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Showing posts from November, 2007

Ready, Set, Celebrate!

I'm happy to report that even though the calendar has not yet turned to December, I've got all my holiday tasks under control. Most of my (our) shopping is done, the photo Christmas cards are in hand (just need to be addressed and stamped - but I never want to get those out too early, usually a week or so from now), we're planning to decorate the house this weekend, we get the tree next weekend, and every weekend from now until Christmas is scheduled with parties or other holiday events. Whew! No wonder I love January so much! Must be my hibernation instinct. (Did I mention my FAVORITE holiday, bar none, is Groundhogs Day - JUST SIX WEEKS OF WINTER LEFT!). But, that's a topic for another (snowy) day.

And in case you haven't heard enough about Schoolhouse Rock Live, Jr.

Here's a link to today's Democrat & Chronicle " Our Towns " section. See if you can find the up-and-coming young starlet holding the plastic rat...

Wednesday, a.k.a. Friday

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Woohoo! It's the last workday before the Thanksgiving break! ~ and a 1/2 workday at that! The kids are off today (so Tuesday was their Friday), and we'll just be hanging out and taking it easy today, after a quick run to the Mall to finish up my Massena Christmas shopping (we're going up for an overnight on Friday). I'll bring all the gifts up to our relatives there since we probably won't make another trip up until winter breaks in March or April. Mark is on the final journey of his wrist recovery. He had his final surgery yesterday when the doctor took the two pins out that, I'm assuming, joined the ligament back to the bone. So, next week he starts physical therapy for what I assume will be months. In all my complaining about they hype surrounding Christmas I should mention how much I love Thanksgiving! No pressure (beyond the meal), just all my favorite foods on one plate (followed by a nap and days of feeling full afterward). Enjoy your holiday! I know we h

Leg Broken, and Well

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Not literally of course... Annalisse's two nights of School House Rock, Jr. were great! She did a fantastic job, and we could really hear her belting out the songs from where we were sitting. In addition to being part of "Group II," she also had some other little, but memorable, parts in the play. It was a really great production where all the kids had a chance to shine, and not just the "main" characters, which was nice. There were a few tense moments during Saturday's performance when the audio (background music) cut out and the girls/characters sang most "Conjunction Junction" without the music/tune. They were true professionals, not missing a beat, and kept on keepin' on! Their performance was met with thundering applause when they finished the song. We were all so proud of them! Today I bet there's a few very tired students after a night out for ice cream at Friendly's on Friday, and the cast party last night!

How I Spent My Summer Vacation 2008, By Cameron Baker

This is the heading we'll be reading next August after Cameron spends three weeks in France, Italy and Greece as a student ambassador with People to People . We got the call last night that Cameron has been accepted into the People to People program (along with the cost of the trip, of course), and he's really excited about it. We first learned of the program last summer when several kids we know went to Austrialia, New Zealand and Fiji with P2P. We are excited for him, too, and realize it's really a great opportunity for a kid his age to be able to travel to Europe and see some of the great sights they have lined up, like: Greece Visit Epidaurus , famous for its well-preserved 4 th Century B.C. amphitheater. Walk through Athens and take in the majestic Acropolis. See the Parthenon and Erechtheion . Enjoy a performance of traditional Greek dances at the Dora Stratou Theater. See Mt. Olympus, the mountain where the ancient Greek Gods were supposed to live. Tour the arena w

Pretty as a Picture

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Today Jasper had his first trip to the dog spa (well, not actually - he got "the works" at Petco ). He smells so good now, fully bathed, brushed, trimmed, and clipped (not to mention a teeth cleaning). His visit rated a "gold star" by the groomer. Good boy!

Conjunction Junction, What's Your Function? Truly one of the great mysteries of our time.

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This weekend Annalisse will be in her school production of Schoolhouse Rock Live (Jr.). Remember Schoolhouse Rock from the '70s? I do, and am really looking forward to hearing those catchy songs again (which, through the back door, taught us about nouns, what makes a "bill", interjections (!), and the Preamble to the Constitution ~ I can still recite it to this day). Annalisse does not have one of the major parts (there were only seven or so available, out of 40 kids that tried out), but she did manage to work her way into a series of supporting roles! So, if you're looking for an hour of fun this Friday or Saturday night, we'll see you at 7:00 at Minerva Deland School in Fairport.

There...and Back Again

Well, we're home from our great weekend in Vermont. It was really awesome. The weather was great, we had a really nice suite just outside of Killington , and we made it a point to visit several new towns this time. One of the weekend's "quests" was to find a winter jacket for Annalisse , and, after visiting 15 stores or so, we settled on a Columbia jacket in Manchester. Some of those "outerwear systems" cost upwards of $200... I don't think so! Other places we visited for the first time: Sugarbush Ski Resort, The Vermont Country Store in Weston (a bit of a tourist attraction, but worth a visit at least once), and Woodstock (not the one of hippie concert fame). We also were able to put a dent in our Christmas shopping (although we didn't go overboard - see post of November 4!). The kids would have liked to visit Springfield, which hosted The Simpson's Movie premiere this summer, but we ran out of time. The state basically closes down at 6pm on

Green Mountain Dreams

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This afternoon we head to one of my favorite places on Earth - Vermont. I know, I know! I haven't been to that many places (well actually, I've been to quite a few, but nowhere near as many as I'd like to go...), so maybe there are other potential "favorite" places. But. there's something about Vermont - the minute we pass the state border from New York to the Green Mountain State, my blood pressure seems to drop. Small, quaint towns; lots of farms and white clapboard churches; and, as a friend pointed out to me recently, no roadside billboards [think about it]! The great thing about a trip to Vermont is that you can basically cover the whole state in 2-3 days. We stay in Rutland , which is around the center of the state, so 1 1/2 hour up to Burlington near the top of the state, and 1 1/2 hour down to Bennington , which is around the bottom of the state, and back and forth and side to side, and there you have it! Of course, it would be just another quaint and

The New Time - Same as the Old Time

Early Sunday morning the country switched to Daylight Savings Time and our clocks "fell back" one hour. Here's the problem: I like the new wake up time but still want to go to bed at the "old" time (i.e. I'm falling asleep by 8:30pm - new time). So, don't tell anyone, but I think I'll stick to the "old" time...

Something that really (Ba Hum)bugs me

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On Thursday, November 1, I drove down to Poughkeepsie for a graduate fair at Marist College (which is about 4 1/2 hours from here - an hour-and-a-half outside NYC). On the way there, I could not believe it when I came across TWO radio stations playing continuous loops of Christmas music. ON NOVEMBER 1! The operators of those stations no doubt had a giant clock just ticking down the Halloween minutes until the hands reached midnight, and they could start their Christmas compilations that will now play, without stop, for the next month and 25 days. Do I sound a little out of my mind about this? Good! Because I am! It is just plain ridiculous. I really cannot stand the way Christmas has gotten out of control. Still, I like all the warm and fuzzy stuff as much as the next person (spending time with family and friends, Peace on Earth, Good Will Towards Men and all that jazz), but I find the expectations and the costs associated with the holiday to be way out of control. I wish it could b