Dear Mother Nature...

Please make up your mind. It's the second day of spring and there's an inch of snow. If I wanted snow in spring I would have stayed in western New York. 70 degrees one day and 20 the other isn't helping me to get better, either.
From,
Nicole

PS - I think even the plows are tired of the snow!

I Jinxed Myself

Sometime last week I mentioned to Rob that since I started being diligent about taking vitamins I haven't gotten sick. Seriously. Maybe I had the sniffles but not a full blown head cold in nearly two years.

Fast forward to this week..

Tuesday my throat starts to hurt. I go home after work and lay down, waking up to the pain that spread up to my ears. Not fun. I stayed home Wednesday and went to the doctor, where he did a throat culture (no results yet) but thinks it may just be a viral infection. Last night the sniffles came on and today I have a full blown head cold.. on top of the throat and occassional ear pain.

I'm not sure if I blame this on being in the cold rain last Thursday, lack of sleep, not taking my vitamins over the weekend, or pure bad luck, but whatever the cause, I definitely think I jinxed myself. Being sick stinks!

You're so fluffy!

After seeing the movie "Despicable Me" anytime Buster gets a bath I like to say "You're so fluffy!!!" like from the movie. Here's a clip:



Obviously Buster isn't a unicorn but the little kid is so cute and "it's so fluffy!!!"

Nothing beats homemade...

...mac and cheese!

Friday night I came home and in the spirit of Lent I had a salad and some fish. After that I was still a little hungry and figured I'd make some macaroni and cheese that I still had in the pantry before heading clubhouse to set up for the St. Pat's party. I've been making my own homemade mac and cheese for a while, but after having the boxed product now I remember why: nothing beats homemade mac and cheese! Real, gooey cheese, and occasionally some fresh veggies added in totally beats that powdered mix any day. I think I'm a mac and cheese snob.

Freedom.. it's bittersweet

This weekend our recreation committee is hosting a St. Patrick's Dinner/ Dance. During set up last night, I announced that this will be my last event. While I'm glad to be getting off (due to the time commitments, extra work, and mostly the stupid politics involved from the Board), it's bittersweet since I enjoyed working with such a great group of people.

SBU Pride

This week was a big one in regards to alumni events. Not only did I run into a fellow St. Bonaventure grad at the PR Week Awards in New York City, but the Bonnies also played in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament and I actually got to watch it on TV!

The game was pretty intense, going into double overtime as Bonaventure was tied with LaSalle almost the entire time. I actually pictured Bonas winning the game and all of the students charging the court -- similar to the excitement when I was a freshman and we beat Xavier. I could feel the pressure and loved the cheers coming from the students.. it's something you would understand if you went there and sat in the bleachers with us.

Unfortunately, SBU lost by two foul shots. It was heartbreaking. However, the energy in at the Reilly Center (which is now renamed the Bob Lanier Court), reminded me of how great it is to be a Bonnie... even though no one knows what it is.

Skiing Milestone

Today I skied down my first black diamond!

While that may not be a big deal to many people, this was a huge step for me. When Rob taught me how to ski almost two or three seasons ago my mentality was never to be an aggressive skier since I don't have the flexibility (or desire) to get a serious injury at this stage of my life.

During my first year of skiing I enjoyed the easy runs, and last year I slowly got the guts for a new challenge - going down the intermediate slopes, or blues. I was comfortable being at those two levels for a while, but this season I had in the back of my head that I'd at least want to try this one particular black diamond run. Well, today was the day. Although it wasn't fresh snow, the conditions were decent and the mountain wasn't crowded so I gave it a whirl. The slope - which is called The Pharaoh - was pretty steep at one part but I took my time and made it down without falling. Phew!

This year was a big year of skiing for me - not only did I go to Vermont (which I told Rob I would never do), but making it down my first diamond was the icing on the cake. While I don't plan on skiing at that level frequently I am very excited to share that I successfully made it down.

"Chairway to Heaven"

This picture reminds me of a shirt that Rob got for me when we were at Smugglers Notch. It was of two people on a chairlift up the mountain, heading to nowhere.

As you can see in this picture, the fog on the mountain was crazy today! You could barely see 10 feet in front of you when skiing. I guess wearing white ski gear wasn't a good idea since I blended in with everything. Oh well.. at least my helmet is black.

Lenten Resolutions

Each year I try to set an achieveable goal for Lent. Exercising more, not eating late, and eating healthy foods have all been up there, but this year I'm trying for a new task - no alcohol. It's not that I'm a boozehound, but a glass of wine is usually a nice way to relax especially after a long day or alongside dinner. Plus, Rob and I have a nice stash from all of the wineries we've gone to, alongside our desire to fill the large wine fridge and the racks we have around the house.

I'm thinking this no alcohol thing has a few benefits, such as saving calories, being healthier, and preparing my body for TTC. From what I've read you're supposed to limit your alcohol intake before you start trying, and this will be a great way to force myself to cut down.

I think the hardest part will be when we go on vacation with a few friends in April... and St. Patrick's Day... and a work event I have in the city, when the office will start cocktail hour at 2pm... and our friends birthday extravaganza later this month.. ugh. This will be tough. Maybe I should think of another resolution I can stick to that's a little easier.

Buster's Day "Out"

We used to let Buster roam the house when we're out but he slowly got into trouble - whether it was having accidents, playing with the rolls of toliet paper, getting into chocolate or even the laundry - so we decided to limited his access to the house.

He's fine in his cage, but I didn't think that was fair since we're gone for the day at work and he could have the whole guest room to himself. So we started closing the door and giving him the guest room, complete with a bed, lots of pillows, food, water, and nice windows to see what's going on out front. That lasted for a while and then we realized he was slowly scratching the crap out of the door and the molding. Time for the next plan: buy a baby gate.


The baby gate seemed to work well, too. He has the guest room and can't scratch the door. Works, right? Well now he learned how to jump over the gate like a horse. Last night I came home and he was waiting for me by the garage door. I'm not going lock him in the bedroom if he's going to just jump over it and possibly hurt himself. I'm running out of options with this cute little puppy.

Today brings us back to square one, giving him full roam of the house. Hopefully he doesn't blow his chances and get into trouble. I guess time I'll see when I get home tonight!