The Fabulous B@ker Blog

Here I go again. Loving my street. Today a couple of "us neighbors" coordinated a baby shower for another neighbor (we'll call her "Stephanie"...ok, you got me; that's her real name) in celebration of the upcoming birth of her baby boy. Even though this is Steph and Jeff's fourth child, it's their first boy, and that was a good enough reason to get together and have some mid-winter Sunday fun. At the shower we all marveled how lucky we are to live on such an awesome street. Sure, the houses are relatively tiny and you know about all the problems that come with living in an older house, but you can't beat the interest and concern we all have for each other. Street sale, street picnic, Christmas cookie exchange, and just last night, a euchre party...we just plain like hanging out together. I know the Village experience is not for everyone. Many like much more "space" and don't like the idea of getting to know their neighbors qui...

Finally! A positive post about winter! One thing I really like about winter is hockey. This is worth noting since, in general, I am not a sports fan, nor do I like winter. In fact, as hard as I try, I DO NOT GET football. Every year on Super Bowl Sunday a pray we will not be invited to a superbowl party as sitting through the game is absolute misery and boredom for me (it's a great time to catch up on my reading, though). I usually go grocery shopping on Super Bowl Sunday assuming that everyone will be so busy with their parties that the store will be a ghost town. It's usually not until I get there that I realize everyone is there picking up snacks for their party and it's as crazy as ever. *Sigh* I like baseball also, although I find it a little boring most of the time, and I suppose I can figure out what's going on in soccer and lacrosse. Basketball is also a fun sport to watch. But my favorite is hockey. Not just because of the non-stop constantly-shifting ac...

I seriously cannot believe I was on a tropical island just a week ago. How can you go from feeling alive and soaking up the sun, to wanting to put your PJs on at 6pm and heading to bed at 8:30 every night? My hibernation instinct has definitely kicked into high gear. Come, groundhog, come and relieve me of this dark winter misery!!

A little something to get you through the rest of the winter. You're welcome.

I famously loathe cold weather...and that's why my weekend trip to San Juan was SO AWESOME. Through the marvel of modern travel, it always amazes me how easily we can go from being freezing cold in the morning to being in shorts with our toes in the sand in the afternoon (although sometimes with the hassles that come with flying). Well, it's an easy adjustment for me, anyway! In a nutshell, San Juan was absolutely beautiful, weather-wise, accommodations-wise, and people-wise. It rained every night and was sunny and warm everyday, and the hotel was just steps away from the beach. How alive we all felt in the warm sunshine!! The meeting itself, which was all day Saturday and part of Sunday, was very productive.  It worked out pretty well as a meeting place since most of the board members were already there as they had attended the Advanced Winter Institute for their colleges, so only a few of us had to fly in for the actual meeting. I'm always amazed by my NAGAP colle...

I'm barely hanging onto my sanity looking forward to this weekend's trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico for my NAGAP board meeting. There's not a lot of actual "fun" time available as I will get there late afternoon on Friday and leave at 6:30am on Monday morning, with a full day-and-a-half of meetings in between. I know though, that when I leave the airport to go to the hotel (which looks incredibly beautiful , by the way), my spirits will soar, fueled by much needed sunshine and warmth. (And palm trees and sand and ocean.) I've never been to PR, so I'm looking forward to the adventure. I will have sometime between the end of the board meeting on Sunday at noon until I head to the airport hotel in the evening to see some sights. Stop back for some pictures to help get you through the dark, cold days of winter.

My life is ruled by rituals, and weekends in the winter mean... Sleeping in until 6:30 or 7am  Walking with pup to get my coffee (weather permitting) and drinking said coffee all morning long whilst surfing the Internet, browsing the (mosty ad-filled) paper, or watching some mindless drivel on TV for most of the morning  If I'm lucky: afternoon naptime! Setting the grandfather clock from "silent" to "chime."  Eating out (what's so different from any other day of the week, you ask?)  If not going out to dinner, cooking a special meal (I actually do like to do this, more than you'd think!)  Staying in my sweats until the last possible moment that I have to go out and face my adoring public  Taking a shower eventually, or not at all (Hey! It's good for your skin to have a break in dry, cold weather especially. It's true. Look it up.)  Pulling the rocker up to the fire and enjoying a good book. It feels soooo good. There's somethi...