Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Take Me Back Tuesday
Many of you will recognize this as my absolute favorite lighthouse, Cape Neddick Light, a.k.a. Nubble Light, in York Beach, Maine.
I used to drive up to York Beach by myself in the winter and stay in a hotel on Long Sands Beach. I used to sit out on the rocks by the ocean, and I could see Nubble Light from there, but at quite a distance. I tried to find it once, but for some reason just couldn't seem to get there.
So, back to the picture. It was taken on Saturday, February 15, 2003. Dennis had surprised me with a weekend getaway for our first Valentine's Day. As we drove along Long Sands Beach on Valentine's evening, I pointed out Nubble Light, and mentioned I'd never seen it up close. He took a couple of turns here and there, and we came around a turn to the most amazing sight ever. There was the lighthouse, right there in front of us, and although it was already dark outside, it was beautifully illuminated by the snow on the ground. This picture was taken the following morning, when we went to see it in the light of day. It was almost as beautiful.
We've made many, many trips back there since, but none can top that first night in the snow. In retrospect, it's amazing that I was never able to find it on my own - it's ridiculously easy to get there from Long Sands. Guess I was meant to see it for the first time exactly the way I did.
Thanks for the great memory, babe.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Flash forward....and back
What did surprise me tonight, though, was when I peeked in on him and saw this....
Anyway, it was a crazy flash forward to the years to come, and it made me excited and sad at the same time.
Oh, and the flash back? Yeah, that was last night. He was having a cup of milk before going to bed, and I actually heard myself say to him - "Matthew, don't swill your milk." Funny how all those things your mother said to you as a child find their way into your vocabulary as an adult.
Life is good, isn't it?
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Not on the program...
You see, I had lots of bananas leftover from last weekend's banana splits, and there's just nothing I'd rather do with leftover bananas than make Barefoot Contessa's Banana Crunch Muffins. These things are to die for. Check 'em out...
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Party on, dudes!!
We had a monkey theme - since he just LOVES monkeys - complete with a monkey cake, monkey cupcakes and banana splits with all the fixins. It was a swinging good time!
Daddy was in charge of balloons, and he picked up a bunch (bah-dum-dum), including a gi-normous Curious George balloon. And, because no Massachusetts boy's birthday party would be complete without them, he also picked up Red Sox and Patriots balloons, too! (Mommy says next year will be Cowboys and Yankees.....)
Matthew got tons of great presents, including a beautiful sock monkey handmade by Nanna. If I had to pick, though, I'd have to say the tissue paper in the gifts was his favorite!
Here are some shots of the day....
As you can see, he really enjoyed his birthday cake, and even tried a bit of Mommy's banana split. Of course, he was promptly cleaned up and had his teeth brushed. Can't leave a mess like that!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Take Me Back Tuesday
I've decided to copy her idea, and do my own Take Me Back Tuesday posts. So, here's the inaugural edition....Hah! Get it?? Inaugural edition? Man, I crack myself up.....
Anyhow, I grabbed an old CD of pictures and found this one....appropriate for today, no?
Sunday, January 18, 2009
What a year...
I struggled to choose from among all the pictures - so many different phases and stages, each beautiful and wonderful in its own special way. So, I decided - keep it simple. I think these sum it up perfectly.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Friday, January 9, 2009
What the...???
Not only are the prices going up, but the sizes are going down, all under the guise of "new improved packaging". Take for instance, my biggest beef - Tropicana® Pure Premium Orange Juice. Here's the fancy new container....
Just fabulous, as long as you don't pay attention to the fact that you're now getting 89 oz. instead of 96.
Well, now it seems that not only are prices going up and quantities going down, but the quality is suffering too. I went to make dinner the other night, and I needed some stewed tomatoes. I pulled a can out of the pantry - Del Monte® - the brand of canned tomatoes I always buy (unless I'm making sauce - then I only buy imported Italian tomatoes). Now the last few times I've used stewed tomatoes, I've noticed I seem to be getting an awful lot of the stem end of the tomato - ya know, with the hard yellow piece? Yeah, lots of them. I end up cutting them out and chucking them, so I'm maybe getting 12 oz of usable tomatoes out of a 14.5 oz can. So, I open up this can and this is what I see....make sure you click on it to get the full effect...
Are you freakin' kidding me? Not only did they leave the stem end on, they left the whole damn stem on. Next thing you know I'll be finding leaves in there.
So that's it - no more Del Monte® tomatoes for me. I'm gonna buy whatever other brand is available - they've gotta be better than this....
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Ushering in the New Year
Hope you all have a wonderful year, filled with all the things that make you happiest.
Cheers!