It occurs to me that there's a big gap between my 2/23/04 blog and the 7/13/05 blog then 2/27/06 blog...

Just to fill in the blanks quickly - Billy is doing great, he is doing physical therapy to help get his leg back to normal. No new cancer (keeping fingers crossed) has been seen though they keep checking to make sure.

Sofia was a dream come true, born on July 27, 2004. You can read about her more here - www.babyhomepages.net/littlebaby

The last gap is just due to being busy with Sofia and being full time back to work! She's 19 months as of today - time sure flies! Running all over the place, and starting to try and talk. Quite the ray of sunshine in our lives!

Ok, gotta get back to work.

Now I've seen everything ... http://www.metronaps.com/ then again some days I wish we DID have one of these at work!

Isn't Sofia the most GORGEOUS baby EVER??? Says the proud mami... ;)

Billy began the whole bone marrow transfer process today, they installed a 'broviac catheter' on him. He's staying at the hospital tonight, going home tomorrow Tuesday, returning on Wednesday to start the radiation treatments. After that, he'll be in the hospital for weeks. Poor honey!! May his guardian angels watch over him and help him get better soon.

Well, waddaya know... my baby brother is engaged to be married! To be honest I'm a bit ambivalent about his bride to be 'cause she barely talks to me, but she does look like a nice girl and she obviously cares for him (& vice versa) so I wish them very happy. I also wish them a lot of endurance... family politics can be such a bitch! Well, Frank and I will do what we can to support them.

Buggers, my tummy is still acting up... here's hoping my visit to the dr's tomorrow helps, I'm tired of having a hurting tummy!

Other than that, due to my cut finger I couldn't play guitar at church so I had to lead everyone a capella. Felt very strange - I didn't realize how much I depended on the guitar for my cues when singing! Although at least I got some sweet compliments about my voice sounding pretty. NO mass next week, so I'm hoping that in two weeks I can try and put pressure again on my finger.

First full work week in two weeks starts tomorrow. Yuck! And with my tummy, its going to be a fun week...

January 1 and having fun...

Had a great time celebrating the new year with the neighbors & catching up - they're really fun people, wish we spent more time together!

So I talked to mom in the morning, and she invited us over for dinner, except she didn't have anything for dessert. So I thought, hey, great opportunity to play with my new Kitchen Aid mixer! I decided to use a recipe from the booklet that came with it, since I'm not quite sure how to adapt recipes yet, its an Applesauce Cake which I thought sounded yummy. I dumped all the ingredients & started mixing - what fun, this thing works great! Then I started to cut up the apple that needed to be added, when my new Wusthof knife decided to christen me, and gave me a nice cut. I sliced a good chunk of my 4th finger on my left hand, a little more than a 1/4" diameter, and it was hanging only by one side, about as thick as a nice deli slice. Nice clean cut, though! After a few frantic calls to family to help us decide if I needed stitches, we ended up just putting a butterfly bandage on since it wasn't bleeding all that much. Bummer! I'm very annoyed, but what can you do. So I never finished baking the cake after all :) maybe we'll finish it today, Frank offered to help finish the cake prep since I'm kinda one handed right now.

Enough excitement for the new year! Hope the rest goes quieter, but we'll see.

Happy 2004!!

I'm SO looking forward to this year... a new niece arrives in February, hopefully Billy will get his health back, and hopefully Frank and I will get a little blessing sometime in the latter part of the year!

Some highlights from December...

* Return of the King was magnificent, of course!
* Quiet Xmas with the in-laws (my parents & brothers were in FL).
* Spent a day in NYC with Frank, and sampled the best pizza & best hot chocolate ever! The hot C was so rich we got a sugar buzz that we had to walk off, from 18th St all the way to 53rd (Rockefeller Center) and even beyond that! But it was a fun day. Here's a link with the pictures:

You've Got Pictures

Hope the new year brings lots of new things for the whole world!

O man, those snowflakes are HUGE!! And here I was hoping we could go get our xmas tree tomorrow morning.... somehow I don't think so!

Have I mentioned lately that SNOW is a *FOUR* letter word?

It just so happens there a millions of *FOUR* letter words floating out there. I can see them thru my office window. Big, Bold, Capital Letter *FOUR* letter words.

YUCK!!

I spent all of last week in Detroit taking an auditing class... class was very good, Detroit wasn't. I drove to downtown one night planning on having dinner down there, but discovered there are casinos (!) in downtown Detroit. I thought Greektown was an area, kinda like saying Chinatown, but it turned out to be a casino. The few Greek restaurants in the area were in a not-well-lit street that didn't look so safe, so I never even bothered getting out of the car, just kept driving back to the hotel. Yeah, Excitement City... NOT!

Last weekend we had dinner with my old friend Lally and we had a Wonderful time at our local french bistro. Nice to catch up with her, we've barely hung together since we all got in touch again a few months ago (or is it a year already?)

This weekend we're having dinner with our friends Mona & Matt, and Mona is going to give me a massage - given that she does this professionally, I'm REALLY looking forward to it!! Just hope I don't get sick like I sometimes do after a massage (from all those toxins getting released, I guess...)

This is our last week of emusic membership - bummer! I've enjoyed doing our marathon downloading of albums as we try to beat the Nov 8 deadline when emusic switches from unlimited downloads to only 4 albums per month. Frank's getting a bit worried about all the space taken up on our hard drive :0 we may decide to get an external hard drive to store all this fun music. I think we've downloaded about 150 albums so far!! Now comes the next fun part - listening and deciding which ones to burn onto a CD.

Fall weather looks so pretty... pretty colors.. but BRRRR !! Next comes the season I dread the most... hope I can handle the cold!

Quiet Saturday Night.

I have to go find the phone # for the local Thai place so Frank can go get us some Pad Thai. Wish we could go, but I have to do my semi annual clothes summer/ winter switch so I can figure out what to pack for my trip to Detroit tomorrow. 5 days of Very Intense quality training - fun...not! But its something I've been wanting for my resume, and it will be a good learning experience. We shall see how it goes...

Saw Juani last night since he's here to visit our parents. Nice to see him if only for a bit. Got him a book for expectant fathers - I think (hope?) he got a kick out of it - I explained everyone fusses over the mother and forgets the father, so I thought he'd enjoy the book.

Kinda quiet day otherwise - been organizing shtuff around the house - mostly papers. And downloading e-music files like crazy before the cutoff date of Nov 8. Downloading is slow but we've done good.. I think we've downloaded like 70 albums since we found out, and there's like 60 more to go. Let's see how many I can get! OK back to 'work'...

Last Friday we got some bad news - apparently one of Billy's chemo drugs can have the side effect of causing MDS, which could be seen as a pre-leukemia condition, and Billy's got it. Poor Honey!! I'm so heartbroken about it - he's gone thru so much, yet there's still more to go thru! And of course his parents are devastated as well. Couple that with insurance problems they are having, and its not a pretty picture. We'll be keeping them in our prayers...

On a lighter note - FINALLY got to go to Ikea, buy they shelves and start building them! Took all weekend to get the big shelf put together and it looks SO pretty, I'm a Very Happy Camper. Frank will build the smaller shelf set in the week, then next weekend I'll take care of doing the final box & basement junk reorg. THEN we can start on my 'dream' project of repacking all of our boxes into pretty white or kraft new boxes that are all the same so it looks all pretty and even like in the magazine pictures.. yeah right but I can dream, can't I?

Well gotta go do some prep for a meeting I'm running tomorrow at work - yuck!

Wow life has been BUSY! Mostly with Portuguese homework... had an exam on Tuesday then a presentation last night (Thursday). I think I did well on both.

Although I'm having fun with the class, I don't think I'll take the continuation class... its too much work and there's so many more things I want to do and I don't have time for it all. Plus next yr (fingers crossed) I may be busy with other preparations... so I'll probably continue studying but on my own... maybe get some advanced language CD's to pop in the car, who knows.

This weekend looks bz too. Tonight we're off to Ikea to buy some shelves for our basement, which we will be assembling tomorrow. Which means a LOT of reorganizing of boxes down there. On top of that I've got tons of Portuguese homework and I really need to do my summer- fall clothing switchover. And maybe sneak in some work-work since I've got way more than I can handle 40 hrs/wk... AND maybe sneak in some relaxation time (ha!).

Why am I feeling tired all of a sudden??
*grin!*

Started doing some web surfing on 'rice to riches' and found this cool link! Check out the video link, it gives a pretty good idea of what the place is like.

New York City - Chic Rice Pudding
and here's a weblog with some neat pictures of the store & its goodies:

Gothamist: Rice to Riches Reviewed

can't you tell I'm addicted??

And I'm shocking myself by being efficient, and not only writing the blog ON THE DAY it happened, but even posting pictures!!

NYC Pictures

The flower picture was from a rose garden we stumbled on while walking on 6th avenue in the Village. Pretty, isn't it?

Man, I’m tired but happy! I spent today in NYC, specifically walking from Chinatown to Greenwish Village, with my good friend Barbara. We actually took the same train into the city together, so I walked up/down the train until I found her – talk about coincidence! Once we got off the subway in Chinatown, we immediately found a gazillion booths on Canal Street selling cheap knockoffs of designer purses, belts, etc. My sister had asked me for one, so Barb & I had fun hunting thru their wares and finding a Very Cool LV purse for dirt cheap! Walking down on Canal St, we saw a lot of interesting shops… went into a grocery store and bought some candied ginger, went into a jewlery store, etc. Then we went into a ‘Tea Shop’ and had a Very Fancy tea ceremony. I’m kicking myself for not taking a picture of the whole thing, it was SO cute. Oh bummer, I guess that means I’ll have to return … .

We then walked up thru Little Italy & Nolita, and on the way we found the coolest junk food place – Rice to Riches! It’s a Rice Pudding store, they sell ALL kinds of rice pudding, even stuff you’d never imagine! Website:

www.ricetoriches.com

After all that walking we needed a break, so we found a bench in Washington Square Park and enjoyed the view… including the view of a couple of pigeons making whoopee (gasp!) There seemed to be a rally of some kind going on there so I took a pic. Also took a candid photo of Barbara, hopefully she wouldn't kill me (but I love how the picture came out!)

After some more wanderings thru the Village we ended up at having dinner at the Olive Tree Café and had some very yummy falafel, babaganush etc. plus I HAD to have some baklava. Not as good as mom’s (never!) but decent. The turkish coffee was Strong but very good. Man I miss going to that place! It sure brings memories of my single days...

The Olive Tree Cafe

All in all a most excellent day … thanks, Barbara!

Our weekend started when we arrived into the house around 6pm-ish. Everything looked so quiet, and we saw no cars so we assumed we were the first ones to arrive. So we walked in after getting the keys from the hiding spot in the grill. Our first impression is that its an Old House, not terribly well maintained, decorated on the cheap with old furniture, bedcovers, beat up carpets, etc. House smelled musty. Frank started getting skeeved. My sense of adventure on the other hand was starting to have fun. What can I say, opposites attract.. but I digress… We explored all the rooms, got skeeved by some, and picked what looked like the brightest one. Good thing we brought our comforter & sheets and towel, though!! So we started unpacking. THEN we realize there’s a note on the kitchen counter – from Stacy & Eszti! The wimps had gone into town to have dinner.. ok, so maybe they were being adventurous too in their own way, but I think they didn’t want to be all alone in that big musty smelling old house! I have to admit it was a bit creepy.

So as we are finishing the unpacking process, they walk in. What fun to see them! I think they cheered Frank up too. We all agreed the house needed some new smells, so Eszti put the ham in the oven, I started cooking some onions for the base of my soup, and Frank and Stacy went to the ‘Milk Run’ to buy some supplies, including some eggs that I’d forgotten I needed for making cornbread.

By the time they came back the house was transformed. Its amazing how cooking aromas turn a house into a home! So I got the cornbread in the oven, & finished assembling the soup (you could call it a minestrone, I call it Dump Veggies & Pasta & Beans in Veggie Stock & Diced Tomatoes Soup). In the meantime the Iannacconnes arrived and Dom’s kitchen supplies took over the kitchen. Then Tete arrived. Then the Jarmusches arrived and *More* kitchen supplies took over the kitchen. I had a grand ol’ time trying to fit everything inside the fridge, under and over the counters, around the microwave cart, above the fridge, etc. Everyone then took over the house to home conversion process – the kids were in charge of making noise, Stacy was in charge of making little candle holders with the foil, some people had soup & cornbread, others had ham, etc.

THEN Eszti brought out a puzzle! O what fun! I think everyone took turns working on it. Between catching up, playing with kids, getting rooms setup, it was pretty late by the time we all got to bed. We chatted briefly about plans for Saturday, but no one came up with any definitive ideas.

Next morning we wake up and come down to discover we were the late sleepers… but we got to eat some fabulous pancakes courtesy of Chef James. With two usable showers (the 3rd one was the stuff of nightmares) we took a while getting all cleaned up. I mixed up the dough for the pie dough so it could sit in the fridge, and when I was cleaning up I suddenly I realize the girls are all talking about going out and I hear the words ‘shop’ and ‘Blue Pearl’ being mentioned, and then Stacy brightly says to me – “Wanna come? Bring your credit card!” So I sneak over to the bedroom to get $$, and off we all go – and I mean ALL the girls (big & small) !! We left all the boys on their own, and went to have a girls outing!! I hear the boys did quite a bit of bonding, there was some talk about elevators (?) and about communication (?) when we returned.

We had a blast! Karen drove us, Eszti, Mary and I were in the back pretending we were in an amusement park ride while we teased Karen about her driving. The Blue Pearl was a Very Fun shop – very quirky, with lots of fun stuff to look at. Lots of Expensive fun stuff to look at. After browsing to our hearts content we found a place to have some snacks, and to share some memorable lines… Tai Chi! Or was it Chai Tea? And my favorite – Touch my brownie! Then on the drive home we stop at the ‘Milk Run’ to get some ice cream & gasoline (yeah, great combo)… and someone asks Sarah & Samantha to ‘Get in their Sheets’.

Turns out Tete had been busy too – he had a bunch of ‘stories’ or life snippets of all types, and he wanted each one of us to pick one that ‘called’ to us.

When we walked in it smelled WONDERFUL – Dom had been working some roast magic in that kitchen! So I got to work on making a blueberry & an apple pie. Had some expert help from Mary then from Stacy. When Frank invited me to go for a walk, Stacy even took over kitchen duties for me! Whatta friend!

Dinner was Very Yummy –Dom’s roast, with roasted veggies, was Amazingly yummy!! I had made some dinner rolls & green beans to go with it, plus with all the great company it was just a Wonderful dinner. Felt like a holiday dinner, to be honest!

We were so full we had to postpone dessert until we’d digested a bit. But we had entertainment – Professor Tuzik took out the telescope and we were all able to gaze at the moon for a little while until she hid behind clouds and wouldn’t come out. So we had dessert. And digested. Then Tete decided to start Class. That’s how it felt for me anyway. We did some touchy feely stuff – then he had us pair up with someone else in the group and share 1) what we brought to the group 2) what we got out of the group 3) why we’d picked the stories we’d picked and 4) our expectations for the future. I paired up with Dom. So we shared.

Then we all got together in the room and we had to talk about what the other person had said. That’s when I kinda lost it – I’m not into all this touchy feely stuff and it felt like I was doing psychoanalysis on my relationships with the crew. Probably very HRO. I’d never have survived more than one weekend I’m sure. ‘cause I just Don’t Like to Microanalyze relationships. I’d just rather Live them. Plus it was 1am and I was tired. So I closed my eyes and attempted to doze (unsuccessfully) while everyone shared. Got to learn some nice things but overall everyone agreed that they love being part of ‘The Crew’ and that we all want to continue being together. No offense, but I could have told you that 3 hours ago, I was thinking… doing all those ‘exercises’ didn’t make me feel any closer to anyone. But others apparently seemed to have enjoyed it, so I’m glad I played along. Though I will admit I was tempted not to even pick a story in a fit of rebelliousness. And we all agreed we want to do another weekend together again next Fall. Probably in another less musty house.

Next morning we woke up and discovered that now we had Chef Mary making some excellent pancakes! (funny how that works!) Then Eszti arranged for some people to go horseback riding. I declined, opting to hang out in the house with Karen, Tete, Chris and the kids. A favorite memory is Tete playing with Emma. She was calling him ‘Papa’ and wouldn’t let go of him – she actually started crying when Tete gave her to Chris so he could go to the restroom!

To be continued tomorrow…

Baby's Named a Bad, Bad Thing

We probably spent at least an hr in this website, and we were laughing so hard we were crying. Too funny!

Monday Monday - but hey, its my honey's birthday today!!! SO that makes it a Most Excellent Monday!! He wants to go tonight to Harold's deli - knowing him we'll order the chicken with veggies & a ton of muenster cheese. And of course he'll HAVE to have one of their HUMONGous desserts - yum!

I surprised him this morning, I put a garland of 'suns' and a mini poster wishing him a Happy Birthday - all on his office wall right above the computer. He loved it! I have to confess I thought it looked pretty festive too.

And he surprised me - he was able to buy us some S&G tickets!! In a great section, to boot! Of course I didn't find out until today that there was a pre-sale that we could have tried to cash into. Oh well, I'll be aware of that for the next big concert.

Got to study some portuguese yesterday. And of course I prepared a silly birthday present(s) for my honey, I hope he likes it!

And after all the candy I ate yesterday, I lost a 1/2 lb. Go figure. Can I go on a candy diet? Would that work??? Wishful lazy inquiring minds want to know...