Monday, September 26, 2011

Bubbles!

My niece loves to come over for playdates and on her recent visit she wanted to blow bubbles, among her many requests. We started off with her blowing the bubbles but she seemed to be getting more of the mixture on the floor rather than actual bubbles in the air. To save the bubbles, and my carpet, I made it a fun game for me to blow them and for her to pop the bubbles before they hit the ground. It turns out she wasn't the only one who had a great time with this game. Buster did too! Although it was so cute to see them run around and jump in the air to pop the bubbles, this was definitely a first for our playful pooch.

In addition to bubble time, Buster enjoyed sharing in our snack time and had fun giving us kisses as we did some yoga moves. It's times like that which make me so confident that he'll be great whenever we have kids.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

My Love/Hate Relationship with Costco

Anyone who knows Rob knows he's a huge fan of Costco. It's actually embarrassing when you go around our house and look at how much stuff is from this warehouse superstore.

While I admit it has it's good points, which include great items at reasonable prices; always good about taking things back if you have a problem with them; the food is consistently fresh; and the fact that you can seriously eat a meal out of the samples they serve, there are a few things I really don't like about that store.

One of my main qualms is the way shoppers play bumper carts. I'm not sure if it's because they are in such a rush or they're afraid these "fabulous deals" will fly off the shelves, but most people have no consideration for you or your cart. A great example happened today when one woman hooked her cart on to mine and started taking it with her because she was in such a mad dash to get down the aisle. Bumper carts is even worse when it's the last few days for the coupons, and that's when I refuse to even step foot in the store.

Another issue is the check out line. It's absolutely crazy how long you can wait in line. They should really consider an express check-out like the supermarket. It would definitely save time for people who just go in for a few items.

I guess it's our own fault, but it's absolutely crazy how you can go in for one or two items and end up with a whole cart full of stuff you really didn't need. Considering it's just the two of us, it's comical how we end up buying so much in bulk... like the 40 pounds of bread flour to go with the bread maker which Rob "just had to have" because it was from his favorite store.

Oh, Costco.What would I do without you?

Friday, September 23, 2011

No More Drama on Real Housewives of NYC

Bravo TV annouced "The Real Housewives of New York City" is not inviting a few staple characters back on the show, including Alex McCord, Cindy Barshop, Jill Zarin and Kelly Killoren Bensimon. While I'm going to miss some of them I do think it's for the best since it has gotten very catty between several of these ladies, especially this last season.

On the final episode "Watch What Happens Live," Neal Patrick Harris said something and I couldn't have agreed with him more. Although I don't remember his words exactly, I believe it was along the lines of 'if you are a fan of NYC Housewives you should probably stop, because the drama is ridiculous.' Hopefully that's what Andy Cohen and the execs at Bravo needed to hear to wake up. While individually these women were pleasant and some of the storylines were good, together their relationships seemed toxic.

Fingers crossed they Bravo digs up some interesting characters for this next season!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Family First: Trip to the Drive-In

Relaxing together over the weekend is always important to us, but more so after having a few hectic weeks at work. After running a bunch of errands on Saturday we decided to do something different, and most importantly a place where Buster could join us for some quality time: The Warwick Drive-In.

This was the first drive-in for both of us and we had such a great experience. The people were very friendly, the weather was absolutely perfect, and it only cost us $8 per person for two movies - both of which were very recent. Most importantly, we got to bring our favorite puppy, who loved his first trip to the movies. He even got a dog treat when we arrived, which he gobbled right up.

While it was an hour away I think it was well worth the trip, especially since we got to see two movies that were on my list - Horrible Bosses and Contagion. All in all, it was a perfect night with my boys and was definitely a "family first" we'll remember.

Friday, September 16, 2011

A Nice Saying..

I recently got an email and the closing was so great I wanted to share:

Here’s hoping that your food’s healthy, your body’s active, your energy’s high and your attitude’s great!

Sure beats "best regards!"

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Ten years later: 9-11

It's crazy to think that today is the 10 year anniversary of September 11. I think it's our generations equivalent of the JFK shooting or when they landed on the moon. You'll never be able to forget where you were or what you were doing when you heard the towers were struck.

Ten years ago today I was a freshman at St. Bonaventure. I went for a run at the track behind my dorm and remember thinking what a beautiful day it was. There wasn't a cloud in the perfectly blue sky. When I got back to my room I turned on the TV and got my stuff ready for a shower. That's when I saw it. The World Trade Centers were hit. I immediately thought about my family. My dad goes into the city often for work; our house was only 30 minutes from NYC; and I also had several extended family members who work in NYC - some in those buildings. Many phone call attempts wouldn't go through, and people were running up and down the hall screaming and running into each others room to watch the coverage. My neighbor, Nancy, came running into our room in tears. Her aunt works in that building but luckily just went on maternity leave that day. It was all so surreal. Our classes that day were cancelled and we all just watched the news and scoured the internet for updates.

I could only imaging how crazy 9-11 would be if Twitter were around back then. There would be tweets of love, fear, revenge. News would have traveled so fast.

It's unfortunate to think of how many people died on that fateful day, yet its amazing at how many lives were saved - whether people were traveling on business, caught the later train or bus, just decided to work from home or made it out of the towers okay.

9-11: Always remember. Never forget.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

So I'm not completely domestic

I have some work to do when it come to learning about laundry. I get the basics (hot for whites, colors for cold), but for some reason every once in a while I'll get spots on the clothes or the whites don't look completely white. So yesterday I decided to add a little bleach to the load I was doing - which was mostly whites except for our sheets, which are a light tan. I didn't think a splash of bleach would have this much of an effect but now our sheets are somewhat tie-die. When I told Rob, I prefaced it by saying I have good news and bad news. Good news, we have clean sheets. Bad news, they're now spotted.
At least its just the sheets - something only for our eyes - and nothing major or totally visible to guests.