| Dominican Republic |
|
|
| 10:15am 03/11/2009 |
| |
V hasn't posted on the honeymoon yet, but here's some of the pictures I took and a very brief overview of the trip:
1. First impression of resort not good - bed hard as rock, leaky AC, giant puddle on floor.
2. New room, better view, bed hard as a not as hard rock, no leaky AC.
3. Buffets not as good as hoped, ok for a couple days but progressively downhill.
4. Beach very nice, water warm for swimming but not enough waves. Scenery gorgeous.
5. Jealous of Resort we should have been at right next door looking all awesome and mocking but with armed guards to keep people out.
6. VIP bar and Beach saving grace of resort. I'll let V talk about the Mama Juana.
7. Horseback riding trip through countryside was fantastic, great time.
8. Hot
9. Cascade show. Big pool party/BBQ (right outside our balcony window - very cool) dancers, fire breathers, weird game show interludes, more dancing on floating platforms. Went on FORever. Music still blasting at 1:00 (right outside our window - not as cool)
10. Ocean World, got to play with some sea lions and swim in the tiger grotto which was neat, rest was pretty disappointing, no aquarium just several marinas linked together with dolphins, nurse sharks and sea lions, then the little amazon section with birds and the tigers. That was it. No comparison to Singapore.
11. City tour - Cable car ride was awesome, lunch outside the compound was awesome, got to do some shopping and other tours that V got more pictures of than me I think.
12. Dinner on the last night was phenominal - escaped the compound for a real meal, walked down the beach to a restaurant, ate outside, food was fabulous. Would consider going back just to eat there again.
Click through to view the gallery:
 |
|
| |
|
Read 2 - Post |
| |
| halloween pics |
|
|
| 05:53pm 02/11/2009 |
| |
OK - uploaded some pics today, we'll start with halloween, but I went through some honeymoon pics as well, so I'll try and post some of those later.
This year Zoe was a dragon, Riyan was a guitar hero and Vale was a Pokemon trainer. We carved 2 pumkins, one with three faces (each of the kids designed a face, and then my Nightmare before Christmas pumpkin that has zero on one side and the graveyard hill/moon on the other side.
Click through to view the entire gallery:
 |
|
| |
|
Read 1 - Post |
| |
| Home Sick |
|
|
| 12:23pm 19/10/2009 |
| |
mood:  sick
|
Whatever Zoe had this weekend she generously shared with me. Nothing like fever and chest congestion to show how much you care!
On the up side, had time to sort through some wedding pics. I posted some to facebook last week but they were bmp files which LJ turned up its nose at. So these are some that my mom took (picture should link up to the gallery if you want to see more)
 |
|
| |
|
Read 6 - Post |
| |
| phew |
|
|
| 01:51pm 12/10/2009 |
| |
mood:  happy
|
I cannot begin to go into all of the events of the past week and a half at this moment, but as I am now happily married and honeymooned I can say that everything was a success.
I wish that we could have invited more people, but I am so happy for all of the people who were able to make it. The day went by so quickly and things were forgotten and not planned out as well as they could have been (or at least perhaps not communicated properly to the powers that be), but all in all I was quite happy - the weather was wonderful and everything was beautiful.
We are slowly collecting pictures from various sources and I will post some here and on facebook I imagine. Also pics form the honeymoon which I have slightly more control over (as much as my camera would allow anyway).
Thanks especially to everyone who flew in from long distances to be there and everyone who helped out - especially Telf cause she could be where I could not and she had so much other stuff going on and helped us so much anyway. And also to my maid of honor and (I'm please to say, her new fiance) who were phenominal in helping us manage everything that had to be done and for cooking a fantastic feast and putting up with my micro-managing. And my mom for watching the kids while we were gone and also to Oliver for all his unexpected chauffering and transportation arranging genious that got everyone where they needed to be. |
|
| |
|
Post |
| |
| Weekend Plans |
|
|
| 01:54pm 04/09/2009 |
| |
Tomorrow I am volunteering at the Virginia Scottish Games festival. I have never been to this one. Telf and I had hoped to try and sell stuff there, but it was way too expensive for a booth. However, the Glengarry Bhoys are playing throughout the day and I'm looking forward to seeing them.
I will be helping out with the Child Games (mini-caber tossing!) at 3:00 which should be fun, and if anyone is interested in driving out, there is info here: http://www.vascottishgames.org/
It is not the close VA.
I *might* be helping on Sunday as well as they really need people, but it's pretty far to drive out two days in a row. Kids are free on Sunday though, so that's nice.
Monday, V and I have to drive up to the wedding site and do a final walkthrough and finalize catering stuff. So it looks like a lot of driving for one weekend. |
|
| |
|
Post |
| |
| Wet weekend |
|
|
| 10:55am 28/07/2009 |
| |
Saturday we celebrated the youngest monkey's birthday at the water park. Brought a tasty picnic and acquired some Spongebob cupcakes which proceeded to melt and smoosh in the heat like a Dali painting. Kids had fun, weather was nice. I went on a water slide which I haven't done before and it was suitably amusing.
headed out a little early to prepare for picnic number two at WolfTrap as we were going to see the National Symphony Orchestra performing the music of John Williams, which I thought the kids would enjoy. Got there nice and early and had to wait for them to open the gates. Finally got in and staked out a nice place on the lawn, que thunderstorm and torential rain. Luckily the weather was acting all suspicious and we grabbed a couple umbrellas before leaving. But, 3 kids under one, and us under the other was not entirely sufficient coverage. V ventured out and acquired $12 rain ponchos which we superior to huddling under the umbrellas, but not as ideal as one might like for $12.
The rain stopped for a bit and picnic was managed ackwardly, but rain started back up again a couple times throughout. The lightning was glorious. The kids managed to stay mostly dry and were very well behaved and enjoyed the music (especially when the had some costumed actors enacting light-saber duels aroubd the stage). V and I were completely soaked, except for the top of my left thigh which remained dry. Accident on the beltway on the way home meant it took an hour and 15 minutes (only took 20 minute to get there). And when we got home, the power was out! Fun times. |
|
| |
|
Read 2 - Post |
| |
| Jam Report Part 2: The Tasting |
|
|
| 01:02pm 14/07/2009 |
| |
mood: pleased
|
Well, after a week, batch one seems to have thickened up quite nicely on its own and I declare it a success. We have now also consumed an entire jar of batch one (Sour Cherry with orange/almond flavoring), and it was officially yummy. I think my favorite application was on top of "Mission to Marzipan" ice cream. The oldest monkey reports deliciousness in his PBJ, it was tasty on toast and pancakes, and I also tried it on pork chops with couscous and it was all quite tasty.
This morning I opened a jar of batch 3 (Sour Cherry with orange/vanilla) to see the difference in texture, and I have to say it was the absolute perfect consistency. Batch 3 was definitely the winner.
I haven't tried batch 2 yet, which is still a little runny, but of good consistency for syrup and toppings. And batch 4 is downright soupy and still needs to be re-made as soon as I acquire some more lids.
I think next on my jammy agenda will be an Apricot fruit spread if I can find some nice looking apricots. Also if I make it out to pick blackberries or raspberries I think I will try to make syrup or coulis instead of jam. Well, maybe some jam too, you know, for kids. |
|
| |
|
Read 4 - Post |
| |
| The Jam Report (part 1) |
|
|
| 11:08am 06/07/2009 |
| |
So, 6 hours, 8 quarts of cherries, 31 half-pints of jam. Christine came over to help which made a big difference as it would have taken much longer if I had had to pit all those cherries myself, despite the nifty cherry pitter I acquired which was awesome.
We experimented using the flavors of almond, orange and vanilla and made 4 batches with various combinations. Sadly, it seems that only 1 of the batches has really fully set. The first two batches we used much less sugar than the recipe called for which was probably the problem. I have not opened any yet to try, but they seem thickened and jammy, just not quite set so may still be tasty and spreadable. The last batch, which had the most sugar and the most pectin is down right soupy and will have to be redone. The third batch, which appears to have been successful, is the only batch in which we added some lime juice (which the recipe only suggested for sweet cherries). Perhaps that made the difference.
Stay tuned for Part 2: The Tasting |
|
| |
|
Read 4 - Post |
| |
| Jam Time |
|
|
| 10:38am 30/06/2009 |
| |
mood:  creative
|
On Sunday I am going to try and make preserves. I have acquired the requisite materials. I will have sour cherries from Butler's Orchard, and some peaches, maybe some rhubarb. I have not done this before so it will be something of an experiment. I have one cohort already, if anyone else is interested, let me know. You can bring your own fruit, or just help out. If it goes well, I expect there may be other attempts on future weekends. |
|
| |
|
Post |
| |
| Stuff that is new |
|
|
| 11:19am 25/06/2009 |
| |
mood:  accomplished
|
1. I signed up for a Tai Chi class that started last weekend. So far I like it. It is good exercise but also relaxing. The class is 8 weeks I think, so it should help me stay centered and not too stressed out as the wedding approaches.
2. The kids started their summer camp this week, so far so good except that 2 out of the first 3 days we've had to pick them up early due to someone not feeling good. Vale is in a separate camp for middle school age kids and he seems to be adjusting to all the new bullies, etc. His camp is at the activity center a couple of blocks away so he is able to walk there and home on his own which he is excited about.
3. Bridesmaid dresses have finally been ordered, I was starting to stress about that. They were a lot more expensive that what I had anticipated getting, but I they look really nice and I think the girls will be happy with them.
4. We decided on a honeymoon yetserday. This is our mini-honeymoon, just 5 days. Next year we want to do a bigger wine-tasting trip to Germany. But for now, we are going to an all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic, which looks like a very nice place. I've also decided I want to go to Costa Rica at some point, and not just to see whale sharks. Apparently they have neat hotels on volcanoes with hot springs and cloud forrests with tarzan-style canopy tours, and all sorts of cool stuff.
5. I've been using the Wii a lot more - picked up Wii Active, an exercise/personal trainer game and it is actually a pretty decent workout. I enjoy being able to make my own workouts using the various sports activities like the cardio boxing and tennis. They also have volleyball, basketball, inline skating, dance (which is pretty lame actually), and running/track. You can set different endurance levels and set some activities to random so it's not the same every time even if you're doing the same workout. |
|
| |
|
Read 7 - Post |
| |
| a movie-rific weekend |
|
|
| 02:44pm 27/05/2009 |
| |
OK, haven't posted in a while but I had a very nice weekend so I decided to share. Friday V was off to his gaming so the kids and I watched Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, which was actually not that bad. Not as hilarious as the first, but certainly a much better film than the second. Then I watched the Jane Austen Book Club, which was full of random people (including Marc Blucas) and at one point in the movie they ran into people at a convention playing vampire which I thought was amusing.
Afterword I picked up a book I must have bought a couple years ago or so and never got around to reading, The Book of Atrix Wolfe and it was delightful and finished it before the weekend. I haven't been up reading real late like that in a long time and messed me up in the morning on Saturday, but it was worth it. Got a hose and a sprinkler for the kids to play in which they quite enjoyed.
Sunday we went and saw Star Trek and the kids really enjoyed it (Riyan was trying to engineer a starship out of the cardboard cup holder tray on the way home). They didn't understand why we were always laughing during the movie - they didn't think it was funny. I enjoyed it much more than I expected to, but it did seem a little over the top in places. I'm not sure I buy it as the start of a new franchise, but it was fun.
Then home for some yard work - I pruned down the smoke tree to a more reasonable size, and de-thistled the back yard while V mowed the lawn (our house came with a decent lawn mower it turns out). Later we watched "Taken" from netflix which was definitely a fine display of liam neason kicking butt and taking names.
Monday we went back over to the Rio for Joe's Crab Shack, shared a tasty steam pot, got some ice cream and walked around the lake. Made it back to the car just as the torential rain began to come down.
Then back to work and I pretty much have no idea what day it is right now. |
|
| |
|
Read 2 - Post |
| |
| Goodbyes |
|
|
| 10:08am 09/05/2009 |
| |
mood:  sad
|
Mary said goodbye last night. It was peaceful and I was with her. I will miss her very much but I am glad that she no longer has to suffer the frailties of her age and her sickness. We are going out today to find a tree to plant in our yard to remember her. |
|
| |
|
Read 10 - Post |
| |
| It's all you can say... |
|
|
| 01:26pm 21/04/2009 |
| |
Had to pick Zoe up this morning from school, so she ended up coming with me to a dentist appointment. She was pretty good throughout, putting up with all sorts of questions from the doctors and such. On the way out another lady asked her name, and dutifully she said "Zoe" and the woman exclaimed that Dr. Baer's new baby was named Zoe too (which we'd already heard once or twice). Then she said, "I have a cat named Zoe!". Zoe's was response was "Omlette du Fromage", then she turned to me and said "Let's go." |
|
| |
|
Read 4 - Post |
| |
| Zoe vs. Cats |
|
|
| 09:20am 25/03/2009 |
| |
Took Zoe to see Cats last night up in Baltimore. I've only seen it a couple of times, but this version was not that great. Partly due to our seats which were way on the side and our view, which I thought would be better because we were in the first row of the balcony, was partly obscured because of the railing in front of us. And this was the first performance in that theater for the run and I don't think they had all the kinks worked out with the sound - sometimes it was very hard to hear. I think a combination of those factors left me feeling that the energy wasn't really there for most of it, though Gus/Growltiger was quite good.
But Zoe enjoyed it. This was her second "fancy" play, she saw Tarzan in NY a couple years ago. She has seen the movie of the play, and listened to the soundtrack quite often so she was very excited. I gave her the program so she could read the names of the cats. She got very excited everytime she read one she remembered - "Rum Tum Tugger is in this one!" "Skimble is in this one!" "McVity? Whose McVity? Oh - Macavity! Macavity is in this one!"
Amusing Zoe moments included before the show when they made an annoucement over the loudspeaker and she started sniffing around trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. Then she tried to smell out where the cats were - she concluded they were hiding in the junk. She giggled incessently during the first big number when the shoe dropped and wanted to know why they were singing to a shoe.
She had not seen Growltiger before as that scene is not in the movie, and she wasn't sure what to make of it. "What?! A cat that's a pirate?!". Then, about 3/4 of the way through the play, she leaned over and said "I doubt those are real cats. Cats do not walk on two feet. And they don't wear clothes." She was a big fan of Mr. Mistoffelees and his sparkling confetti cannons that sprayed the audience though.
At the end, Old Deuteronomy sends Grizzabella up to the heavyside layer, the big tire lifted up and smoke was pooring from the bottom like a rocket launch, which impressed her at first, only it kept on going for the whole last song and Zoe said "Ok - he can come down now! He doesn't have burn up the whole stage!"
And of course, she wanted to know where Grizzabella had gone and I told her "up", and she was all like, "What? She's in the attic? On the roof? Those are the only things I know that are up. The sewers? Oh, wait, that's down." |
|
| |
|
Read 4 - Post |
| |
| stuff and things |
|
|
| 09:08am 18/03/2009 |
| |
At my behest, V made a delicious Irish Stew for dinner last night. It was really yummy. It was the perfect st. patrick's day dinner. We had mint ice cream sandwiches for dessert, cause you know, they're green an all. I think tonight I will be making apricot pecan chicken.
V's parents are in town for a few days - we are all heading down to Virginia Beach this weekend as his sister is running a marathon. Should be fun. Hopefully the weather will be decent.
We have a lot of garden work to get started on as well as soon as spring really starts to kick in. Our yard is covered in daffodils at the moment, which is fine, but I can't wait to add in some irises and lillies and callas. Need to find a place for a nice lilac as well. |
|
| |
|
Read 1 - Post |
| |
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
lilmymble's journal