping them in. This picture makes me crave them all over again.

Arielle and Elizabeth (2 months old), John's cousins

John and Andrew, cousins and look-alikes!

We got this swingset at the end of June. It took a whole day to assemble, but it's been worth it! The kids have such a fun time on it.

It was a fun day!

Really Gross Discoveries in My House This Morning

(Don't read this if you get easily sickened by reading about gross things. I'm not joking!)

My morning today was going just fine until I went downstairs at about 8:00 a.m. I noticed in the entryway that the shoes in the boot tray were askew, and that the closet door was open a few inches, so I figured that our two cats must have been chasing each other around and playing during the night. Then I went into the kitchen, where the rug in front of the sink was folded over in half. As I unfolded the flipped-over side, there it was. A small, gray bloodied little object hidden in the fold of the rug. I knew instantly what it was without looking too closely as I yelled for Peter and ran upstairs. It was a mouse head! On my kitchen rug! So gross! That's what the cats had been doing during the night--catching, maiming, and killing a mouse.

You would think that would be enough, but the ordeal was not yet over. Peter came down and took care of it, and I tried to go about the usual morning routine, despite the unsettling turn of events. As I was unloading the dishwasher and making John's oatmeal, I looked down at the rug again, and there it was on the maroon border: a slender, bent little grayish thing, so small that we didn't even notice it at first. Oh. My. Gosh. It was one of the mouse's legs! I wanted to puke. I stayed composed, because I don't want John to get afraid of this stuff so that he can help take care of it when he's older. I attempted to pick it up with a napkin, but I just couldn't bring myself to get that close. The psychological block I have against rodents is too strong. So Peter came to the rescue again, and then he walked through the house looking for any other little body parts, but found none.

Unfortunately, there's more. A few hours later, I was sweeping in the dining room when I came upon the third and final horror of the morning: the mouse's tail. I wanted to die. I was home alone, so I had to take care of it myself. I swept it into a dustpan quickly, with my eyes averted, and disposed of it in lightning-fast speed. I had already been feeling a little queasy all morning because of these little body parts I kept coming across, and that pretty much cemented the nausea in for the rest of the day.

How could such gruesome things take place in my home sweet home? Now that the weather is getting colder here in Connecticut, the mice want to come in and find shelter. We basically live in the woods, so there are many of them around here, although you don't see them that much. They haven't been a big problem in the two years that we've lived here, mainly because our cats are really good at either making mice stay in hiding or torturing them to death if they make the fatal decision to come out. Well, I guess a dead mouse is better than a live one, right?

Little killers.

Sarah Palin's Got Style!

(My apologies for the solicitation button at the bottom of the picture. I just copied this from an e-mail I received.) Anyway...I love Sarah Palin's jacket and string of pearls in this picture (taken the night of her big speech at the Convention). I've got the pearls. Now I want that jacket! I love it! I like the way her hair is done here too; it's very flattering and pretty. I like it better when she wears her hair down rather than up. Did you hear that her glasses have sold out all around the country? Apparently I'm not the only one who likes her style. She's got some good fashion sense. So does Michelle Obama, and Cindy McCain has worn some dresses and skirts that I totally covet. This is a great campaign season not only for the politics but also for the women's fashions!

Can Someone Help Me?

I want to add a widget to the sidebar of my blog from Goodreads. I can't figure out how to do it. I've tried everything, read through Blogger's help files, and I'm afraid I'm going to end up deleting this whole blog if I try much else. I know it's probably really simple. Can anyone out there tell me how to get a widget from goodreads.com onto my blog? I'd be very grateful for any help!

Summer Roses

Roses are my favorite flower, especially pale pink roses (my wedding bouqet was made up of them exclusively). I had some nice rose bouquets around the house this summer. They never fail to help me feel happy and peaceful, no matter what else might be going on in my life.

I get a little obsessed with taking pictures of blooming roses. I can't help it! Their beauty is fleetingly intense and I have to capture it before they go the way of the earth. As Anne Shirley would say, "Drink them in!"

O'Reilly and Obama!

I like and respect both of these men, but guess which one's my favorite? (Hint: I watch his show on Fox News Channel almost every weeknight.) I've been watching the Bill O'Reilly interview with Barack Obama, and I've found it very helpful in trying to figure out what I think about Obama. As an undecided independent voter, I like these kinds of interviews because they will hopefully help me to make the most informed choice that I can. What I've deduced from the interview is that Obama is a classic liberal Democrat on most of his positions, so a lot of his views are not views that I share. He's a heck of a nice guy though (I like his personality much more than John McCain's), and I do agree with him on some things. But he's not as likely to get my vote...although he might. Obviously, I'm still undecided. Anyway, kudos to Obama for agreeing to be interviewed by O'Reilly. At the very least it shows that he's a brave man!

"My Highlander High" Revisited

A few months ago I wrote about how I was pining for a new car, specifically an SUV or a crossover vehicle, and more specifically a Toyota Highlander. I'd had my Toyota Camry for five years, and it was a great car, but I really wanted more space and something more secure for our slippery, icy New England winters. Well, I somehow ended up getting what I wanted a lot sooner than I thought. Peter surprised me at the end of July for my birthday with a little black box that had a shiny silver Toyota keychain in it. That day he'd surreptitiously left work early and went to the dealership to negotiate the purchase of a brand-new silver 2008 Highlander. I couldn't believe it! This was the best luck that had befallen me in a very long time.

Now I've been driving the Highlander for over a month, and (surprise) I really, really love it. This is the first new car I've ever had, so I must say that I especially appreciate the new car smell. I quickly got over keeping it in pristine condition because the day that we picked it up was the day we left for our summer vacation, so the car got broken in pretty quickly. That took care of that!



For those who are interested, I highly recommend the Toyota Highlander to anyone who's in the market for an SUV or other larger vehicle. I think the Highlander is technically a crossover vehicle because it gets better gas mileage than an SUV. It rides so smoothly and quietly, and you don't even realize how fast you're going because of that. Seriously, 80 feels like 60! Not that I ever go 80 or anything.

I also like the feeling of being up higher off the ground. I've noticed this car gets more respect than my humble little white Camry. Many drivers move out of the way much more quickly when I want to pass, which is awesome. (I promise not to turn into a tailgating bully. Well, unless the car in front of me is going really slow.) It's great to feel so safe when I drive, especially when John is in the car. Our insurance rate actually went down because of the numerous safety features of this car. And I'm not nearly as afraid to drive this winter because the vehicle is equipped with special stuff to deal with snow and ice.

John also approves of the Highlander, mainly because it's a big new toy for him to play in. He likes to play in all cars, and I think he was a little flabbergasted at how much extra space he now had to play in with this one.

I folded the third row down so that he could have more open space to play in. He loved it!

Fun Things Come in Fives!

Ten years ago I:
1. Had just turned 18 and was starting my freshman year of college.
2. Was relatively poor.
3. Met Peter for the first time. We lived in the same dorm on the same floor.
4. Still wrote letters to my friends instead of e-mails.
5. Was living in a big new city (Philadelphia) all on my own. I was homesick at first, but it didn't last long.

Five things on today's "To Do" list:
1. Clean the house
2. Clean the basement. I neglected it for most of the summer, and it shows. Basements can be very easy to ignore!
3. Exercise (20 minutes with my Pilates video)
4. Yardwork
5. Prepare for the lobster-bake we're having for Peter's family tomorrow

Five snacks I enjoy:
1. Cherry or grape tomatoes with cheddar cheese
2. Tortilla chips with salsa
3. Toasted bagel with cream cheese and O.J.
4. Gummi bears
5. Chocolate (Milky Way Midnight Miniatures and caramel Twix bars are my current faves)

Five things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. Completely pay off all of our loans
2. Buy a house on Cape Cod
3. Design my dream house and move into it
4. Donate to charities that I like and support
5. Travel the world

Five places I've lived:
1. Connecticut
2. New Jersey
3. Massachusetts
4. Philadelphia
5. Utah

Five jobs I've had:
1. Editorial Assistant at the Penn Press (college job)
2. Notetaker for students with learning disabilities (another college job)
3. Notetaker for corporate focus groups (temp job after I graduated and got married while I was hunting for a real job)
4. Research assistant at Bristol Myers Squibb (my last temp job before finding my real job)
5. Editor at a publishing company (my first real job, with salary and benefits and everything)

Our Bostonian Labor Day Weekend

We had a very nice Labor Day weekend doing a number of fun things in and around Boston. The weather was wonderful, and it was a nice way to say farewell to summer. (Sad!)

On Saturday we drove up to Massachusetts and left John in the care of my sister Elizabeth and her boyfriend Justin, so that Peter, my mother, and I could go to the Boston Temple. It was so nice to go to the temple again. I hadn't been since around February. I felt motivated to set a goal to go at least four times a year. I love being back there, especially at Boston because it's where I first went through the temple and it's where Peter and I got married on a windy, damp June morning six years ago.

That evening Peter and I went to a Red Sox-White Sox game at Fenway. It was awesome! The Red Sox (a.k.a. The Right Sox--ha ha, I just made that up) won, 8-2. The weather was perfect and our seats were on the right-field side with a good view of the pitcher's bullpens. I got to see and chat with some old friends. I also got to check out the players up close with a set of Vivitar binoculars that we got for Christmas a few years ago. This was the perfect occasion and the perfect subjects to break them in on. After the game we set a new record for driving back to my hometown of Hopkinton from Boston--we left the city at 10 p.m. and got home by 10:30 p.m. Maybe it's the new car!

This, without a doubt, is the best ballpark in the country. Red Sox games and fans are soooo much fun! There's nothing like singing"Sweet Caroline" with thousands of other people in the 8th inning while the Sox are winning.


This is my friend Kevin who hooked us up with the tickets for the game. We were in the same church ward growing up. His father (on the right) has been my family's home teacher ever since we moved to Mass. in 1993.
This one's for you, Mom!

On Sunday morning we went to my beloved old Marlborough Ward, where I was sent into big-time Nostalgiaville because: 1) it's my home ward and a place I love going back to visit, and 2) there were many other people from the past visiting that day too. Another reason for the nostalgia was that Sunday School class was held in the Young Women's room, a place in which during during my teen years I spent countless hours for church lessons, Mutual activities, and home-study seminary classes. I used to daydream about my future husband, whoever he was, in that room, so it was special to be sitting in there again, this time with the man himself, my husband.

Most of the rest of Sunday was spent just north of Boston at a big fancy Italian Catholic wedding and reception. Peter's longtime friend from Rhode Island, John Valentine, got married to a vivacious, fun Italian woman named Carmelina. It was a lot of fun! Italians really seem to know how to celebrate, with tons of good food and lots of dancing and music.

(The picture quality on most of these photos is not that great. I used a different setting on my new little digital camera for low-light and am unsatisfied with the un-crisp results!)

This groomsman is Peter's cousin, Mike.

I love the ringbearer and flower girl! They're always so cute.

Here comes the bride!

I'm always interested in the back of a wedding gown, too. What a gorgeous train!


The Church was majestic and beautiful. The Catholic Communion was performed as part of the wedding ceremony, which was really interesting to see.

Mr. and Mrs. Valentine!

At the reception, John and Carmelina's first dance.

The best man over on the right is another one of Peter's cousins, Charlie.

John and his mom.

Peter and I with Paul and Jean (Peter's brother and his wife)

On Monday morning we continued our little family tradition of going out to breakfast on Labor Day, this time accompanied by my father. We went to Sunnyside Cafe in Ashland (one town over from Hopkinton), where we ran into three of my cousins, two of whom I hadn't seen in a very long time. That made it an especially nice breakfast! That, and the sensationally good french toast and bacon I had for my meal that I still can't stop thinking about.

Back home in Connecticut later that day, we drove 15 minutes north to Southwick, Mass. (that state again! Couldn't stay away this weekend!) for dinner at The Summer House. Among other things, they have the best hamburgers, and some fun things for kids to play on outside. John had a blast running around and playing. It was a nice way to end the last real weekend of summer.




John loves trees and is either giving this one a smooch or evaluating it for ease of climbing. Good luck with that, John!

Things I Did Today

1. Four loads of laundry (including onerous bed sheets)

2. Went grocery shopping

3. Took John to Hartford to meet Peter's co-workers and go out to lunch. It was fun and I'm glad he can now have a clear picture in his mind of where it is that Daddy goes off to each day.

4. Cleaned out and organized all of John's clothes and shoes. The boy is growing!

5. Got everything ready for John's first day of preschool tomorrow (!!!)

6. Took a much-needed nap out on the patio in the sunny warmth of the afternoon while holding John, who was also asleep. It was sweet and reminded me of his cuddly baby days.

6. Watched The O'Reilly Factor and the Republican National Convention coverage to get my political fix.

7. Ate a Rocky Road ice cream sundae. Yum!

8. Wrote this little blog post, my contribution to the world tonight.


So last night's insomnia didn't completely kick my butt today. I was still able to get some things done. Go me! But I am so ready to crash now. Goodnight!

Insomnia

It's 1:30 a.m., and I can't sleep. Mr. Sandman hasn't come to shake his bag of golden sleeping dust over my head yet. Actually, numerous racing thoughts that I can't seem to turn off are the culprit tonight, so hello adrenaline, good-bye sleep! I was lying up in bed for awhile in the dark, debating what to do. Should I stay in bed and wait for sleep to come? But I didn't feel the least bit tired, and I've read so many times that if you can't get to sleep after 20 minutes, get up and do something quiet, or read something boring. So I came downstairs and here I am on my blog (it's quiet, and yeah, maybe it's a little boring sometimes, like now). I'm drinking a glass of milk, which tends to have serious sedative effects on me, so hopefully it will kick in soon. And I'm worrying that tomorrow I'm going to look and feel like crap on so little sleep when John and I go to Peter's work for lunch and to meet his co-workers. If I can't get rid of the bags under my eyes and make myself look good, they'll probably think "Dang, his wife ain't so pretty." I'm going to go get some more milk!

McCain-Palin: Surprise!

It's funny - this morning Peter and I were talking about the V.P. candidates, and I told him that McCain had to choose a woman. When I heard that Romney and Pawlenty were out of the running, I was pretty sure he was going to do it too. It's a smart strategic choice to choose a woman; instantly his ticket becomes a historic one if they win, which puts the Republican ticket more on par with the Democratic ticket.

I just watched Sarah Palin speak at the announcement of her being "the chosen one," and I like her. (I'd never even heard of her before today.) She's the first-term Governor of Alaska, and before that she was a mayor. She's the mother of five children, including a baby boy just born in April. I like the way she talks and looks--she seems very familiar to me and probably to many other women in the country. She seems smart, confident, and charismatic. One of her nicknames is "Sarah Barracuda" because of her tenacity and fearlessness.

I think she's going to get pounded for lack of experience, particularly with foreign policy, but McCain balances that. In the end, I think choosing a woman as his running mate is going to help McCain's chances of winning. Condi Rice, who has been my choice for awhile, would be better in many ways, but I'm sure her ties to the unpopular Bush administration were too much of a liability.

A few other quick things:

• I noticed that McCain looked a little uncomfortable as Palin spoke today. If he was, I wonder why, and I wonder how he really feels about her as his choice?
  
• I hope that if McCain wins the election, he'll appoint Mitt Romney to his Cabinet or to another important federal position that will utilize Romney's vast skills. Then he'll have a better chance to run again in the years to come. I still think he would be the best president for this country out of just about anyone.
  
• I thought Obama did a very good job delivering his nomination acceptance speech last night. He's one of the best speakers I've ever seen (as long as he has a teleprompter, that is). It was all a bit of a spectacle with the football stadium and fireworks, but then I thought, "He's the first black candidate for President. This is a proud moment for all Americans, independent of where they stand politically. Bring on the fireworks!"
  
• I still think Obama will win in November, but that it's going to be a closer race than I originally thought. There are things I like and hate about each candidate, so I'm still undecided. I'll be following the race closely for the next two months so that I can make an informed choice, if I end up voting for either of them. I'm more likely to vote for McCain at this point, but that is subject to change.

It's Still August...

-So why have I been waking up cold in the mornings?
-Why am I wearing jeans and a longsleeve shirt today instead of my customary summer outfit of skirt and t-shirt?
-Why have I been drinking cocoa at night?
-Why did I ask Peter last evening, "Should we turn the heat on?"
-Why did I have to bring the floor plant on our patio indoors last night?
-Why have I been wearing my cool-weather pj's to bed?
-Why are my feet cold right now?
-Why am I currently wearing my cozy L.L.Bean fleece jacket, which is usually reserved for crisp fall and spring days and cold winter days?

I guess nobody told Mother Nature this year that it's still August. This is supposed to be the hottest month of the year, but there hasn't been one day that has hit 90 degrees. Some people like that, but I really enjoy the summer warmth. Now we're having a premature fall with cold nights and cold mornings and mild temperatures during the day. While the daytime weather has been very pleasant, I still prefer it warmer. We have months of cold ahead of us, so I'd rather the heat stick around for as long as possible. Maybe it's just a fluke and we'll have a nice warm Indian summer in September and October to make up for it. In the meantime, I'm going to go put some socks on these cold feet of mine...

Darcie's Wedding

On Friday, August 15th, Peter and I drove down to New York City for our friend Darcie's temple marriage. Darcie was my visiting teacher when I lived in New Jersey. We lived near each other, and we became quite close. When I had stopped working after I became pregnant with John, I went over and got her daughter McKenzie on the bus in the mornings after she left for work. She threw me a lovely surprise baby shower and did many other kind and generous things for me during the years that we lived there.

Darcie married Bill Caycho, a man from the ward who's a really nice guy. It was good to see them so happy together on their wedding day. And Darcie was beautiful, as always.

Being back in New York again was wonderful! It's been nearly four years since I was last there, and I used to go a lot, so I sure have missed it. We drove in and parked in a garage between the temple and Central Park. The Manhattan Temple is breathtakingly beautiful inside. I've been a few times before, but I had forgotten just how gorgeous it is. To think that right outside are the busy streets of Manhattan! You'd never know it in there; it's so peaceful and quiet. I felt very close to the Spirit and to the Savior there, and I was so glad that Darcie and Bill invited us to be there with them. It was the first time Peter and I have ever been to a sealing ceremony, other than our own.

We were in the temple district when the Manhattan Temple was dedicated in 2004. We went to the Open House and to a dedication session broadcast at our stake center. We also got to be part of the multi-stake youth jubilee celebration with President Hinckley at Radio City Music Hall, which was awesome. There's a board behind me in this picture because some remodeling work is being done in the back lobby.
After the sealing ceremony was finished came the "fun" part: driving out of the city and into New Jersey. Can you say Friday afternoon congestion and bad signs?? While Peter tried to find the Lincoln Tunnel, I snapped some pictures of the old familiar streets from the backseat, where I was laid out dealing with my own congestion. (Darn cold!) I miss taxi rides, and I want to do one of these Duck Tours. It's a great way to see the whole city. I know midtown and uptown quite well, but downtown Manhattan is still pretty much a mystery to me.

The Joker is in Gotham!

The reception was that evening back in New Jersey, not far from where we used to live. It was so nice to see many old friends from our old ward. I miss it there so much, even though I'm very happy here in Connecticut. Sometimes I wish I could live in a couple of places at the same time. We drove by our old condo complex and some of our old haunts on the way back to our hotel, and it made me feel very nostalgic for the past.

Unfortunately, as I mentioned before, I was coming down sick with a nasty cold, so I didn't get nearly as many pictures as I wanted to get at the reception, and the ones I did get are not that great. I love weddings and I usually take lots of pictures at them, but this time I had to leave early because I felt so sick. Darn it all! Oh well. We had a really nice time at the reception and the sealing. I'm so happy for Darcie and Bill and their new life together!

The newlyweds during their first dance.