5.20.09 Livorno, Florence and Pisa
This morning we had breakfast delivered to our room. This is a free service on the ship. I don’t know how I’m going to go back to not being pampered like this. We headed out around 9:30ish and took a shuttle into Livorno where we would grab a train to Firenze (Florence). We met 4 sisters on the shuttle (all in their 60’s) who were planning on doing the same, but had no idea how. I told them to just follow us and I would take care of it. The shuttle took us to the city and we grabbed a bus to the train station. From there Melba and I bought tickets to Firenze and the 4 sisters bought tickets to Pisa. Pisa was along the way so we took the same train – it left at 11:11am.
These four sisters fell in love with me (according to Melba). Getting around town isn’t that difficult, but it sure helps that I know the local customs, language, how the buses/trains work, etc. This is the first real day of the cruise and I’m sure these sisters liked having a ‘personal tour guide.’ It was really easy for me to just tell them to follow us, but I know that it made a big difference for them.
Melba and I filled our Camelbacks and loaded them with granola bars before we headed out. My Camelback has a leak on the top (near where you fill it up) so I can’t set it down without having some water leak out. Now that I know that it makes using the Camelback much more enjoyable. Our train ride into Firenze was 80 minutes long so we didn’t get in until 12:30pm. Our plan was to see some sights there, eat lunch, hop on the return train, get off at Pisa, run and see the leaning tower of Pisa, then hop back on the last train heading to Livorno where would catch the last shuttle back to the ship.
We followed a map to the Duomo – it is beautiful. There was a long line to get inside (not sure why) so we waited about 20 minutes before getting in. Most of the things we wanted to do cost money (that’s not always a given when things are inside of a Church) and I had run out of Euro. I talked with a local who directed me to a bank and I pulled out some more Euros. I think the exchange rate has gone down slightly – but I’m not certain. I like being able to speak Italian because the directions to this bank were somewhat complicated and I don’t think I could’ve found it had I not been able to speak Italian.
€8 per person to climb the 463 stairs of the Duomo and look out at Firenze. Absolutely gorgeous. I looked out at the Tuscan country side and it was just beautiful. I haven’t seen anything to compare it to. Red rooftops throughout the city, the Churches stand out, and it all continues to the green mountains which have houses built up on them. Just amazing. I was no longer bothered that Melba chose to take me to Firenze (instead of spending the day in Pisa). We spent about 20 minutes at the top taking pictures and joking about when we would move to Tuscany.
We left the Church and looked at the doors of the baptistery opposite the Duomo. There were made by Berghini a long, long time ago. 3D gold carvings (not real gold – that was just the color). We actually looked at replicas of them because the real ones are being restored. There were 8 square carvings – 4 on each door – and each one depicted a story from the Bible. All of them were very well done with lots of detail.
As we worked out way back to the train station we stopped at a sandwich shop for lunch. Melba had prosciutto and mozzarella and I had tomato, basil and mozzarella. The food here is just so good. It was simple, but good. We ate quickly and made it to the train station with some time to spare.
Melba slept most of the way back – I needed to stay awake because I was worried about missing our stop at Pisa. I later learned that Melba was really hot. The train was hot, but I was sitting by the open window and had a breeze blowing on me – I was unaware that Melba wasn’t getting any of it. I would have gladly witched seats with her had I known.
We got off of the train at Pisa at 4:30pm. I checked the schedule and saw another train going to Livorno at 5:34pm – this gave us just over an hour to walk over a mile to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, see it, take some pictures and walk back. Sounds easy, but Melba wasn’t feeling well and had a headache due to the heat on the train. We also didn’t know exactly where we needed to go. We got to the Tower shortly before 5pm. It’s pretty cool. It actually leans quite a bit more than I thought would. Melba’s Lonely Planet guide says there are always lots of tourists taking pictures with their hands positioned to look like they are either supporting or pushing the Tower – yup, that’s exactly what we saw. We took a couple of pictures and worked our way back.
I bought Melba some gelato hoping it would help her feel better. We ended up getting back to the station in about 20 minutes so maybe it worked. After walking over a mile each way (plus the walking in Firenze and climbing 463 stairs) my legs were dead – as were Melba’s. But we had done everything we wanted to do at this port. And now we were rushing to make it back to the ship. We got to the station with about 15 minutes to spare. The train arrived on schedule and thank goodness I remembered the name of the Piazza where the shuttle would pick us up. We got on the shuttle around 6:10 – not bad considering the last shuttle was scheduled to leave at 6:30. We made it back safely to the ship.
We were covered in sweat so we headed back to our room to take showers before going to dinner. I think today was one of the funnest days of my life. When I was a missionary I always thought it would be fun to come back to Italy as a tourist. I also thought it would fun to cruise Italy with my future wife. Here I was doing it. I knew the language, customs, etc and we were having a blast. The day ended up being everything we wanted it to be. When I got back on the ship I had a hard time speaking English to everyone because I was used to speaking Italian. I will miss being able to speak Italian to so many people once I get back to the States. In fact, I think I am going to miss Italy like crazy once we get back to the States – there are so many things that I love about Italy from being a missionary here and I had forgotten most of them. Now that it’s all coming back to me I can understand why it took me so long to ‘come home’.
Tomorrow we arrive in Monaco. We will be anchored, not docked. We were told that people who have paid for shore excursions will be the first ones to be tendered to land. (I think that’s the verb I should be using). We’re going to sleep in and leave later in the morning. There are some museums and such within walking distance of the port. My feet are feeling better after all of the walking today so I hope I can handle a day of walking tomorrow.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
5.19.09 Boarding the Ship
We had breakfast at the hotel and I’m really glad it was covered with the room fee. €27 per person – that’s about $40. The breakfast was good – I’ve come to expect nothing less from the Italians. We packed up our belongings and head out the door.
The front desk called us a cab to take us to the train station. I began talking with the guy on the way to the station and he said he would be willing to drive us all the way to Civitavecchia for €70. Hmm, tempting. I did some quick math and figured that we would spend about €50+ to go by train (including cab fare to the station and then to the boat) so we told him to take us to Civitavecchia. It was a lovely ride. Our cabbie was a good, honest Italian. He has been married for eight years, has a 3 year-old son and another on the way.
Looking at the hills and trees while riding up along the coast of the Med reminded me a lot of California. The biggest difference was that the homes were all Italian Villa style. In California a home like that would cost millions, but the cabbie told me it was very inexpensive to live there compared to Rome. Funny how that works.
The cabbie took us all the way to the check-in point. His meter was up to about €150, but he stuck to his word and didn’t ask for anything more than what we agreed to. I paid him €75 and thanked him for his hospitality. He was sure to caution me that if I took a cab ride back that I would have to pay a lot more than €70 – I would get charged whatever was on the meter. He was a really good guy and put both Melba and I in a really good mood. This was an excellent way to start our cruise.
We boarded around 11:30 (left early not expecting a ride all the way there) and our rooms weren’t going to be ready for another 2 hours. The ship directed everyone to a dining room with buffet-style lunch foods. We weren’t very hungry so Melba had a salad and I ate a sandwich. All of the food is really good and it’s all covered with the cost of the room. The only catch is that we have to pay for all of our drinks (except for water). All things considered, that isn’t too bad – I just don’t like being nickeled and dimed. Oh, well.
About an hour later we saw two people we met at the airport while waiting for our bags. They are a retired couple from Arizona. We talked to them for about an hour yesterday and they sat with us at lunch while we waited for the rooms to be ready.
Lots of retired couples on board. I think Melba and I fall amongst the youngest people on board. If I were create a normal distribution of age on the ship, we would be around the first or second percentile, I'm sure. That said, we’re very glad that this isn’t a ‘party boat’. Everyone is quiet, respectful and friendly. If there were a bunch of undergrads running around on the boat creaming, yelling and getting drunk all of the time, this would be a rotten cruise.
Dinner was excellent. We have what’s called a flex-dining plan which means we can eat anytime between 5:45 and 9pm. The other option would be to have a fixed time to eat every night – it’s mostly groups who prefer that option. Tonight we ate with a retired couple from Vermont. He had recently sold his share of a Pharmacy business to his partner. We have a delightful time talking to them over dinner. It’s weird to me to think that Melba and I can each order appetizer, soup, entrée and dessert all for free. The serving sizes are moderate – enough to fill you up and nothing more. The quality of the food, I think, is similar to a nice restaurant. Not something like Ruth’s Chris, but it’s still nice. There is food everywhere and it’s all free – we just have to pay for the drinks.
Right now Melba and I are planning out the day tomorrow. I kinda want to go to Pisa and see the sites there, but Melba wants to go to Florence and see the artwork. I think she is going to win out on this one. She’s already seen Pisa. We’re listening to a talented string quartet. I write the journal while Melba reads Lonely Planet to decide what tomorrow’s plans are. We’re heading off to a theater in a couple of minutes – the actors are doing an interactive production to introduce the passengers to what the nightly productions will be for the rest of the cruise.
Perhaps we’ll know by tomorrow if we’re going to go to Pisa or Florence. While I want to go to Pisa, I must admit that after Melba read to me what she wants to do in Florence I’m bothered that we can’t do both.
UPDATE - She talked me into Florence. More tomorrow.
We had breakfast at the hotel and I’m really glad it was covered with the room fee. €27 per person – that’s about $40. The breakfast was good – I’ve come to expect nothing less from the Italians. We packed up our belongings and head out the door.
The front desk called us a cab to take us to the train station. I began talking with the guy on the way to the station and he said he would be willing to drive us all the way to Civitavecchia for €70. Hmm, tempting. I did some quick math and figured that we would spend about €50+ to go by train (including cab fare to the station and then to the boat) so we told him to take us to Civitavecchia. It was a lovely ride. Our cabbie was a good, honest Italian. He has been married for eight years, has a 3 year-old son and another on the way.
Looking at the hills and trees while riding up along the coast of the Med reminded me a lot of California. The biggest difference was that the homes were all Italian Villa style. In California a home like that would cost millions, but the cabbie told me it was very inexpensive to live there compared to Rome. Funny how that works.
The cabbie took us all the way to the check-in point. His meter was up to about €150, but he stuck to his word and didn’t ask for anything more than what we agreed to. I paid him €75 and thanked him for his hospitality. He was sure to caution me that if I took a cab ride back that I would have to pay a lot more than €70 – I would get charged whatever was on the meter. He was a really good guy and put both Melba and I in a really good mood. This was an excellent way to start our cruise.
We boarded around 11:30 (left early not expecting a ride all the way there) and our rooms weren’t going to be ready for another 2 hours. The ship directed everyone to a dining room with buffet-style lunch foods. We weren’t very hungry so Melba had a salad and I ate a sandwich. All of the food is really good and it’s all covered with the cost of the room. The only catch is that we have to pay for all of our drinks (except for water). All things considered, that isn’t too bad – I just don’t like being nickeled and dimed. Oh, well.
About an hour later we saw two people we met at the airport while waiting for our bags. They are a retired couple from Arizona. We talked to them for about an hour yesterday and they sat with us at lunch while we waited for the rooms to be ready.
Lots of retired couples on board. I think Melba and I fall amongst the youngest people on board. If I were create a normal distribution of age on the ship, we would be around the first or second percentile, I'm sure. That said, we’re very glad that this isn’t a ‘party boat’. Everyone is quiet, respectful and friendly. If there were a bunch of undergrads running around on the boat creaming, yelling and getting drunk all of the time, this would be a rotten cruise.
Dinner was excellent. We have what’s called a flex-dining plan which means we can eat anytime between 5:45 and 9pm. The other option would be to have a fixed time to eat every night – it’s mostly groups who prefer that option. Tonight we ate with a retired couple from Vermont. He had recently sold his share of a Pharmacy business to his partner. We have a delightful time talking to them over dinner. It’s weird to me to think that Melba and I can each order appetizer, soup, entrée and dessert all for free. The serving sizes are moderate – enough to fill you up and nothing more. The quality of the food, I think, is similar to a nice restaurant. Not something like Ruth’s Chris, but it’s still nice. There is food everywhere and it’s all free – we just have to pay for the drinks.
Right now Melba and I are planning out the day tomorrow. I kinda want to go to Pisa and see the sites there, but Melba wants to go to Florence and see the artwork. I think she is going to win out on this one. She’s already seen Pisa. We’re listening to a talented string quartet. I write the journal while Melba reads Lonely Planet to decide what tomorrow’s plans are. We’re heading off to a theater in a couple of minutes – the actors are doing an interactive production to introduce the passengers to what the nightly productions will be for the rest of the cruise.
Perhaps we’ll know by tomorrow if we’re going to go to Pisa or Florence. While I want to go to Pisa, I must admit that after Melba read to me what she wants to do in Florence I’m bothered that we can’t do both.
UPDATE - She talked me into Florence. More tomorrow.
5.18.09 Arriving in Rome
I’ve spent enough time on airplanes to don’t want to be on another one for a long time. I clearly remember laughing (at my expense) several times throughout the duration of the flight – I feel bad that I’m too tired to remember what she was laughing at.
We got off the plane and went straight to baggage claim (what else were we going to do?) When we checked in at Atlanta we were told that our bags had made it to Atlanta and would be on our plane. We started to get nervous about an hour after the flight when we had no bags – except a lot of people from our flight were still waiting for their bags. At around 10am (our flight landed at 8:20sm) we were told that all bags had made it to baggage claim. Welcome trial number 1. Neither Melba nor I had a bag. Long line at customer service with people from our flight who didn’t have bags. I had grown sick of the clothes I was wearing (hadn’t changed them for three days) not to mention that I was really nervous about what we would do if we had to board the ship without out bags. Then we found out that our bags had made it on the flight from New York last night. So we have our bags and we’re sitting in the hotel – a very nice hotel.
Trail number 2 was learning that our port is over 100km away from Rome and it could easily be a €150 cab ride – that’s over $200. Well, Italian hospitality is among the best. The concierge printed off the train schedule and found us a much less expensive way to get there. He said the cab ride to the train station would be about 35 EUR and the train tickets will be €4.50 each. He even told me how to use the bus (instead of a taxi) and it would cost €1 each – but I it will be too crowded and I’m not that desperate. This is real Italian hospitality – it’s easy to find, but you have to look for it somewhere devoid of street vendors.
I was kinda bummed when we had to stay in Atlanta on Sunday because I wanted to go to Church in Rome. However, I don’t think we could’ve made it through Church yesterday. We were both so tired when we got to the hotel that we went straight to bed and slept for 2 hours. Well, Melba slept for 3.
I have really lost a lot of my Italian skills. I’m doing OK with getting around and chit-chatting, but I don’t think I could hold a full discussion like I could when I was a missionary. Bummer. Maybe I’ll start to get some of it back over the next couple of weeks. We’ll see.
As easy as it would’ve been to stay at the hotel – we were both really tired – we went ahead and bought bus tickets into Rome. I had forgotten how much I loved Italy until I got into the city. There were several little things that I had forgotten like how cars know to stop if you jump into the crosswalk – although it took Melba a little bit of time to develop that level of faith… We didn’t have much time and all of the museum were closed (we slept until about 3 and the museums close at 4) so went to Saint Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City and walked around. No crowds anywhere and I was somewhat, but pleasantly, surprised to not see and Gypsy’s or street vendors. We stopped at a gelateria along the way and had some real Italian gelato. Buonissimo. We loved sitting on the street in the middle of Rome, eating gelato and looking at the people walking by.
The Basilica is beautiful – the way I remember Italian Catholic Cathedrals. The first thing I saw when I walked in was a sculpture of Mary holding Jesus after He had died. I will admit that I choked up when I first saw it – I had never seen a sculpture so beautiful. I could have looked at it for an hour. Melba then told it was the Pieta. It all made sense at that point – Paul O’Neill (Producer of TSO) said that great art will give an emotion that someone has never felt before and used the Pieta as an example. He said that someone who has never had a child can look at that sculpture and know what it is like to have one who dies.
We walked around the rest of the Basilica, stopped at a store to buy some bottled water and then ate dinner at an outdoor restaurant. Service was great and the food was really good. We split a Pizza Margarita (crust, tomato sauce, basil and mozzarella) and then each ordered a plate of pasta. I had four-cheese gnocchi and Melba had a sausage, sage, and butter pasta. Both dishes were good but Melba’s was incredible. We brainstormed how we would imitate it when we got home.
We went back to the bus pick-up spot and went home. I had a really bad headache. We were both really tired, got home and went straight to bed.
I’ve spent enough time on airplanes to don’t want to be on another one for a long time. I clearly remember laughing (at my expense) several times throughout the duration of the flight – I feel bad that I’m too tired to remember what she was laughing at.
We got off the plane and went straight to baggage claim (what else were we going to do?) When we checked in at Atlanta we were told that our bags had made it to Atlanta and would be on our plane. We started to get nervous about an hour after the flight when we had no bags – except a lot of people from our flight were still waiting for their bags. At around 10am (our flight landed at 8:20sm) we were told that all bags had made it to baggage claim. Welcome trial number 1. Neither Melba nor I had a bag. Long line at customer service with people from our flight who didn’t have bags. I had grown sick of the clothes I was wearing (hadn’t changed them for three days) not to mention that I was really nervous about what we would do if we had to board the ship without out bags. Then we found out that our bags had made it on the flight from New York last night. So we have our bags and we’re sitting in the hotel – a very nice hotel.
Trail number 2 was learning that our port is over 100km away from Rome and it could easily be a €150 cab ride – that’s over $200. Well, Italian hospitality is among the best. The concierge printed off the train schedule and found us a much less expensive way to get there. He said the cab ride to the train station would be about 35 EUR and the train tickets will be €4.50 each. He even told me how to use the bus (instead of a taxi) and it would cost €1 each – but I it will be too crowded and I’m not that desperate. This is real Italian hospitality – it’s easy to find, but you have to look for it somewhere devoid of street vendors.
I was kinda bummed when we had to stay in Atlanta on Sunday because I wanted to go to Church in Rome. However, I don’t think we could’ve made it through Church yesterday. We were both so tired when we got to the hotel that we went straight to bed and slept for 2 hours. Well, Melba slept for 3.
I have really lost a lot of my Italian skills. I’m doing OK with getting around and chit-chatting, but I don’t think I could hold a full discussion like I could when I was a missionary. Bummer. Maybe I’ll start to get some of it back over the next couple of weeks. We’ll see.
As easy as it would’ve been to stay at the hotel – we were both really tired – we went ahead and bought bus tickets into Rome. I had forgotten how much I loved Italy until I got into the city. There were several little things that I had forgotten like how cars know to stop if you jump into the crosswalk – although it took Melba a little bit of time to develop that level of faith… We didn’t have much time and all of the museum were closed (we slept until about 3 and the museums close at 4) so went to Saint Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City and walked around. No crowds anywhere and I was somewhat, but pleasantly, surprised to not see and Gypsy’s or street vendors. We stopped at a gelateria along the way and had some real Italian gelato. Buonissimo. We loved sitting on the street in the middle of Rome, eating gelato and looking at the people walking by.
The Basilica is beautiful – the way I remember Italian Catholic Cathedrals. The first thing I saw when I walked in was a sculpture of Mary holding Jesus after He had died. I will admit that I choked up when I first saw it – I had never seen a sculpture so beautiful. I could have looked at it for an hour. Melba then told it was the Pieta. It all made sense at that point – Paul O’Neill (Producer of TSO) said that great art will give an emotion that someone has never felt before and used the Pieta as an example. He said that someone who has never had a child can look at that sculpture and know what it is like to have one who dies.
We walked around the rest of the Basilica, stopped at a store to buy some bottled water and then ate dinner at an outdoor restaurant. Service was great and the food was really good. We split a Pizza Margarita (crust, tomato sauce, basil and mozzarella) and then each ordered a plate of pasta. I had four-cheese gnocchi and Melba had a sausage, sage, and butter pasta. Both dishes were good but Melba’s was incredible. We brainstormed how we would imitate it when we got home.
We went back to the bus pick-up spot and went home. I had a really bad headache. We were both really tired, got home and went straight to bed.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Sammie Meets his Trash-talkin' Match
In his last post, Sammie told you about our adventures trying to travel abroad. Since we were flying out of Dulles airport on Saturday, we drove down to northern Virginia on Friday and stayed with my cousin Cate for the night. (Sammie didn't mention the part where, 45 minutes outside of State College, I asked him if he had his camera and he didn't. We went back for it. 90 minutes later, at the same spot we realized we didn't have the camera, we realized we didn't have our swimming suits. We didn't go back for them...)
Anyway, I knew that at Cate's house I'd have a lot of fun seeing her, her husband Mike, and their awesome kids. I knew we'd have a comfortable place to sleep in their beautiful home and a hot breakfast. I didn't expect to laugh harder than I have in a really long time. (Well, since my Mom came to town...)
Cate and Mike's 3rd kid, Nathan, is 8 years old. He's 45 pounds and probably just under 4 feet. When he steps on the Wii fit, he registers UNDER the underweight category. His BMI is something like 9 or 10.
Sammie, on the other hand, will be 34 in August. He's 6' 1" and, while I won't disclose his weight, I'll mention that he would definitely not fall in the underweight category. Basically, he's over 4 times Nathan's weight and age.
It started with Sammie and Richie (Nathan's older brother, who is 13, tall, and athletic) playing tennis. Nathan, who had asked to play the winner, sat on the sidelines commenting that their game looked like the ladies' championship game. Then it was his turn to play Sammie.
"Come on! Hit like a man!" says 45-pound-8-year-old Nathan. "You hit like a girl!"
"Is that as hard as you can hit the ball?" "Come on! You can give me a real serve!"
Richie and I were on the sidelines suffocating from laughing. And the best part was that Nathan was scoring hardly any points against Sammie.
Sammie started coming back with, "Well, if you can't hit it like a man, at least hit it like a boy!"
Nathan started jumping up and down, expending some pent-up energy. Sammie asked, "Dude, do you have to go to the bathroom?"
Nathan won the next point.
Sammie said, "I should fill my bladder. Maybe I'd start playing better."
After Sammie won the tennis match, they went on to baseball. Sammie's strategy became to lift Nathan up with one arm and pitch with his other arm, so Nathan couldn't hit the ball and struck out.
We ended with a rousing boxing match. It was disturbing to watch Sammie's Wii character beating up on Nathan. But Nathan won--knocked Sammie out twice!
Anyway, I knew that at Cate's house I'd have a lot of fun seeing her, her husband Mike, and their awesome kids. I knew we'd have a comfortable place to sleep in their beautiful home and a hot breakfast. I didn't expect to laugh harder than I have in a really long time. (Well, since my Mom came to town...)
Cate and Mike's 3rd kid, Nathan, is 8 years old. He's 45 pounds and probably just under 4 feet. When he steps on the Wii fit, he registers UNDER the underweight category. His BMI is something like 9 or 10.
Sammie, on the other hand, will be 34 in August. He's 6' 1" and, while I won't disclose his weight, I'll mention that he would definitely not fall in the underweight category. Basically, he's over 4 times Nathan's weight and age.
It started with Sammie and Richie (Nathan's older brother, who is 13, tall, and athletic) playing tennis. Nathan, who had asked to play the winner, sat on the sidelines commenting that their game looked like the ladies' championship game. Then it was his turn to play Sammie.
"Come on! Hit like a man!" says 45-pound-8-year-old Nathan. "You hit like a girl!"
"Is that as hard as you can hit the ball?" "Come on! You can give me a real serve!"
Richie and I were on the sidelines suffocating from laughing. And the best part was that Nathan was scoring hardly any points against Sammie.
Sammie started coming back with, "Well, if you can't hit it like a man, at least hit it like a boy!"
Nathan started jumping up and down, expending some pent-up energy. Sammie asked, "Dude, do you have to go to the bathroom?"
Nathan won the next point.
Sammie said, "I should fill my bladder. Maybe I'd start playing better."
After Sammie won the tennis match, they went on to baseball. Sammie's strategy became to lift Nathan up with one arm and pitch with his other arm, so Nathan couldn't hit the ball and struck out.
We ended with a rousing boxing match. It was disturbing to watch Sammie's Wii character beating up on Nathan. But Nathan won--knocked Sammie out twice!
Adventures Abroad (but not yet)
At the last minute, Melba and I decided to go on a Mediterranean Cruise to celebrate graduation. We left yesterday for Rome to spend a couple of days there, go on the cruise, and then a couple more days in Rome, and then back home. Here are the Top Ten best parts about traveling yesterday:
1. Having our flight out of Dulles delayed an hour, the gate attendants telling us that the screen is wrong and our flight isn't really delayed, then telling us all on the plane that we will be delayed for more than an hour.
2. Getting off the plane in JFK to find out that our flight to Rome has left and stand in line with a bunch of angry people while we wait to be re-booked. (FYI -- airlines aren't run like McDonald's so don't think that if you're really rude to someone you'll get free fries. Be nice to them and they will reciprocate it back to you.)
3. Being told by the nice girl helping us that the flight to Rome was at the gate right next to the one we entered in on -- and that if we had have gone straight there we would've made it.
4. Being re-booked to Atlanta, and knowing that we'll have to stay the night there and then go to Rome in the morning -- and because delays are due to weather, we have to pay for the hotel out of pocket.
5. Boarding our 6:45pm flight to Atlanta at 7pm (it was delayed, too) and then sitting on the tarmac for 3 hours and 15 minutes before taking off. And it's only a two hour flight.
6. Learning at baggage claim (at 12:30am) that because Atlanta is not our final destination, we won't be getting our bags until we get to Rome.
7. Finding a nice hotel at a low rate -- and I'm not kidding. Upgraded to a king size bed in a suite, being given a 2pm check-out time, free internet, free full breakfast and friendly service all for $59.
8. Calling Marriott and learning that I can change my booking there at no charge (that was a relief).
9. Sleeping in until 9am, going to breakfast, stuffing myself with loads of good breakfast, then going back to bed.
10. Being on vacation with Melba. Yup. Despite all of the troubles we had flying yesterday, it's nice to be on a vacation with Melba. We're heading off to Rome now -- direct flight to Rome out of Atlanta. Hopefully our bags will make it.
We'll try and keep a running blog of all of our fun adventures in Rome and the Mediterranean. Check back soon for more updates....
At the last minute, Melba and I decided to go on a Mediterranean Cruise to celebrate graduation. We left yesterday for Rome to spend a couple of days there, go on the cruise, and then a couple more days in Rome, and then back home. Here are the Top Ten best parts about traveling yesterday:
1. Having our flight out of Dulles delayed an hour, the gate attendants telling us that the screen is wrong and our flight isn't really delayed, then telling us all on the plane that we will be delayed for more than an hour.
2. Getting off the plane in JFK to find out that our flight to Rome has left and stand in line with a bunch of angry people while we wait to be re-booked. (FYI -- airlines aren't run like McDonald's so don't think that if you're really rude to someone you'll get free fries. Be nice to them and they will reciprocate it back to you.)
3. Being told by the nice girl helping us that the flight to Rome was at the gate right next to the one we entered in on -- and that if we had have gone straight there we would've made it.
4. Being re-booked to Atlanta, and knowing that we'll have to stay the night there and then go to Rome in the morning -- and because delays are due to weather, we have to pay for the hotel out of pocket.
5. Boarding our 6:45pm flight to Atlanta at 7pm (it was delayed, too) and then sitting on the tarmac for 3 hours and 15 minutes before taking off. And it's only a two hour flight.
6. Learning at baggage claim (at 12:30am) that because Atlanta is not our final destination, we won't be getting our bags until we get to Rome.
7. Finding a nice hotel at a low rate -- and I'm not kidding. Upgraded to a king size bed in a suite, being given a 2pm check-out time, free internet, free full breakfast and friendly service all for $59.
8. Calling Marriott and learning that I can change my booking there at no charge (that was a relief).
9. Sleeping in until 9am, going to breakfast, stuffing myself with loads of good breakfast, then going back to bed.
10. Being on vacation with Melba. Yup. Despite all of the troubles we had flying yesterday, it's nice to be on a vacation with Melba. We're heading off to Rome now -- direct flight to Rome out of Atlanta. Hopefully our bags will make it.
We'll try and keep a running blog of all of our fun adventures in Rome and the Mediterranean. Check back soon for more updates....
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Adoption
So, I think all of you that read this blog know that Sammie and I are trying to adopt. I haven't really mentioned it here because, well, you can probably guess why. I won't go into a lot of details, but I'll give a quick update. We've had some success getting in contact with potential birth mothers and hearing of situations that could work out for us. Unfortunately, though, nothing has worked out yet. In fact, we've had two adoptions fall through.
So... we're still searching! Following are three links to our online adoption profiles. This is just a reminder... if you hear of someone who is thinking of placing a baby for adoption, keep us in mind! We'll name the baby after you. (Okay. We probably won't. That was my one weak attempt at humor for this post.)
Here's our old LDS Family Services profile. (I don't know when they are officially changing from the old to the new.)
Here's our new LDS Family Services profile.
And here's our Parent Profiles profile. (department of redundancy department)
So... we're still searching! Following are three links to our online adoption profiles. This is just a reminder... if you hear of someone who is thinking of placing a baby for adoption, keep us in mind! We'll name the baby after you. (Okay. We probably won't. That was my one weak attempt at humor for this post.)
Here's our old LDS Family Services profile. (I don't know when they are officially changing from the old to the new.)
Here's our new LDS Family Services profile.
And here's our Parent Profiles profile. (department of redundancy department)
Meanwhile, back on the ground...
Okay, I still get a stomach ache when I look at the video of Sammie jumping out of the plane. Here are some pictures of us on the ground before he jumped - with the jump master and with me trying to talk him out of it. :)
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
At Least the Parachute Opened...
Last week, I saw a bumper sticker that read, "If at first you don't succeed, maybe skydiving isn't for you."
Fortunately, Sammie's parachute opened. Unfortunately, he threw up on the jump master on the way down and then sprained his ankle while landing.
But the parachute opened!
And I learned exactly how long 30 seconds can feel: as I see a small speck that I know is my husband falling or jumping or whatever out of a plane 10,000 feet above my head and wait for the parachute to open. That 30 seconds may have been the longest of my life and the shortest of Sammie's as he fell through the air with a jump master and parachute (that opened!) strapped to his back.
Once the parachute opened (and it did open!) Sammie got sick to his stomach. The instructor turned the chute so he could throw up. He said it just kind of dissipated into the air. (My mom later commented that she wasn't very comforted thinking about people flying above our heads, throwing up on us.) When he landed, he twisted his ankle and has been hobbling around ever since. Actually, he thinks it's the perfect injury because he needs to stay off it and keep it elevated. That translates to no dishes, no walking the dog, no cleaning. He needs to sit in the arm chair with his feet elevated, watching sports, while I supply him with bottles of IBC Root Beer.
At least the parachute opened.
Fortunately, our brother in law Ben had thrown up on his jump master and our other brother in law Luke had provided us with an appropriate line for the awkward situation of having your throw up all over a stranger's clothes. "Well, at least the parachute opened!"
Sammie's note: Watch closely as I jump out of the plane and you'll know why I was throwing up 30 seconds later!
Melba's addendum: It's a testament to Sammie's wonderfulness that, even with his sore ankle, I came home from orchestra rehearsal last Monday to find the dishes done, the garbage emptied, and the dog walked. Sammie knew I'd reached my stress limit and sacrificed his ankle for my happiness. When I came home, I was touched and emotional:
M: Sammie, I feel really bad. You didn't have to do that!
S: I'm sorry you feel bad. I won't ever do it again.
M: I know you won't.
At least the para... you get the idea.
Fortunately, Sammie's parachute opened. Unfortunately, he threw up on the jump master on the way down and then sprained his ankle while landing.
But the parachute opened!
And I learned exactly how long 30 seconds can feel: as I see a small speck that I know is my husband falling or jumping or whatever out of a plane 10,000 feet above my head and wait for the parachute to open. That 30 seconds may have been the longest of my life and the shortest of Sammie's as he fell through the air with a jump master and parachute (that opened!) strapped to his back.
Once the parachute opened (and it did open!) Sammie got sick to his stomach. The instructor turned the chute so he could throw up. He said it just kind of dissipated into the air. (My mom later commented that she wasn't very comforted thinking about people flying above our heads, throwing up on us.) When he landed, he twisted his ankle and has been hobbling around ever since. Actually, he thinks it's the perfect injury because he needs to stay off it and keep it elevated. That translates to no dishes, no walking the dog, no cleaning. He needs to sit in the arm chair with his feet elevated, watching sports, while I supply him with bottles of IBC Root Beer.
At least the parachute opened.
Fortunately, our brother in law Ben had thrown up on his jump master and our other brother in law Luke had provided us with an appropriate line for the awkward situation of having your throw up all over a stranger's clothes. "Well, at least the parachute opened!"
Sammie's note: Watch closely as I jump out of the plane and you'll know why I was throwing up 30 seconds later!
Melba's addendum: It's a testament to Sammie's wonderfulness that, even with his sore ankle, I came home from orchestra rehearsal last Monday to find the dishes done, the garbage emptied, and the dog walked. Sammie knew I'd reached my stress limit and sacrificed his ankle for my happiness. When I came home, I was touched and emotional:
M: Sammie, I feel really bad. You didn't have to do that!
S: I'm sorry you feel bad. I won't ever do it again.
M: I know you won't.
At least the para... you get the idea.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Facial Hair
Sammie recently started shaving with cream and a razor, rather than with his electric razor. I LOVE how smooth his face is afterwards. :)
This morning, I had just rolled out of bed and was still in my just-out-of-bed state of thoughtless stupor. I watched as Sammie squirted blue shaving gel into his hand then lathered it into a white foam on his face. He turned to say something smart alecky to me and I replied, "Whatever you do Sammie, please don't grow a long white beard with blue highlights."
Sammie came back with, "What about when I'm old and fat?" Only a slight pause, and then, "And do a reunion tour with the P-funk?"
Later, I was getting ready to take a very anxious and excited Phoebe on our morning walk. I was distracted though, by Sammie's clean-shaven, smooth (and very cute) face. I got carried away rubbing my cheek on his while Phoebe danced around us, trying to get me out the door. Finally Sammie said, "Sorry Phoebe, you have too much facial hair. I get all the attention!"
This morning, I had just rolled out of bed and was still in my just-out-of-bed state of thoughtless stupor. I watched as Sammie squirted blue shaving gel into his hand then lathered it into a white foam on his face. He turned to say something smart alecky to me and I replied, "Whatever you do Sammie, please don't grow a long white beard with blue highlights."
Sammie came back with, "What about when I'm old and fat?" Only a slight pause, and then, "And do a reunion tour with the P-funk?"
Later, I was getting ready to take a very anxious and excited Phoebe on our morning walk. I was distracted though, by Sammie's clean-shaven, smooth (and very cute) face. I got carried away rubbing my cheek on his while Phoebe danced around us, trying to get me out the door. Finally Sammie said, "Sorry Phoebe, you have too much facial hair. I get all the attention!"
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
If you're averse to potty humor, you may want to skip this post
Sammie says there's enough "potty humor" on our blog and I shouldn't post this. But I think it's funny so I'm going to.
Recently, I played in a concert with the Nittany Valley Symphony. Among the pieces on the program was Mendelssohn's 5th Symphony called "Reformation." The last movement is the theme of the hymn "A Mighty Fortress is Our God." Mendelssohn is brilliant and I love playing his music.
I wanted Sammie to be able to pick out the hymn in the symphony, so before the concert, I prepped him:
M: Sammie, there's something I want you to listen for in the concert. Do you know what a movement is?
The look on Sammie's face said, "So many jokes, so little time."
S: You mean what I do in the bathroom 2-3 times a day?
M: (laughs) You know when you're watching a symphony and they play a really long piece and the conductor stop between sections and nobody claps? Well actually, a few people clap but you're not supposed to. (symphony snobs love to look down on between-movement-clappers, by the way.)
S: (face contorting with laughter as he tries not make any more poop jokes) yeah.
M: Well, that's a movement.
S: (unable to control himself any longer) So I shouldn't start clapping if I go to the bathroom in the middle of your concert?
M: (rolling her eyes) The fourth movement of the first piece we're going to play is the melody of "A Mighty Fortress is Our God."
S: So after I go to the bathroom for the fourth time during your concert, you guys are going to start playing "A Mighty Fortress is our God"?
Many of you know that our nickname for each other is "poopoohead." Well, for the next few days, Sammie became "movement-head."
Recently, I played in a concert with the Nittany Valley Symphony. Among the pieces on the program was Mendelssohn's 5th Symphony called "Reformation." The last movement is the theme of the hymn "A Mighty Fortress is Our God." Mendelssohn is brilliant and I love playing his music.
I wanted Sammie to be able to pick out the hymn in the symphony, so before the concert, I prepped him:
M: Sammie, there's something I want you to listen for in the concert. Do you know what a movement is?
The look on Sammie's face said, "So many jokes, so little time."
S: You mean what I do in the bathroom 2-3 times a day?
M: (laughs) You know when you're watching a symphony and they play a really long piece and the conductor stop between sections and nobody claps? Well actually, a few people clap but you're not supposed to. (symphony snobs love to look down on between-movement-clappers, by the way.)
S: (face contorting with laughter as he tries not make any more poop jokes) yeah.
M: Well, that's a movement.
S: (unable to control himself any longer) So I shouldn't start clapping if I go to the bathroom in the middle of your concert?
M: (rolling her eyes) The fourth movement of the first piece we're going to play is the melody of "A Mighty Fortress is Our God."
S: So after I go to the bathroom for the fourth time during your concert, you guys are going to start playing "A Mighty Fortress is our God"?
Many of you know that our nickname for each other is "poopoohead." Well, for the next few days, Sammie became "movement-head."
Friday, March 13, 2009
Melba early for something? And that's what got me upset?
For Spring Break, Melba and I decided to head up to Niagara Falls and then to Palmyra. I have never seen the falls so it is now one more place that I have scratched off of my 'To-See" list. It was cold and windy, but we still had loads o' fun. We left home much later than we wanted to and by the time we got to the falls it was dark and there was too much mist to see them. The next morning, however, we could see them clearly. We ate donuts from Tim Horton's (tasted like a mouthful of sugar - literally), saw a life-size stuffed moose toy that sells for $15,000 (only about $12,000 USD) and then decided there was nothing else to see (everything is closed at Niagara for the winter season) so we left for Palmyra.
Hill Cumorah Visitor's Center currently has a Sister Missionary from Brazil and one from Italy. Melba and I spent much time talking to them in their native languages. Then we went to a local BBQ joint in Phelps, NY (it was pretty good) and went back to the hotel to relax. We both had achy feet after all of the walking we did at Niagara.
And then it happened. We looked at the news and found out that if Melba would have been two hours late in getting ready like she normally is -- well, we would have seen someone take the plunge over Niagara Falls and live. Seriously. We left Niagara around noon and some dude jumped around 2:15pm from the Canadian side right by the Horseshoe Falls which was right where we were -- there was hardly anybody there so it wasn't hard to stand at that spot for a while.
Well, it would have been traumatizing to see and maybe I could have caught it on camera which might have made me slightly more famous than I already am for having once played a gig with the former drummer of the P-Funk -- but at the end of the day, I think it would have been just traumatizing. I still would have liked to see it, though. After all, the dude lived so it would've ended up a happy story.
Here's a link to the story. TWO HOURS!! We missed it by only two hours!
Melba's note: I'm not "usually" two hours late. Only sometimes. I'm "usually" about 15-20 minutes late. Just wanted to clarify.
For Spring Break, Melba and I decided to head up to Niagara Falls and then to Palmyra. I have never seen the falls so it is now one more place that I have scratched off of my 'To-See" list. It was cold and windy, but we still had loads o' fun. We left home much later than we wanted to and by the time we got to the falls it was dark and there was too much mist to see them. The next morning, however, we could see them clearly. We ate donuts from Tim Horton's (tasted like a mouthful of sugar - literally), saw a life-size stuffed moose toy that sells for $15,000 (only about $12,000 USD) and then decided there was nothing else to see (everything is closed at Niagara for the winter season) so we left for Palmyra.
Hill Cumorah Visitor's Center currently has a Sister Missionary from Brazil and one from Italy. Melba and I spent much time talking to them in their native languages. Then we went to a local BBQ joint in Phelps, NY (it was pretty good) and went back to the hotel to relax. We both had achy feet after all of the walking we did at Niagara.
And then it happened. We looked at the news and found out that if Melba would have been two hours late in getting ready like she normally is -- well, we would have seen someone take the plunge over Niagara Falls and live. Seriously. We left Niagara around noon and some dude jumped around 2:15pm from the Canadian side right by the Horseshoe Falls which was right where we were -- there was hardly anybody there so it wasn't hard to stand at that spot for a while.
Well, it would have been traumatizing to see and maybe I could have caught it on camera which might have made me slightly more famous than I already am for having once played a gig with the former drummer of the P-Funk -- but at the end of the day, I think it would have been just traumatizing. I still would have liked to see it, though. After all, the dude lived so it would've ended up a happy story.
Here's a link to the story. TWO HOURS!! We missed it by only two hours!
Melba's note: I'm not "usually" two hours late. Only sometimes. I'm "usually" about 15-20 minutes late. Just wanted to clarify.
Saturday, March 07, 2009
This is a Boring Post
I have a practical question for anyone who reads this blog. What is your system for organizing and filing paper at your home? I have a folder for everything--insurance, credit cards, tax receipts, etc--but they're not AT ALL organized. And then I have a folder labeled "103 Lincoln Ave" with random utility bills, homeowners info, and I-don't-know-what-else. I know that some of you are obsessive about organization (Hi Julie! Hi Cath!), and all of you are probably more organized than I am because it would be pretty hard not to be, so give me your tips...
Thanks much!!!!
ps - quick update - warm weather...spring break this week...going to Niagara Falls and Palmyra for a couple of days...started the process to sell our home...sad about leaving State College...Sammie's red hair still sticking straight up every morning...life is good!
Thanks much!!!!
ps - quick update - warm weather...spring break this week...going to Niagara Falls and Palmyra for a couple of days...started the process to sell our home...sad about leaving State College...Sammie's red hair still sticking straight up every morning...life is good!
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Someone Has a Crush on Phoebe
Phoebe loves to give kisses. We're pretty tolerant of her licking our hands or feet (although that can really tickle) but don't really like her to lick our faces. That doesn't stop her from trying, though.
Phoebe and I also love to walk together. There's a little dirt road by our house with a young calf in a very small fenced-in area. I usually try to keep Phoebe away from the calf, so she won't scare it, but the other day I let her creep close so I could see what would happen. Phoebe pranced over to the calf's cage, nose in the air, tail wagging, very curious, eager to make a new friend. The calf saw Phoebe approaching and began to lower her head and move closer, also curious and anxious for a buddy. They slowed down as their noses neared each other's, inching closer and closer. They were timid at first but soon warmed up. Finally, the cow reached out her long pink tongue and gave Phoebe a huge slobbery kiss across her face!
Friendship aborted.
Phoebe turned with a shudder and ran away. I followed laughing and said, "It's not so nice, is it Phoebes?"
ps - I think Phoebe's tendency to "kiss and run" stems from her father. :)
Phoebe and I also love to walk together. There's a little dirt road by our house with a young calf in a very small fenced-in area. I usually try to keep Phoebe away from the calf, so she won't scare it, but the other day I let her creep close so I could see what would happen. Phoebe pranced over to the calf's cage, nose in the air, tail wagging, very curious, eager to make a new friend. The calf saw Phoebe approaching and began to lower her head and move closer, also curious and anxious for a buddy. They slowed down as their noses neared each other's, inching closer and closer. They were timid at first but soon warmed up. Finally, the cow reached out her long pink tongue and gave Phoebe a huge slobbery kiss across her face!
Friendship aborted.
Phoebe turned with a shudder and ran away. I followed laughing and said, "It's not so nice, is it Phoebes?"
ps - I think Phoebe's tendency to "kiss and run" stems from her father. :)
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Using up more of my allotted 15 minutes...
Well, it certainly wasn't like playing a gig with the former drummer of the P-Funk, but this time I had a slightly bigger audience. My good friend Mike asked me to do some voice over work for a video last week. That was all I knew about it at the time. Turns out that Mike' wife, Laura, works for the University and her office was responsible for producing a video for the PSU website to celebrate the sesquicentennial anniversary of the first day of classes at Penn State. Below is the press release which includes a link to the video. Enjoy...
On Feb. 16, 1859, classes began at Penn State for the very first time, with 69 students enrolled in a course of studies designed to prepare them for careers in the agricultural sciences. The campus' location in rural central Pennsylvania offered few amenities, and the physical plant was largely incomplete. As University President Graham B. Spanier notes in a brief video commemorating that historic day 150 years ago, "in spite of the primitive conditions they faced, those early students realized that a Penn State education offered them practically limitless opportunities. Opportunities to gain and create new knowledge, to develop character and personal values, and to serve society in leadership roles." To watch the video, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn6QmdTkduU
Well, it certainly wasn't like playing a gig with the former drummer of the P-Funk, but this time I had a slightly bigger audience. My good friend Mike asked me to do some voice over work for a video last week. That was all I knew about it at the time. Turns out that Mike' wife, Laura, works for the University and her office was responsible for producing a video for the PSU website to celebrate the sesquicentennial anniversary of the first day of classes at Penn State. Below is the press release which includes a link to the video. Enjoy...
On Feb. 16, 1859, classes began at Penn State for the very first time, with 69 students enrolled in a course of studies designed to prepare them for careers in the agricultural sciences. The campus' location in rural central Pennsylvania offered few amenities, and the physical plant was largely incomplete. As University President Graham B. Spanier notes in a brief video commemorating that historic day 150 years ago, "in spite of the primitive conditions they faced, those early students realized that a Penn State education offered them practically limitless opportunities. Opportunities to gain and create new knowledge, to develop character and personal values, and to serve society in leadership roles." To watch the video, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn6QmdTkduU
Thursday, February 12, 2009
This is why you're fat
My dear friend, Mike, sent me this link right before our Insurance class today. The lecture, well, let's just say it created a prime opportunity to have a look at this site. If there ever was a student who obviously wasn't taking notes on his computer -- it was me in Insurance today. I thought I was going to bite my tongue off. And Paul (who sits behind me) was laughing just as hard as he looked over my shoulder.
I don't know why I think this site is so funny. Maybe it has something to do with how many years I spent as a bachelor. And I think that I know people who approach this website as an elevated degree of culinary inspiration. These people have big problems (no pun intended). I, on the other hand, don't find a sloppy joe inside of a Krispy Kreme donut appetizing -- I just find it funny.
http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/
There are 6 pages of pictures -- just keep clicking next at the end of each page, if you can handle it.
For the record -- I never ate stuff like this. I would get compliments from the female cashiers at the grocery store for how nutritious my shopping cart was -- especially compared to other guys.
My dear friend, Mike, sent me this link right before our Insurance class today. The lecture, well, let's just say it created a prime opportunity to have a look at this site. If there ever was a student who obviously wasn't taking notes on his computer -- it was me in Insurance today. I thought I was going to bite my tongue off. And Paul (who sits behind me) was laughing just as hard as he looked over my shoulder.
I don't know why I think this site is so funny. Maybe it has something to do with how many years I spent as a bachelor. And I think that I know people who approach this website as an elevated degree of culinary inspiration. These people have big problems (no pun intended). I, on the other hand, don't find a sloppy joe inside of a Krispy Kreme donut appetizing -- I just find it funny.
http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/
There are 6 pages of pictures -- just keep clicking next at the end of each page, if you can handle it.
For the record -- I never ate stuff like this. I would get compliments from the female cashiers at the grocery store for how nutritious my shopping cart was -- especially compared to other guys.
Monday, February 02, 2009
Go Steelers!
For me, the best part about the Superbowl usually isn't the football. It's all the hype surrounding the event--trash talking, getting together with friends, the great commercials, bingo...
Trash Talking:
Sammie and I aren't huge Steeler fans, but we'd be tarred and feathered here in State College if we didn't cheer for them. My little sister Anna lives in Arizona and caught the Cardinals spirit. She called Sammie on Saturday just to tell him that Chipotle (Sammie's favorite burrito place) was giving away free food to anyone wearing red. Between the biting, chewing, swallowing, lip-smacking, and finger-licking she put Sammie in his trash-talking place. Following are some of the highlights of the conversation (which took place on speaker phone, so I got to listen in and laugh).
Sammie: It's bad enough that you guys have a Chipotle that you can just go to whenever you want. But FREE CHIPOTLE!?!
Anna: Don't feel too bad Sammie, until a few months ago, I didn't even know Arizona had an NFL team.
S: Yeah, well I wouldn't expect a University of Utah fan to know that much about football.
Melba: (loud laughter)
A: Yeah that's right. Now, remind me Sammie, how did the season end for the U?
I was very proud of my little sister. Sammie, on the other hand, threatened to block her calls.
Bingo:
The local newspaper printed Superbowl Bingo cards and I cut them out and took them to our Superbowl party at Todd and Donna Fuller's (school friends). It put a different spin on the game to cheer for something besides a stuffed pig skin. When the Cardinals challenged the Steelers' first touch down, some people in the room cheered: "Oh good! Coach's challenge - I have that one!" When a player would near the sidelines, Kelly would yell, "Trample somebody on the sidelines!" And when the ball went out of bounds, Shawn exclaimed, "A redheaded cheerleader!" We also searched for a coach covering his mouth so that spies couldn't red his lips, lip-readable cursing, an end zone dance, "D fence" sign, and a sleeping kid with a team jersey on. Shawn and Lauren ended up winning. I gave them a box of orange sticks as a prize.
Trash Talking:
Sammie and I aren't huge Steeler fans, but we'd be tarred and feathered here in State College if we didn't cheer for them. My little sister Anna lives in Arizona and caught the Cardinals spirit. She called Sammie on Saturday just to tell him that Chipotle (Sammie's favorite burrito place) was giving away free food to anyone wearing red. Between the biting, chewing, swallowing, lip-smacking, and finger-licking she put Sammie in his trash-talking place. Following are some of the highlights of the conversation (which took place on speaker phone, so I got to listen in and laugh).
Sammie: It's bad enough that you guys have a Chipotle that you can just go to whenever you want. But FREE CHIPOTLE!?!
Anna: Don't feel too bad Sammie, until a few months ago, I didn't even know Arizona had an NFL team.
S: Yeah, well I wouldn't expect a University of Utah fan to know that much about football.
Melba: (loud laughter)
A: Yeah that's right. Now, remind me Sammie, how did the season end for the U?
I was very proud of my little sister. Sammie, on the other hand, threatened to block her calls.
Bingo:
The local newspaper printed Superbowl Bingo cards and I cut them out and took them to our Superbowl party at Todd and Donna Fuller's (school friends). It put a different spin on the game to cheer for something besides a stuffed pig skin. When the Cardinals challenged the Steelers' first touch down, some people in the room cheered: "Oh good! Coach's challenge - I have that one!" When a player would near the sidelines, Kelly would yell, "Trample somebody on the sidelines!" And when the ball went out of bounds, Shawn exclaimed, "A redheaded cheerleader!" We also searched for a coach covering his mouth so that spies couldn't red his lips, lip-readable cursing, an end zone dance, "D fence" sign, and a sleeping kid with a team jersey on. Shawn and Lauren ended up winning. I gave them a box of orange sticks as a prize.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Sammie the Smelly
In my last post, I complained about the low temperatures in Central PA and mentioned that we were anticipating some "low highs." Last Friday, we reached a whopping high of 8. During this mini ice age, Sammie and I were driving in the car when a rather indiscreet noise came from his side of the car. This was soon followed by an even less discreet smell. I followed standard procedure for this situation which is to quickly roll down my window, stick my head out of the car as far as it will go, and breathe deeply until I feel the air in the car might once again be safe for respiration. As I did this, Sammie complained that I was letting cold air into the car. I complained that HE was letting BAD air into the car. When I finally deemed the atmosphere in the car once again non-toxic, I pressed on the button to raise the car window and protect us from the bitter January afternoon. What an unlucky time to discover that our car windows weren't working properly. I sat with my finger on the button for what seemed like hours as the window slowly crept up and the cold air rapidly rushed in. Sammie's usually pretty proud of his indiscretions, but his embarassment rose higher and higher as the window rose more and more slowly.
Oh. And did I mention we were sitting at the drive through window at the bank?
Oh. And did I mention we were sitting at the drive through window at the bank?
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
New Year's Resolutions
My sister Martha is frustrated with me for not blogging more. She "suggested" I set a New Year's resolution to blog each week. I think it's a pretty good idea, even though I've already failed by missing the first week. Oh well. I have three random thoughts to post.
1 - The weather. 10-day forecast for State College includes 8 days of snow showers. Most daily highs are in the teens or twenties. Friday's high is 8. We actually had a discussion in Relief Society about not wearing earrings out in that kind of weather cuz they'll freeze to your ears. But it's not that bad. The next week, we'll have two days where we actually get "up" to 32 degrees! I better stock up on sunscreen. (I know, I know Cath. I'm thinking about you up there in Alberta...) On the other hand, 10-day forecast for Austin, where we're moving in May, is 3 days of partly cloudy and the rest sunny or mostly sunny. Tomorrow's high will be a frigid 49, but the next week it will make it up into the 70s. I wish I could bottle up some of this cold and take it out next July when I'll be melting and wishing we had moved to the North Pole instead of Texas.
2 - My mom. Those of you who know Lori undoubtedly know her sense of humor. The Monday after Christmas, we went skiing with 3 generations of Boyers! It was awesome! Mom was there, plus a bunch of my sibs and their spouses, and Matt, my nephew. I thought it was pretty cool that Matt was skiing with his grandma. Anyway, we were enjoying ourselves on Challenger at Solitude. It's one of the steepest hills I've ever skiied, but it's well-groomed, so you just have to keep your edges and make lots of turns. On about our 3rd time down, Sammie lost his edge in the middle of the hill, fell, and slid and slid and slid, ending up as a crumpled heap at the bottom of Challenger. (I can't remember if it was that run or another one, but as we were at the top he questioned why they would name a ski hill after a space shuttle that blew up.) Anyway, there he was wadded up at the bottom of the hill and I was at the top, wanting to laugh but needing to make sure he was okay first. My Mom, skiing ahead of me, was the first one to him. Upon reaching the prone, lifeless form of my husband, she said, "I guess now's a bad time to tell you that your hat's on inside out."
3 - Martha. (This is for "making" me blog. :]) We've always said that, since the day she was born, Martha has been in charge of the universe. These days, that translates into her being a natural leader and very talented, capable, and intelligent. When she was little, it translated into her being bossy. She could stare a hole through anyone with her dark brown eyes. And she wasn't afraid of telling anyone what was what. For example, we had a family rule that you could only have two rolls at dinner. Martha would count the number of rolls guests took and inform them when they'd had too many. My favorite quote about her, though, comes from a jocular and rotund man in our ward in Toronto, Canada. (Martha was two when we moved there and four when we moved home.) He informed my mom, "Martha is the littlest person that I'm scared of."
1 - The weather. 10-day forecast for State College includes 8 days of snow showers. Most daily highs are in the teens or twenties. Friday's high is 8. We actually had a discussion in Relief Society about not wearing earrings out in that kind of weather cuz they'll freeze to your ears. But it's not that bad. The next week, we'll have two days where we actually get "up" to 32 degrees! I better stock up on sunscreen. (I know, I know Cath. I'm thinking about you up there in Alberta...) On the other hand, 10-day forecast for Austin, where we're moving in May, is 3 days of partly cloudy and the rest sunny or mostly sunny. Tomorrow's high will be a frigid 49, but the next week it will make it up into the 70s. I wish I could bottle up some of this cold and take it out next July when I'll be melting and wishing we had moved to the North Pole instead of Texas.
2 - My mom. Those of you who know Lori undoubtedly know her sense of humor. The Monday after Christmas, we went skiing with 3 generations of Boyers! It was awesome! Mom was there, plus a bunch of my sibs and their spouses, and Matt, my nephew. I thought it was pretty cool that Matt was skiing with his grandma. Anyway, we were enjoying ourselves on Challenger at Solitude. It's one of the steepest hills I've ever skiied, but it's well-groomed, so you just have to keep your edges and make lots of turns. On about our 3rd time down, Sammie lost his edge in the middle of the hill, fell, and slid and slid and slid, ending up as a crumpled heap at the bottom of Challenger. (I can't remember if it was that run or another one, but as we were at the top he questioned why they would name a ski hill after a space shuttle that blew up.) Anyway, there he was wadded up at the bottom of the hill and I was at the top, wanting to laugh but needing to make sure he was okay first. My Mom, skiing ahead of me, was the first one to him. Upon reaching the prone, lifeless form of my husband, she said, "I guess now's a bad time to tell you that your hat's on inside out."
3 - Martha. (This is for "making" me blog. :]) We've always said that, since the day she was born, Martha has been in charge of the universe. These days, that translates into her being a natural leader and very talented, capable, and intelligent. When she was little, it translated into her being bossy. She could stare a hole through anyone with her dark brown eyes. And she wasn't afraid of telling anyone what was what. For example, we had a family rule that you could only have two rolls at dinner. Martha would count the number of rolls guests took and inform them when they'd had too many. My favorite quote about her, though, comes from a jocular and rotund man in our ward in Toronto, Canada. (Martha was two when we moved there and four when we moved home.) He informed my mom, "Martha is the littlest person that I'm scared of."
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Double the Garmin
In my very first blog post, I mentioned that Sammie is retrieval impaired. He has the very endearing quality of NOT BEING ABLE TO FIND ANYTHING!!!!!!! And that is why Sammie and I have two GPS systems right now. They're almost exactly identical--both Garmins--except one is one month old and the other is one year old. We bought one last year before driving across the country for Christmas. It has become our favorite toy for road trips. It finds us the nearest Maggianos or Chipotle, tells us how far we have to go that day, and takes us to whatever address we plug in. With it, we found the Andersons in Raleigh-Durham, the Dal-Marks in Dallas, the Hou-Marks in Lake Jackson, the McLaughlins in Houston, the Linscotts in St. Louis, and the Powells in Austin.
Alas, last month Sammie took the Garmin with him to Arkansas and, upon his return, couldn't find it. We finally decided it was gone, that we needed to be more careful with it, and that Sammie shouldn't feel too bad about losing it. It could happen to anyone. We also determined that, despite our limited student budget, we should definitely buy a new one before our road trips over Thanksgiving and Christmas. We're happy with our new Garmin and have almost settled on a name for it.
Today, however, I got a phone call from Sammie. He's at school working in his office. He's mostly trying to wrap up the semester, but took a break from academics to call the State College tax office (again) and try to figure out our city taxes (again). He reached in his backpack to pull out his calculator and found... the Garmin!
He called me to tell me the funny news and put me on speaker phone so his office mate could hear me laughing hysterically. I haven't laughed that hard at him since he went to the eye doctor and came home with "nerd robot" sunglasses. He asked me how long until I let him live this down. I responded that we'd be married for eternity... He asked if I was going to make this story a part of the epitaph on his headstone when he dies. I told him that I hope there are very clear road signs to heaven, otherwise he'll never find it.
Alas, last month Sammie took the Garmin with him to Arkansas and, upon his return, couldn't find it. We finally decided it was gone, that we needed to be more careful with it, and that Sammie shouldn't feel too bad about losing it. It could happen to anyone. We also determined that, despite our limited student budget, we should definitely buy a new one before our road trips over Thanksgiving and Christmas. We're happy with our new Garmin and have almost settled on a name for it.
Today, however, I got a phone call from Sammie. He's at school working in his office. He's mostly trying to wrap up the semester, but took a break from academics to call the State College tax office (again) and try to figure out our city taxes (again). He reached in his backpack to pull out his calculator and found... the Garmin!
He called me to tell me the funny news and put me on speaker phone so his office mate could hear me laughing hysterically. I haven't laughed that hard at him since he went to the eye doctor and came home with "nerd robot" sunglasses. He asked me how long until I let him live this down. I responded that we'd be married for eternity... He asked if I was going to make this story a part of the epitaph on his headstone when he dies. I told him that I hope there are very clear road signs to heaven, otherwise he'll never find it.
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