Slip Slidin' Away

Seamus got a Spider-Man Slip & Slide for his birthday from his Aunt Chachi.

I think they've been enjoying it just a little...

You Are What You Eat

The cookies started it.

When I first started my new job, I hardly ever ventured down to the cafeteria - a full four flights of stairs and two wings over from where my office was located.

But then…my office was relocated. To the same floor.

Yikes. It would have been fine, except I spotted those cookies.

Little clear plastic bags filled with three fresh-baked sugar cookies, all golden and soft. Tied up all cute with a red twisty-tie. Piled adorably in a basket right next to the cash register.

I’m powerless, I tell you.

And then it just got worse. The gorgeous butternut squash soup. The giant calzones, cheesy and toasty underneath their warmer. And don’t even get me STARTED on the mac and cheese. Let’s just say it’s a good thing I work in a hospital, so I don’t have to very far to crawl when I go into cardiac arrest.

But now, they’ve really outdone themselves. A little-known fact is that on Friday mornings, my hospital’s cafeteria offers cinnamon buns.

So on a recent Friday morning, I went down to scope out the situation. And there they were – massive trays of giant cinnamon buns, all gooey and warm, just sitting there waiting to be scooped up onto a plate and devoured. As if the buns weren’t bad enough…I look over to the right of the trays and I see a large silver bowl with a ladle sticking out of it. I peer inside and what do I see…

A GIANT VAT OF EXTRA FROSTING FOR YOUR CINNAMON BUN!

Seriously?

Seriously.

That’s it.

I’m resigning today.

Gettin' Fancy

I love taking pictures, and take about a gazillion of them every month. But I'm not a photographer by any means...specifically because the skill of editing and proofing totally eludes me. I seem to lack that truly artistic part of the brain, and have no innate ability to look at a photo and know exactly what details would make the image perfect.

Also because I'm too cheap to buy Photoshop!

So 99.9% of the photos I display on the blog and in my house are SOOC (straight out of the camera.) I took an awesome photography class in college, but that was before the deluge of digital photo editing, so any touch-ups to my photos were done in darkroom with various odd-shaped pieces of cardboard and my ancient, massive enlarger.

But...we are living in a digital world, and I am a digital girl, so I decided to give editing a shot.

There is an incredible, FREE online program called Picnik that allows even the most editing-challenged individuals to create some really beautiful and unique photos.

I was able to take this simple shot from the beach...

And turn it into this! So easy and so fun to play around with all the different features.

It also has many features for getting rid of imperfections. You might not be able to tell, but in this photo, Seamus had just finished eating a cherry Ring Pop. He looked a little like Edward Cullen after his his last meal.
So I used Picnik to tone down the bright red lips and teeth, and therefore save the annual family beach photo!
Just wanted to share this fun site with you! Check it out, and have fun Pickniking!

Coming Back to Reality

Returning home after a long vacation is like saying goodbye to a dear friend.  You’re thankful for the fun times and memories, but so very sad that it has to come to an end.

We’re back now after the longest vacation we’ve ever taken, and what an adventure it has been!  Unpacking today has been hard, because the beach bag is still filled with sand and our towels and clothes still smell of salty air.  We had a total of 14 adults and 2 kids with us in MB, and it was so great to spend this time with family.  Some of us tanned, some of us bronzed, and others (ahem) burned to a crisp, but a wonderful time was had by all!  Thank goodness for the pictures, which allow us to relive all the fun we had.

 

 

Thank you for following us through our journey!   From New York City to New Jersey, North Carolina to South Carolina, this is definitely a trip we’ll remember and cherish for a lifetime!

And now…back to our regularly scheduled lives!

Beach Babes

Ahhh….Myrtle Beach!

We love it here!

But….it does not love me :-(

Seriously…this is me with SPF 50.  Is this just wrong, or what?  The sun hates me!  The South is wonderful – the easygoing pace, the kind people, the beautiful weather….but my pale Irish skin is the reason I am bound to be a lifelong New Yorker!

So I’m sure you didn’t come here to see pics of my nasty sunburn. you came to see pics of my beach babes!

We got a great surprise on our first day down at the beach…Poppy!

My dad had stayed home from vacation because of work, but apparently he couldn’t stay away too long…he flew down Saturday morning and you should have seen our faces when he walked onto the beach!  He’ll be here until Wednesday, and the kids are so thrilled that he’s here.

Good news…Grace is actually getting to sleep without a major hassle every night!  Woo hoo!  And the pinot grigio sure isn’t hurting…       :-)

Road Trippin’

Next up on our big adventure was a visit to my Aunt Maureen and Uncle Jon in New Jersey! 

Tuesday evening, they had a delicious dinner ready for us and after we stuffed ourselves full, they took us all to the Ocean City boardwalk, where the kids enjoyed the rides. 

Thanks for having us, Aunt Maureen and Uncle Jon!

The next morning we headed for Cape May, NJ and took the ferry over to Delaware.

It was gorgeous out, and the kids loved the big boat!  We even spotted some dolphins!

Roadside picnic in Delaware, just before crossing into Maryland.

Wednesday evening we landed at Rocky Mount, NC, and had some time to chill out by the pool.  Grace ventured out on her own with her swimmies on for the first time! 

Seamus preferred to hang out on the stairs, but I have a feeling that he’ll be out there with his sister in no time.

 

After a few more hours of driving on Thursday, we are finally at Myrtle Beach!  We are in a hotel for two nights, and we check into our condo on Saturday.  We are anxious for that, because Grace has been absolutely losing her mind every night when it comes to winding down for bed.

We’ve begged, pleaded, yelled, disciplined, and finally resorted to sheer bribery…but nothing seems to be working!

She is definitely not used to all of us sleeping on one room together, so we are really hoping things will settle down at the condo, when she will be sleeping in a separate room.

If not…at least there will be wine there.  I can learn to deal for a week!

Beach pics coming soon!

Enjoying the Big Apple

I wanted to share a few more pics of our great trip!

On Monday we went on a boat tour of the harbor, and got an up-close view of the Statue of Liberty.

We also went to the POLP Meet and Greet, and met some of our great blogging friends, as well as some new friends!

We had a little downtime at a nearby playground

And then walked to the South Street Seaport for a yummy dinner and a look at the “pirate” ships!

It has been a wonderful experience here at our first convention, and we are SO EXCITED for Nashville, and can’t wait to meet everyone who will be joining us there!

Now on to the next part of our adventure!