Almost Famous

As many of you know, Eric's best friend Vic is a musician. The above picture is the cover of his latest CD. The little boy in the orange shirt is Alex (many years ago!). Eric was the creator of this montage of images. They are mostly from places we've been. The beach was on the Cape, many of the buildings were in NYC, the little lighthouse and the island was in Halifax. The towers and the Doppler radar are from NH. (The view from Pack Monadnock if you were curious.) And of course the ferris wheel type thing was at the NY State fair. It's almost like a montage of images from every vacation we've ever been on. Although, I'm not exactly sure where that creepy character in the black trenchcoat came from...

If you'd like to listen to (or purchase) some tracks on the CD, check it out here! Eric also wrote 2 of the songs on the album (#5 and #12). He's got lots of credits on the inside. Including 2 more fun photo montages!

Little Visitors

Laura and Kelly came over for a sleepover last night. It was February vacation week, and I had taken today (Friday) off, so I offered to take the girls for a night/day. They always like to visit here to discover all the "new technology" we have. They both fell in love with the Nook! They would have been content just playing with the Nook the whole time they were here.

And it was good we had 2 of them, so they each got their own! I think Santa needs to bring the girls some Nooks for Christmas... hint, hint...

This morning they helped me run a few errands, including the always favorite trip to Aldi. They still get a kick out of putting the quarter in the shopping cart. They're good little helpers, I'd take them with me all the time if I could!

After our errands they had a training session with Jenny, using the new treats we bought at Target.

Then we were all starving, so we all went to my favorite diner for lunch.

If you look at the counter behind Laura, you'll see some of my co-workers. That's where we sit when we have our Friday lunches. It was nice have a more leisurely lunch today, not having to rush to get back to the office.

Kelly had a giant pancake, which the cook made to look like Mickey Mouse. Believe it or not, that pancake that was bigger than Kelly's head, was just about gone when she was done!

Alex got a French Onion Burger. (One of my all-time favorites.) He also devoured his lunch.

And Laura enjoyed her plain hamburger and chips. She also had a fun mug of hot chocolate with whipped cream.

And me? I had my other all-time favorite dish at the American Diner, Eggs Benedict with a side of hash browns. Yum.

So after the diner, we needed to work off some of those calories. Alex and I remembered that the hunt for the Post Standard Treasure Hunt Medallion was still going on! So we went over to Onondaga Lake Park to look for it. We've been following the clues every day in the paper, so we had a feeling it was over there. The winner gets $2,000 if they find it! (If they subscribe to the paper, which we do.)

So we looked high and low for the medallion. There were tons of other people at the park looking too. (Not that you can see them in my photos, but trust me, they were there!)

Laura was even looking under benches. It's out there somewhere! It started pouring rain while we were there, and we just weren't dressed for that kind of weather. So Alex and I are going to back tomorrow to search some more. Here's some more information about the Treasure Hunt if you'd like to learn more. It's part of Syracuse Winter Fest, and it really gets people out and about during the middle of winter. (Not that it feels much like winter this year - notice, there's still no snow!)

I returned the girls back home after our very busy day. It was a quiet ride back. I think they were exhausted!! We always have fun when Laura and Kelly come for a visit, can't wait for the next time!

Home Shows and Slot Machines

We accompanied Gary & Paula to Turning Stone today. There was a Home Show going on at the Event Center.

Eric always finds something interesting to photograph.

The vendor with the blue table was Farm Credit, which is who Gary works for. They were kind enough to get him free tickets to get in to the show.

Since Gary and Paula are rebuilding an entire house, they really had a lot to talk about with pretty much every vendor there. We were done seeing what we wanted to see and they were barely into the 2nd row of businesses. (We did get information for a new furnace/central air unit, a bathroom tub insert and an electric fence!) But Gary and Paula need a lot more than that...

So, we left them to go visit the casino!

But first we stopped for lunch. And got some yummy BBQ pulled chicken sandwiches.

Then we proceeded to lose our allotted amount at the slot machines. Well, I lost mine. Eric went home with money in his pocket.

After the home show, we stopped at a model home in a new neighborhood next to ours so they could get ideas for decorating! I'm all about new home tours. The kitchen was lovely.

They liked the paint color on the far wall. And the color schemes through out the house. The whole house had a nice warm feeling to it.

This was the "breakfast nook".

I think Laura or Kelly would really like this room!

And this is a nice idea if I was ever motivated to re-do Alex's room. It's a little more subtle than his bright orange and bright blue walls.

I think that rebuilding an entire house is a little overwhelming, but Gary & Paula are very organized and doing a wonderful job wading through the piles of brochures and piles of "to-do" lists. I can't wait for their housewarming party, they are going to have a beautiful new home!

End of the Season

Yesterday was the end of the season for Alex and most of this Indoor Track teammates. It was the Section 3 Championships. He had qualified to run the 600 meter, but the coach wanted him "fresh" to run the 4x800 meter relay. So that is what he did.

He ran a personal best in the 800 and the fastest leg on his relay team (2:05), and now he can't wait for Outdoor Track to break that 2:00 mark. He grew a lot this season and has become quite a dedicated athlete. I can't wait to see what he has in store for the future and to see him accomplish all of his goals!

In other news, I took this picture at my favorite diner yesterday. "The American Diner" is on Old Liverpool Road, over near the station. A group of us from work tend to go there every Friday for lunch. It's to the point where everybody knows us and we get fun greeting when we walk in the door. And the food is fabulous too! It's definitely a highlight of the week.

I was playing with Eric's camera yesterday and took a picture of my desk at work. I thought you'd like to see what my desktop image was on my wonderful new computer. Alex took that picture when he went to Crater Lake last summer with his Grandparents. Isn't it beautiful? It makes me smile whenever I see it.

Thrifty Shopper

A few of the girls I work with swear by Thrift Store shopping. I joined them this week at the local "Thrifty Shopper", which benefits the Rescue Mission. I bought this cute fleece vest! It was $3. I also bought a fun pink fleece, which I've already worn too.

I also got this future jell-o mold and a much needed cheese shredder. I know I used to have one, but haven't been able to find it anywhere. So the $1 I spent on this was worth it. I'm hoping to make a fun jell-o for Laura and Kelly soon with the copper mold... maybe for Easter? I might have to practice first though.

Eric did our taxes today.

And I'm not sure why Jenny has that Cujo-look going, but she does. It's the best pose I could get from her today. Just wanted everyone to know she is indeed still alive and well. Even though her blog posts have been lacking.

Cupid

We had a nice surprise waiting for us when we got home tonight. Cupid had some chocolates shipped to us from Winfrey's!

And yes, they are as good as they look! Thank you Sheila!!

Week In Review

We got to help Paula extend her birthday celebration yesterday with a "perfect size cake" and some wine. She got those awesome wine glasses from some co-workers.

Here's Paula with her teeny "perfect sized cake". (Wegmans called it "perfect", I thought it was just right for 4 people!)

Gary and Paula emptied the dishwasher as I filled our glasses. (This picture is sort of for Sheila, your house is still just the way you left it! They haven't started remodeling just yet...)

Speaking of remodeling, Gary & Paula have been BUSY out at their house. They are doing all of the de-construction by themselves on weekends, with help from lots of volunteers. This will help them save a lot of money, so they can have more money to put into the rebuilding of their house. This picture was taken standing in Laura's room, to the right is Kelly's room, to the left is Gary & Paula's room. It doesn't look as much like a burned house anymore, but more of a new home construction site.

This is a picture of the office (den) from standing in the family room. The fire place is to the right. The front entrance is on the left.

And of course Alex has been running. This past week was the CNYCL Championship meet. Alex placed 3rd in the 600 meter run and his 4x800 relay also placed 3rd. Sectionals are next week. This week (Tuesday) they have a "Select" meet, he's not sure what event(s) he will be running yet. Each school is only allowed to enter one person in each event. Which to me hopefully means that it will be a quick meet and maybe we'll get home at a reasonable hour! (These weeknight track meets have made for very long days!)