Pre-Christmas Week in Atlanta

I landed in Atlanta a hour earlier than scheduled and Sue was waiting to pick me up curbside at the airport!  On the drive to my house we got caught up on my trip and what had been going on in Atlanta while I was gone.  I was in desperate need of a pedicure so we decided to meet up in the morning at the nail salon and grab lunch after our pedicures.  I was able to stay awake until 11:00 before passing out for the night and was thrilled to stay asleep until 7:30 am.  I was only going to be in Atlanta for a week before heading up to NJ and MA for Christmas, so I had a lot to accomplish in a few short days:  finish Christmas shopping, prepare for and host Stacey's going away party, volunteer at Project Open Hand, have lunch and/or dinner with about 12 people and take Sue to the airport for her flight to PA.  Of course, I had to fit swimming at the Y in each day as well, so it was going to be a busy, busy week.  I have told many people over the past 4 months that I continue to be surprised by how quickly I can fill up a day with activity.  For the past 16 years I spent 10-14 hours a day working, using only the remaining hours in the day doing "other" things.  How is it possible  that I freed up 10-14 hours a day, but still have enough things to do to fill an entire day with activity?!?  Seems odd.

When I grabbed the mail that had amassed while I was in Europe, I had about 60 Christmas cards to look through and read.  For those of you who don't know, I LOVE getting mail.  It is literally one of my favorite things.  Christmas is the best mail-related time of year, followed closely by my birthday!  :)  I have been fortunate this year to see many of my friends over the past 4 months, so photos of their kids (and how much they've grown) weren't as much of a shock as they have been in years' past.  Regardless, it has been so much fun to get each card, look at the photos and read the notes.  It's wonderful to know that everyone is doing so well and prospering in 2012.  I have to give special recognition to my friends Jason and Frank who made personal cards for each person.  Well done, boys.  Well done.

Jason and Frank's card with personal photos of us together from 2012!

Cille, Sue and I got together with Stacey on Sunday afternoon/evening as an official send-off for her move to Savannah.  It was so nice to have a small group of friends get together to wish her, Jason and Jack well with their move.  While we all knew how excited they were to get closer to Stacey's family and raise Jack with his cousins, it was sad to know we won't get to see them as often as we are all accustomed to now-a-days.  Jack was loving being one of the only boys amongst many girls, showing off his muscles while changing into his pajamas.

Jack showing off his muscles before putting on his pajamas!

On Monday a group of friends and I volunteered at Project Open Hand for the day.  We were lucky enough to work in the kitchen instead of the production line which meant we got to marinate ~1,500 chicken breasts, season ~1,860 fish fillets with lemon pepper and prepare ~2,000 vegetables for cooking.  It was really great to know the work we did would immediately (next day) have a positive impact on people who have needs that require nutritionally sound meals be delivered to their homes.  I hope to volunteer there again in January and would love for anyone reading this to join me.  Just shoot me a note and we can go together.

I am smart enough to put a picture of someone else (Cille) in a hair net on the blog!

(Yes, you do have to wear a hair net when volunteering at Project Open Hand)

The rest of my week was spent catching up with friends I'd been missing while in Europe.  I was lucky enough to meet up with different people for every single lunch and dinner of the week.  I also swam at the Y every day and found the last few Christmas gifts I needed to purchase before flying to my parents on Friday.  I had breakfast with the Goodman's on Friday morning before heading to the airport, as they were flying to Norway at the same time I was flying to NJ.  We played for a bit, ate some bagels and hugged/kissed good-bye since we wouldn't be seeing each other for nearly 2 weeks!

Cream cheese faced, Nora!

Cream cheese faced, Annika!

It's hard to believe 2012 is coming to a close already.  I'll write one more post after Christmas with updates on all of Parker and Evie's loot from Santa.  My parents and I leave to go see them tomorrow in Boston and I simply can't wait.  Merry Christmas...

Helsinki, Finland

I arrived in Helsinki at 11:00 pm due to the time change from Norway and was glad I had decided to spend the night at the Hilton inside the airport complex.  When I made the reservation 3 weeks ago I'd figured I would be exhausted upon arrival and in need of a good nights' sleep.  I was right.  I made the short walk to the hotel, got upgraded to the Executive Floor and went to bed.  I wanted to get an early start in the morning so I could get into central Helsinki and start checking out the sites.  When I woke up and looked out the window it was snowing like a blizzard so I thought I better check the weather.  It was supposed to snow like this all day.  UGH!  I knew that going to Scandinavia in winter was a risk, but I'd had such good luck in Oslo that I was hoping for similar results in Helsinki.  I had some breakfast and decided to make my way into central Helsinki anyway so I would be where I needed to be if the snow decided to give me a break.  :)  My hotel let me check-in early so I dropped my luggage and braved the blizzard conditions in search of lunch.  I made it about 3 blocks before I realized there was no way I was going to be able to walk the city for the day with this kind of snow coming down.  I was dressed in full snow gear and was still getting cold from the relentless wind.  I grabbed a sandwich and a hot chocolate at a cafe and went back to the hotel to read up on the indoor activities I might be able to tackle for the day.  For those of you who didn't know - Finland is where the sauna was invented.  Apparently, it is quite common in Finland to go to a public sauna and swim, have a refreshment and sit in the sauna.  This sounded like a great idea to me on such a blistery cold day and I didn't have to go far to partake.  Upon asking the front desk staff, I learned that the top floor of my hotel was equipped with an indoor pool, a refreshment bar and a series of individual saunas.  I reserved a sauna, put on my swim suit and made my way to the 8th floor!  After swimming for an hour I had a fresh squeezed orange juice and went into my designated sauna stall.  I was given a bucket of water with a ladle and instructions on what to do.  I walked into my private sauna, ladled some water on the hot rocks and had a seat.  It was awesome.  Hot, but awesome.  I noticed a small window with tinted glass on the far end of my sauna stall and decided to see what it was.  Much to my surprise, it was a window that opened to the outside.  Apparently the idea was that if it got too hot I could open the window and let fresh air (and snow) come in to cool me off.  So fun!  I will definitely being visiting the pool and saunas again during my time in Helsinki.

After a shower, a brief nap, a check of my email and getting caught up on my games of Words with Friends, I decided to see what my options were for dinner.  I really didn't want to spend my entire first day in Helsinki in the hotel...  Since it was still snowing like crazy, I asked for something nearby and casual (since I was in full snow gear) and the front desk staff gave me several suggestions.  I headed out into the blizzard again and on my way to the first restaurant they suggested I came across a building that appeared to have a large farmer's market inside.  I ducked in for a second to see what the deal was and was pleasantly surprised by what appeared to be a European version of Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia.  I made my way around the stalls and decided this would make a way better dinner option than a restaurant.  I bought some bread, meat, cheese, wine and dessert pastry.  Around the perimeter of the market where a handful of tables where I sat, enjoyed my dinner and did some people watching.  It was really quite good.  I checked the weather report for Wednesday and it said there was only a 10% chance of snow and a high of 27 degrees which sounded like a much better day for walking the city center and checking out the sites.  :)

I got up at 9:00 and headed downstairs for breakfast before hitting the streets of Helsinki for the day.  My goal was to see Senate Square, Helsinki Cathedral, Uspenski Cathedral, Temppeliaukio (the rock church), Market Square and visit a Christmas Market for some miscellaneous gifts.  Much to my surprise, I was able to accomplish all of this in about 5 hours of walking.  I didn't see a single snowflake all day and while it was cold and windy, I knew I had a sauna awaiting me back at the hotel!  I gobbled up a bratwurst at the Christmas Market for lunch and it was almost as good as the ones I had in Germany!  The gentlemen manning the grill was about 75 years old and decided to confess his love for me because I ate bratwurst.  He chatted me up for about half an hour and asked me to come back for more bratwurst the next day.  He was right in my typical demographic: men over 70 and children under 10.  :)  I headed back to the hotel around 3:00 for my swim/sauna and thawed out by the fireplace in the lobby with some hot chocolate before heading up to the 8th floor.

Senate Square and Helsinki Cathedral
(That is snow covering the stairs from the square up to the cathedral)

View of Helsinki from the bridge outside my hotel

Uspenski Cathedral

Pews, walls and windows inside Temppeliaukio (the rock church)

It has never bothered me to travel alone.  Of course, I have always preferred to travel with friends/family, but  an occasional trip on my own has always been enjoyable, too.  For some reason I was particularly unmotivated to go to a restaurant for dinner by myself in Helsinki.  I think it must have had to do with the fact that it got dark at 3:15 each day and walking around a new city in the dark by myself has never been something I am fond of, but regardless, I wasn't feeling particularly excited about walking 20 minutes to a restaurant on Wednesday night.  I gave myself a pep talk and headed for Vapiano for dinner.  When I arrived it was a little Italian place that had salad, pasta and pizza on the menu.  If I had to guess I would say it was the equivalent of a low-to-mid cost chain in the US.  Not my typical choice when traveling abroad, but I was there at this point and was going to eat!  The food was decent and I was one of numerous people eating as a "party of one".  I slowly meandered back towards the hotel, swinging through another Christmas Market along the route.  I got something for my Mom and Aunt Lois that I knew they'd both really enjoy so it was a success all around.  Then it was off to bed, as I had another full day of walking planned for tomorrow...

When I woke up on Thursday morning I was greeted with the cruel reality that it was going to be another blistery cold and windy day in Helsinki.  I had already made a list of the things I wanted to see on my last day in Helsinki and after a big breakfast decided to get started.  I bundled up extra warm since it was snowing even harder than it had been on Tuesday.  I headed in the direction of the Olympic Stadium which was the farthest of the places I wanted to see.  I figured that if I made it to the furthest place first, I could hit the others on my way back to the hotel.  It was so cold that the snow was forming icicles on my eye lashes and eyebrows.  I am not joking.  About 20 minutes into my walk I noticed there were considerably fewer people walking throughout the city than the day before.  Was this a sign?  I shrugged it off and kept going.  After about 35 minutes I made it to Olympic Stadium.  It was cool.  I decided to pay to take the elevator up to the top of the tower (mostly just so I could warm up and be inside for a bit) but the view wasn't great due to the snow and cloud cover.  Oh well.  I walked toward the Sibelius Monument next.  The monument is a sculpture that looks like an organ or some wind chimes and is dedicated to Jean Sibelius who was a famous Finnish composer.  It's located in Sibelius Park which was about a 15 minute walk from Olympic Stadium.  On my walk the icicles began forming on my face again, so I decided this would be my last stop for the morning.  I made it to the park, took some quick photos and headed back towards the hotel.  The walk got harder and harder as the snow continued to accumulate on the sidewalks, making a thick, slushy goop that made it hard to gain traction.  I was glad to have the boots I purchased for my trip to Antarctica with me, as they are the only thing that kept me from falling down many times.  :)

Olympic Stadium and Tower

Sibelius Monument (a bit blurry)

I decided I'd most likely stay inside the hotel for the rest of the afternoon even though I still wanted to go to the National Gallery.  It was just too cold to venture out again and a swim and sauna sounded too good to pass up.  If I change my mind I'll update the post, otherwise look for more posts when I am back in Atlanta.  

Olso, Norway

To say that getting from the Oslo Airport to downtown Oslo was easy would be an understatement.  The Flight Train was located directly outside the arrivals hall at the airport.  I bought a ticket, walked to the platform and got on the train.  Twenty-two minutes later I walked off the train at Central Station to see Morten's smiling face awaiting me on the platform.  What a great way to start an evening.  Morten is Gitte's husband and Gitte is Cille's sister.  As you hopefully know from earlier posts (or because you know me), Cille and Jonas are great friends of mine from Atlanta and Cille is Norwegian.  I have had the great pleasure of getting to know her family during their numerous visits to the US and was so thrilled when Morten and Gitte invited to me visit them during my self-imposed sabbatical from work.  A quick jaunt to Oslo was simple from Frankfurt and since I'd never been to Oslo before I was excited at the prospect of getting to see the city with the 'natives'.  And, if I am being honest - it wouldn't matter where we were meeting up - Morten and Gitte are just awesome people to be around and hang out with!  :)  It was an added benefit it happened to be in Oslo!

Gitte had a business obligation on Friday night, so Morten and I headed back to their apartment where he cooked up a delicious dinner.  I've been told he is a great cook over the years and finally got to experience it first hand.  YUM!  Gitte arrived home after a bit and we had a great time catching up.  They had already thought of some ways we could spend the weekend touring Oslo so we agreed we'd get a reasonably early start in the morning.  After breakfast we headed out for the Christmas Market on the grounds of a historical folk museum.  It was really interesting because the market stalls were sort of strewn about within the historic site and you could shop, eat and explore the old buildings all at once.  We spent the better part of the morning there before heading over to the Viking Ship Museum.  I was absolutely fascinated by the fact that Vikings were able to be at sea for months and months in ships like this.  They are basically exposed to the elements at all times.  There is no "cabin" or "below deck" area and the side walls are so low that you'd think a wave would sink the ship in a second.  The ships in the museum had all been excavated from burial sites and put on display.  Super, interesting.  After the museum we headed up the mountain to Holmenkollen for a traditional Norwegian lunch overlooking the city and fjords.  We had elk and beef tarare paired with some delicious red wine.  We made a quick departure after lunch because we wanted to get to the ski jump complex before sunset.  After all, it is winter in Oslo and sunset is around 3:30 pm.  We made our way a short distance across the mountain to the ski jump complex and took an elevator to the very top.  WOW!  I can't imagine how anyone has the guts to go off the ski jump with skis attached to their feet.  It was so high that I was a bit nervous just standing on the edge, let alone speeding down it with skis strapped to my feet at 65 mph.  Yikes!  There was a great museum inside the base of the complex and I learned all about the history of ski jumping and got to see architectural models of all the previous iterations of the ski jumps that existed in this location before this one was built in 2011 for the World Championships.  The models went back all the way 1892.  Impressive.  One of the things on Cille's list of "must-do" activities in Oslo was to enjoy a hotdog purchased from a street kiosk.  So, before we headed back to the apartment to warm up and enjoy a bit of rest before dinner we made a quick stop at a "Kiosk #7" which Gitte assured me had the absolute best hotdogs.  I am not sure I'd consider myself a connoisseur of hotdogs, but based on my limited experience - it was a damn fine hotdog.  Gitte suggested we make it an authentic kiosk experience by ordering a Solo (citrus soda) to go with our hotdogs which, of course, we did.  :)

Roof line of a traditional Nordic church in the historic folk museum

One of the ships at the Viking Ship Museum

The World Championship ski jump complex

Gitte and me at the top of the ski jump (Oslo and fjords in the background)

A hotdog and Solo from Kiosk #7 - Delicious!

Gitte and Morten chose a fantastic restaurant called Cru for dinner.  They'd been there many times before, including with Cille and Jonas so I was excited to try it!  We opted for the 5 course menu with wine pairings which was more food than any one person should eat, but good heavens was it delicious.  The atmosphere was fantastic, but the company was even better.  Thank goodness we had walked to the restaurant because we were in desperate need of walking off some of the calories on our way home.  We got back in time for a quick FaceTime with Cille, Jonas, Nora and Annika.  It was priceless to see them confused by why I was in the same room as Gitte and Morten.  Annika was at her best, showing off for her audience, singing and dancing. Nora took a few minutes to warm up, but was then very excited to show off her new truck.  We rented the movie, A Dangerous Method and called it a night!

We had a leisurely morning on Sunday (except for Morten who ran out to get some Christmas Bread at the local bakery for our breakfast).  Christmas Bread is loaded with raisins and figs and is utterly delicious.  We decided we'd walk the city center and surrounding area for the day and headed out to Vigeland Park.  This park was on Jonas's list of "must-do" activities in Oslo since all of the monuments within the park are made of granite - his favorite solid surface.  The park was really cool and the intricate carving on the granite was really impressive.  We walked the park and decided to take the tram down to the waterfront/port.  A brand new Modern Art Museum opened in this area about 3 months ago and Gitte and Morten hadn't been to it yet, so we decided to check it out.  The museum building was like a piece of art all on it's own.  It was extremely modern with a series of exterior art installations dotting the grounds.  They had some great pieces by Jeff Koons, Andy Warhol and Richard Price.  We stopped in a coffee house from a quick snack before a nice, meandering walk back to the apartment in the late afternoon.  I was shocked to see Morten dress for a run when we got back, but off he went for an hour-long run in the -7 degree temperatures.  That's dedication!  Before his run he began the preparation for dinner while Gitte and I lazed about on the couch watching winter sports and eating marzipan!  When he got back, he put the finishing touches on homemade meatballs, potatoes, carrots and cabbage.  Another delicious smorgasbord!  On Saturday Gitte and Morten purchased a Norwegian Christmas Cake at the Christmas Market so we capped off dinner with the cake and some ice cream.  :)  Morten had to leave very early in the morning for a business trip to Copenhagen, so we rented an early movie  before hitting the hay.  I was so sad to say my good-byes to him on Sunday night, but he wouldn't be back by the time I had to leave for the airport on Monday, so it had to be done.  Sad!  :(

Me at Vigeland Park with all that carved granite!

Christmas Cake covered in Norwegian flags!

Gitte had to work on Monday, so I planned out my day as a walking tour of the Opera House, Royal Palace, shopping district and City Hall (where the Nobel Prize was being awarded midday).  I left the apartment around 10:30 and was pleased that it wasn't particularly cold or windy.  I made my way to each of the sites on my list, grabbing a quick lunch at a cafe on Karl Johans Street along the way.  There was lots of activity in the city and the police presence at the Grand Hotel was more than evident, presumably because the Nobel Prize winners who are representing the EU were staying there.  I made my way over to the buildings that were blown up by the domestic terrorist in 2011 and read about the bombing and the effort to rebuild.  It was much more impactful to see it all in person, as the International news media didn't cover it in much detail after the initial day it happened.

Oslo City Hall (where Nobel Prize was awarded to the EU on Monday, 12/10/12)

Oslo Opera House

I arrived back at the apartment in time for a quick FaceTime with my parents before Gitte arrived home to take me to the Flight Train which I would ride to the airport.  My time in Oslo went by way too quickly and I wish I had decided to spend one more day there before moving onto Helsinki.  Oh well - next time!  I look forward to another visit in the summer time so we can kayak, hike and go out to Horten to see Cille and Gitte's parents.  It was a great visit and I can't end this post without saying one more time that Gitte and Morten are the best hosts (and tour guides) ever!  Thanks again!

Wehrheim, Germany

Jonas was kind enough to take me the airport for my flight to Frankfurt and this time around he took the direct route from my house to the International Terminal which was lovely (inside joke).  Unlike my departure for Nice, France earlier in the year, I was not fortunate enough to have a gate in the new F terminal and I had to catch a train to the old E terminal and walk about 3/4 of mile to my gate after checking-in.  I arrived just as they were announcing first class boarding and I walked right up and got on the plane.  While I had planned to get some rest on the 8 1/2 hour flight, there were so many good movie choices that I ended up staying awake the entire time.  We landed a bit early and I breezed through Customs as one of the first people off the plane.  I knew Megan wouldn't be there to pick me up right away since her son had "late" start to school that morning and our earlier arrival bumped up against that schedule.  I hit the ATM for some Euros, went to one of the benches in the arrivals area and continued with the great book I was reading, War Brides.  (I highly recommend it for those of you looking for a good Winter read!)  As if on cue, I looked at my watch at exactly 8:55 am and knew Megan would be pulling up to the curb any moment so I gathered my luggage and coat and headed outside.  Megan came running up to greet me and we headed off to Wehrheim.

Megan and I were neighbors in Winston-Salem, NC until she took a contract job working for Dell in Weisbaden, Germany in 1998.  To give her a proper send off, a group of us took a week long vacation to the Outer Banks the week before she left and I still remember all of us waving good-bye to her from the top deck of the house we rented when she had to leave a day early to catch her flight.  For some reason, it wasn't as sad as you'd expect because we all knew she was only planning on going for a year (2 at the most) and by going she was providing the rest of us a great (free) place to visit in Europe.  Off she went and as if she were a character in a romance novel, she went to a bar one night, met a nice Germany man (who offered her candy as his introduction), fell in love, got married, had 2 kids and never returned to the US except to visit.  Lucky for me, she and her husband, Christoph, are gracious hosts and welcome me into their home as often as I can fit a trip into my schedule.  Over the years we've enjoyed lots of visits, including a ski vacation in Switzerland aside from my normal visits to their house.

I love coming to Germany in the late Fall / early Winter because all of the Christmas Markets are in full swing and we can easily spend an entire day walking through them, shopping, enjoying delicious snacks and getting in the Christmas spirit.  This year was no exception.  Megan and I went to one Christmas Market on Saturday and another on Sunday - spending the entire day meandering our way up and down the vendor-lined streets.  While I didn't buy a single thing this year, I enjoyed every moment of catching up with Megan and taking in the sites.  We gathered ideas for things the kids could make their Dad for Christmas and showed them pictures of what we found when we got home.

Tree at the Hessenpark Christmas Market

The lifestyle of most people in Germany is quite different that that of most Americans and each time I come here I am reminded how much I enjoy it.  A few examples:  1) People aren't on a scheduled timetable.  In fact, we went to one store that I had hoped to return to later in the week only to be told that the store keeps irregular hours in the Winter.  If the weather was nice they might be open and if the weather wasn't nice they most certainly would be closed.  How great is that?  2) The main meal of the day is served at lunch time.  Rather than eating a large meal at night, right before bed they eat a large meal at midday so they can burn off the calories and energy in the afternoon/evening.  This seems so logical to me every time I visit.  3) Everyone is active.  There is very little TV watching or sitting around.  People are out and about doing things with their time.  I know, I know.  Plenty of Americans are active and doing things with their time, too.  It's still not the same vibe, however.  It's just the way of life here, the way of life for nearly everyone you encounter.

Megan had warned me that during the week we'd have very little time to do much by ourselves due to Bella (9) and Alex's (7) school schedule, sports practices and other activities and I was totally fine with that since my main purpose for visiting was to spend time with Megan and relax.  Even though we didn't fill our weekdays with glamorous activities like getting facials & massages while sipping champagne, we enjoyed running errands, grocery shopping, baking Christmas cookies, walking to/from town and around her neighborhood and most of all just talking to each other.

Bad Homburg Produce Market on Tuesday

Bella and Alex are growing up to be exceptional children and I continue to be impressed with their ability to jump from German to English seamlessly.  Megan speaks to them in English and Christoph in German which gives them plenty of practice with both languages.  I think they will be leaps and bounds ahead of their classmates when they are required to take English later on in their schooling.  :)

As I sit writing this, the cleaning woman is on the 2rd floor vacuuming, Megan is on the 1st floor giving English lessons to 2 boys from the neighborhood (which she does every Wednesdays), Alex is at soccer practice and the doorbell just rang indicating that Bella's carpool for gymnastics practice is here to pick her up.  It's a busy night at the Schwarz house and I am looking forward to dinner, perhaps a game of Monopoly and then putting my boots outside my bedroom door to see if Nikolaus fills them with candy and treats while I sleep.  (For those of you interested in learning more about the last part of that sentence, click here!)

I can't believe I am leaving for Oslo, Norway the day after tomorrow.  I am so excited to see Gitte and Morten, but sad to be leaving Germany already.  I'll let you know if Nikolaus brings me anything good in the next post.  Auf wiedersehen and gute nacht!

Atlanta, GA

When I pulled into my garage my car informed me I had driven 3,427.8 miles since pulling out of my driveway on October 3.  Wow!  I guess 7 weeks on the road really racks up the miles.

I don't think I've written about this earlier, but I had my mail forwarded to my parents address for the duration of my trip.  To my surprise, none of my mail ever arrived at their house.  They spoke to their mail carrier about it and she informed them that she personally checked the entire post office facility and there was no mail for me and I should call my local mail carrier in Atlanta to find out what was going on.  Maybe I am a weirdo, but I have no idea who my mail carrier is?!?  Do any of you know your mail carrier by name or have his/her phone number?  Regardless, I called the toll free number on the confirmation I received only to be told that the request had been successfully processed and all mail should be being forwarded to my parents address as requested.  Uh huh.  Well, I reminded her that the reason I was calling was because that wasn't the case, and I wanted to know what options were available to figure out what was going on with my mail?  Silence on the other end of the phone.  It's no wonder the USPS is nearly bankrupt.  I'd set the forwarding request to expire on November 10 because that is when I was leaving my parents house to start my journey back to Atlanta.  I know you'll be completely shocked to learn that several pieces of mail actually arrived at my parents house after I left.  The incompetence is astounding.  The first thing I did when I pulled into my place was check my mailbox to see if (perhaps) the mail simply wasn't forwarded at all.  Mystery solved.  My mailbox was completely full and the majority of the mail was wrinkled and torn from being jammed into the box day after day for 2 months.  Unreal.

Two months worth of mail from my mailbox!

I decided to make a visit to my local post office the next day to discuss the mix-up and to confirm that no future mail would be forwarded since several pieces had arrived at my parents address all of a sudden.  I had pretty low expectations for the encounter, but the employees of the USPS manged to bring it knock it down several notches below my expectations.  After waiting in line for a few minutes I explained the situation to the woman at the main counter who literally responded to me with, "Go to the blue door."  I said, "Excuse me?!?"  She pointed and said, "Go to the blue door."  I walked across the room and saw a blue door with a doorbell next to it.  I rang the bell.  Nothing.  I waited a few minutes and rang the bell again.  Nothing.  After 3 more rounds of this I heard someone yell from across the room, "We heard the bell.  Stop ringing it.  Someone will help you when they can."  I thought for sure I was being punked.  After 10 minutes a woman opened the blue door and greeted me with, "What?"  I explained the situation again and was told she couldn't do anything for me since the mail had already been disbursed to the individual mail carriers for the day.  I wasn't sure what that had to do with my request to ensure no more of my mail would be forwarded to New Jersey and she said, "We can't check to see if you have any mail today because it has already been given to your mail carrier."  My rebuttal was, "That prevents you from checking into my forwarding request?  The only way you can verify my forwarding request is to see if I have mail waiting to be delivered?"  Her only response was "Yes".   After some back and forth "discussion", I was given the phone number for the Delivery Supervisor and told I needed to call the next day between 8:00 and 9:00 am because that is the only time they'd be able to check and see if I have mail awaiting delivery.  We'll see how that conversation goes tomorrow.  More on that in the next post.  :)

My first 2 days back in Atlanta were filled with errands, swimming at the Y and lunches & dinners with friends.  It didn't seem possible I had been gone for 7 weeks as I got back into my normal life routine instantaneously.  Dinner with the Goodmans was fantastic on Sunday night and hugs & kisses from the girls provided the best welcome home I could have asked for.  Nora was taller and learner, but as sweet as ever.  Annika's vocabulary had quadrupled and she had double the number of teeth she had when I left.  It is SO true that time marches on...  Sue joined us when her flight landed from Pennsylvania and she was still looking skinny mini from her diet and exercise routine  ;)

I will be in Atlanta for 11 days before heading back to Europe and will update the blog if there is something interesting to share.  Otherwise, look for more posts beginning November 28 when I arrive in Frankfurt, Germany to visit my friends, Megan and Christoph and their kids, Bella and Alex.

Pinehurst, NC

Attention all Zumba fans... I finally experienced your kind of exercise with my friend, LeeAnn!  While it was fun and a great workout, it was also quite embarrassing.  I think I'll stick with swimming.  LeeAnn and Chris were my neighbors when I lived in Winston-Salem from 1996 until 1999 and LeeAnn is one the girls from my annual Girls Weekend that rotates between Maryland, North Carolina and Georgia.  They moved to Pinehurst in 2007 with their 2 sons, Garrett & Jacob and I've been enjoying visits there ever since.  For those of you who aren't familiar with Pinehurst, it is famous for it's golf courses (The US Open is played there every few years) and it's hotels including the The Carolina Inn.  The hotel has a spa that ranks as one of my favorite in the world.  Enjoying a massage or facial there is always a great thing to share with LeeAnn.  Pinehurst has lots to offer for a small town and somehow LeeAnn and I are always amazed how quickly the days fly by with activity.

LeeAnn and I went to a PTA meeting on the night I arrived because there was some major administrative drama uncovered at her sons' school earlier in the week.  She is the Treasurer of the PTA so she had to attend and based on the extent of the drama she shared with me, I thought something exciting might happen at the meeting so I tagged along.  When we walked out to the garage I realized I had lost another friend to the world of minivan drivers.  Boo.  We arrived at the school just before the meeting started and to make a long story short - the board fired the headmaster at her sons' school after a short 5 month stint in his role.  No details were being shared other than the fact that no child was ever in physical or emotional danger while he was in his role.  I was surprised by how calm all the parents were at the meeting since they had very little detail about the circumstances surrounding his departure.  The school's attorney did most of the talking and we left the meeting with no additional details about the firing, but did feel confident the school was doing everything in their power to make a smooth transition for the kids.  I made LeeAnn promise to let me know what really happened when it actually comes out.  I'll be sure to update the blog when that happens.  :)

Another one bites the dust - my view from the back of a minivan!

When we all lived in Winston-Salem we spent many of our nights playing Spades.  Of course, we had 4 people living next door to each other during those days which made it easy.  We decided to play 3-handed Spades when LeeAnn and I got back from the PTA meeting.  It wasn't nearly as challenging (or funny) without our usual 4th - who shall remain nameless - but we had a great time and laughed so hard I got a sore throat.  There's nothing like old friends.  Nothing.

We filled our time together with shopping at small boutiques, enjoying meals at local restaurants, going to the movies, taking in an art show, going to the playground and going to her gym.  It was so fun!  On Friday morning were heard the news that Hostess was going out of business and I was immediately plagued by the thought I might never be able to enjoy their coconut crumb donettes again.  LeeAnn and I went on a hunt to buy up all of the Hostess goodies we could find.  Believe it or not, it took us 4 stores to find a single Hostess product on the shelves.  The clerk at the store told us people had been coming in all day buying Hostess products because of the news they were going out of business.  The way I see it, there are so many preservatives in most of their goodies that what we each bought will never go bad.  I don't even think I need to put them in the freezer.  Since I've made so many changes to my diet and exercise routine I'll have to pace myself on enjoying these goodies.

The combined loot from our hunt for Hostess goodies

Garrett's birthday was November 6th and LeeAnn's Dad bought him an iPad mini for his birthday.  It arrived while I was there and we had a grand time getting it setup, downloading Minecraft and watching him test out FaceTime for the first time.  It's amazing to see the way children get excited about things.  It's a reminder to enjoy life every day.  I have certainly been doing that these past 2 1/2 months and am so grateful I've had this opportunity.

The drive back to Atlanta takes around 6 hours, so I hit the road early on Sunday morning.  I was sad to leave, but looking forward to getting back to my house and solving the mystery of my missing mail.  Details on that next post.

Baltimore, MD

I was feeling like a lousy house guest when I pulled into the driveway (a wee bit early) at the exact same moment Elaina was arriving home from the doctor with Alexa.  Luckily Alexa wasn't feeling too sick any more since the doctor had prescribed an antibiotic for her ear infection, so I stole a hug and a kiss and we made our way inside.  Rob is one of my closest friends from college and he and his wife Elaina have settled down in Baltimore after both growing up and living in New York for many years.  They have 2 precious daughters, Alexa (3) and Alivia (2) who are "Irish twins" being just 1 year apart.  They are fortunate enough to have an Au Pair which always allows us the flexibility to go out in the evening when I visit without having to do too much advance planning.  Since Alexa was sick and nap time had been pushed back a few hours due to the doctor's visit, we decided to stay in on Monday night and Elaina cooked up a delicious meal.  She is on an "all natural, no preservatives" diet, so we had stuffed tilapia, shrimp, tomato & ricotta salad, roasted potatoes and plenty of wine.  We all agreed that the preservatives used in wine don't count!  We stayed up looking at pictures, reminiscing about old times and watching Long Island Medium which conjured up our own stories of ghost encounters.  It was priceless.

Sweet (with an ear infection) Alexa asleep on the couch

Elaina and I went out for a bite to eat on Monday afternoon and Rob called it an early day at work so we could go for some pre-dinner cocktails at the Four Seasons.  I had a fabulous Fall cocktail called an Orangeade which had vodka, club soda, grapefruit juice, orange juice and grenadine served in a brandy snifter with an orange twist.  I will certainly be making that at home sometime.  We sat in front of a roaring fire on the harbor waterfront and enjoyed the view.  Elaina was closing a last minute deal for work and as soon as she finished we headed out for dinner.  We had early reservations at a farm to table place called Woodberry Kitchen.  Rob and Elaina had been there several times before and raved about it for good reason - it was delicious.  We shared a hot crab pot and some sweet potato & caramelized onion flatbread before I sampled a dozen local oysters.  I decided to go with oysters so I could save room for dessert.  They had a ridiculously long dessert menu, but we went for a peanut chew with creme fraishe ice cream and some sort of sundae thing with wet nuts, ice cream, fluff and crystallized sugar on top that you had to break through with your spoon.  It's a good thing I don't live in Baltimore because the sundae would be a new addiction if I did.  YUM!  While we were eating dessert we decided to check on movie times since we all wanted to see Flight.  It was playing at a theater a few miles away at 8:00 and we made a mad dash to get there.  We ran into the theater about halfway through the coming attractions and had mixed opinions about the movie when it was done.  I liked it.  I thought the acting was exceptional and while the story was a bit depressing, it was very well done.  Elaina didn't like it at all as she prefers upbeat movies.  Rob was indifferent.  Based on the three of us, you'll have to make your own judgement call on whether to see it or not!  I'd vote YES!

Woodberry Kitchen in Baltimore

Variety of mignonette's for my oysters!

The three of us at Woodberry Kitchen

I had to get on the road by 10:00 on Wednesday since I had the longest drive of the trip in front of me to get to Pinehurst, NC.  The girls got up super early for some reason and I spent a little bit of time playing with them in the morning.  Rob headed off to work and I packed up my car, grabbed a bagel at this great place near their house that we've been to in the past, filled up with gas and got on 95 South towards NC.  It was a great visit and I think I convinced Rob and Elaina to come to Atlanta for our next visit in the Spring.

Philadelphia, PA

I arrived in Malvern, PA just before noon on Sunday and drove up the long, winding driveway of my friend Jay's house.  He had been warning me for weeks that his major house renovation would still be underway when I arrived and I should expect a mess, lots of dust and an unfurnished house.  I've know Jay for a long time, so I was actually expecting a totally neat, dustless, partially furnished house.  Guess who won that one?  :)  Jay moved from downtown Philadelphia to Malvern in April and started a massive renovation on his new house in August.  It is slated to be done by the end of November, so I was excited to see the house since most of the major work (architectural changes, carpentry, design work, etc.) would be done.  Jay has a long history of buying homes, completely renovating them, living in them for a few years and selling them to move onto another project.  He really had to use his imagination on this house - it required a ton of work to get to the standard he is accustomed to in his homes.  It's absolutely beautiful and he regaled me with stories of the next 10 projects he has planned for the house, including: additional landscape, dormers on the roof, a new facade on the front entrance - the list goes on!  I think he'll be there a maximum of 3 years before moving onto the next project so we'll see how many of the things on his list actually get done.  We ran out to lunch at a great Oyster House and got caught up on Intuit (he still works there) we also had a great conversation with our waitress about tattoos because she overheard us talking about a RIDICULOUS tattoo our mutual friend, Jeff, wants to get.  She agreed that a nautical star tattoo was "cheesy" and 34 was too old to get new tattoos when you are a corporate professional.  I wanted to record her commentary and send it to Jeff, but didn't.  Maybe next time someone shares similar thoughts on the matter (which is sure to happen soon) I'll record them and pass it along.

We went to a fabulous place in Wayne, PA for a Tapas dinner.  DELICIOUS!  Our waiter exhibited some inadequacies that made him terrible at his job, but we just laughed it off and enjoyed a leisurely dinner at his expense.  Jay had meticulously prepared his guest room for me and I slept a peaceful night in the most heavenly bed of all time.  It was like floating in a cloud of fluffy goose down.  I told Jay that if I wasn't up by 8:00 am to wake me because the bed was so comfortable that I might just sleep straight through the day.  I did wake up at 7:00, but choose to laze about in the goose down cloud until 8:00 anyway.

Jay has 2 dogs, Judy and Sadie, and he tells tales of their mischievousness all the time.   I was expecting to be impressed by their terrible behavior.  Hmmm...  They were both so well behaved that Jay kept telling me that they were "making a liar of him".  I am not sure what to believe.  Judge for yourself:

Perfectly angelic dogs under Jay's desk

More perfectly angelic dogs posing for the camera!

Judy patiently staring at her ball waiting for someone to play catch with her

I had to get on the road to Baltimore by mid afternoon, so we ran out to do some errands and had a yummy lunch at the White Dog Cafe.  My time with Jay was too short, but I will look forward to another visit when the renovation is done - maybe in the Spring.  More on my time in Baltimore in the next post.

New Jersey / New York (Part 3)

I am technically still on the same stop in New Jersey / New York as I was during the last post, but there was too much information to include in a single post.  :)  Plus, this next topic is so good, it deserved top placement on the page.  I made the 40 minute drive from Port Jefferson Station to Woodside, Queens and rolled onto my cousin Emily's street without incident.  I should have known it was too good to be true.  We had a nice (but too short) visit.  She recently wrote a book and I picked up my signed copy!  We got caught up on family, friends and her work (since I don't have any of that right now)!  She had a really great perspective on Hurricane Sandy and it's impact on the city she lives in and loves.  She had been brave enough to navigate the still disjointed train system the day before I arrived and didn't get home until 3:30 am as a result.  It is going to be interesting to see how long it takes for all parts of the city to get back to normal.  My parents were expecting me for dinner, so I hit the road at 4:40 pm.  My parents house is exactly 21 miles from my cousin's apartment and I expected to be home within the hour (taking rush hour traffic into account).  HA!  I have never driven a car in her part of Queens before, so I decided to trust the GPS in my car to get me back to the George Washington Bridge.  It got me out of her neighborhood just fine, but was directing me to take the Queens-Midtown Tunnel which (unfortunately) I didn't know was still closed due to massive flooding from Hurricane Sandy.  I figured it out real quickly when I approached the ramp to the tunnel and all traffic was being diverted.  I think it is critical to remind you at this point that there is no possible way to get gas anywhere near NYC at the moment.  Gas stations with electricity have no more gas to sell and stations without electricity don't have a means to run their pumps.  As I approached the diversion back-up I had 1/2 a tank of gas left in my car and 17 miles to go - what could possibly go wrong?  Let me tell you...

I called my dad at home to get alternate directions to the GWB since my GPS was adamant I take the Queens-Midtown Tunnel even though the NYPD felt differently about me doing that.  As soon as I dialed my parents home number on my iPhone 5 (aka battery sucking hand-held device) it warned me that I had 10% battery life left.  For those of you with an iPhone you know how quickly 10% becomes 0%!  My Dad confirmed that I should backtrack from the diversion point and take the Triboro Bridge to 87, pass Yankee Stadium and make my way back to the GWB.  I was feeling good as I got a green light, made the necessary U turn and headed towards the Triboro bridge.  As I paid the toll and veered to the right to get on 87, the NYPD was once again diverting traffic.  This time, I couldn't get on 87.  I had to merge onto Harlem River Drive.  I wasn't concerned at first because this is a route I am very familiar with - I knew I only had 2.5 miles on this road until the on ramp to the GWB would be on my left.  Well, after 1 hour I had gone 1/3 of a mile and after 2 hours I had gone another 2/10 of a mile.  I called my dad again with the precious seconds of battery life I had left on my phone and he informed me that due to recently discovered damage from Hurricane Sandy there were closing the GWB.  Since most of the other Hudson River crossings were already closed due to flooding, my options were limited (and so was the gas supply in my car and battery life on my phone).  Pause.  Those of you familiar with NYC are probably starting to feel sorry for me at this moment.  I was at 155th Street when I had to find an alternate route across the Hudson River.  My dad suggested I get off Harlem River Drive, cut across to Broadway and make my way all the way up to 230th Street so I could get on 87 again, go all the way to the Tappan Zee Bridge and come down the Garden State Parkway.  This is so far out of the way that it normally wouldn't make sense, but desperate times call for desperate measures.  I eventually made my way across 3 lanes of stand-still traffic on Harlem River Drive onto 155th Street and across to Broadway.  One hour later I had only made it 19 blocks to 174th Street on Broadway.  I had 56 blocks left to go and at this rate that would take me another 3 hours.  It was clear I might not make it out of NYC.  As I sat through light after light with no movement, I watched the gas slowly drain from my tank.  A small miracle occurred when I passed 178th Street and things started to clear up a bit - I actually made it through full intersections in a single traffic light cycle.  I eventually made it to 87 and then the Garden State Parkway where I came across a gas station that had a tanker truck filling it's underground tanks as I approached.  When I put the car in park at the pump so I could fill up, my car indicator said I had 34 miles left in my tank before empty.  My parents house is 18 miles from that gas station.  I pulled into their driveway just about 5 hours after I left my cousin's apartment, which again is 21 miles from my parents house!  :)  I'll be taking the train next time I go visit my cousin Emily!

By the time I got to my parents house the election results were rolling in and Obama had all but been declared the winner.  I scarfed down a cornish hen and some water and hit the sack.

The next morning I was heading up to Chester, NY to see my friend Christine again.  We had plans to tour some wineries near her house and even though another storm was brewing (Nor'easter Athena) I decided to take a chance and go.  I got up there by 10:00 am and we headed off to the wineries!  The wine was so-so, but the apple/pear hard cider and apple/pear/raspberry liquors were exceptional.  We each bought some and headed to lunch at a lovely Italian place in the center of Warwick.  YUM!  As we sat at lunch it started to snow and continued to snow through the afternoon, evening and overnight.  It didn't bother us in the least as it meant the kids could play in the yard after school and make a snowman while we ordered take out for dinner!  That's just what we did.  We brought in firewood from the backyard, got the kids from school and hunkered down to play some dominoes, drink some wine and enjoy the view of falling snow from her picture window.  Again, just about a perfect way to spend an evening.  Christine decided to go pick up sushi for dinner and my car was blocking her in the driveway so I gave her my keys.  The kids and I watched her get in the car, then saw the headlights go on-off and then on-off again.  Then the car move back about 10 feet and Christine get out of it again.  I texted her to ask if she had trouble finding the windshield wipers and she responded with "Your car has outsmarted me!  I couldn't find the wipers.  And the push button transmission is too complicated.  I am taking my car!"  We laughed and laughed and laughed as she pulled her own car down the driveway.

School was not cancelled the next day (presumably because it had been cancelled the entire week before because of Hurricane Sandy) so the kids went outside to sled before school because we knew the snow would be completely melted by the time they got home that afternoon.  I chose to stay in my jammies inside as 7:00 am is a bit early for me to play in the snow on a Thursday.  :)  Nate and June enjoyed it and came back in to finish breakfast and get dressed for school.  Christine and I did some shopping and grabbed a quick bite for lunch before I headed back to my parents for the night.

Nate getting ready to throw a snowball at me (I am behind the sliding glass door)

Pretty good aim for a 5-year-old.  Thank goodness for the sliding glass door!

On Friday morning my parents and I were driving to the Jersey Shore to visit my Grandmother's grave and stop in to check on her last surviving neighbor, Teresa Burget.  We had no issue getting to Brick Township, but saw tons of downed trees and powerless buildings 11 days after the storm.  We placed some flowers at the grave and fondly remembered my Grandmother with a few tears.  We headed directly to Teresa's house only to find it empty.  My parents had seen her last Fall and knew she would be turning 100 years old in August so when we saw an empty house we were concerned.  We went up to the clubhouse of the community to ask if they knew anything about her whereabouts and they had little information to share other than the house was still in her name and the monthly membership dues had been paid for the entire year.  I pulled out my iPhone and did a quick search which resulted in the sad news that Teresa had passed away on May 8, 2012, a few months shy of her 100th birthday.  She was a wonderful woman who was not only a good friend to my Grandmother, but a kind and gentle spirit who loved to garden.  I will remember her (and her husband, Tom) fondly and carry them with me in my heart.  It was a sad day.

After leaving Brick Township, we made our way to Spring Lake for lunch and to see if the ocean front home of one of my Dad's friends had survived the storm.  We were surprised to see that nearly all the homes were still standing, although most had suffered some damage from either wind or water.  The most shocking scene was the area where the boardwalk used to stand.  The entire boardwalk and beachfront was gone.  The only evidence of what used to be there were the cement pilings that held the boardwalk up.  It was unbelievable to see.  On our way back to the highway we were stopped by local police so the Governor's motorcade could pass.  There were about 15 cars in the motorcade and we assume they were inspecting the damage in Spring Lake?!?  Hard to be sure.

Cement pilings that used to hold up the boardwalk in Spring Lake, NJ

One of the Spring Lake, NJ homes that was damaged in Hurricane Sandy

Governor Christie's motorcade making it's way through Spring Lake, NJ

On Friday night I had dinner with 9 of my high school friends at a local Italian restaurant.  We had coordinated it when I was in NJ the first time around and all met up at Nicola's.  We chose a BYOB since JB is now a big-wig at a Terrlato Wines and he can provide as much of the good stuff as we want.  He didn't disappoint with an endless supply of delicious wine options.  We all got caught up, laughed a lot, chatted about our 20 year high school reunion and promised to do it again at Christmas.  We bribed a waiter to take a group photo and headed to the wine bar next door for a night cap.  It was a fun.

My high school friends post-dinner at Nicola's in Totowa

Since I leave on Sunday to start my journey back to Atlanta, I had to do some shopping on Saturday.  I was able to find a 40th birthday present for my sister-in-law and some Christmas presents for my Mom and nephew which will save me from having to ship them up later.  One last dinner at a French restaurant with my parents and I am off to Philadelphia to see Jay.  More on that in the next post. 

New Jersey / New York (Part 2)

My mom had a silent auction at the church on the night I arrived in New Jersey so my dad and I went out to dinner in a little restaurant in downtown Montclair.  Our drive to the restaurant was eerie.  We only passed a handful of homes with electricity on the way and every traffic light and overhead street light was out.  You don't realize how much of a role electricity plays in your life until you don't have it.  BIZARRE!  We had a lovely meal and experienced the same eerie ride home afterwards in time for my mom to arrive with her "winnings" from the auction.  I don't believe my mom has been to an event in the last 25 years where she didn't win a prize, drawing, raffle or give-away.  It's uncanny - if there is something to be won, she wins it.  Never fails.  Every time.  I wonder if some of my luckiness comes from her...

I had lots of visits to fit into my week in NJ, starting with the Zaleskis!  Robyn, Mike, Challice and Zach Zaleski are great friends who came and spent spring break with me in Atlanta several years ago.  They invited me over for Sunday dinner and I was so excited to have the luxury of time on my hands.  It always seems like we have to rush when we get together and this was one time when we would be able to take our time, enjoy a meal and get caught up.  So fun.  Robyn is my friend JB's older sister and she is a truly inspirational person who has enriched my life just by being a part of it.  In addition to being unbelievably self-aware, she has the tenacity of a private detective (oh, the stories I could tell...)  Her children are the best testimonial of her greatness.  Challice and Zach are smart, fun-loving, generous, thoughtful teenagers who always make time for me (even though I am sure they'd rather be hanging out with their friends).  After dinner the kids and I ran out for some frozen yogurt and got caught up on topics that matter to them, like Justin Bieber, SongPop, high school, etc.  What a wonderful way to spend an evening.

Zach and Challice posing for me!

I headed over to my best friend Jenna's house after the Zaleskis and I was one of a gaggle of people she was hosting.  Both of her sisters still had no power, so they (and their families) were staying with her a week after Hurricane Sandy.  She was hard at work on a jigsaw puzzle when I came in the house and when I offered to help she said, "This is why we've been friends all these years.  No one else has helped me all day!"  We spent the next 2.5 hours working on the puzzle and laughing our butts off (like we always do).  At one point she had to go put her sons to bed so I thought it would be hilarious if I hid a piece of the puzzle so when she "finished" it the next day she'd be one piece shy.  I told her husband, Peter, where I hid it and got back to work.  Little did I know that we'd actually finish the puzzle that night.  So, I had to fess up when we got close to the end and pull the piece I hid out of the hutch in the dinning room.  Surprisingly, even after I turned over the piece I had hid, we were 1 piece short.  Hmmm... the next morning I got a text that said, "Apparently Peter has the same sense of humor as you!"  Her son had also hid a piece before I got there and fessed up the next morning:

Peter pointing out the piece of the puzzle he hid... Great minds think alike!

On Monday morning I was venturing out to Long Island to see my friend Kerri and her family.  I must give you the background on my friendship with Kerri to setup this portion of the post.  When I was a sophomore in college I waited until the very last night to return to school before Fall semester classes started.  My roommates had been expecting me for 4 days and each day I would call and say that I'd decided to stay in NJ one more day.  I finally called to say that I was actually on my way and they told me to hurry up --- a girl from Long Island had moved in across the hall and they were dying to see how the two of us would act together.  They were certain we'd be vast friends and assumed we get into trouble together since we had similar accents!  I walked across the hall to meet Kerri that first night and I can't think of any college memories from that point forward that don't include her! A few years ago she married Steve and they have 2 precious daughters, Reagan and Sloane.  

Sidebar: Kerri's wedding was the 29th (and last) time I was a bridesmaid.  I am hopeful that number remains static for the rest of my life.  

I arrived in time for lunch on Monday and we ordered a pizza while we got caught up and played with her younger daughter, Sloane.  We had to pick-up Reagan at school that afternoon and planned to drop-in to see Kerri's parents afterwards.  I was horrified when we walked outside that afternoon and learned that Kerri had succumbed to the pressures of parenthood and purchased a minivan.  It took a lot of self-control not to point and laugh.  Who am I kidding?  I did point and laugh!  HA HA HA!  Kerri did her best defensive sales pitch to tell me what a great choice it was and I just nodded and smiled.  Another one bites the dust.  We gathered up Reagan, stopped by her parents and returned home for a fun afternoon of playing with the girls and gossiping about college friends.  The next day I got to watch Reagan do some gymnastics which was awesome - even though the instructor was making her do left-handed cartwheels which is really hard?!?!

Reading some books to Reagan and Sloane!

After a quick lunch and stop off at her husband's car wash, I was headed into Queens to see my cousin, Emily, for the afternoon.   The next post will be worth the read - I had the worst traffic experience of my life and will recount it with as much humor as possible.  :)

Boston, MA (Part 2)

As I made my way back to Boston to spend another week with my brother, Nichole, Parker and Evie, predictions about Hurricane Sandy began to sound more serious.  Unsure where the super storm would hit, I was happy to be with my family as the details continued to develop.  I arrived in time to pick up Parker and Evie from school with Nichole and was relieved that they were still excited to see me after we'd spent a whole week together when I was the rule enforcer (a role I rarely play when their parents are around).  Hugs and kisses were dolled out freely, so I figured I was in the clear!

We had a busy pre-Halloween weekend that included a soccer game, the costume stroll at a local park, a dinner party at some friends of my brother and sister-in-law, an unexpected sleepover party with 2 friends of Parker and Evie and Chinese School.  We did all of our preparation for the storm and hoped for the best.  School was cancelled for both kids on Monday and Tuesday as a result of electricity being out to much of Newton (even though we never lost power at the house) and I was happy to have 2 more full days to spend with the kids when they otherwise would have been in school.  We had very high winds, insane amounts of heavy rain and loads of downed trees throughout town, but no damage to the house or cars which was a relief considering how bad things got for so many other people.  My parents in NJ lost power on Monday and suffered through until Wednesday when it came back.  The kids and I were in the middle of a FaceTime chat with my Dad when the power went out at their house, so we knew the exact minute that it happened.  We are all thankful that a power outage was the extent of the issues we experienced due to Sandy.  With nearly all of my family (and a large number of my friends) in the impacted areas, I feel very lucky.  My thoughts and prayers go out to all the people who lost loved ones, homes, cars and other possessions.

In Newton, things were mostly cleared up by Halloween night and we did our trick-or-treating in the neighborhood streets surrounding the house.  Evie was a leopard and Parker a ninja.  They have a tradition of trick-or-treating with their neighbor, Eddie, who was a Chinese dragon.

Parker on the soccer field

Evie the leopard

Parker the ninja!

Some of the kids checking out a motorcycle leaving the parking lot

I had brought the kids tons of their favorite neon glow stick bracelets and necklaces, so we lit them up and hit the streets in search of as much loot as their bags could hold.  When we got home both kids counted up the pieces of candy they collected (68 for Parker, 80+ for Evie - she took it literally when people said, "take as many as you want"!)  I had asked them to keep an eye out for Kit Kat bars while trick-or-treating and both of them graciously shared a Kit Kat with me before bed.  It was a fun night and I was already dreading having to leave in the morning.

Since my parents got power back on Wednesday, I kept to my original plan of heading back to NJ on Thursday morning but I added a quick lunch stop in Hartford with my friend Renee.  I helped the kids get ready for school and enjoyed a nice breakfast with them before the crying began.  Parker let me know that he was fully aware of when Santa comes and that was too far away for our next visit and Evie simply wanted to make sure that I would come back again next year for Halloween.  :)  I wiped my eyes, packed the car and hit the road again.  I can't wait for Christmas...

Renee and I gorged ourselves on sushi in Hartford before I continued onto NJ.  As a result of Hurricane Sandy power outages, gas was unavailable throughout most of NJ and NY.  My Dad suggested I stop in Danbury, CT to fill up since I would be unable to get gas anywhere near their house.  I got off I-84 at 3 of the Danbury exits and none of the stations had any gas in their pumps.  I continued onto Brewster and Purdys, NY with the same results.  I finally decided to try the Mt. Kisco exit. I drove 4 miles off the exit to a BP Station where I waited 20 minutes to get to a pump.  By the time I filled up the line behind me was 75 cars deep.  Most people were in a panic since power was still out and generators require gas to run.

More on my upcoming week in NJ in the next post.