Originally posted on September 9, 2005.
OK...I had heard about this before moving up north, but now that I'm up here I still don't understand it. Why don't these people know what sweet tea is and/or how to make it?!?! The first day in town, Stephen, Angela, Robby, and I went to lunch in the midst of all the unpacking and I 'mistakenly' asked for a sweet tea. The waitress looked at me like I was on crack. She said, "What's that?" So, we explained to her that down south we brew our tea with sugar in it and that it tastes better that way then putting sugar in it afterwards while it's cold. Since then, I still have not found a restaurant that has sweet tea...not even chains that have restaurants down south like Bennigan's or Chili's. So, the sad part about this story is that I surprisingly found sweet tea at Quizno's in Brookline. But wait...it's not their brewed iced tea that's sweetened, it's bottled tea by Lipton. But, you know what? It's better than most brewed sweet tea that I get down south because it's not too sweet! Sometimes sweet tea is just too sweet and I'm sure all of you southerners know what I'm talking about. I'm sure there are some of you who are wondering why I don't just make my own sweet tea at home...well, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. Our place is still a wreck, especially the kitchen. But, I will be working on that first thing tomorrow! Anyway, if any of y'all want to send me some sweet tea so I don't have to make it myself, that would be great! Just kidding!
Monday, February 13, 2006
September 11 revisited
Originally posted on September 11, 2005.
There are a lot of things on my mind tonight, please bare with me. First off, my husband and I just finished watching the documentary of Flight 93 on the Discovery Channel. I didn't expect it to effect me as much as it did. Hearing first hand accounts from family members and hearing the actual calls that the people on board made to loved ones made it more real to me than ever before. It was sad to learn the backgrounds of the 40 men and women who were on that flight. They all seemed like wonderful people, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, daughters, sons, grandparents, etc. The documentary said that the youngest person on board was a 20 year old college student, yet to me the youngest person on board was a 3 month old fetus who was in the womb of a women who had been trying to get pregnant for 5 years. That really tore me up. Becoming a mother has definitely changed me and anything like that rips at my heart. Obviously, it is horrible that any of these people had to die, no matter what age or background. And seeing re-enactments of what supposedly went on was a little much for me and had me saying to myself to the TV "do this!" or "do that!" and I had to remind myself that this was not a movie for me to yell at the actors and tell them to do what I would do. I couldn't imagine being on that plane. Part of me thinks that I would be so upset and so determined to not die that I would totally kick some a$$ no matter what the cost. But, then part of me thinks that I would just be paralyzed with fear that I wouldn't do anything!
I definitely don't want to end this on a sad note, but I definitely want to remember these people and everyone else who died in this tragic event. I'm glad that the past 3 years there have been special shows and events to memorialize Sept. 11 because I'm afraid that everyone besides the victims' families have 'gotten over it', in a manner of speaking. I also do not want to make this about othe current events and talk about things that are highly disputable (i.e., the war), but Sept. 11th also reminds me of the fact that we still need to be fighting terrorism...WHEREVER it is. And I don't care whether people believe that we went into Iraq for oil (which is obviously not true) or for supposed WMD's. The fact is that we got a horrible ruler out of office AND have helped a lot of Iraqi's even though the media doesn't show that. And more terrorists have come out the woodworks over there, so we still need to be doing something about it! Do I think our plan wasn't planned out well enough? Yes! We went in w-a-y too fast, made everything look easy, and then wasn't prepared for the rest of the problems we're facing over there. But, I also believe that we should be focusing more on Afghanastan. We don't hear about that fight anymore and it is frustrating that it seems we're no closer to finding Bin Laden and it doesn't make any sense to me that we aren't just a little bit closer at least!
OK, I'll get off my soapbox. The last bit of this blog was not meant to offend anyone who has different opinions. Feel free to respond and leave comments. But, as I say that, if you're one of those people who believe we should bend over and take it up the rear because you believe sticking up for ourselves is "not the answer", then please don't bother.
There are a lot of things on my mind tonight, please bare with me. First off, my husband and I just finished watching the documentary of Flight 93 on the Discovery Channel. I didn't expect it to effect me as much as it did. Hearing first hand accounts from family members and hearing the actual calls that the people on board made to loved ones made it more real to me than ever before. It was sad to learn the backgrounds of the 40 men and women who were on that flight. They all seemed like wonderful people, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, daughters, sons, grandparents, etc. The documentary said that the youngest person on board was a 20 year old college student, yet to me the youngest person on board was a 3 month old fetus who was in the womb of a women who had been trying to get pregnant for 5 years. That really tore me up. Becoming a mother has definitely changed me and anything like that rips at my heart. Obviously, it is horrible that any of these people had to die, no matter what age or background. And seeing re-enactments of what supposedly went on was a little much for me and had me saying to myself to the TV "do this!" or "do that!" and I had to remind myself that this was not a movie for me to yell at the actors and tell them to do what I would do. I couldn't imagine being on that plane. Part of me thinks that I would be so upset and so determined to not die that I would totally kick some a$$ no matter what the cost. But, then part of me thinks that I would just be paralyzed with fear that I wouldn't do anything!
I definitely don't want to end this on a sad note, but I definitely want to remember these people and everyone else who died in this tragic event. I'm glad that the past 3 years there have been special shows and events to memorialize Sept. 11 because I'm afraid that everyone besides the victims' families have 'gotten over it', in a manner of speaking. I also do not want to make this about othe current events and talk about things that are highly disputable (i.e., the war), but Sept. 11th also reminds me of the fact that we still need to be fighting terrorism...WHEREVER it is. And I don't care whether people believe that we went into Iraq for oil (which is obviously not true) or for supposed WMD's. The fact is that we got a horrible ruler out of office AND have helped a lot of Iraqi's even though the media doesn't show that. And more terrorists have come out the woodworks over there, so we still need to be doing something about it! Do I think our plan wasn't planned out well enough? Yes! We went in w-a-y too fast, made everything look easy, and then wasn't prepared for the rest of the problems we're facing over there. But, I also believe that we should be focusing more on Afghanastan. We don't hear about that fight anymore and it is frustrating that it seems we're no closer to finding Bin Laden and it doesn't make any sense to me that we aren't just a little bit closer at least!
OK, I'll get off my soapbox. The last bit of this blog was not meant to offend anyone who has different opinions. Feel free to respond and leave comments. But, as I say that, if you're one of those people who believe we should bend over and take it up the rear because you believe sticking up for ourselves is "not the answer", then please don't bother.
Home Alone
Originally posted on September 7, 2005.
Stephen started classes yesterday. It was really weird to home alone for most of the day after Stephen has had three months off. But, I need to make use of this time to get things organized as people are going to start visiting us next week. I'm really excited to have company and I'm even more excited by the fact that it will make us finally get organized instead of being lazy. We have a problem of working really hard one whole day into the early morning and then not wanting to do anything for the next few days. It's really hard to get anything accomplished that way. And with Stephen is class now, he's obviously tired when he gets home and isn't ready to work on stuff, so I can really only sue him on the weekends, which he'll definitely want to sleep in! Anyway, I'm hoping by this Sun. all the unpacked boxes will either be unpacked or stored in the basement. My OB/GYN and Stephen's preceptor during his 3rd year OB/GYN rotation, Dr. O'Bryan, is coming into town with his wife on the 14th. He'll be in town to do some sight-seeing and he's also going to the FSU/BC game on the the 17th (GO BC!). He's taking us out either Thurs. night or Fri. night to see the Blue Man Group. I'm really excited to see them. I hear it's a great show! And my best friend Aleta is coming into town on the 15th from NC. And she has graciously offered to babysit the night we go out with Dr. O'Bryan, which takes a load off of us to find a babysitter. I was really dreading that since we don't know anyone here!!
Anyway, I'm so excited to see both of them. Dr. O'Bryan is literally the best doctor I've ever had. He's also the first male doctor I've ever had and I was so terrified to see him for the first time, but as soon as I got pregnant I knew I should go to him. Stephen knew him well and said he was a great person as well as a great doctor. He was also voted Tallahassee's #1 doctor in 2004. It saddens me to know that he won't be able to deliver our next baby since we won't be living in Tallahassee when I decide to have another one. But, hopefully we'll stay close. I know he cares a lot about Stephen and what he's going to do with his life. And I'm so excited for Aleta to get here because I really need some girl-time. I can't remember the last time I had girl-time! It will be nice to hang out in Boston and do all the girl-things I've been wanting to do that Stephen never wants to do. It will be really nice to have her around and Ella will get to know her "Aunt Hoochy-mama" who isn't a "hoochy-mama" anymore, but I still like to call her that!
Stephen started classes yesterday. It was really weird to home alone for most of the day after Stephen has had three months off. But, I need to make use of this time to get things organized as people are going to start visiting us next week. I'm really excited to have company and I'm even more excited by the fact that it will make us finally get organized instead of being lazy. We have a problem of working really hard one whole day into the early morning and then not wanting to do anything for the next few days. It's really hard to get anything accomplished that way. And with Stephen is class now, he's obviously tired when he gets home and isn't ready to work on stuff, so I can really only sue him on the weekends, which he'll definitely want to sleep in! Anyway, I'm hoping by this Sun. all the unpacked boxes will either be unpacked or stored in the basement. My OB/GYN and Stephen's preceptor during his 3rd year OB/GYN rotation, Dr. O'Bryan, is coming into town with his wife on the 14th. He'll be in town to do some sight-seeing and he's also going to the FSU/BC game on the the 17th (GO BC!). He's taking us out either Thurs. night or Fri. night to see the Blue Man Group. I'm really excited to see them. I hear it's a great show! And my best friend Aleta is coming into town on the 15th from NC. And she has graciously offered to babysit the night we go out with Dr. O'Bryan, which takes a load off of us to find a babysitter. I was really dreading that since we don't know anyone here!!
Anyway, I'm so excited to see both of them. Dr. O'Bryan is literally the best doctor I've ever had. He's also the first male doctor I've ever had and I was so terrified to see him for the first time, but as soon as I got pregnant I knew I should go to him. Stephen knew him well and said he was a great person as well as a great doctor. He was also voted Tallahassee's #1 doctor in 2004. It saddens me to know that he won't be able to deliver our next baby since we won't be living in Tallahassee when I decide to have another one. But, hopefully we'll stay close. I know he cares a lot about Stephen and what he's going to do with his life. And I'm so excited for Aleta to get here because I really need some girl-time. I can't remember the last time I had girl-time! It will be nice to hang out in Boston and do all the girl-things I've been wanting to do that Stephen never wants to do. It will be really nice to have her around and Ella will get to know her "Aunt Hoochy-mama" who isn't a "hoochy-mama" anymore, but I still like to call her that!
Working on Labor Day...is that what they mean by irony?
Originally posted on September 5, 2005.
After resting yesterday, I decided to work...on Labor Day. I'm sick of the baby not having her room setup, so I started painting. Unfortunately, I just wasn't up to it. I think I got more paint on myself than I did on the wall. I'm usually not like that. And what sucks even more is that I'm going to have to do a second coat. I got away with not doing a second coat in the bathroom, but no such luck in the nursery. It's probably because it's such a light color. Anyway, I'm sure Ella will be happy to have her crib and get her beautiful nursery back. She's a bit older now, too, so I think she'll enjoy it more. Oh, and I ran out of paint! So, I have to go get some more. Meanwhile, Stephen, Ella and I are watching the FSU-Miami game. (Go Miami! - lesser of the two evils.) Unfortunately, FSU is winning 10-0 and Miami is looking pretty bad. So, I don't think FSU is necessarily great, they're just playing a weak team. Hopefully Miami will pick it up here soon.
After resting yesterday, I decided to work...on Labor Day. I'm sick of the baby not having her room setup, so I started painting. Unfortunately, I just wasn't up to it. I think I got more paint on myself than I did on the wall. I'm usually not like that. And what sucks even more is that I'm going to have to do a second coat. I got away with not doing a second coat in the bathroom, but no such luck in the nursery. It's probably because it's such a light color. Anyway, I'm sure Ella will be happy to have her crib and get her beautiful nursery back. She's a bit older now, too, so I think she'll enjoy it more. Oh, and I ran out of paint! So, I have to go get some more. Meanwhile, Stephen, Ella and I are watching the FSU-Miami game. (Go Miami! - lesser of the two evils.) Unfortunately, FSU is winning 10-0 and Miami is looking pretty bad. So, I don't think FSU is necessarily great, they're just playing a weak team. Hopefully Miami will pick it up here soon.
Yes, I'm a snob!
Originally posted on September 4, 2005.
Whew...we finally finished our bathroom at 2am this morning. Who knew painting a small bathroom, changing out the sink and putting in a new medicine cabinet and light would take over 15 hours?!?! Really, the only reason it took that long was because of the sink. We switched out a really cheaply built vanity (sink and cabinet combo) with a nice pedestal sink. It's amazing how much bigger (and better for that matter) it makes the bathroom look. And all of our hardware was switched from the standard ugly brass look to a brushed nickel that looks really modern. But, we're so exhausted now. Unfortunately, we slept through church time and didn't really get out of the house until a little after 3pm. We went to a School of Public Health gathering at 4pm and let me tell you, all the stereo-types about Ivey leaguers are TRUE! First off, when we left, we were still the only true Americans at the gathering. And every other person that was there were Quantitative Method students as opposed to Stephen, who is a Policy and Management student. They were not very social or maybe they just didn't understand us. And instead of playing football, which Stephen and I wanted to play, they all wanted to play soccer. So, we left around 5pm and headed down to Harvard Square where there are more stereo-typical Ivey leaguers, yet there was alot more to do and we didn't HAVE to talk to these people.
Yes, the snob in me is coming out. I am not into the big city where you have tons of different nationalities (mainly because they can't adjust to our culture so therefore they insist we adjust to theirs)! But, I'm definitely more comfortable in the big city where there are Fortune 500 companies all around (skyscrapers) and high-class shopping at every corner. I do not fit in with people who LOVE going to school and would rather have their nose in a book. And these students are not comfortable around babies...or maybe they just don't care. Anyway, it's hard for me to get to the area in Boston where I'm comfortable because traveling in this city by myself with a baby is NOT easy. Therefore, I'm stuck waiting for Stephen to take me places, and he doesn't usually want to go where I want to go. But, I promise you this: I will not be going to anymore MPH gatherings.
Whew...we finally finished our bathroom at 2am this morning. Who knew painting a small bathroom, changing out the sink and putting in a new medicine cabinet and light would take over 15 hours?!?! Really, the only reason it took that long was because of the sink. We switched out a really cheaply built vanity (sink and cabinet combo) with a nice pedestal sink. It's amazing how much bigger (and better for that matter) it makes the bathroom look. And all of our hardware was switched from the standard ugly brass look to a brushed nickel that looks really modern. But, we're so exhausted now. Unfortunately, we slept through church time and didn't really get out of the house until a little after 3pm. We went to a School of Public Health gathering at 4pm and let me tell you, all the stereo-types about Ivey leaguers are TRUE! First off, when we left, we were still the only true Americans at the gathering. And every other person that was there were Quantitative Method students as opposed to Stephen, who is a Policy and Management student. They were not very social or maybe they just didn't understand us. And instead of playing football, which Stephen and I wanted to play, they all wanted to play soccer. So, we left around 5pm and headed down to Harvard Square where there are more stereo-typical Ivey leaguers, yet there was alot more to do and we didn't HAVE to talk to these people.
Yes, the snob in me is coming out. I am not into the big city where you have tons of different nationalities (mainly because they can't adjust to our culture so therefore they insist we adjust to theirs)! But, I'm definitely more comfortable in the big city where there are Fortune 500 companies all around (skyscrapers) and high-class shopping at every corner. I do not fit in with people who LOVE going to school and would rather have their nose in a book. And these students are not comfortable around babies...or maybe they just don't care. Anyway, it's hard for me to get to the area in Boston where I'm comfortable because traveling in this city by myself with a baby is NOT easy. Therefore, I'm stuck waiting for Stephen to take me places, and he doesn't usually want to go where I want to go. But, I promise you this: I will not be going to anymore MPH gatherings.
GO GATORS!
Originally posted on September 3, 2005.
Sorry, it's been a few days. My husband and I have been busy redoing some things in our house now that we finally closed...oh yeah, we closed. Anyway, there were a few things that were very cheaply done, especially in the bathroom, so we decided to put a little but more money into hoping that it will help us when we "flip it" in May of next year.
My real reason for blogging tonight is to say: GO GATORS!! 6pm marked the first game of the 2005 College football season for the Florida Gators and their new head coach, Urban Meyer (love that name). I've been waiting all year for tonight. We even purchased ESPN GamePlan on our satellite so we can watch all the non-important games that aren't televised on the major networks. If we hadn't purchased ESPN GamePlan we probably wouldn't be seeing a lot of Gator games since we're in ACC nation up here and their idea of a good team is Boston College. Anyway, we're playing our cake game tonight against Wyoming. Right now it's the 3rd quarter and we're winning 26-7. I'm sure we'll score a couple more touchdowns. Next Sat. we play another easy game and then we'll start hittin' the big boys. Sept. 17 we play Tennessee...that will bea good game. They're ranked higher than we are at this point, but I think they're overrated. They're always overrated. Anyway, we'll be at McFadden's in Boston that day to watch the big game. That is the official place to watch Gator games. The New England Gator Club meets there every Sat. It should be fun. If you're in the area, please join us! And for those of you who can't make it I'll make sure to e-mail pics of Ella partying in her Baby Gator outfit.
Well, I'm going to watch the rest of the game before I have to start working again. Hope all is well with everyone.
Sorry, it's been a few days. My husband and I have been busy redoing some things in our house now that we finally closed...oh yeah, we closed. Anyway, there were a few things that were very cheaply done, especially in the bathroom, so we decided to put a little but more money into hoping that it will help us when we "flip it" in May of next year.
My real reason for blogging tonight is to say: GO GATORS!! 6pm marked the first game of the 2005 College football season for the Florida Gators and their new head coach, Urban Meyer (love that name). I've been waiting all year for tonight. We even purchased ESPN GamePlan on our satellite so we can watch all the non-important games that aren't televised on the major networks. If we hadn't purchased ESPN GamePlan we probably wouldn't be seeing a lot of Gator games since we're in ACC nation up here and their idea of a good team is Boston College. Anyway, we're playing our cake game tonight against Wyoming. Right now it's the 3rd quarter and we're winning 26-7. I'm sure we'll score a couple more touchdowns. Next Sat. we play another easy game and then we'll start hittin' the big boys. Sept. 17 we play Tennessee...that will bea good game. They're ranked higher than we are at this point, but I think they're overrated. They're always overrated. Anyway, we'll be at McFadden's in Boston that day to watch the big game. That is the official place to watch Gator games. The New England Gator Club meets there every Sat. It should be fun. If you're in the area, please join us! And for those of you who can't make it I'll make sure to e-mail pics of Ella partying in her Baby Gator outfit.
Well, I'm going to watch the rest of the game before I have to start working again. Hope all is well with everyone.
...you have to do it yourself!
Originally posted on August 30, 2005.
OK, 15 minutes after my last blog the satellite guy showed up. I knew from the moment I saw him that he was either going to make some excuse for why he couldn't install our satellite dish or he was going to do a crappy job since it was almost 5pm. Sure enough he said that he wasn't sure we could get the reception we needed to get all the channels and that we definitely wouldn't be able to receive any HD channels because of trees. Give me a break!! I'm from Florida where there are a hell of a lot more trees and we lived in a one story house and we were still able to have satellite. How can it be possible that a satellite installed on a two-story house can't be made to avoid tree-lines? So, the guy said he would send someone else out the next morning who had a longer ladder so they could see if they could find a better position, i.e., this guy didn't want to do any work. So, thankfully someone did show up this morning and said that we could install the satellite on a chimney on the roof (apparently there are two and we have to use the back chimney, which is taller) and that we should get all of the channels, but we may not get the HD channels. I don't care at this point. I just want to watch TV! I can't live without HD for 9 months...besides, it's a rip-off anyway. He left saying he would be right back because he had to go get special nails to put the satellite in the chimney. This was at 11am...it is now 12:40pm and he still hasn't returned. Thankfully he left his ladder here, so I know he'll be back I just wish he would hurry up!!
OK, 15 minutes after my last blog the satellite guy showed up. I knew from the moment I saw him that he was either going to make some excuse for why he couldn't install our satellite dish or he was going to do a crappy job since it was almost 5pm. Sure enough he said that he wasn't sure we could get the reception we needed to get all the channels and that we definitely wouldn't be able to receive any HD channels because of trees. Give me a break!! I'm from Florida where there are a hell of a lot more trees and we lived in a one story house and we were still able to have satellite. How can it be possible that a satellite installed on a two-story house can't be made to avoid tree-lines? So, the guy said he would send someone else out the next morning who had a longer ladder so they could see if they could find a better position, i.e., this guy didn't want to do any work. So, thankfully someone did show up this morning and said that we could install the satellite on a chimney on the roof (apparently there are two and we have to use the back chimney, which is taller) and that we should get all of the channels, but we may not get the HD channels. I don't care at this point. I just want to watch TV! I can't live without HD for 9 months...besides, it's a rip-off anyway. He left saying he would be right back because he had to go get special nails to put the satellite in the chimney. This was at 11am...it is now 12:40pm and he still hasn't returned. Thankfully he left his ladder here, so I know he'll be back I just wish he would hurry up!!
Yeah, I'm back in the 21st century!
Originally posted on August 30, 2005.
I know you're sick of reading about this, but I just wanted to update you (again!) and let you know that we have lift-off...um, I mean, we have satellite!! WooHoo! Now I feel like I'm a part of the world again. I know some people probably think that it's ridiculous to say how important TV is, but when you've been without it for a month and you're trying to get to know a town and can't even watch their local news and have no idea what's going on down south where your family is, it gets old. But, I am a spoiled brat, too. I will not deny that at all. OH! And we're closing on our place tonight. Out of the blue our lawyer calls us this morning and the seller wants to do everything he can now to close because he sold the upstairs unit. So, we agreed, but we're withholding $5000 until all the repairs are finished. And again, no one showed up today to continue working on those repairs. Seriously, how hard is it to get things done? I mean these people could've been through with us a long time ago if they would just take the time to finish these little details.
Anyway, this will be my last blog about our stupid place, unless of course something even more ridiculous takes place while we're trying to get the repairs finished. But, from now on I'll be talking about my family and other things that are important to me. Iv'e yet to dote on my daughter or tell you about our three dogs. And I'm sure I'll plently to tell you about my husband's MPH program and all the so-called "smart" Harvard students. Not to say that my husband isn't smart and doesn't belong here, but it's amazing to walk down the street and see the stereo-typical Harvard student (i.e., Asian, wears glasses, has their nose in a book, pocket protector, etc.). Today was Stephen's first day of orientation. So, he had to do mundane things like get a temporary student ID, campus tour, etc. I think he has to go to a math review session tomorrow since most of the people getting MPH's are already docs or other career people who haven't taken math classes in a while. So, that should be nice and boring!
Before I close, I would like to let you know that the people of LA, MS, and AL and in my thoughts and prayers. Being from FL I understand hurricanes, but I could never in my life imagine dealing with what these people are dealing with right now. Now that I have telelvision which is something that these people won't have for a while, I can keep up to date with all of these tragic events. I don't know if that's a curse or a blessing, but I will be in constant prayer.
I know you're sick of reading about this, but I just wanted to update you (again!) and let you know that we have lift-off...um, I mean, we have satellite!! WooHoo! Now I feel like I'm a part of the world again. I know some people probably think that it's ridiculous to say how important TV is, but when you've been without it for a month and you're trying to get to know a town and can't even watch their local news and have no idea what's going on down south where your family is, it gets old. But, I am a spoiled brat, too. I will not deny that at all. OH! And we're closing on our place tonight. Out of the blue our lawyer calls us this morning and the seller wants to do everything he can now to close because he sold the upstairs unit. So, we agreed, but we're withholding $5000 until all the repairs are finished. And again, no one showed up today to continue working on those repairs. Seriously, how hard is it to get things done? I mean these people could've been through with us a long time ago if they would just take the time to finish these little details.
Anyway, this will be my last blog about our stupid place, unless of course something even more ridiculous takes place while we're trying to get the repairs finished. But, from now on I'll be talking about my family and other things that are important to me. Iv'e yet to dote on my daughter or tell you about our three dogs. And I'm sure I'll plently to tell you about my husband's MPH program and all the so-called "smart" Harvard students. Not to say that my husband isn't smart and doesn't belong here, but it's amazing to walk down the street and see the stereo-typical Harvard student (i.e., Asian, wears glasses, has their nose in a book, pocket protector, etc.). Today was Stephen's first day of orientation. So, he had to do mundane things like get a temporary student ID, campus tour, etc. I think he has to go to a math review session tomorrow since most of the people getting MPH's are already docs or other career people who haven't taken math classes in a while. So, that should be nice and boring!
Before I close, I would like to let you know that the people of LA, MS, and AL and in my thoughts and prayers. Being from FL I understand hurricanes, but I could never in my life imagine dealing with what these people are dealing with right now. Now that I have telelvision which is something that these people won't have for a while, I can keep up to date with all of these tragic events. I don't know if that's a curse or a blessing, but I will be in constant prayer.
If you want something done right...
Originally posted on August 29, 2005.
UPDATE! So, this morning workers were supposed to come by and finish fixing things around the condo that needed fixing before closing (which is scheduled for tomorrow). And we're supposed to get our DirecTV hooked up today...FINALLY! Well, this morning no one showed up. So, we talked to our paralegal at the lawyers office and said that we were NOT closing tomorrow. So, closing is now set for Fri. (remember, the original closing date was Aug. 25). My husband also called Sam, the contractor who is supposedly working on our place and Sam said that he was waiting for the piece of the siding that he had to pre-order to come in and they should be here around noon tomorrow, so he would come then and all the work should be finished by Wed. night. WHATEVER!! So, in the meantime, we're waiting for DirecTV to come and install our satellite and who shows up at 3pm...Sam and his crew. So, as we're chilling and not expecting anyone, they come and start banging away on our hardwood floors to take up slabs that need replaced all while the baby is trying to sleep. So, it is now 4:15pm and they have finishe repairing the floor and will be back tomorrow afternoon. Meanwhile, the DirecTV people still have no showed up and they said they would be here between 1 and 5pm. What is up with this place? No one is reliable and everything has to be done the difficult way. It's really frustrating and I'm trying not to think it's just the area since I've had problems like this down south, but one thing after another is ridiculous! I'll keep you updated.
UPDATE! So, this morning workers were supposed to come by and finish fixing things around the condo that needed fixing before closing (which is scheduled for tomorrow). And we're supposed to get our DirecTV hooked up today...FINALLY! Well, this morning no one showed up. So, we talked to our paralegal at the lawyers office and said that we were NOT closing tomorrow. So, closing is now set for Fri. (remember, the original closing date was Aug. 25). My husband also called Sam, the contractor who is supposedly working on our place and Sam said that he was waiting for the piece of the siding that he had to pre-order to come in and they should be here around noon tomorrow, so he would come then and all the work should be finished by Wed. night. WHATEVER!! So, in the meantime, we're waiting for DirecTV to come and install our satellite and who shows up at 3pm...Sam and his crew. So, as we're chilling and not expecting anyone, they come and start banging away on our hardwood floors to take up slabs that need replaced all while the baby is trying to sleep. So, it is now 4:15pm and they have finishe repairing the floor and will be back tomorrow afternoon. Meanwhile, the DirecTV people still have no showed up and they said they would be here between 1 and 5pm. What is up with this place? No one is reliable and everything has to be done the difficult way. It's really frustrating and I'm trying not to think it's just the area since I've had problems like this down south, but one thing after another is ridiculous! I'll keep you updated.
JP Licks...it's a good thing!
Originally posted on August 27, 2005.
YUMMY - - JP LICKS!! Ok, so, I've already eaten here about 6 times and I'm finally getting around to writing about it. For those who don't live in the Boston area, JP Licks is a local ice cream shop that orginated in Jamaica Plain (hence the JP). Now, where I'm from, I'm used to Cold Stone Creamery, which I still love. But, JP Licks has some great flavors that I haven't seen anywhere else (Cucumber ice cream?!?! Who knew?!?!). They also have Sorbet, Sherbet, and Frozen Yogurt. They also roast their own coffee! They have a really cool machine in the back of the place and you can watch the machine do the roasting. It smells soooo good. My favorite flavor right now is Coffee Oreo ice cream. But, seriously, there is something there for everyone! They even have a Kahlua flavored ice cream in it with real Kahlua liqueur...very yummy as well. There are other JP Licks shops around the area, but the one in JP on Centre Street is the original. I definitely recommend this to anyone who is visiting the area because I'm sure if you live here you've already had some.
YUMMY - - JP LICKS!! Ok, so, I've already eaten here about 6 times and I'm finally getting around to writing about it. For those who don't live in the Boston area, JP Licks is a local ice cream shop that orginated in Jamaica Plain (hence the JP). Now, where I'm from, I'm used to Cold Stone Creamery, which I still love. But, JP Licks has some great flavors that I haven't seen anywhere else (Cucumber ice cream?!?! Who knew?!?!). They also have Sorbet, Sherbet, and Frozen Yogurt. They also roast their own coffee! They have a really cool machine in the back of the place and you can watch the machine do the roasting. It smells soooo good. My favorite flavor right now is Coffee Oreo ice cream. But, seriously, there is something there for everyone! They even have a Kahlua flavored ice cream in it with real Kahlua liqueur...very yummy as well. There are other JP Licks shops around the area, but the one in JP on Centre Street is the original. I definitely recommend this to anyone who is visiting the area because I'm sure if you live here you've already had some.
Sightseeing
Originally posted August 25, 2005.
Today, my husband and I decided to get out of the busy city and drive up the coast. We ended up in Gloucester and Rockport, MA. If you didn't recognize the first city's name, it is known from the book and movie "The Perfect Storm". It was really interesting to see the town and the harbor that the movie was filmed in and to know that that was the real place where these events took place back in 1991. But, what impressed me most was how beautiful it was. I'm from South Florida where I'm used to beautiful ocean water and palm trees and nice white sand. But, this was just as beautiful, but in a different way. The water was dark, but not in a dirty looking way. It was a pretty midnight blue color and instead of white sand there were pretty rocks on the shore and it was so breath-taking seeing the ocean water beat up against them. The houses are also amazing. I still haven't gotten used to the way Boston houses are set up. Here there are old colonial homes that have a lot of character and are really cool, but each floor is divided up into a condo-style apartment and multiple families live in one house. It was nice to see "normal" houses again in Goucester and Rockport. They were all beautiful colonial-style homes with colorful and well-kept landscaping with great views of the ocean. I could seriously live there for the rest of my life.
I think it would be great to visit there again and stay at a bed and breakfast and really get to know and enjoy the town and scenery. I will have to look into that because my husband and I could sure use a mini-vacation. All that said, we didn't eat at the Crow's Nest, which is the actual restaurant that was portrayed in the movie that was owned my the mother of one of the men who was lost at sea during the storm. I believe she died a few years ago, but the restaurant is still open. I'm sure they're used to tourists coming in and wanting some piece of the story. I'm definitely curious to go back and eat there. To finish this blog, I would highly recommend anyone visiting Gloucester - whether you live in MA or whether you visiting Boston, Cape Cod, or wherever. It's definitely a treat, but I would also recommend you going in the Summer or early Fall.
Today, my husband and I decided to get out of the busy city and drive up the coast. We ended up in Gloucester and Rockport, MA. If you didn't recognize the first city's name, it is known from the book and movie "The Perfect Storm". It was really interesting to see the town and the harbor that the movie was filmed in and to know that that was the real place where these events took place back in 1991. But, what impressed me most was how beautiful it was. I'm from South Florida where I'm used to beautiful ocean water and palm trees and nice white sand. But, this was just as beautiful, but in a different way. The water was dark, but not in a dirty looking way. It was a pretty midnight blue color and instead of white sand there were pretty rocks on the shore and it was so breath-taking seeing the ocean water beat up against them. The houses are also amazing. I still haven't gotten used to the way Boston houses are set up. Here there are old colonial homes that have a lot of character and are really cool, but each floor is divided up into a condo-style apartment and multiple families live in one house. It was nice to see "normal" houses again in Goucester and Rockport. They were all beautiful colonial-style homes with colorful and well-kept landscaping with great views of the ocean. I could seriously live there for the rest of my life.
I think it would be great to visit there again and stay at a bed and breakfast and really get to know and enjoy the town and scenery. I will have to look into that because my husband and I could sure use a mini-vacation. All that said, we didn't eat at the Crow's Nest, which is the actual restaurant that was portrayed in the movie that was owned my the mother of one of the men who was lost at sea during the storm. I believe she died a few years ago, but the restaurant is still open. I'm sure they're used to tourists coming in and wanting some piece of the story. I'm definitely curious to go back and eat there. To finish this blog, I would highly recommend anyone visiting Gloucester - whether you live in MA or whether you visiting Boston, Cape Cod, or wherever. It's definitely a treat, but I would also recommend you going in the Summer or early Fall.
We're here...
Originally posted on August 24, 2005.
Hello Boston (and anyone else who may be reading this)! I have now been in Boston (or Jamaica Plain to be more precise) since August 11th. To give you and idea of how things have just not been going well, I just got my internet working last night. I'm going to take the short time that I'll be here in JP to give reviews on places I eat and things I see and do. I will also use this to keep my friends and family updated on what's going on with my husband and daughter.
To start off, I'll explain why I moved to Boston from Tallahassee, FL. My husband is a fourth year medical student at Florida State University and he decided that he wanted to get an MPH (Masters in Public Health) because he really has a passion for the underserved community and for the millions of uninsured, especially the uinsured kids, of America. I'm very proud to say that he was accepted to Harvard (as well as Johns Hopkins and Duke) and his program is only 9 months long due to the fact that he is getting his MD as well. Otherwise, it would've been a 2 year degree. So...after the process of trying to find a place to live with 3 dogs (which was a pain in the butt even though we were buying a place) we packed up our house in Tallahassee (which is now seeming so HUGE - 1209 sq. ft. vs. our 750 sq. ft. condo we are living in now). But don't think for a moment that from there everything as easy. The day we moved we realized that our moving truck was too small to fit all of our boxes. So, after loading the truck as much as possible, we had to take 29 boxes to UPS and ship them to Boston (approx. $1000). On the way back from the UPS store, somehow that back of the moving truck wasn't shut properly and my 2-month old clothes dryer fell out onto N. Monroe Street. While my husband turned around to go back for it to wait for our brother-in-law to come back with the moving truck, someone had already put it in the back of THEIR truck!!! Thankfully, my husband was able to stop them and we got our dryer back, with some dents. My husband and brother-in-law started off for Boston around 4:30pm on the 9th of August. Along the way Stephen was communication with our Realtor up in Boston and the lawyer that is dealing with our condo purchase. Through this communication we find out that we may not have a place to live when we get there because the owner had yet to sign the final purchase and sale agreement even though we were told this was done a few days prior. We were also waiting on certain things to be fixed in the condo before we closed (which was supposed to be on the 25th). Nothing had been touched. So, Stephen made the decision to pull out of the deal since the owner was in breach of contract. As soon as we were getting ready to pull out the owner signed the P&S agreement. So, Stephen and our brother-in-law got to Boston on the 10th around 11:30pm. Pretty good timing if you ask me, especially for traveling through some very busy cities.
On August 11th I flew up with our daughter and Stephen's sister. We arrive around 11:15am and didn't get home until close to 1pm due to traffic and getting lost (even though we only live about 10 min. from the airport). We get to the condo and the smallness of it really hits me! But, it's livable. We'll all just be really close and comfy during the cold winter. As we are unloading the truck and unpacking, we notice that there is no phone line in the whole place! What is up with that?!?! Doesn't that come standard in the 21st century?!?! So, therefore, we can't hook up our phones, internet, or our satellite TV, which leads me to today. Since we've moved in, we've finally gotten our phone line put in and have a phone, although the only calls we get are wrong numbers and like I said previously, if it's not obvious already, we have our DSL - finally!! And yeah, and the closing that's supposed to be happening tomorrow at 2pm...not happening because the owner is now having title problems. I haven't met this guy yet, but he sounds like a real winner to me!
As we stand, we're hopefully going to close by the 29th, which is also the day that we'll finally get our DirecTV set up! Woo Hoo! Stephen's orientation starts on the 29th as well and lasts the whole week. His classes don't officially start until the Tues. after Labor Day. So, I will then be home alone more often doing the mommy-thang and hanging out with the dogs. I'm looking forward to the cooler weather and the changing seasons. In my next blog, I will go ahead and fill you in on the places we've eaten so far and the Boston attractions we've been to. Maybe this will end up being more of a travel blog!
Hello Boston (and anyone else who may be reading this)! I have now been in Boston (or Jamaica Plain to be more precise) since August 11th. To give you and idea of how things have just not been going well, I just got my internet working last night. I'm going to take the short time that I'll be here in JP to give reviews on places I eat and things I see and do. I will also use this to keep my friends and family updated on what's going on with my husband and daughter.
To start off, I'll explain why I moved to Boston from Tallahassee, FL. My husband is a fourth year medical student at Florida State University and he decided that he wanted to get an MPH (Masters in Public Health) because he really has a passion for the underserved community and for the millions of uninsured, especially the uinsured kids, of America. I'm very proud to say that he was accepted to Harvard (as well as Johns Hopkins and Duke) and his program is only 9 months long due to the fact that he is getting his MD as well. Otherwise, it would've been a 2 year degree. So...after the process of trying to find a place to live with 3 dogs (which was a pain in the butt even though we were buying a place) we packed up our house in Tallahassee (which is now seeming so HUGE - 1209 sq. ft. vs. our 750 sq. ft. condo we are living in now). But don't think for a moment that from there everything as easy. The day we moved we realized that our moving truck was too small to fit all of our boxes. So, after loading the truck as much as possible, we had to take 29 boxes to UPS and ship them to Boston (approx. $1000). On the way back from the UPS store, somehow that back of the moving truck wasn't shut properly and my 2-month old clothes dryer fell out onto N. Monroe Street. While my husband turned around to go back for it to wait for our brother-in-law to come back with the moving truck, someone had already put it in the back of THEIR truck!!! Thankfully, my husband was able to stop them and we got our dryer back, with some dents. My husband and brother-in-law started off for Boston around 4:30pm on the 9th of August. Along the way Stephen was communication with our Realtor up in Boston and the lawyer that is dealing with our condo purchase. Through this communication we find out that we may not have a place to live when we get there because the owner had yet to sign the final purchase and sale agreement even though we were told this was done a few days prior. We were also waiting on certain things to be fixed in the condo before we closed (which was supposed to be on the 25th). Nothing had been touched. So, Stephen made the decision to pull out of the deal since the owner was in breach of contract. As soon as we were getting ready to pull out the owner signed the P&S agreement. So, Stephen and our brother-in-law got to Boston on the 10th around 11:30pm. Pretty good timing if you ask me, especially for traveling through some very busy cities.
On August 11th I flew up with our daughter and Stephen's sister. We arrive around 11:15am and didn't get home until close to 1pm due to traffic and getting lost (even though we only live about 10 min. from the airport). We get to the condo and the smallness of it really hits me! But, it's livable. We'll all just be really close and comfy during the cold winter. As we are unloading the truck and unpacking, we notice that there is no phone line in the whole place! What is up with that?!?! Doesn't that come standard in the 21st century?!?! So, therefore, we can't hook up our phones, internet, or our satellite TV, which leads me to today. Since we've moved in, we've finally gotten our phone line put in and have a phone, although the only calls we get are wrong numbers and like I said previously, if it's not obvious already, we have our DSL - finally!! And yeah, and the closing that's supposed to be happening tomorrow at 2pm...not happening because the owner is now having title problems. I haven't met this guy yet, but he sounds like a real winner to me!
As we stand, we're hopefully going to close by the 29th, which is also the day that we'll finally get our DirecTV set up! Woo Hoo! Stephen's orientation starts on the 29th as well and lasts the whole week. His classes don't officially start until the Tues. after Labor Day. So, I will then be home alone more often doing the mommy-thang and hanging out with the dogs. I'm looking forward to the cooler weather and the changing seasons. In my next blog, I will go ahead and fill you in on the places we've eaten so far and the Boston attractions we've been to. Maybe this will end up being more of a travel blog!
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Hello from Boston...it's freezing up here!
This is my first time blogging on Blogspot. I usually blog on Yahoo!360, but I've decided to branch out and try and let more of my friends and family read my postings. So, I will take the time to copy my previous blogs from back in August '05 over to Blogspot in case anyone has the time to read about what we've been doing since we've moved to Beantown.
I will continue to write about my parenting 'skills' and all of my wonderful and not-so-wonderful experiences of being a mother. And I'll also fill you in on the wild and unrelenting journey of being married to a soon-to-be medical doctor. For those of you who may not know, taking a year off to get a Masters degree in the middle of medical school isn't 'normal'. Yes, other people do it, but it's not the norm...so, of course, my husband would do it!
I welcome any feedback...good or bad. But, if you dish it out please be willing to take it! :)
More to come...
I will continue to write about my parenting 'skills' and all of my wonderful and not-so-wonderful experiences of being a mother. And I'll also fill you in on the wild and unrelenting journey of being married to a soon-to-be medical doctor. For those of you who may not know, taking a year off to get a Masters degree in the middle of medical school isn't 'normal'. Yes, other people do it, but it's not the norm...so, of course, my husband would do it!
I welcome any feedback...good or bad. But, if you dish it out please be willing to take it! :)
More to come...
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