A Very Merry UnBirthday to You

(Alright...so I realize this happened in September...but I am WAY behind....) On Saturday night (9/3), the family went to Benihanna to celebrate the birthdays of Carol and Willie.

As you can see, a good time was had by all.. as is typical when we all go OUT somewhere and no one is on clean-up! Gavin expecially liked the umbrella drinks..and the oranges which were attached to the glasses.


Cathy and Jeff sat at the far end of the table...so Keith and I had the pleasure of starting back at their lovely faces all night....so much pleasure, in fact, that Keith could hardly remove the smile from his face! Now that is a good familiy outing!

The evening continued with a rousing rendition of what we assumed to be Happy Birthday to you...but truth be told, it could have been "get out of here...we are sick of bringing you things..."

Jordan and I met at the bar for a final drink. Her's was non-alcholic, of course...mine, was not.

I believe at some point there was some type of cake or ice cream cake... I don't actaully remember us eating any..but I am sure we did...and, of course, we have this picture...where Carol is wearing the same shirt as above... and the cake says Happy Birthday Carol. I guess the proof is in the pudding...

The Weekend

I am officially too old - this past weekend has proven that to me. There is no denying it...I must accept it and make it part of me. heehee.. On Friday, Sara and I decided to go up to Lake Geneva and see one of our favorite bands. You can visit them at www.thenadas.com

We made the 2 1/2 hour journey with the Friday Wisconsin crowd. The place they were playing we a real hole in the wall..but they had good bar food..and cheese curds...so could it be all that bad? I don't think so. We talked to the bartender about the fact that they had Welches Grape soda. Welches Grape?? What does that go with? We suggested Jamesons and Grape..or Jack and Grape...uck! After a few beers, and the clock turning 10:30 (!!!) the band went on. Three sets later, and after a nasty confrontation with a rude girl where Sara let me know she had my back, we took note of the time, 1:30, decided to start heading home - in a violent thunderstorm. Overall, an excellent night with an excellent band...and I never did have that Jack and Grape...gives a reason to return next time!

At 10:30 Saturday, I opened my weery eyes..and knew I had to face the day...which meant I needed breakfast...so that meant a trip to the IHOP. I always forget how loud it is in there. Once nourished, I headed home and went back to bed. Sometime in the mid afternoon, Carol asked me what I was doing...I said I was resting because I had to get up soon and get ready to go out again. How do the young people do it???

Saturday I went with Sarah to see a show at the Royal George Theater - Verbatim Verboten. This show revolves around conversations had by people. Some of these are famous, some are not...all are hysterical. Makes me think that someone should go through my emails and make a show out of them! Some of the silly, silly conversations I have. Anyway, so then we went for a drink and headed home.

Sunday....I was very unproductive. I think I deserved a day off!

Happy 1st Birthday Gavin!!

Today, August 4th, is Gavin's first birthday.

He looks shocked that a whole year has gone by already!

We are celebrating with cake on Saturday, when everyone can be here, (I will add those picutures later) but Nana and Lindsay thought that he needed some gifts on his actual birthday. He got many of the classic toys we all remember enjoying as children - the phone, for instance. He enjoyed pushing it around the floor.
He also received the "popcorn popper". He really likes this one! He also received a dump truck, a hammer which makes noise, a book, and a bear that sings...

Lizzie got a gift too...she got tissue paper... and then Gavin decided she needed some help with her technique...

When all the presents were open and we had finished running around the house with the popper, we were tired...and needed a drink. Birthdays can be a lot of work!!! And I am sure Gavin looks forward to celebrating again on Saturday...WITH CAKE!! I hear there are Elmo party hats too....

Congratulations Keith and Louise!!

This past weekend, I was in London to attend the wedding of my cousin Keith and his new wife, Louise.

It was a lovely day, the rain held off all morning while getting ready and getting to the church. Thinking back it makes me want to sing the song "Im getting married in the morning.." but I shall refrain. Everyone looked fantastic, though I give the girls the award for looking the best!

The ceremony got off to a late start, but once we were underway, it was very nice. The bride looked stunning! After they said "I do" and exchanged rings, it was official..they were hitched!!! Now off for a few photos! Luckily the rain stayed away. See...didn't I tell you she looked stunning?? And he didn't look to shabby either... :)

And lets not forget two very important people...

Now that the formality was out of the way...it was time for the party!

Upon finding our way to the venue, having a few drinks and greeting our new bride and groom, we were seated. On each of the tables were small wedding shaped containers of bubbles. It is amazing how these kept our table entertained! After much heated competition, and a little coaching by one of her table-mates, Lisa was declared the winner! Louise came in a close second but she didn't complete the release...maybe next time.

Dinner was served, followed by some very heartwarming speeches! There were also some jokes about some of Keith's schoolmates being there..but I think they were referring to some elderly people...I just didn't get it.

The night continued with dancing and mayhem...and I am happy to report that no one threw a punch. (Though it was questionable at one point.)

Congratulations Keith and Lou! May your lives be filled with the happiness and love you both deserve!!!

Kung Fu Master

Gavin has been sick and so when he and Lindsay were over today, and after he had a long nap...she found this purple belt thing laying around and put it on his head. I don't know about you, but I am thinking that later in life he could be either be a kung fu master or an aerobics instructor - I'm sure his father would perfer the kung fu life!

Whatcha Reading?

I felt it was time for a book update. Right now, I am reading Aloft, by Chang-Rae Lee. This is a fantastic book! Its main character, Jerry Battle, is a middle aged man who worked in the family business and now is retired and has started the second part of his life. You encounter his children, his father and all types of other people in his life. Believe me, my synopsis does not do this book justice. It was one of those books I saw on a list somewhere and thought that maybe I would read it some day - I am seriously loving it. I will finish it over the weekend so if you would like to read it, let me know!!!

Splish Splash

On Sunday, June 19th, Gavin and I went swimming while his mom and dad were seeing about getting him a new house.

The weather was warm..but the water temperature was a bit chilly..about 78. I got his Little Swimmer on and slathered him down with SPF 50. Let me just say he was a wee bit slippery!

We went out to the pool and I got his whale out. At first, he was not too sure...perhaps this was due to the water temperature, because I know how much he likes water!

After a few minutes he settled down, we got his hat strapped on, and he was ready to go!

He really likes to hang over the side of his whale and splash..he thinks that is pretty funny. He's got quite a set of legs too and is not afraid to kick!

After about 45 minutes, he was getting sleepy and it was time for his nap. We got him out of the pool and he sat on the side for a minute while I got out. He looks like a foot dippin' professional!

I am sure there will be many, many more swims before the summer is over!

The Wedding in Indiana

On the 10th of June, Sara and I drove down to Kokomo, Indiana to attend my cousin Tom's wedding. Let me start by saying there is no easy way to get to Kokomo and it can take anywhere from 4 hours (Sara and I) to 6 hours (the rest of my family). It had been a while since I had been on a road trip so we packed the cooler and hooked up the iPod and off we went. I always have a good time with Sara and I found out that we both love Kid Rock. How did I not already know that??? When we finally pulled into Kokomo after 11pm, we did manage to find a 24 hour Starbucks. Of course we both had to partake!!!

On Saturday, we managed to find this great place to get our toes done. So once that was taken care of (check) we went to Macy's in search of shoes and accessories. I have to say we both bought a lovely pair of shoes each (check check)! What would an outing be without new shoes I ask you?? I wore my new shoes to the wedding..but we'll get to that in a bit. At 12:00, Julie's House of Beauty opened for business. Between doing three people's eyebrows, 2 rounds of hair straightening and who knows what else I was talked into, I finally was able to get myself ready. I am very glad I am so low maintenance.

The wedding was nice and short...how I like them.

Then we were off to the reception. I have fond memories of the reception...or at least those I can remember. Sara and I were told several times that we had sexy shoes on. What do you think? We all looked so nice..and clean up quite well. We had several cocktails and danced, danced, danced. I don't know about everyone else, but for me, I'm not having a good time until I fall over...well, you guessed it, I fell..and took out Taylor's toe in the process. My mother likened it to the Wizard of Oz, when the house falls on the wicked witch and all you see are her feet. She said that is just what it looked like. Do you think she is trying to tell me something?
We took our customary self portraits...Sara's thumb was desperate to be in the picture.

In the end, it wasn't a total bust...I did manage to hook up with Elvis. Thank you..thank you very much...

On Sunday, we had planned to visit the grave of James Dean...but it was raining and how fun is walking around a cemetery in the rain. Instead we opted to drive straight home, but not before stopping at the Starbucks where Sara and I upped the attractiveness quotient by at least 200 percent!

California Dreamin

During the first weekend of June, I went to visit Jill in California. I have been to California before, but never to the LA/Orange County area.
Friday - Friday we drove out to LA and went to the Grauman's Chinese Theater. We were there for about 10 minutes...Jill put her hands in Gene Kelly's and I let Jill take my picture standing upright. I think I was by hand prints of Marilyn Monroe and some other famous blonde actress - it said Men Prefer Blondes across both of them. Of course, I refused to bend down and have my picture taken!! We visitited the Starbucks. We also saw a few Stars on the Walk of Fame.

Then we went to Santa Monica and went shopping at Fred Segal. Of course we didn't' see any celebrities. But we did see a lot of spoiled people with WAY too much money. Jill and I refrained from buying some work totes that we didn't need for $250 each...and then we got some hand lotion from Sarah.

From there, we went to Venice and walked along the beach. I have to say one thing about Venice...there are many young people who seem to do nothing but beg for money to buy pot!! Signs that said "I need $4 to buy pot". Well, here is my feeling, get a job to buy your pot. Waste your money, yes...waste my money, no. I did manage to pick up a cute necklace and some books. I can always buy books!!

Saturday we had a day of pampering. We went and had tea at this nice little tea room recommended to us by Jill's mom. Then, we went for manicures and pedicures. We did some shopping and then we had dinner at one of those benihana-type places which was excellent! We topped the day off by seeing Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. Quite a good movie, if I might add my 2 cents.

Sunday I was headed home...but not before a stop at the Starbucks!

New Books

I realized that I have read several more books since my last post.

The book I am reading right now is called Fever Pitch. You may recognize the title from the movie out not so long ago with Drew Berrymore and Jimmy Fallon. After reading the book I cannot see how one influenced the other, but isn't that typical. Anyway, I found this book really interesting. It is about Nick Hornby's love of English football...following it from youth through adult hood. He talks about his experiences at these football matches, which I find entertaining because I can relate! The average person, well just about everyone else, might not like it...but I did. Must be that family influence! I have Martin to thank for that.

I have also tried to read Cloud Atlas. I found this on the New York Times Notable Books of 2004 list. When I read the reveiw, it sounded good so of course I added it to my Amazon Wish List and purchased it. I tired to read it...really tried..and struggled through about 15 pages (which took an hour!). I don't know what it was but I couldn't read this! It is something about the language that is being used - I felt like I was reading Cold Mountain again! Here is the funny thing though. While I was walking to the train the other day, I saw some woman reading this..and she was just about done. I wanted to tap her on the shoulder and ask what her secret was for getting through this...but I didn't want her to think I was a freek.

More book reviews to come!!!

Reading Room

Everyone I know is reading amazing books! I love to get book recommendations from other people..so perhaps you would like some from me.

I have recently finished reading Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. In case you haven't been in a book store lately, it is about a young boy, Amir, who lives in Afghanistan. Thought the book, and his life, he makes some interesting choices which effect not only his own life, but the lives of virtually all around him. It was an incredible book!