"What I Need is All Around Me!"

I'm lucky. Lucky in life to have friends and family that treat me so well and are there whenever I need them. Through ups and downs, thick and thin...I'm lucky to be surrounded with love.


I've been celebrating my 29th birthday with said friends and family. Yesterday, Alyson came to visit. We shopped, dined, and then went to see Brad play drums at Rockfish, here in Annapolis. We rang in my 29th, with drinks on Rockfish's lush leather couches listening to the soft acoustic stylings of Brad and Chris. It was done quietly and with sophistication, as it should for a person about to reach 30!


Today, my co-workers treated me to gifts and lunch.

Then, lovely Julie, treated me to a fantastic dinner at a grown-up restaurant. Quiet and good company are always at the top of my list and it could not have been better. Food was great and I got to enjoy the company and conversation of a friend I have had for over a decade. It is amazing to know that there can be constants in your life. That through ten years, there has been someone to watch you grow and change and still appreciate you for the person you were as much as for the person you have become. Julie and I have gone through high school and college together, and are navigating this maze through adulthood side-by-side as friends. She is the most caring and giving person in the world and I rely on her to be my confidant, my friend, and my surrogate sister! To know someone is there through it all is a blessing and I am truly grateful for her friendship.



Best of all, my roommate gave me the most beautiful bouquet of roses and orchids to commemorate this special day. The roses are yellow, to symbolize friendship. I'm truly fortunate to have hers. She has, over the years, become my one of the most important people in my life, very few others share that circle with her. She is a rock and I would be a lesser person had she not come into my life.




So, to the four of you who read this...know I count you in my deepest regard. Thank you for being there for this birthday and for being there through previous others. (ok, enough sap!)

How I Spent My Summer Vacation-Grade 5

Today is Saturday August 16th and I home from my.....well, vacation really isn't the right word. Hellacious experience, neurotic adventure, ridiculously awful travellings would be better descriptions for the week I have had!

It all started about two weeks ago when my car was experiencing some technical difficulties. I took it to the local mechanic who replaced the timing belt, gave it a tune up, and an oil change. Things went swimmingly from then on and I took off for North Carolina on Monday the 11th. Oh yes, but first I got a new tire. See, the mechanic told me I may need a new front driver's side tire soon and my father freaked me out enough about getting stuck on the side of the road in the God-forsaken countryside of rural North Carolina. My parents and I were worried about a tire! Ha!

So, after a quick tire change I took off down the road in 80 degree weather and the tunes blaring from my car stereo. Then........three hours into the trip, on the 295 bypass around Richmond, my lovely and fixed car lost all acceleration and I ended up stranded on the side of the road. After a quick and tearful phone call to my parents I was dialing a tow-truck and my mother was calling Patti who has a cousin, Angela, in Richmond.

Just then a State Police Motorist Assistance vehicle pulled behind me. Mr. Henrick, an older, distinguished gentleman assisted me with a tow truck and waited with me until it arrived. Once in the tow truck though, a Gough-like, twist of fate occurred. Mr. Henrick handed me HIS cell phone and told me I had a phone call. "How in Hell do you have a phone call on a stranger's phone?" you ask. I had the same question. I answered the phone and Angela was on the other line. Turns out, Mr. Henrick is her father-in-law! Small world huh!?

I towed my car to the local Ford dealership in town and waited for a diagnosis. TIMING BELT! Seriously, the timing belt was shredded. Terry, the service manager informed me I'd have to stay over night. So, I called Angela. Thank the good Lord for the kindness of strangers. Angela and her family were so kind and I stayed overnight with her three boys and husband. I have never played so many card and board games (and lost!). I even had the best ice cream in Richmond thanks to the begging of Ryan!
The next morning while I waited for my car to be fixed, Angela took me to the pool with her and Ryan. There I got some sun and an introduction to the water slides-which have left me bruised and battered but were so much fun. And then I found out I was staying another night.

Wednesday rolled around and my car was finally fixed. I got in, turned the ignition and turned on the radio--oh, wait--the radio didn't work! Easy fix and I was on my way at 5:30pm for home. At 6:02 I was on the side of the road on 95 North having a nervous breakdown. I called my parents. Dad called Ford, and they were sending a tow truck. My parents were in their car heading up after handing their dinner guests the entire platter of food and throwing clothes in a bag!

I got to the car dealership and they immediately took my car to service. Guess what....the timing belt was broken! Huge surprise right?! So I went to a hotel, watched the Olympics, and waited for my parents to arrive.

Thursday morning they found the problem and told me how much it would cost to fix. But fixed or not, I would never feel safe in that POS (you can figure it out I am sure!). So, after much haggling I got a decent (psh!) price on a new Ford Focus and drove home on Friday morning. Funny part of the story is I bought the Escort on August 12th, 2001 and I bought this car on August 14th, 2008. Happy Birthday to me!

So, I have to give a shout out to Angela and her family for taking in a stranded motorist and I have to thank my parents for dropping everything (including a crucial hair appointment!) and rescuing their scared and extremely tired daughter from the brink of a nervous breakdown. I love my parents very much.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how I spent my summer vacation!

New York State of Mind

I really do enjoy cooking. I find it to be so relaxing. Work is always so chaotic and the mood and themes of the day change by the hour. Cooking has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Sometimes there are even precise measurements which put me at ease when I come home from a harried and hectic day.

I spent much of my weekend cooking. Alyson and Megan came to the house on Sunday for some home-made broccoli-cheese soup just like my Mama makes it. Slight problem, I didn't have the recipe and my mother was en route to Missouri so after a few futile phone calls to various and sundry people I winged it. I must say, it turned out perfectly. Now I have left over soup for a week. Yum!

Monday, the girls from work came over to "celebrate" (for lack of a better word) the departing of Nikkie; who is moving home to NY. I made salad, baked ziti, hummus, and bread and we ate and drank and toasted to Nik. It was very bittersweet, but, after a Facebook tutorial and promises to Yahoo/AIM message each other during work I feel not so sad about her departure. Besides, she'll be here in October for the NKOTB concert! Bonus points if you know what NKOTB stands for!

Now, I get to look forward to my vacation, I am leaving Sunday or Monday to head to North Carolina to see my parents and spend time relaxing by the pool and enjoying the wineries!

One Step Closer

I cannot believe summer is coming to an end. Only two more weeks before I enter the halls of Chapel Forge to begin my eighth year. Time flies when you are having fun?

It's been a great couple of weeks. Last week, my parents came into town. While my mother went to Vegas, my dad stuck around and we had a great dinner and bonding session. I pulled out my grandmother's recipe for pasta sauce and got to cooking. Seemed appropriate to have with family, yes?
Friday, my college roommate Maggie came for a visit. I met her in baltimore at the Papermoon Diner for dinner. I'd forgotten I'd eaten there before with Lindsey. If you review an earlier post from a year or two ago, you'll see an entry where we went to a club with her friend John. Needless to say, I didn't recall the diner as I was a bit too inebriated, but enough about that!

Maggie and I had a great dinner and then we headed over to....CHARM CITY CAKES! Whoo hoo. Talk about a surreal experience. For those who don't know, CCC, is the company owned by Duff and run by his hooligan staff, you can catch them on Ace of Cakes on the FOOD NETWORK. Maggie is having a cake made for her wedding and I got to play accomplice. Yippie! So a cake was designed with Mary Alice and we got a bunch of cake tastings. Also, I mentioned to Mary Alice that it was Megan's 25th birthday and she gave us more cake samples and an autograph.
After the cake design, Maggie and I headed over to Megan's surprise party where we presented Megan with her cakes. She went crazy. I'm good ya'll!

Maggie stayed and we had a great lunch. Then Lindsey, Jackie, and I went to Dock Street Bar for some much needed debauchery.

Sunday I awoke with a hangover but I could not let that stop me as Megan, Aly, and I headed to Nissan Pavillion for the Projekt Revolution tour. Great bands played and we got to bond as sisters which is always a plus.

P.S. (does anyone notice a distinct trend in my titles?? if you figure it out you get a cookie!)