The Fabulous B@ker Blog

Wow! It's been 11 days since my last post, that's probably the longest I've ever gone. But, I have a good excuse: I was in San Francisco without a computer. One week ago today I was strolling the pier of Fisherman's Wharf, contemplating what delicacy would satisfy me that night (frankly, I consider any food that I don't have to cook a delicacy). After three-and-a-half days, which include plenty of sightseeing (but not nearly enough) and great conference for graduate admissions professionals, I headed back on the red-eye via Chicago on Friday night. For the next couple of minutes, though, I'd like to savor some highlights of my great trip! After arriving around noon last Tuesday, I checked into my hotel, the Hilton at Union Square (no, Annalisse, Paris Hilton was not there), and headed down to the lounge for a quick lunch. After lunch, I went for a nice walk until I reached Pier 1, the Ferry Port, which was about 20 minutes from the hotel. I went into some shops ...

At the end of the school day today, Annalisse jumped for joy as she ushered in spring break (Cam was off today as we went to the RIT Jr. Open House. He is certainly sold on RIT, now if he can just get his grades up and hit the target on his SATs), but complained that, while her friends were going to Florida, Myrtle Beach, and other fun-in-the-sun exotic and not-so-exotic locales, SHE WASN'T GOING ANYWHERE. She bemoaned this sad state of affairs on her facebook page, stating "Why can't my family afford leaving Fairport for spring break..? I wanna go someplace extremely warm and miss school." The funny thing is, I AM GOING AWAY FOR SPRING BREAK! On Tuesday I leave for my graduate admissions professionals conference in San Francisco, and return by the red-eye on Friday night. I love to rub this in to her, but am a little careful not to take it too far as she HATES BEING HOME WITH THE BOYS. I expect she'll be texting me out of boredom and annoyance all week long. But...

The living room/dining room renovation project that started in March 2009 is finally complete with the recent purchase of new furniture and a window treatment for the BIG front window. Last year at this time, when we had taken down wall paper in both rooms and were anticipating the big paint job to take place over April break while we were in NYC, I knew that the pur chase of new furniture and something to cover the front window would not take place probably until after the new year. Alas, there are some lingering expenses from last year's project such as the new shower fixtures and shutters in the bathroom and Cam's room but those will come after the shade and the furniture are paid off! I'm pretty happy with the finished look, with the exception of the window treatment "right now." It was installed in two pieces because the window is so wide, but has a sligh t gap in the middle so the light shows through. That bothers me a lot, and I'm sure it was the goal o...

Well, another Easter has come and gone, and for the first time in a long time we were blessed with wonderful sunny, warm weather for what turned out to be a great day of, among other things, eating ! We were joined by Mom Shaio , Grandma Pat, our friend Linda (who is moving back to her native Philadelphia from Fairport tomorrow - sadness!), and Mark's cousin, Sue, who was a last minute, but always welcome, addition to our feast. Mark and and I decided to make prime rib this year, and how yummy it was! As I've remarked a couple of times in the B@ker blog, not a holiday goes by that I don't reminisce about Christmases and Easters spent with my family in Massena , and the family traditions we used to share. Among the things that used to make Easter very special to me was the Easter morning breakfast celebration at Nonnie's , featuring frittata , a baked egg omelet with cheese and cubed ham, which was enjoyed by what seemed like a cast of thousands that filed into Nonni...