Flatbread

Mmmmm. We are getting Flatbread pizza for dinner tonight. It is YUMMY! I love pizza. Pizza pizza pizza. Plus it's the weekend so I don't have to work, work, work. Tomorrow we are headed to the Boston area to have dinner with my In-laws (Weird, they are now my in-laws) since it is my FIL's birthday. I will also attempt to get my lazy ass to the gym since I haven't been in about 3 weeks. - Hey, at least I can watch spring training!!!

Buying a house is a nightmare

Some of you know we were in the process of looking for a house and actually found a decent one in Portland. However.......

Buying a house is a nightmare mostly because you search forever and find a house you agree is nice enough to live in, in a good enough area, and even though it has some cracks in it, as long as the seller installs a radon mitigation system, fixes the hot water heater so it's not a bomb and bolts the toilet to the floor, you are still going to go through with the sale. However, the seller and/or the seller's agent then decides to be a TOTAL ASSHOLE and refuses to negotiate with you any further. So then you try to terminate your contract and you basically have to sign all these forms that you will never go after the seller to try to get the money back you paid to have the structural engineer come out to tell you that even though the cracks in the foundation go all the way through, the house is still structurally sound; even though if you knew the seller and/or seller's agent was a LYING P.O.S. when they told you they agreed to your terms earlier, but instead they totally didn't, you never would have had the structural engineer come out to the house anyway and would have terminated the contract right then and there.

Fuckers.

On the upside - who needs to be saddled with a mortgage at this point? We can save so much more money by renting and then we can afford to buy something we REALLY like. We might even be able to go sweat out asses off during a stage of the Tour de France.

Quitting time!!

Yeah!!! Now I get to go to my job where I actually interact with people!!!

Loss

One of my best friend's dad passed away a little while ago. He had been sick for a while but it's still hard when the end comes. There was a very nice service and a loving eulogy was read. Despite the bitter wind, it was a sunny day. I just wanted to say we all love you and are here for you whenever you need us.

Being sick and wedding video

**WARNING** The first half of this post is whiney but I swear it gets better by the end.

Yuck. I have been sick for the past week and a half. I am starting to get better but now Sean is getting sick which is no good. When your sick, the whole world sucks. I didn't go to work one day, I left early another day due to a coughing fit I had on the phone, your nose gets sore from so many kleenexes and you're usually in a fog most of the time. Like I said yuck. But, soon it's over and you can get back to your regular life.

On a completely different note, we got our wedding video yesterday. IT IS AWESOME!!!! I am so glad we had it done. The woman who did it for us did a great job, she put a great soundtrack to it and used some cool effects. It was great to watch it and see how happy everyone was. It starts with the rehearsal and ends with the reception. I was really amazed that so many people were smiling so often. There are some pretty funny parts too, like I had asked Sean to get the loop for my wrist from my train, and he's searching for it with an expression on his face like, "Really, there's a loop hidden in all these layers?"

So thank you all again for being part of our wonderful day.

Happy Snowy Valentine's Day!

I hope everyone is having a nice day. I have been stuck in my freezing cold cottage since about 2 working from home since the weather SUCKS right now. It's not even really snowing, it's more sleet/ice/wintry mix (whatever that is) so the accumulation is low and the possibility of having fun snowshoeing or XC skiing in this stuff is also low. I hope everyone who went inland or to the mountains is having actual snow.

Working from home is WAY worse than working at the office. There are so many things I would rather be doing and they are all within reach, but I can't do them because then I would have to take a vacation day. Besides, my hubby is working too and the TV would bother him too much. I think I might have to take control back though within the hour since it is already after leaving time.

Sorry this is such a complaint-ridden post, but I hope you can understand why.

Happy VD! (Ha ha - I just love saying that!)

I am not a crybaby

So, even though I am not as big of a crybaby as my friend Scott, I am practically bored to tears right now so I am going to post the five movies that I am pretty sure I cried during:

5. Remains of the Day - When Anthony Hopkins reaches out to touch Emma Thompson's hand, but then pulls back, making you realize that they will never be together, it's a kleenex moment.

4. Green Card - I know, how many people actually watched this lame movie? But for some reason when I watched this long ago, I cried like a fool when they let you know that Gerard Depardieu is getting deported after he tried so hard to study for the immigration test pretending to be married to Andy MacDowell.

3. Life is Beautiful - For many, many reasons, but for two main scenes: when they are lost and trying to hide and run into the wall of bodies, and when Roberto pretends to be a soldier, ever the strong father, and gets shot.

2. Philadelphia - mostly the hospital scene when Antonio Banderas is there with Tom Hanks

1. Where the Red Fern Grows - who decided to show this movie at camp?! The title says it all.

Honorable mentions: Four Weddings and A Funeral (same as Scott for the eulogy), The Family Stone (mostly because I thought it was going to a comedy but was NOT), Field of Dreams (when Kevin Costner's dad plays catch), For the Love of the Game (when Kevin Costner pitches a perfect game)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

To my kid sister. I wish you the best year ahead!

Finally!

Sarah Louise Whitford, daughter of Barbara and Ned Whitford of Westerly and Sean Lewis Sweeney, son of Carole and Gerard Sweeney of Dover, MA were married Saturday, October 28, 2006 at three in the afternoon at Christ Church, Westerly, RI. Reverend Robert W. Anthony officiated. Ceremony music was performed by George E. Kent and the Christ Church Choir, trumpet by Richard Given, and bell ringing by Aimée E. Blanchette. Harvey M. Blanchette and Emily A. Sweeney read during the ceremony. The bride’s sister, Lucy E. Whitford was the maid of honor and the bridal attendants were Alisa Saunders, Heather Sanborn and Kara Fieldhouse. The best man was James Damon and the ushers were Ryan Saunders, Michael Freitas and Andrew Kruppa. Flowers at the church were arranged by Jane Barber and flowers for the reception were arranged by Julie Cronan, Susan Sweeney, Regina Murphy and Andrew Lidestri. The ceremony was followed by a reception at The Chester House in Westerly.

The bride, employed by the Gulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland, ME, graduated from the Graduate School of Oceanography at URI. The groom graduated from the University of Maine School of Law in Portland, ME. He is employed by Pierce Atwood, LLP in Portland, ME. They honeymooned at the Orchard Cottage in Queenstown, New Zealand. The couple resides in Maine.

The couple was surrounded by lots of loving friends and family!

What is Manamana?

Answer: The first sketch of the first episode of The Muppet Show.

As a splurge over Christmas, I bought myself the first season of The Muppet Show on DVD. I watched the first three episodes last night. It is such an awesome show. Anyone who has kids ages 3 and up should own this show. There aren't any scary parts and the muppets are hilareous and what the kids don't get, the parents will. I think Jim Henson was on some heavy drugs when he created this show, but he was a genius.

Where else will you see a left-handed conducting frog? (Who knows who else is a left-handed conductor?)

Let's go Pats

I have heard a lot of talk about how boring the game between the Patriots and the Colts is going to be. I don't understand. Do people think it is going to be a blowout? That is the only kind of game that is boring. Do people not know that these teams are rivals? It is always exciting when rivals play (i.e. Red Sox and Yankees) even when it is a blowout. Maybe people are disappointed because there won't be any severe weather to contend with. This is a valid point, but that just means the strategy will have to be that much better. I, for one, am pretty sure this game will be anything but boring.

If you want to talk boring, let me tell you about this Microsoft Access class I took......

Sting Like A Bee

Muhammad Ali turned 65 this week. Most of you who know me know that I am not a boxing fan. I just never saw the point of watching grown men beat each other up. Maybe there is some sort of strategy or something, but I don't get it.

However, I am a fan of good people. This is not to say he was always a good person, but he did become a good person and mended the errors of his ways. He has given millions of dollars to charities and persevered despite his severe illness.

So, happy birthday to the greatest, keep on dancing.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I would like to take a moment to remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Days like today are necessary to make us remember that there were people who had great hope for our country and world. We need more people like that to get others fired up about equality no matter what they look like, what language they speak or what religion they practice.

XII Night

The people in my hometown put on a play every year called XII Night. It is not Shakespeare's XII Night, but an original play about showing out the old year and welcoming in the new and the omnipresent fight of good and evil. There plot changes from year to year but there are some constants: Good wins, a battle, a cool monster, a dancer, an (annoying) clarinetist, great music, jesters, cake, and fun and merriment. For the past 32 years is was written by the same woman. Unfortunately, she passed away this past October so there was a huge void. Who was going to step in and write XII Night? How will the show go on?

My friend, H to the rescue! He is an amazing writer and artist. He has been involved in XII Night since he was 2. It is in his blood. It only seemed natural for him to have a chance to showcase his talent and step in to help out. As it happens, as much as he might deny it, when someone is in trouble, you can count on him to help out. His big heart is a huge part of his personality and his talent is just a bonus.

The play was fantastic. The plot was easy to follow. The poetry used (original and otherwise) fit in beautifully. The dancing was well done. The acting was exceptional (the dark god played by my friend, A, was my fav!). The monster was scary with it's booming footsteps. And the music fit in very well. Although, I might say the tap dancing twins stole the show!


Congrats H. I know I already said this - but I am very proud of you.


Well done.

Pats Win!

After a very messy, but exciting game, the Pats pulled it out to beat the San Diego Chargers to advance to the AFC Championships where they will play the Indianapolis Colts in Indy. They won by a field goal. This is not an unusual way for the Patriots win, but it is unusal that the kicker was NOT Adam Vinatieri, but a much younger rookie named Stephen Gostkowski who pulled it off with grace. I have a feeling in a few years people in New England will be saying "Adam who? Oh you mean the traitor who when to Indy so he could keep his stats by kicking in a dome?" It is also good that the Pats will be playing in Indy as their home record wasn't so great this year. It will be an interesting game next week. Go Pats!

The New Year

I feel like blogging is like going to the gym. Everyone's resolution is to keep up with their blogs (or maybe that's just me). Well, I am going to try to blog at least once a month (I try to keep expectations low).

I know a LOT has happened since I last blogged. Hey - I got married! We had a great wedding. It POURED all morning (I know - it's good luck) and there are some pretty hilareous pictures of me getting into the church all covered in raincoats and bonnets. But we probably had the best sunset EVER when we went down to the beach afterwards. My church is awesome and is made even awesomer (I know it's not a work but it's my blog) by the choir that sings there. We were very lucky to surrounded by people who loved us and wanted to be there to support us. Our photographers were great. Especially when we were being rushed out of the church where we were taking our pictures because of the rain because the 5:00 service was starting. We had a great reception. Our friend Drew and various aunts made the place look fantastic. The DJ was great. The food exceeded our expectations and everyone had FUN which is exactly what we were going for. All in all, it was a great day.

We then went for a honeymoon in New Zealand. That's right - New Zealand. It was fantastic. It was just nice to be on vacation, go for a hike if we wanted, go for a boat ride, or just hang out.

After our nice vacation it was back to reality: work and holidays. Thanksgiving was great and Christmas wasn't but what are you going to do?

Now it is the New Year and I just listened to one of my new CDs (Paul McCartney's Ecce Cor Meum) which also exceeded expectations and was pretty good. I am sick, but my hubby should be home soon (since he said he would be home 1/2 an hour ago) to cook me some dinner.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

Smokers

My friend Scott just wrote a great post about how smoking makes otherwise fantastic, smart, caring, loving people stupid, careless, mean, and selfish. Smoking destroys people's health, and I don't think destroys is a strong enough word. I started to write a response but then decided to post it instead.

Thank you for writing that, but, unfortunately, even if the people in your family who smoke read this (I know at least one of them), they might think about it for a minute, but then forget it. I know this because of years of trying the same thing with my dad. I hate to be such a pessimist, but that is what happens after years of telling someone you love that they are hurting themselves, wasting money and frustrating you to no end. This is not to say that those people won't respect your wishes of not smoking around you or your family, they will, and by doing this they feel they are justified in their disgusting habit. What they don't realize is that they are really eating into the time you have to spend with them and choosing the cigarette over you. This may be harsh, but it's true.

It really has to be up to the smoker to quit. My mom is a great example of this. She finally decided it was right for her to quit. And she hasn't smoked in 3.5 years and I am extremely proud of her for this. That the smoker won't decide to quit based on medical evidence and the pleas of family and friends may be very selfish on the part of the smoker, but there must've been something subliminal in the advertisements in the 60s and 70s for smoking telling people the smoking was as harmless as a fly. It is something I will never understand.

I usually think about the Different Strokes episode when Gary Coleman's character's uncle/some sort of relative has to go have a lung removed because he smoked for years, and the last shot of him is walking out the door to the hospital, lighting up a cigarette. It is just such a foreign concept to me, I can't even begin to comprehend.

That's my boy

I still love Nomar.

Seadogs win!!!!

The Portland Seadogs have just won their first Eastern League Championship Series! It is like the World Series of the Minor Leagues in this division, so I guess it is more like the ALCS, but without the World Series existing. I am very happy for the Seadogs - I just wish I had been there today, a beautiful, somewhat hot, fall day. But, we had a good weekend in Rangeley, so I guess I wouldn't change it.

PS - sorry I haven't posted in forever, but things are getting quite busy with the wedding coming up so soon, and I feel bad posting at work, when I am supposed to be, you know, working, even though I have nothing to do.

YEAH SEADOGS!!!!!

Big Disaster

I feel the need to post about this since my friend Scott is on hiatus for a few weeks. As those of you from New England know, there was this HUGE tunnel project in Boston officially named the Central Artery/Tunnel project, affectionately known as The Big Dig. It has been leaking since before it was finished. It has leaked dirt and water which have caused minor damage to cars. It's lastest problem - tons of concrete falling from the ceiling of the tunnel - took a life. The tunnel has caused more problems than the billions - that's right - Billions of dollars it cost and Years of time it took. Traffic is not much better, it is still a nightmare to drive through the city and it's unsafe. Now that this happened, even less people will use the broken tunnels and will cause even MORE traffic in the city. Who knows what will happen next?