The Fabulous B@ker Blog

The Polar Versprilles at Jake's game In a lot of ways, this weekend was a teaser for spring. It got up to almost 50 on Saturday (But super, cutting, chilly wind ~ just ask me. We sat for 1 1/2 hours on a lacrosse field watching our cousin, Jake [Springfield College], play lacrosse against Naz) ! On Saturday morning, Mark and I gave the cars a good cleaning, inside and out before running one of the cars over to Cam to use for a couple of weeks while we visit Mom and Sue in Virginia, followed by a week in Denver for Mark. What a mess they were, but it was great to be able to do that so early in the season. The sun was shining brightly all weekend, which sure went a long way toward lifting my (and I'm guessing other people's) spirits. Annalisse is feeling better, but says she's still tired. Hopefully, she can get a little more active as the weather continues to get nicer. I think half the battle is to build her stamina back up after she's been sick for a month. S...

On Monday Annalisse was diagnosed with mono , after a rough month of two bouts of strep throat and feeling generally yucky. Having mono is common of a "rite of passage" for high school and college students, and very common among these groups, especially college students who live in such close quarters. And we all know, colleges and high schools are a bit of a germ factory. I'm glad to report her sore throat is feeling better, but she is still pretty worn out. Of course, while worried about her general health I am also worried about her school work. There is not a lot of wiggle room there. So, we're holding our breath hoping she'll be on the upswing in the weeks to come so she can get back to her perky self and do her best academically. She will be home on spring break in a little over two weeks, and I'm sure she's looking forward to laying around and no pressure. Poor little lamb!

Happy 21st to my BIG KID today! He can finally have an alcoholic beverage with dinner! His FIRST. ;) Cam has class until 8pm tonight so we are going to pick him up, come back to Fairport to go to Donnelly's (his choice), then bring him back over to Brick City to do God-knows-what. Apparently there is a big party in the works for the weekend. What I don't know won't hurt me, I suppose, as long as he stays safe. As I say every year, I can't believe how old he's getting. He has really made us proud and he's a great kid!!  So, cheers to my first born! 21 years young!

Alex and Ani We're just back from taking Annalisse back to school after her weekend home to spend Valentine's Day with her cute little boyfriend, Alex (who is from Webster but goes to SUNY Oswego). They had a wonderful couple of days together, and were sad to say their goodbyes at 1:30am this morning. The night before she was at his house until 2am, so I guess it was an "earlier" night.  This, despite the fact that she's in the midst of her second round of strep throat in a month and didn't feel super great [and downright terrible] all weekend. She's going back to the Health Center tomorrow morning to let them know things are not getting a lot better. But I digress... So, anyway, we got another pleasant surprise in the middle of last week when all of a sudden Cameron's Facebook status changed to "In a Relationship" with Shaina, a friend from camp that he's been hanging out with (as part of a larger group) for the last three years ...

Last night I booked The Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort (on Mirror Lake) in Lake Placid for our girl's weekend in late September. HURRAY! What better way to get through the drudgery of this very cold, snowy, long winter than to be able to look forward to a weekend of merriment and shenanigans with your best girls? It's been a really, really long time since I've been in Lake Placid so I'm looking forward to getting back. Such a great place. Right about now I really need to start lining things up to push me through the rest of the winter. Things like: A trip to Virginia to visit Mom Shiao and Sue/Ken the last week in February A week long trip  in April to San Diego for the NAGAP board meeting ( probably my last - sad face ) and annual conference. A visit by Sue, Ken and San in late May The aforementioned girls weekend in late September Helping Nic look for a wedding dress (and any other wedding related things we can help with) Not much else Of course, there are...

Today is the 50th anniversary of The Beatles first appearance on the Ed Sullivan show. Amazing! I've never understood people who say that a) they don't like The Beatles - some even say "The Beatles suck"- and/or b) they don't think The Beatles are that big a deal. Unfathomable to me. For the relatively short time they produced music as a band (1960-1970) their library, depth, and breadth of music is astounding. It always amazes me to listen to their catchy early stuff (seemly simplistic, but pretty cutting edge for the time), contrasted with the complex and rich sound that came later. Admittedly I like both ends of their musical spectrum...such variety and texture! The era of the Beatles music was truly a snapshot in time, and each member's solo music, while good in some cases (and really bad in others), never added up to the sum of the band's whole parts. Obviously, this is all my opinion, but it would be hard to argue that their influence on music...

I don't have anything to do this weekend. It's Saturday, and the days ahead stretch out before me with not a lot planned, except to take Cam out to dinner tonight when we pick up the car (he's had it all week while Mark has been in Denver), and maybe watch a movie or two. I'm halfway through my book on my iPad, so there's that. Admittedly, I feel a little guilty for not doing much today. You know me, I like to be busy; but then when I'm too busy, I'd rather be napping. The next couple of weeks are going to be pretty busy with a quick trip to Mercyhurst next weekend to pick up A next (she wants to spend Valentine's Day with her boyfriend, Alex (a first! ~seeing this is her first "real" boyfriend) who goes to SUNY Oswego, then we'll be busy with different activities all weekend, then back to Mercyhurst on Sunday. Also, in a couple of weeks we'll venture down to Virginia to bring Mom Shiao a TV cabinet and visit Sue, Ken and cousin San f...

OOOps watch out for those bangs! Never misses a good party. Happy Birthday to my sister, Mary, today! Fun fact: Mary was born in 1957, just a little over nine months after my parents wedding (good going, Louie and Aline - good Catholics!), and she is 57 today. Weird, huh? I suppose that means I can say the same thing when I turn 63. Oh wait, not so fun a fact. I hope Mary has a fab day today with yet another so called snowstorm blowing across the Northeast!

Hurray! The day is here! Of course that pesky groundhog saw his shadow and scurried back from whence he came for "six more weeks." Now that the day is here I feel like I have what it takes to make it through the rest of winter. Even if the weather is yucky through March we know it won't last forever!! Have a wonderful day, all, and enjoy the longer days and the promise of spring!