I'm so neglectful of this blog. My plan was to transfer this to my domain on my own server and get my own design up with some new content management software before posting again ... but that just hasn't happened yet and I'm not sure when it will, so here we are again. Me and Xanga. And you, too, of course. So to update you somewhat...

We went to NYC on Saturday and had a really great trip, but DAMN did it tire us out!!! There was nine of us total taking the trip, so we decided to take the train... which turned out to be an excellent idea. At the train station in Trenton, I found a $100 bill on the floor! I couldn't believe it! I did look around and waited for people in line ahead of me to look like they were missing money, etc., but no one seemed distressed. I decided to take that money and pay for everyone's ticket. That was a great way to get the day started.

It was so, so, so, so, sooooooo crowded in the city - it made getting anything done a nightmare. We had a good plan outlined, but we ended up not being able to do much of what was on there due to the crowds.

When we first got there, we went out to lunch and then we decided to split up because my mom and sister wanted to go to this ice cream place called Serendipity and we didn't really want to do that. So, me, Rob, the kids and my friend Liz walked for a while and first stopped at St. Patrick's Cathedral. That place is HUGE and very gorgeous and awe-inspiring.

After that, we walked some more and stopped at FAO Schwartz. My friend Liz got her picture taken with the live-action princess. Then we took a bus up to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. When we got there it was daylight and then I went into the gift shop with Connor. When we came out, it was dark already! We all met up here before heading to our next destination.

We were headed to Rockefeller Center to see the tree, but we had to take 2 cabs to do so. My mom, Jen, Ed and the boys all got in one cab while we waited for the 2nd one. We ended up having to walk about 8 blocks and it was at least 1/2 hour later before we actually caught the 2nd cab! Major pain in the ass. It started to get really cold and a little rainy. Not fun. We all zoned out in the cab ride back to midtown, that took forever because of traffic.

So we went and did the tree thing and that was nice. Some guy proposed to his girlfriend on the ice. Awww. The tree looked the same as it does every other year. LOL By this time, it was time for dinner and so we scrambled, along with at least a million other people (LOL) to go find a place to eat.

Every year we do this - get stuck in the Times Square area looking for a place to eat with no previous plan. I found out today that we were right by restaurant row and there are some nice restaurants to be found there, but where did we end up? TGI Friday's. Woo hoo. Home of the $20 cheeseburgers!!!

2 1/2 hours later, we got out of there and did the square. It was pretty crowded (big surprise), but we still managed to get in a few good shots. The highlight of the night for me and Liz was finding Sephora. YEAH BUDDY! Unfortunately, we didn't have a lot of time in there because we had to catch the train, but it was enough to whet my appetite and to understand what everyone raves about. I found out there is one in King of Prussia - I am SO going there after the new year.

We were all so tired on the train ride home. Did I mention that we got to the train station at 9:12 to find that the next train was leaving at 9:14 and the train after that might not have gotten us to our connecting train in time? Yeah. So, picture us running through the station Home Alone style like fools. No wonder Aric still found time to be sillyon the ride home.

And everyone had a great laugh at my expense at the end of the night. When we got off the PATH train in Trenton to get on the Riverline, I went on to the 2nd car for some reason and everyone else went on the 1st car. I thought I'd just open the door and walk through to get to the 1st car, but I couldn't get the door open. I was afraid to leave that car to get on the other car because I thought the train would leave, but I didn't want to ride on the 2nd car all by myself the whole way home. So, I BOOKED out of there to the first car, completely panicked and absolutely certain the train was going to start moving while I was outside. That didn't happen, though. I got into the car where everyone was laughing so hard, they were practically crying. It took a minute before someone could catch their breath enough to tell me what a complete ass I looked like running as fast as I could from one car to the other. So we laughed, we hooped, we hollered. Woo! Then we settled down (finally!) and I checked the schedule... the train wasn't leaving for another 10 minutes! Of course, that was the funniest thing anyone there had ever heard.

It was after midnight by the time we got home... after starting the day at 9am, we were completely wiped out. Yesterday we got our Christmas tree... we'll do the decorations this week and I'll bestow upon you more pictures, I'm sure. I've still got tiny blisters on my feet and my legs are sore, so no walking/running for me today. I can't wait for work to be over so I can go home and rest!

Currently Playing Astronaut By Duran Duran see related

Finally getting a chance to get in here and blog something! I don't want to blog from work, so finding time to blog can be a challenge - it seems like I'm always on the go!

Rob and I celebrated our 12th anniversary this past weekend.    It's hard to believe, in some ways, that we've been together that long.  In other ways, it feels like it's been a hell of a lot longer than 12 years! 

We had a fabulous weekend together.  On Friday night we took the kids to see The Incredibles.  If you haven't already seen it, go - all the hype is true - it's a great movie.  Before dinner on Saturday, we dropped the kids off at Rob's parents' house so we could go on a date.  We went out to eat, then to Barnes and Noble for some book browsing and coffee drinking before we headed to our final destination: George Carlin!

This is the second time we've been to the Tower to see a show.  The neighborhood didn't get any better since the last time we were there.  Mayor Street is doing wonders for Philadelphia, let me tell ya.  So we got there a bit earlier than we expected and drove around for a while until we found the best parking spot.  We always challenge ourselves to get good street parking, it's like a little game we play whenever we go into Philly or NYC.  As we approached the theater, we saw two long lines in front of the building and soon figured out that the line for ticket holders stretched a full city block.  By the time they let us in, that line had wrapped around the block and doubled.  Incredible!  The weather was absolutely gorgeous that night, though, so it was no big deal to stand out there waiting.  Besides, it gave me a great opportunity to people watch. 

Once we got into the theater and start looking for our seats, we noticed that our seats would be the two on the end.  Yeah!! We were psyched! So we start walking forward, looking for our row - trying to figure out which one was ours by doing the alphabet in reverse.  Since we're a little slow, it took us until we were about 4 rows away before we discovered where we were supposed to sit.  There were our two empty seats, right on the end, just waiting for us.  And right beside them was two occupied seats, with the closest one containing a woman who had to weigh at least 400 pounds.  We looked at each other and both said, "Oh no."  I was so disappointed - this girl was totally in my seat, spilling over from her seat.  I don't know how she even fit into her seat and I felt really bad for her, she had to be completely uncomfortable!! I made the best of it, though, and just angled my body and legs towards Rob's seat and tried to ignore the seat pushing into me every time she made a movement. 

The first comedian came on - Dennis Blair - and he did a bang-up job.  He was really, really funny and we laughed our asses off listening to him.  I think he performed for about 1/2 hour, then we had a 15 minute intermission.  We both stood and next thing I knew, Rob said, "I'll be right back."  I saw him approach an usher and knew what he was doing.  A minute later, he waved me down and we both thanked the usher as we sat in the first row of the second section all by ourselves!   That was really nice of the guy.  I really felt bad for the fat girl, then, though!

So George Carlin comes out with this killer opening monologue.  He was rhyming and spewing out all this stuff in time as he tapped his foot - it was really great.  I thought, "Hot damn, we are in for a good show!"  I thought wrong.

He basically stayed stuck on a rant about how stupid Americans are.  If I wanted to hear that, I would have stayed home and read blogs all night.  His other main bit, that went on for at least 1/2 an hour, was about suicide.  That joke just wasn't working for me.  I thought maybe I was just getting tired and cranky, but Rob leaned over and asked me if I was ready to leave at one point ... we decided to stick it out another ten minutes and then we high tailed it out of there.  Very disappointing!

However, we had a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful time together ... and I think we both feel like our relationship is just so ... right, at this moment in time and it's a good feeling.  It's been a long time.

In other news - who's heard the new U2 album?  We have all the songs, but I haven't had a chance to listen to them all yet.  I'm excited to check it out! 

Currently Playing How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb By U2 see related

You know you are officially losing your technology edge over the kids when your eight year old grabs a wireless card from the 10 year old's laptop so he can get online after you told him, "You'll have to wait until Dad gets home, it doesn't look like you can get online."  D'oh!

Did everyone vote today?  I went bright and early this morning. I was astounded at the number of people out at 7-something in the morning!  So now we just play the waiting game.

We've had a busy few days with Halloween and also celebrating my dad's birthday.  Here are some pictures:  http://ariconstudios.com/pics/October/   Aren't the twins getting big?

Yeah, so I've got nothing ... just wanted to put something up here since I'm such a slacker at blogging lately.

Funny how easy it is to get out of the posting habit once you miss a day or two.

I am seriously concerned tonight.  We just went shoe shopping for the boys.  Connor needed new shoes and Aric was just along for the ride, but being that he seems to have inherited his mother's shoe whore gene, he got a pair as well. 

Anyway, I'm in the young men's aisle helping Aric pick out a pair while Connor went off on his own.  The aisles are laid out according to size and the back wall ended in a men's 10 and continued down the next wall to the bigger sizes.  I thought Connor was in a 10, so when he disappeared around the corner, I was unsure about what he was doing, exactly.  After helping Aric, I went to find Connor - and found him at the very end of that last aisle trying on shoes.  I looked up at the sizes and saw 12 and 13 on the wall.  Hmmm.

"Connor, what are you doing down here?"

"Trying on shoes.  Duh."  Okay, he didn't say "Duh.", but it was implied.  Believe me.

He says, "I think I need a 13 in these, I tried on the 12 but they were too tight."

"Uh... wah????"

I watched in complete disbelief as he tried on the 13's, immediately bending down to check his toe position.   Damn! They fit!  Then I quickly looked up at the wall.  Oh no.  13 is the last size at this store. 

What in the world are we going to do?  Connor is 10 years old.  And he's in a men's size 13 shoe.  What size is he going to end up in?  38?? I am trying not to think too much about it, because I can't change it anyway... but I am seriously hoping I don't end up with some 7 foot giant on my hands. 

Also, he has started to hit puberty, I think.  He absolutely has to have a daily shower or he risks offending everyone within a 5 foot radius. 

Who the hell said my kids could grow up so fast? And so big?