Whirlwind Day

The past few days have been so much fun. My mom and a good friend of the family's, Walter, visited Isabelle, Al and I in New Hampshire. They arrived yesterday and left late this afternoon. We had a blast! Some of the highlights included a mini-walk at Beaver Brook, tour of the stables and brewery at Budweiser, visiting the animals at the local farm and a great dinner at my house to just name some of the items. Conversation was great as was the whole experience. It was Isabelle's first encounter with a Clydesdale, and she was not afraid....most likely due to the fact that she has been up-close and in person with other horses, though not as big! (Having been to the barn a few times since her birth certainly helped!!) I need to download the pictures and get them here. Also, I'm totally exhausted - in a good way. So, off to relax and watch either a few episodes of Futurama or Red Dwarf.

Summer is almost over

This week has brought to my attention how summer is very close to being over. Okay, so technically, summer is not over until the fall solstice - Sept. 22nd, but for most everyone, we believe summer ends after Labor Day. Everyone is back in school or more focused at work. The good thing is that after a long summer of skipping out of work early, taking vacations etc, we are given a bunch of holidays to take us through the new year before needing to settle down and truly concentrate. So enjoy the summer while it lasts!

With that said, Isabelle and I are heading off to CT this weekend, and returning with my mom and Walter on Monday. They are staying through Tuesday. Then a SEC meeting for the car club (Social Events Committee) on Wednesday evening. Being the chair of the SEC has its challenges as well as being a ton of fun too! Right now we are in the organizing stage of the our biggest annual event - The 2009 Winter Reunion Party (f/k/a/ Holiday Party). We're holding it this year at The Highlander Inn in Manchester. If all goes well, we will be having a ten-piece jazz band as the entertainment. Should be a ton of fun!

Speaking of busy, Al will be both flying and participating in the club's second ADSS this weekend. As a private pilot, he needs to go up every two years with someone who tests his knowledge and skills. This keeps him certified. Then on Sunday, off with the car club to race around and have fun in his car. He is taking his Honda S-2000. My car, the actual BMW, has yet to see the track or a skid pad. The chair of DEC (Driving Events Committee) has an S-200o as well and loves it when Al shows up with his. They have a blast!

Aside from Isabelle dealing with a nasty head cold this week and stressing over the golf tournament I am organizing for CAI-NH, my life has been pretty tame.....if it can be called as much!!

Enjoy the weekend, and hopefully much more to post next week.

Isabelle and the Beach

Yesterday was Isabelle's first encounter with the beach. We drove along the NH coastline and viewed the vastness of the ocean from inside the car. A very good way for a toddler to see the ocean for the first time! A friend recommended a quiet little beach on New Castle Island, so we headed off to find it. It was as she noted, not the best beach for sand, but perfect for toddlers. No one was there - it is located at the end of a residential road, and it is in an alcove. So, thought the ocean was there, it was not as intimidating. Isabelle was a little unsure, but soon discovered the fun of throwing rocks into the ocean, and there were plenty to throw!

Here are some other scenes from the beach.

Pseudo and Healthier foods

Prevention Magazine did a short article for MSN regarding healthy and not-so-healthy foods. It is pretty interesting, and (hopefully) the link to the article is below:

5 Pseudo-Healthy Foods—and 5 That Are Healthier Than You Think - - 10Nutrition - MSN Health & Fitness

Some of the items noted are pretty well-known, even if one did not know the reason (i.e., diet soda is not a healthy food and people are more likely to gain wait drinking diet soda than regular soda), and some are just plain interesting.

Happy eating!!!

Dam Cam in New Hampshire

On NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association) there is something called "Dam Cam" for the Merrimack Village Dam removal in New Hampshire. I never knew that the removal of a dam warranted a live video stream. How funny is that one?! Well, needless to say, I had to check it out. And, you can too by clicking (or cutting and pasting) the following link:

http://www.earthcam.net/users2/interface.php?i=0&id=2015&projectid=1308&clientid=951&tab=default

You can even go back and view other days. It is mind-dumbing and fascinating all at the same time!

Manah Manah

Gotta love this video....brings back memories of my childhood and The Muppets....what a great show!

What a weekend!

Phew - the past few days have been a whirlwind of excitement, and the coming week looks to be much more of the same. All good, mind you.

First, one of very best friends in college was married on Saturday. He is marrying a wonderful woman who I know will make him happy. I've only had the pleasure of meeting Lisa once before the wedding, and the impression she left me was that there were not two people more perfectly matched. Saturday was a perfect day for an outdoor wedding - Sunny and Warm. This is more remarkable in the fact it has been raining everyday all week and still is raining!! They were blessed with such a great day. I wish them both the very very best!

(Catching a quick moment with Dan)

(Time for one picture with the newlyweds!)

On Sunday, we spent some time with Al's parents - who came up to babysit Isabelle while we attended Dan and Lisa's wedding. We met for brunch at The Crowne Plaza (Nashua), and had a side trip to the duck pond. Later in the day, the rain returned....some very nasty moments and losing power for over an hour....Isabelle was outside helping Al mow the lawn when the rain arrived. She had a blast and Al had to go and drag her inside....gotta love being a toddler!

(Isabelle and Al with the ducks)

(Isabelle and I after brunch)

(How cute - matching bag and pinnie! Pinnie can be purchased at Lassie Girl's shop on http://www.etsy.com/. Bag bought on Cape Cod.)

(Coming in out of the rain)

Hannah and Firetrucks

Today, Isabelle and her friend Hannah were going to spend their play date at Charmingfare Farm. Yet again, we have had to postpone the trip (trying to go there since May!) due to the rain. So, we met for a yummy breakfast (pancakes with whipped cream for the girls and strawberry cream cheese crepes for Inger and I) at The Market Place Diner (http://www.marketplacediner.com/). Afterwards, an impromptu field trip to the fire station was made. What fun. Isabelle and Hannah were given a tour of the fire station - which included looking at all of the trucks and the ambulance. Hannah was given a ride in the firetruck - sirens and lights. Isabelle declined...first time to the fire station and the trucks are awfully big when one is so small! But, she had a blast watching the truck go around in the parking lot and laughed at the siren and lights. Basically, a really great time!




In my never-ending search for fun things to do with Isabelle, I discovered this artsy activity - Modern Art Masterpiece. It is really cool, and if you have children or are looking for an activity for kids, this is perfect and fun. To check it out, visit http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/2008/06/modern-art-mast.html#init

I will be trying this out with Isabelle in the very near future!

It's been a while

What can I say, life is crazy! Last week, I was hoping to catch up on work and various other items. Then, our cat, Gizmo, had a serious problem which required taking him to the vet directly from the groomer. Poor guy. He is doing much better. I owe a huge thank you to the groomer who spotted the problem and the vet who was able to get him that very day. Basically, he is on medication and doing much better! It is a lesson on how it stinks to get old!!! (He's fifteen and right now is taking four medications daily.)

After the trauma with Gizmo, off Isabelle and I went to visit my Mom. The plan was to have her and Walter come back to NH on Monday. Alas, that fell through. But, one the positive side, they are planning to come up later this month.

So, then there are the thrills in my friends' lives. One friend's child (born in May as a preemie) has just undergone brain surgery....having been postponed three times....happily, he did well and seems to be recovering nicely....at least as of last night. And, another friend is divorcing her husband of 24 years. Needless to say, she is very sad and broken hearted! My thoughts and good wishes are with her! She lives in NJ, and we have been communicating via email since 1992. I worked with her at Hartford College for Women. She taught me a lot during my brief employment at the college. What a trip that was too....Asst. Director of Student Activities - that was my job. Oh, the stories there. Tears still come to my eyes (from laughing so hard) when I think of some of them. Good luck Lisa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This week looks to be just as busy. Last night I went out with some friends from the Greater Nashua Mothers Club. Had a great time with them. This particular group, a sub-group within the club, are really wonderful people. And, it is nice just to get out and meet people. Tonight, it's a car club meeting and this morning Isabelle and I are off to get our hair cut. Tomorrow we head off to Charmingfare Farm (Candia, NH), if it does not rain. Our last trip was cancelled due to rain. Then, Saturday, my good friend from college is getting married - congratulations Lisa and Dan!!! We're so excited to be attending. Should be a lot of fun.

So that is the "cliff-note" version of my life over the past two weeks. Oh yes, I have to say that I scored really well at a weekend sale at Olive Juice (http://www.olivejuice.com/). I ended up buying some of Isabelle's wardrobe for next year. Everything was marked down to $10 - it was just for the weekend. If I had purchased all items full price, it would have cost $296.....my price $60! Gotta love that.

Au revoir until next week.....maybe I'll have some beautiful pictures to post of the wedding! Stay dry!!