Laura & Joe Plus Zero

Detroit Adventures

2010-07-31T19:17:00.005-04:00

When the rare opportunity arises for me to travel for work, I always want to experience a destination that I haven't been to before. That is how I ended up in Detroit, Michigan for a week in July. Which also leads me to some quick Census information...

The Census Bureau has 12 regional offices in the U.S. The entire country is divided amongst the offices based on geographic location and population size. Often times, our travel opportunities are to one of these 12 places.

Anyway, this particular trip was to observe a conference for the Detroit Regional Office's SFRs (SFR=Senior Field Representative). I got put up at a nice hotel with all I could ever need, such as 2 flat screen televisions, a large soaking tub, a clock with soothing noises and adjoining walls so thin I could hear my neighbors television word for word. Hey, it can never be perfect, can it?

I'll spare you of all the boring conference mumbo jumbo and just share with you some pros of a city with such a bad reputation. When I told people I was going to Detroit I got an overwhelming similar response from everyone: "Wow, Detroit huh?" "Yikes, Detroit, don't die." "Detroit......nice...." Needless to say, I was determined to show Detroit some love and find the good in it. I must admit, it wasn't a hard task!

Detroit has lovely views of Canada. They also have a long river walk to enjoy the views, fountains for kids to play in, and park areas. The GM Renaissance Center (the "Ren Cen"), the tallest building in Detroit, also boarders the River Walk.

Detroit had very nice people. I felt like I was in the South. This was really the first time I dined alone at a sit-down restaurant and everywhere I went, people were very friendly and helpful.

All the athletic stadiums are within spitting distance of each other. A "people mover" only costs $.50 a ride and can take you to all the main downtown locations. I rode it around just to see the sites.
Finally, it was a breath of fresh air from the hustle and bustle that I'm accustomed to around here. I was happy to not be overwhelmed in a new city and I was able to hold my own quite nicely. It would have been better had I had someone with me to share the experience with, but otherwise I had a good time.

Busy Busy Summer

2010-07-29T13:45:00.004-04:00

Wedding-palooza 2010 has been in full force. This is what I/we've been up to lately...

Liz's bridal shower, July 12

Liz is Joe's sister and will be getting married in October. Her shower was a nice gathering of family and friends. My mom was able to come over also.

Lindsay's bridal shower, July 20

Lindsay is a fellow Census Bureau employee who previously worked in Joe's area. She will be getting married in August. Her shower was in her aunt's lovely home in Baltimore.

Lindsay's bachelorette party, July 24

The following weekend we had a fun girls night. We went out to dinner and out on the town. It was a blazing hot night but we managed.

Paul & Amie's couple's shower, July 25

Although not a wedding, it falls into the same sort of party category. We headed over to Delaware for an open house/shower for baby Addison's parents. It had been a while since I had seen a lot of the fam, so it was a good evening of socializing. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures.

Upcoming:

Brian's bachelor party, July 31
Brian & Becky's wedding, August 7
Lindsay & Jesse's wedding, August 14

Life is a Beach

2010-07-05T20:04:00.004-04:00

As you may know, we live in Chesapeake Beach, Maryland. People ask (yes, seriously, they do) "Do you really live at the beach?" It may surprise you to find out (or not, if you you are super smart) that just a short mile done the road from our house is the Chesapeake Bay. Where there is bay, there is beach. Now granted, we live in a neighborhood complete with cul-de-sacs and small children, but I don't think that takes away from the "at the beach" location.

But, since I'm airing out all our little secrets, there isn't a "Chesapeake Beach" with sand you can lounge on. Our town claims what they call "Brownie's Beach" which is hardly a beach at all. I think there are 10 parking spots total and enough sand for about 5 families to share. The kicker is, they charge you to go on it! There is also the better known North Beach, which is the neighboring town to Chesapeake Beach. This squat of sand can fit about 15 families, but at least there is plenty of parking. And since we're not residents of North Beach and live a whooping 2 miles away from it (if that), it'll cost us to sit on that too. Oh how I miss you, Delaware beaches!

So, needless to say, despite living in "Chesapeake Beach," we had yet to go to the beach at all since moving here. Until this weekend, that is. With a big heat wave finally breaking and the temperature hovering around the low 80s, it seemed like perfect beach weather around our parts. And given the information above, we decided to try a new beach all together. Based on positive things we had heard from other people that had visited, we drove south about 30 minutes to Flag Pond's Nature Park. We we're pleasantly surprised! Way more than 15 families could fit on this sand!

Still, it cost us $4. I felt a little better giving the money to a nature park. I hope they do good things with it. I may even invest in the $15 season pass. It's also a 1/2 mile walk from the parking to the beach, but a built in workout didn't bother us too much. Plus, we figure that serves as a deterrent to the truly lazy and the less people around me, the better, in my opinion! There was plenty of sand to spread out amongst the modest sized crowd and although there will always be someone who lets their child collect shells one foot in front of your beach chair despite the thousands and thousands of shells on the rest of the beach AWAY from the people, it was rather pleasant. Check out the scenery:

By 2:30, most people started clearing out. I loved sitting by the water, soaking up some sun, and basking in all the silence. I wasn't daring enough to go in the water after hearing enough children scream "I stepped on a horseshoe crab!" since those suckers freak me out. Joe and I had a great time!

And since we were down south, we finished off our great day with an old favorite...Golden Chicken! You just must try their chicken fingers and honey mustard sauce!

Christina's Wedding & Festivities

2010-06-25T20:27:00.004-04:00

I've worked with Christina since I started at the Census Bureau in 2006. It took her a bit to warm up to me but now I'm sure she can't imagine her life without the Guidos. She's all married off now...here is how we got there...

Step 1: The Bridal Shower

Back in April, we gathered in Bel Air, MD for a bridal shower honoring Christina. Food, gifts, the works!

Me, Chrissy, Cynthia, Jill (Census girls)

Step 2: The Bachelorette Party

In May, we headed up to the Baltimore area for some wine tasting and dinner.

I loooved the TangoPeach wine I tried!

Step 3: The Wedding!

It was a beautiful affair on the 18th of June. Beautiful weather, lovely church, delicious food, good dancing...everything a wedding should be!

Congratulations!

I think we looked pretty spiffy too :)

Step 4: Happily Ever After

Milestones

2010-06-23T14:43:00.001-04:00

Happy 1st Birthday Blog!

That's Aunt Laura to you!

2010-05-26T07:40:00.001-04:00

Or at least it will be to future Baby Evans. That's right, Paul & Amie are having a bambino.

Congratulations to them. Baby Evans' ETA is the end of November. Looks like I better get shopping! Hahahahaaaa....

Vacation Recap - Day 7 & 8

2010-05-16T14:04:00.002-04:00

Day 7 - At Sea

Well, this was technically our last day of vacation. We left Grand Turk and were headed back to Ft. Lauderdale and the real world. The weather was great so it was nice to sleep in and spend the day by the pool. We found a shady spot with a good view and managed to finish our books before lunch.

But, if you ask us what we really remember about the last day, it would definitely be the little visit we got from the coast guard. See, around noon time the captain (and his very thick Italian accent) came across the loud speakers to tell us he had a very important announcement. Someone was going to be air lifted off the boat. The coast guard's ETA was 2:15 and we were instructed to be cooperative with the staff. Grreeeaaaat.

I had a feeling things were about the go haywire so I suggested to Joe that we run and grab lunch ASAP. We did just that and returned to our pool chairs to chow down. Within minutes, the staff started clearing the upper decks (where a lot of pool seating is located). Everyone had to get up, the chairs were packed up, etc. We also began hearing that the other pools were completely evacuated and the places we had just gotten lunch from were closed. Somehow we had managed to select some of the only seats that day that weren't forced to move. Thank goodness!

In the end, of course, the coast guard was even later then expected so our "at sea" day was really interrupted. Most people weren't allowed to return to the pools or chairs until around 3:30. But, the little rescue effort was quite impressive to watch. The helicopter hovered over the ship, while we were still moving, and dropped the basket down to pick up the passenger. It seemed like the blades were so close to hitting the boat. They made it look so easy.

After things go back to normal we spent a little more time by the pool and got cleaned up for our "last supper." After dinner, we enjoyed a show put on by two of the comics we saw previously on the ship. Then, we switched locations for what was listed as a Family Feud style game. We had just planned to go and watch, but the turn out wasn't terrific and we were convinced to become a team. Well, turns out, Joe and I were quite good at it and won 1st place and a bottle of champagne. Woo hoo! Since we had to stay awake and polish off our prize, we went to the final show which was staff member's hidden talents. Finally, it was time to go to sleep.

Day 8 - Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

We awoke to the lovely (ha) sounds the the ship docking in Florida. *sigh* Vacation was coming to a close. We had to pack our suitcases the night before so we hadn't held much behind for getting ready. Needless to say, it didn't take long to head out of our room. At this point, we were both quite sick of seeing food but we managed to find room for one more breakfast buffet.

We signed up for one of the latest times to get off the boat since our flight wasn't until the afternoon. This being, 9:30am. Disembarking and customs were a sintch and it wasn't long before we were in line for a taxi to the airport. The couple in front of us in line offered to share a taxi which was an offer we couldn't refuse. Still, we ended up at the airport four hours before our flight.

And so, that's what we did for the rest of the day: hung out in the airport. At 2:30, we flew back to Baltimore and were glad to survive the windy and shaky landing. 55 degree temperatures welcomed us home.

Overall, I think this trip did improve my opinion of cruises. It was nice to be so well fed and always have a lot of options for things to do at night. The crowds and lines weren't too too bad, although I still prefer vacations where I can be around fewer people and don't have to worry about claiming my chair by the pool/beach/etc. We had a great time! Check it out for yourself:

Eastern Caribbean - Roundtrip Ft. Lauderdale 7 Days

The End!

Vacation Recap - Day 5 & 6

2010-05-13T16:20:00.003-04:00

Day 5 - St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

Shortly after leaving St. Maarten, we cruised to St. Thomas. Both Joe and I had been to this island previously so we decided on an excursion that would take us to the island of St. John. There was a little confusion after getting off the ship. Usually when you do excursions you are given a time and place to meet your group and then you proceed to that location and look for someone holding up the name or number of your trip. Welllll, for some reason, that whole holding up numbers concept wasn't very good in St. Thomas. Eventually, though, we figured out where to go and waited for the ferry that would take us to St. Thomas.

It was about a 60 minute scenic ferry ride to St. John - the water is so blue, the land so mountainous, the weather so beautiful. We then taxied to Trunk Bay which was once voted one of the top 10 beaches in the world. It was great! 75% of St. John is owned by the national park service and therefore remains preserved and uncommercialized.

Our excursion was actually a snorkel trip despite my hesitation. Joe was quite the trooper sitting by the pool and on beaches the entire trip so I thought it would be nice to do an activity for him. Well, the park service actually set up a snorkel tour at this location. Just like going to the zoo, there were plaques underwater to describe what you were seeing. Very cool!

This was the second formal night so once we got back to the ship, we cleaned up and spiffied up for a fancy dinner. Joe had lobster and shrimp and I had beef wellington. It was very yum. After, we saw a comedy/magic show which was interesting to say the least. Following that, we went to see a game show based on the Newlywed Show except they used a couple married that day, a couple married 7 years, and a couple married 25 years. It was one of our favorite days of the trip.

Day 6 - Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos

So Grand Turk...this port is owned and maintained by the cruiseline and therefore it was very similar to the experience we had on our Bahamas day. Excursions were available but not necessary because the beach is right next to where the boat docks. There were also pools right next to Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. It was a little resort.

It was a very hot day and we sought refuge under some palm trees. It was a relaxing day in and out of the water. That's what I look for in a vacation.

We ate dinner in the dining room again. I can't quite recall what we ate but I think I had sea bass and Joe had some sort of beef. I do remember that I had some excellent cheesecake for dessert. I wish I could have boxed up tons of that to bring home! We saw some traditional cruise entertainment that night - a tribute to pop stars. Well, I didn't quite agree with their idea of pop star but it was something to do. Afterwards, we caught The Blind Side on the tv in our room.

Vacation Recap - Day 3 & 4

2010-05-12T13:19:00.004-04:00

Day 3 - At Sea

On Tuesday, we spent the day on the boat as we cruised from the Bahamas down to St. Maarten. Despite being on a moving ship, the weather was great. In the early morning hours we scouted out seats at the back of the ship near the "adults only" pool. And by scouted out, I really do mean went and sat in the seats...we did NOT threw our stuff on the chairs and go back to bed for 3 hours. Grrrr, big pet peeve.

I guess you must feel more of the boat's motion on the back of the boat because the little square pool was more like a wave pool. The water would shift side to side. We got our lunch from the pizza bar and ate it on our beach chairs.

This was the first of two formal nights so after a day at the pool we got all dolled up for dinner. We made reservations for a late 8:15 meal so we had to occupy ourselves beforehand. There was a big display of champagne glasses being erected in the piazza of the ship so we watched that for a while. Once it was finished they poured champagne creating a waterfall effect (only after the top glasses fell off and shattered...funny stuff).

The thing about dinner that really sticks out in my mind is how full I felt before and during consuming it. Miserably full. But, because I had gotten all dressed up, I really made a good effort to finish things. After dinner, we changed and attended another comedy show.

Day 4 - St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles

...and then we arrived at St. Maarten. We signed up for an excursion called the French Riviera Rendezvous. That is, they were taking us to the French side of the island to Orient Beach and lunch was included. It was very picturesque.

For lunch we dined at a little restaurant just off the beach. We had a choice of ribs, chicken, or mahi mahi. I had chicken and Joe had the fish. Neither of us were very wowed with the food. Maybe we just missed our buffet.

The sand was nice and white. There were waves. Oh, and most importantly, it was legal to be perfectly nude and one end of the beach. Those crazy French! Unfortunately, we did not head that way to catch a glimpse of the birthday suits.

Since we had a long day at the beach, that night we opted for the buffet instead of the four-course meal. It turned out to be German night at the buffet so you can guess what we had. And guess what...we went to another comedy show on relationships. Can't get enough of that!

Vacation Recap - Day 1 & 2

2010-05-11T09:28:00.004-04:00

Joe and I just returned from a wonderful vacation cruising the Caribbean. 7 nights on the Emerald Princess. Thus begins our vacation recap...

Day 1 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL

We awoke early on Sunday morning to make our way to Baltimore for a 9am flight. The parking lot and lines at the airport were a lot more crowded than I was used to but we had allowed ourselves enough time. We checked in, grabbed some breakfast, and boarded our plane for Florida.

We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale around 11:30 and took a taxi to Port Everglades. Embarkation, they call it. When you get there, they take your luggage and you trust it'll eventually show up at your room on the boat. We went through security, waited in some lines, got our picture taken, and eventually we were on the boat. After finding our room, can you imagine what we decided to do next? Eat, of course! Buffet...buffet...buffet...where are you?

Oh, but we soon found out you can eat but drinking will cost you. Not just drinking alcohol, but even drinking soda and coffee. You could either buy each small glass of soda at $2.50 a pop or sign up for a $30 all you can drink plan. $60 later, we were set to go. Phew. A definite downfall of this cruiseline. Can't they just wrap drink costs into the total cost?

The rest of the afternoon we checked out the boat and settled into our room. Eventually our suitcases showed up and we changed for...you guessed it...another meal! But first, they were showing Michael Jackson's This is It in one of the lounges and since Netflix has had us on a wait to see that movie for months and months, it was about darn time we finally could!

You'd be quite impressed to know how adventurous I was with my eating. For dinner, I ordered Barramundi (an Australian fish) and it was very delicious! Joe probably had beef.

Day 2 - Princess Cays, Bahamas

It didn't take very long to arrive at our first destination. The Princess Cays is a private island owned by the cruiseline. Therefore, it's not really necessary to sign up for any excursions because everything you need is right there. The ship anchored offshore and we had to tender into the island (sophisticated looking life boats, essentially).

There was a very large beach with plenty of chairs. We set up camp for the day. The beach was a little rocky near the shore so I decided I'd rather float and we rented a raft for the day. It was lovely. The water here was definitely the coldest of all the destinations and took some getting used to.
For lunch, there was a BBQ buffet with some huuuge hotdogs. We chowed down. Fresh fruit was plentiful. My least favorite part was waiting in long lines to take a tender boat back to the big boat but we survived.
This day we decided to do an earlier dinner. This meant, we'd get to see the pretty sunset off the back of the boat. Also, I think it was this night that we saw a comedian (Kevin Hughes) who specialized in relationship humor.

More to come...

Lasik

2010-04-17T11:27:00.002-04:00

This week Joe and I had consultations for laser eye surgery to see if we were candidates. Joe has had two previous consultations - once when he was a teen, and once in his early twenties. What can I say, it appears the boy was anxious! But, the earliest doctors will perform this surgery is when you are 21 and even then your eyes may be changing and it is still not recommended. So this year, when we found our we had a decent tax refund coming our way, it seemed like there was no time like to present to find out if Lasik was in our future.

I am nearsighted and got glasses when I was around 14 years old. While my case isn't severe, at this point, without glasses, the world more than a couple feet in front of me is a blur. I've always wanted to ditch the contacts and see the clock at night, amongst other things.

Joe has astigmatism in one eye. From what I gauge from the doctors, his case is pretty severe. He had glasses from as far back as he can remember. Now, he also wears contacts although he definitely detests them more than I.

So, what did we learn from the consultations?

We're both good candidates
It's more expensive than I thought - about $2200 per eye, after insurance.
I have huge pupils. Joe's are large as well, but mine take the prize.
We both have healthy, thick corneas.
On a moisture scale from 1-30, I scored a 20 and Joe scored a 10. For as much crying as a do, Joe was surprised I wasn't off the charts.
Joe has a scar in his eye with no known origin.

Since our appointment, we've thought about it a lot. There are some scary risks, but the doctor we saw has a great track record. Plus, if the surgery isn't successful, they will correct it free of charge. He has only had to do this with 3% of all his cases. He has been performing the surgery since 1999. The whole idea of getting a nasty infection or going blind happens in less than 1% of cases (none for this doctor). We can expect to have dry eyes for a couple months afterwards, but this will clear up in time.

In true form, anxious Joe will likely be having surgery in June. He will only have to get one eye corrected. I, on the other hand, plan to wait another year. Although I'm 26 and my eyes should have finished developing by this point, my contact prescription has changed after each of my last three eye appointments. I wanted to make sure my eyes are absolutely done changing before I jump into this. It's a pricey investment and I don't need things heading downhill after surgery.

We will keep you posted!

Credit: TLC Vision

SATC in NYC

2010-04-04T15:33:00.015-04:00

For my birthday, my mom gave me a gift certificate for the Sex and the City sites tour in New York City. Once we heard the weather was going to be nice, we cashed it in. The three hour tour took us past real locations used when filming the HBO series as well as the movie. And yes, I realize I have a wonderful husband who didn't hesitate to accompany me on this adventure. He loves the girls too, don't let him fool you.

Rather than just posting all my pictures, I tried to track down some video clips as points of reference. Here's some of what we saw.

Carrie tells Miranda she has a crush on Aidan over cupcakes...

In the show, Steve and Aidan open up a bar named "Scout." We visited Scout, which is actually called O'Neail's. (skip ahead to 2:11 in the video below)

And, of course, we went inside for a Cosmo.

In Sex and the City the movie, Carrie and Mr. Big have their rehearsal dinner at a restaurant called Buddakan. Here is a clip from that part of the movie.

In the clip, you can see the sign for the restaurant behind Samantha's head.

When Miranda tells Big that "marriage ruins everything" they are both standing by these doors.

And this was the beautiful table used for the rehearsal dinner.

We also visited the Pleasure Chest where Charlotte buys "the rabbit."

Miranda's gym...
Samantha's street in the meat packing district...
Etc., etc., etc.

But, when all is said and down, there is no place like home. Phew, NYC was crazy! On the other hand, I can't wait until the next movie comes out this summer! eeee!

March Deals & Steals

2010-03-30T20:19:00.006-04:00

GAP Give & Get promotion - LOVE it! I was very excited to get this email this month. I immediately starting thinking about when I could make it to the outlets. 30% off everything with 5% of the purchase going to a charity of your choice. Joe and I stocked up on some spring essentials for very good prices.
Original price $298. Outlet price $149. 20% off = $119. Heck yea!

Taste of home cookbooks, original price $24.99 each. On sale for $5 each. Free shipping.

Two new LG Cosmos cell phones - free! And despite Verizon's best attempts to force us into a data plan, we won. Our phone bill will actually be $10 cheaper this year.

Spring Cleaning

2010-03-28T15:25:00.004-04:00

March in Maryland...warm one day, cold the next. The trees are blooming, though, so it is definitely spring. The Guidos have been cleaning up around the house a bit. We've done a little bit each weekend as to not be overwhelmed. Some may call it spring cleaning, I just think it's a nice opportunity to purge. It only takes a quick glance at shows like "Hoarders" on A&E or "Hording: Buried Alive" on TLC to make you pick up your Swiffer and start filling trash bags.

Credit: TLC

That's enough to make anyone queezy. So what have we been up to? Well, as part of our normal routine, each weekend we like to tackle a bit of vacuuming, bathroom wipe downs, and the kitchen surfaces. But, here's what we've done that's a bit more rare and a part of our spring cleaning:

1. Dumped out all my clothing drawers, removed anything I hadn't worn in a while or didn't fit for donation, and neatly placed back everything that was still good. Similarly, I went through my closet and pulled out anything I don't wear anymore. I packed up two trash bags for donations. I'm still bugging Joe to do the same.

2. Went through all the paper work we've been acquiring of the years - old bank and investment statements, receipts, insurance statements, etc. and PURGED! I'd say 75% of it ended up shredded and in the trash.

Credit: Costco

3. On a different note, well past the time of our builder doing any more work on our place, the condo is still settling. Which means, things that were once perfect are no longer. Specifically, all the molding around the stairs (and boy do we have a lot of stairs) was coming away from the wall. Example:

Credit: greenspirationhome.com

In some places this was just a tiny crack, in others I could stick a pencil in the crack between the molding and the wall. So, being the handy woman that I am (ha!), I got out some spackle and went to town. Success!
We also cleaned all the molding from the 1st to 4th floor - want a clean house? Don't have a black cat...

4. Similarly, I got out touch up paint and went after all the scuffs on the walls, specifically in the stairwells.

5. Found the hose a home. Silly, I know, but it has made a big difference in our garage.

Credit: Walmart

And now I'm on my way downstairs to pull the appliances away from the wall and vacuum behind them. I also want to make sure the dryer vent is clean and change the filter for the furnace.

This post written in hopes of inspiring others to throw some sh*t away!

Love is in the air

2010-03-21T12:51:00.006-04:00

Yesterday was the first day of spring, we haven't had the heat on for about a week, and today the windows are open. A change in seasons is upon us and that can only mean one thing...wedding season is just around the corner! Well, at least that's what it seems to mean when you are in your 20s...

Congratulations to Liz and Matt! They got engaged on Valentine's day this year and are planning an October wedding.

Their Wedding Website

Joe and I were asked to be in the wedding (the first time we'll get to be attendants together) which we are excited about. Liz has already selected her dress and her bridesmaid dresses. The dress I'll be wearing looks like this...

Credit: David's Bridal

...also with a champagne sash and "peek-a-boo" skirt. There were also two other styles of dresses that Liz selected so everyone had their choice of either of the three.

Credit: David's Bridal

So, just wanted to share a little tid bit of what has been going on with the fam. A tiny part of me may miss wedding planning a little but it's just as fun to be a part of another person's big day without having to make any decisions!

Away we go

2010-03-10T10:24:00.006-05:00

I'm very excited to report that we've booked our next vacation. It's a 7 day cruise of the eastern Caribbean. Joe is a veteran cruiser but I've only been on one other cruise. It was a nice way to be able to hit a bunch of different islands and came out to be cheaper than most vacations we'd been pricing out.
We are starting off in Ft. Lauderdale and visiting the Bahamas, St. Martin, St. Thomas, and Turks & Caicos. I can't wait to see all the beautiful islands and enjoy the clear water.

This is a picture of St. Thomas when we cruised there in 2006:

We're choosing to go in May before wedding season swings into gear this year. Also, I have a lot of classes scheduled at work and we had to pick a time in between those. I can't wait to get away!

February Deals & Steals

2010-02-26T14:31:00.004-05:00

Unless I win the lottery or a car in the near future, I can pretty confidently say this February steal will top the list of deals for the Guidos in 2010. It all started when Joe and I were frustrated about our inactivity levels over the last year or so. Post wedding, we stopped working out regularly and started sitting around a ton. Sick of spending $50 each a month to go to a gym, we prepared to buy a piece of fitness equipment.

For months we researched the best brands and prices and waited for the deal of the century to come our way. Sadly, prices never dropped. So, last Monday we ordered an elliptical from Amazon for $699. I was ok with that - I had to get my butt in gear. But, on Tuesday, I overhear my coworker Helen talking about selling her elliptical before she moves to a new apartment. Not only that, it was the same brand that Joe and I had just purchased. I just about fell out of my chair! How did I miss this opportunity by one day?

Lucky for us, Amazon had not processed our order and I got into our account just in time to cancel it. And get this, Helen only wanted $100 and the elliptical was in great shape. Wow! $100 really did feel like we were stealing it from her, so we threw in a $50 tip and probably owe her a few drinks in the near future. Thanks Helen!

And, also a noteable purchase this month: Skis, boots, and poles for both of us! When rentals for one day of skiing can cost you $60 + a big headache dealing with the chaos, Joe and I have always wanted to own our own equipment. That kind of commitment would normally come with a huge pricetag...one that makes $60 a trip not really seem so bad. Thousands of dollars, likely. But, thanks to the Baltimore Ski Warehouse (and Jill for finding their website) we scored everything we needed for both of us for $500. Yes, it's used, but we're hoping it holds up for our three trips, or so, a year.

I love a good deal!

Won't you be my follower?

2010-02-24T09:12:00.003-05:00

47 posts later....I still only have 5 followers. Pretty please?

Scroll down to this little area on the right hand side of the blog.

And thanks to the five of you who care!

Joe's Birthday

2010-02-18T16:16:00.003-05:00

My wonderful husband turned 27 today. I think he may have a couple of gray hairs already...haha. We are celebrating by going out to dinner tonight and going skiing tomorrow. I plan to make him a cake this weekend. This is all the loot I got him:

Except it was black with a beige stripe (credit: Banana Republic)
(Credit: Amazon)

(Credit: Amazon)

(Credit: Kohls)

(Credit: Target)

The photo credits aren't necessarily where I purchased these items so don't get a 'tude about it, Joe. Happy Birthday Joey G!

Happy Valentines Day!

2010-02-14T16:13:00.003-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

For Vday this year, I made the hubz a cookie cake. Isn't it cute? Joe made me a cute little basket of stuff including candles, goldfish, snickers, The Time Traveler's Wife dvd, a lil stuffed bear, and some roses that play music (and drive the cat nuts). We are so crafty! Tonight we are going out to dinner at Ruth Chris with some friends of ours. I've never been before so this will be a first!

And, can you believe it has been 4 years since we got engaged? Time flies. Love ya!

DIY Art Project

2010-02-13T20:23:00.003-05:00

On day 9 of my 11 day weekend (thank you, snow), I decided I needed a little craft project to keep myself busy. Did you know there is now longer a cross stitch section in Michaels? I'm appalled! That is always my go-to, easy, time consuming project. So, scratch that. Then, I moved on to the scrapbook section (a.k.a. the entire store) in hopes of finding cute paper I could frame for my computer room/office. Another no-fail, easy project. Well, do you think they had ANY yellow patterned paper? Yellow being a primary color and all... No! Of course they didn't. Aisles and aisle of paper but I guess nobody likes the color yellow anymore. I was running out of ideas fast.

In the end, I walked out of the craft store with two blank canvases ($7.99), yellow paint ($.99), and a set of paint brushes ($3.99). Since easy was no longer an option, I was going to paint some purty pictures myself. Unfortunately, I can't paint/draw/etc. So, I turned to Google in hopes someone could help me through this dilemma. I came across this oh so helpful blog with a set of instructions on making a stencil out of painter's tape: All Things Thrifty.

Basically, I was able to follow all her instructions except I didn't have a pattern to trace. So, drawing on inspiration from a pillow I have in this room already, I created my own pattern using the Paint application on my computer. And this is my Do It Yourself Project big reveal:

It was definitely a learning experience. Painting over a painter's tape stencil is not as easy as it sounds - paint bleeds underneath or globs. A lot of touch up work was required. I would absolutely recommend "cutting in" around the stencils rather than quickly going over them with a brush. It's worth the extra time.

The room is still a work in progress, but I'm happy to finally have some yellow and white art!

Cabin Fever

2010-02-09T15:20:00.006-05:00

26 inches of snow. 2 days off work (so far). 10-20 more inches of snow expected anytime now. This winter season has been truly crazy. Prior to just recently, in the four years I have been working at Census, I've only gotten one day off work for snow. This year, we've gotten 3 days off so far.
Now I say we have cabin fever, but we have gotten out a little bit. So, without many options given the conditions, we've been stimulating the economy and stuffing our faces. We've stocked up on some ski gear for colder conditions since we weren't quite prepared for our 10 degree trip last weekend. We also picked up some home decor and books. Anything to get out of the house for a bit.

Don't misunderstand, I still love the snow and wish we got this much of it every year. And, it's provided a great little sabbatical from work. But, if I don't go back to work soon, I may weigh 20 more pounds and have a much lighter wallet.

January Deals & Steals

2010-01-30T18:45:00.003-05:00

With the holiday season coming to a close and being away on travel for two weeks, I wasn't on my A-game for deal hunting. But, I did make a couple notable purchases...

1. Vera Bradley Super Tote, $30.60. Originally $85! Sure, it's a pattern they are retiring but I couldn't pass up this deal after getting so much use out of my very similar "Miller Bag" (great airplane carry on) I couldn't resist.

2. Overnight stay at Seven Springs Mountain Resort plus lift tickets for two, $159. Being that the lift tickets were good for the night we got there until 7pm the next day, it was a deal not to be missed. Two lift tickets just for a day session would have cost us $90. Not to mention, I just went back to their website to check what a typical weeknight would cost you and it was showing $200. It's so nice to be able to pick up and do things like this at the drop of a hat.

Kathy G!

2010-01-24T15:45:00.003-05:00

This past Friday we saw Kathy Griffin live at DAR Constitution Hall in D.C. Boy is she hilarious! By the end we were sitting there straight faced because our mouths hurt from smiling and laughing so much.

Previous to this, I just finished reading her book Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin which I really enjoyed. Now I have plans to Netflix her D-List reality TV show that I've only caught a few episodes of here and there. She cracks me up!

Dinner at our house - Ben's Broccoli Cheese Pasta

2010-01-19T21:11:00.005-05:00

Let me introduce you to a little friend of mine...

It's a really handy little book. Do real people actual cook dinners using more than 6 ingredients? I guess they do, but quite frankly, I'm not interested. I spend enough time in the grocery store as is. Well, this week we jumped back into this book and cooked a couple dinners worth sharing. How about some pasta? Well, we tried...

Ben's Broccoli Cheese Pasta

8 ounces thin spaghetti (we used whole wheat)
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 can Broccoli Cheese soup (we used Campbell's 98% fat free)
1/2 cup milk (we used skim)
3 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese (we used a sprinkle of fat free mozz)

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and return to pot. Meanwhile, melt butter in small saucepan. Add onion and saute until soft. Add soup; stir in milk until blended. Cook over low heat until heated through. Pour over pasta; toss to mix. Place on serving platter (um, no.) and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

It also suggests adding chicken as a variation. I think next time I might add in some cooked broccoli for more veggies. It was a yummy change to our typical spaghetti nights and we hope we kept it healthy. Let me know if you try it out!

We also made a quiche for the first time this week. It was an adventure.

Blogging from my couch

2010-01-18T16:35:00.002-05:00

How cute is my new netbook? Joe got me a much overdue Christmas present...that is, my last laptop was purchased before I went to college and was practically an antique. Now I have this itty bitty netbook so I can connect to the www from the comfort of my couch.

Another reason he got it for me was because I was going away for work for two weeks and it was going to be much nicer to be able to get online from my hotel room. Thus why I haven't blogged in a while, though. I'm finally back on my own turf and have time to update everyone.

For work, we were conducting four separate trainings across the country for our survey. My roll was that of a presenter and just general helper. Two of the trainings were conducted in Atlanta, GA and the other two were in San Antonio, TX and Tucson, AZ. It was a total of eight plane flights and overall just a lot of hours. Plus, too many nights in hotel rooms. As a result, I've gotten the first cold I've had in a long time. But, I'm glad to be home. I don't know how people travel like that as a part of their job. I guess you would get use to it but it definitely took a toll on me.

We didn't get much time to sight see during the trips, but I did get out a little.

Coca Cola Factory - Atlanta, GA

The Alamo - San Antonio, TX

Tucson, AZ

Now, it's back to reality.

Well hello there, 2010.

2010-01-03T16:45:00.005-05:00

It's a new year, how about that? I think my current job has kind of jaded me from getting excited about a new year because we start preparing our survey for the next year at least six months ahead of time. So, that means I've already said "twenty-ten" a gazillion times and now that it is finally here I can say "Phew, ok, onto 2011."

We had a nice and chill New Years Eve with friends, just the way I like it.

No new year's resolution for me this year. I have big dreams of losing my post-wedding ten (probably more like fifteen) and exercising more but I'm more interested in making better choices instead of unrealistic goals. We are hoping there will be some exercise equipment deals so we can add an elliptical to our home. As usual, we are holding out for the right price.

Anyway, this weekend we were excited to see Elon play basketball at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. The last couple of years the team has played a school in Maryland which is great for us. It's exciting to see alumni come together, even states away, and cheer for the guys. They lost, of course, but we had a good time.

Go Elon!

Tomorrow I leave for two weeks of travel for work. I'll be in Atlanta, San Antonio, and Tucson. I wish I could say I was excited to go, but honestly I can't wait for it to be over. Hopefully there will be time for a little sightseeing amongst all the work. See you when I get back....

December Deals & Steals

2009-12-29T16:52:00.004-05:00

Like for most people, December is a jam-packed month of buying. And, I must admit, I'm not the best holiday deal hunter. I hate black Friday and you won't see me bum rushing a store on the day after Christmas either. Normally, I don't leave myself enough time to buy gifts and mass purchase things on Amazon instead. This post also won't be as robust as it could be since I don't want to give away what I spent on everyone's gifts. So, here it goes....

1. Wii Sports Resort, $29. Original price, $50. The deals website we frequent posted about a random decrease in price for this game on Amazon. It was down to $40. As a past incentive for pre-ordering a different game, Joe also had a $10 code for any Wii game. End result, a $20 savings. Pretty good for a video game. Free shipping, of course.

2. Spider-Man 3 (Blu-ray), Wedding Crashers (Blu-ray), The Gladiator (Blu-ray), and Knocked Up. 4 DVDs, 3 of them blu-rays, $36. This was an Amazon black friday deal. I just went back on the website to add up with the same dvds cost today - $71. That's a savings of $35.

3. Wrap dress from Banana Republic, $37 thanks to a sale price, $10 off reward certificate and $15 off birthday certificate.

4. Two large jar Yankee Candles at $10 each thanks to Bed, Bath & Beyond 50% off sale plus a coupon for an additional 20% off our entire order. That's a savings of $30.

5. $34 of Christmas decorations for $17. This includes 3 boxes of glass ornaments and 2 mini Christmas trees. This is what happens when you end up in Target on the day after Christmas.

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas!

The Blizzard of 2009

2009-12-21T14:51:00.007-05:00

On Saturday, December 19th I awoke to a foot of snow already on the ground. By the time I went to sleep that night it had snowed almost another foot. On the 20th I measured about 21 inches of snow. Crazy! It has been a really long time since I've seen so much white stuff.

If you haven't figured it out by now, I love snow. Joe and I were watching the news the other night - the big story, of course, being how much snow we were getting - and they were interviewing people in the area. Well, one interviewee appeared on the screen with the caption under her name being "snow enthusiast" as she expressed her joy for the current weather situation. Joe immediately said, "That's what you are. A snow enthusiast!" Well, I completely agree.

We've played in the snow, dug Joe's car out using dustpans (you see, we thought there was no need to own a shovel because we pay our homeowners associations to take care of that kind of stuff...well all normalcy went out the window when 2 feet of snow fell from the sky), and just enjoyed watching everyone outside, slipping and sliding around on foot and in their cars. Today (Monday) we even got off work! How can you not love snow?

Tequila...I love it!

2009-12-18T16:21:00.007-05:00

We recently returned from a little vacation in Mexico. Last weekend we were in bathing suits by the pool and this weekend we are waiting for the predicted 10-20 inch snowfall. Crazy! We traveled Thursday through Monday so we spent about three and a half days in Mexico. We stayed at the Iberostar Tucan in Playa del Carmen which is about an hour south of Cancun. Our favorite travel buddies, Jill and Adam, were along for the ride as well. It was a vacation all about sun, relaxing, and drinking and eating until we burst. I believe those are essential parts of a great getaway!

The pool was our favorite place to be. Especially with a drink in hand....

At night, we enjoyed having dinner together and catching the show at the resort.

We really had a great time. The weather was beautiful and overall it was just a much needed break. You can view all of my pictures here.

Which brings me to our travel year in review (2009):

January - Nevada & Arizona to visit Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon
February - Deep Creek Lake in Western Maryland for skiing
April - Italy. We visited Venice, Florence, and Rome.
July - Williamsburg, VA for a little Water Country USA action
September - Kill Devil Hills, NC. Our anniversary at the OBX
October - Elon, NC for homecoming
December - Playa del Carmen, Mexico for some fun in the sun

Not too shabby! Here's to more of the same in 2010!

Happy Birthday to Me

2009-12-17T10:49:00.006-05:00

Since my last post, I've turned 26 and gone to Mexico. It has been a nice couple weeks. I haven't been able to blog so now I'm playing a little catch up.

For the big 2-6, I celebrated with my wbffs at the Melting Pot in Annapolis. We indulged in tons of yummy fondue (spinach/artichoke cheese and smores chocolate are still my favs!). This was the Saturday before my bday. A highlight of the evening was that my friend Jill requested a 3 burner table so we were able to get a lot more pots to dip in. The restaurant was not very crowded because it was a snowy day and people were staying indoors.

My actual birthday day was just another day at work but Joe and I went out to Public House at the National Harbor afterward. It was a very lovely evening. Joey showered me with wonderful gifts.

Also worth noting is the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert we attended the day after my birthday. Joe and I are both fans of their Christmas music so when I saw they were coming to D.C. around my birthday, I snagged some tickets. Overall, we enjoyed ourselves. It was a 3 hour concert but the middle hour we could have done without. Instead of the excitement of all their usual instruments, much of this hour was solo singers and low energy music. I was tuckering out, especially since the concert started 30 minutes late, but the third hour redeemed them as they switched back to what we came to hear.

What is the Trans-Siberian orchestra? You've probably heard them.....

Dinner at Our House - Chicken and Basil Calzones

2009-12-02T08:48:00.005-05:00

We actually had this meal last week but I still wanted to share. It is good for you but it felt like we were indulging in something bad - a true sign of a good recipe! We definitely plan to make this again. It is from Cooking Light. And speaking of Cooking Light, I recently scored a year's subscription to their magazine for $5.

Ingredients

Cooking spray
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound ground chicken breast
3/4 cup prepared pizza sauce
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 (13.8-ounce) can refrigerated pizza crust dough
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425°.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add garlic and chicken to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink, stirring to crumble. Stir in pizza sauce and pepper. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in basil. Let stand 10 minutes.

3. Unroll dough onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; cut dough into quarters. Pat each portion into an 8 x 6–inch rectangle. Divide chicken mixture evenly among rectangles; top each serving with 2 tablespoons cheese. Working with one rectangle at a time, fold dough in half over filling, pinching edges to seal. Repeat procedure with remaining rectangles. Bake at 425° for 12 minutes or until golden.

The recipe makes 4 calzones so it was 2 meals for us.

Credit: Cooking Light

Thumbs up for Thanksgiving

2009-11-29T15:53:00.009-05:00

Just a quick update on this weekend's holiday festivities. On Thanksgiving day, we went to the Guido's house for a traditional Thanksgiving feast. And on Friday, we headed to Delaware to do it all over again. We had tons of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, dumplings, sweet potatoes, rolls, etc. Not to mention, the yummy desserts. We also found time to decorate our house AND my mom's house for Christmas. Phew!

We are getting in the holiday spirit around here...

And in other news, we were happy to learn that my brother will be home from Afghanistan very soon. That is something to be thankful for!

Ode to Cranberry Sauce

2009-11-25T19:37:00.002-05:00

Oh cranberry sauce, how I love thee. Your color, so rich. Your ridges, so smooth. Your taste, so divine. How did I make it all year without you?

Countdown to the canned goodness: T-minus 18 hours. And to all you can-cranberry-haters out there, I hate you! Haha, ok, just kidding, but keep your comments to yourself.

Happy Thanksgiving!

November Deals & Steals

2009-11-24T16:23:00.006-05:00

The month of November was good to us. We scored some really good buys.

1. Barstools! Originally $260 + $60 shipping + $18 tax ($338 total). After holding out for months for free shipping, plus an additional 25% off, I scored 2 for $200 total. I danced around the house with joy. They are so perfect! Target.com.

2. Jacket! I have a lot of love for Old Navy this season. I got this $69.50 coat for $25.78. How? I ordered it during Old Navy's 50% off outwear sale while they were also running an extra 30% off card holder's event.

3. The Sims 3! Originally $50, but we got it for $30.

4. Clothes, clothes, clothes. Our favorite company and my former employer, Gap, Inc., had a fabulous Give & Get weekend this month where they offered an extra 30% off (plus a 5% throwback to the charity of your choice). Joe and I took our coupon to the outlets where it stretched the furthest. Excuse my extreme dorkiness, but I actually snapped pictures of what we bought. When it was all said and done, we averaged about $11 an item, spending only about $165 for everything you see below.

Laura's finds above, Joe's finds below.

Dinner at our House - Tuna Cakes

2009-11-17T19:46:00.002-05:00

We just got done dinner tonight and I had to jump on the blog to share. This is a cheap, quick, healthy meal that is sure to please many. This recipe is from Kraft (thus all the Kraft ingredients).

2 cans (6 oz. each) light tuna in water, drained, flaked

1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken

1 cup KRAFT Shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese

3/4 cup water

1 carrot, shredded

1/3 cup KRAFT Real Mayo Mayonnaise

2 Tbsp. CLAUSSEN Sweet Pickle Relish

MIX all ingredients. Refrigerate 10 min.
HEAT large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium heat. Use ice cream scoop to add 1/3-cup portions of tuna mixture, in batches, to skillet.
FLATTEN into patties with back of spatula. Cook 6 min. or until golden brown on both sides, carefully turning patties over after 3 min.

Our tips - We used non-fat cheese and reduced fat mayo to cut down on the fat and calories. I hate relish, so we didn't add that in. I used my hands, not an ice cream scoop, to make sure they wouldn't crumble apart in the pan. We also halfed the recipe which resulted in about 3 1/2 cakes. It's no crab cake, but it was pretty yummy.

credit: kraftfoods.com

An early birthday present

2009-11-14T19:07:00.008-05:00

So it may have taken us the better part of a day, but we are proud to say that we have successfully installed a new pendant chandelier over our dining room table. Yay! With no handy man experience, we have little knowledge to draw upon with attempting these minor home improvement fetes. As a result, project days at the Guido household are not very pleasant times - there's a little cussing and a little fussing, but eventually we tackle the challenges.

We haven't been in love with some of the builder grade features that came with our condo. Exhibit A: blah, silver, (dusty), apartmenty chandelier.

As with a lot of what's in our house, it takes me a while to find things I like at the right price. I recently came across a lovely pendant light on overstock.com (one of my fav online places to shop). You cannot beat their quality and shipping prices. See Ventura Large Round Chandelier.

And viola...
You love it, right? So far, nothing has caught on fire so we are still pleased. Keep your fingers crossed - it is the first time we have attempted any electrical work.

Organic never looked so good

2009-11-07T11:44:00.004-05:00

Joe and I watched this movie last night - wow! "You'll never look at dinner the same way" is an understatement. While the key players in the food industry work on creating their monopoly, the quality of the food we eat is drastically plummeting and most people have no idea. This movie is designed to scare the crap out of you. It worked on me. I highly recommend you check it out - inform yourself - know what you are putting in your mouth.

October Deals & Steals

2009-10-31T15:41:00.008-04:00

Happy Halloween! Tonight we are giving out candy to the trick-or-treaters but otherwise, we don't have anything special planned. Anyway, I thought I'd share some of the "deals & steals" I got this month. I must be one of those people that get a high off saving money. I'd say that's probably a good trait as long as I can keep it to things we need. Joe humors this part of my personality and I love him for that. I think I might have even rubbed off a little on him.

1. Yankee Candle BOGO. As I mentioned in a previous post, I stocked up on my fall favorites but at half the cost. I got 2 large jar candles (Pumpkin Spice and Autumn Wreath) for $25. This would have normally cost me $50, had they not been on sale. Sure, you can get no name candles for cheaper than $25 but we all know Yankee has some of the best. Autumn Wreath smells so good!
2. Boot frenzy. I have been feeling the boot trend this season but had been waiting for the right price. So far, I've added 2 pairs to my collection. First, a shorter black slouchy boot from shoebuy.com. They were listed for $36.99 but I got them for $26.63 plus free shipping. There was a one day promotion on the website plus I registered for the first time (well, the first time under this particular email address, haha) scoring an extra 10% off. I have since found the same brand on target.com for $29.99 but you have to spend $50 to get free shipping (they aren't in stores). So, overall I think I did very good!
I also got a taller pair of gray suede boots from oldnavy.com during a 30% off promo. They were originally $34.50 but I got them for $24.15 +tax with free shipping. In the same purchase I also picked up a sweater, scarf, and dress. All four items came out to a total of $68 - not too shabby! Sure, Old Navy is by no means high end but the beauty is, most of you never notice I'm wearing a $25 boot. The jokes on you. And why not when things go in and out of style so fast?
3. I got a pair of skinny crop jeans (perfect for tucking into boots) at the Gap for $5. Yup, $5. I have a Banana Republic credit card and I get rewards for the money I spend. So, I happened to have a $20 off reward with me and found the jeans on the sale rack for $25. They look very similar to the picture below, although these aren't the exact pair. Who can pull off that length? Yuck. I bought them for boots.

4. Restaurant.com is my new best friend. On 9/9/2009 restaurant.com had a 90% off sale. I purchased two $25 gift certificates to two different restaurants for $1 each (it would typically cost $10 each). Last night we used one for the first time and it worked like a charm. We ate dinner at the Chesapeake Grille and Deli (I love me some non-chain food) for $20 + $1 for the gift certificate. Joe got a ribeye steak and I got a crabcake platter. Our bill would have been $45. The beauty of this place is that you don't have to tip because you order when you come in and they only bring you your food. You refill your drinks yourself.
5. Diet Pepsi. The Guidos do not buy soda unless it's on sale. We know a good soda deal when we see one and we will go without before buying it at full price. So, needless to say, when I spotted 12 packs for $2 at Walmart this month, I was in soda buying heaven. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but that's about as good as it gets. Walmart typically sells them for $4.98 each. We usually buy them when the grocery stores offer 4 for $10 deals but most of the time you must buy all 4 to get the $2.50 price. What a steal!

Yeah, so I might be a little nerdy but I just can't help myself. Finding the best price takes some time and patience but it is worth it in the end. Have you gotten any good deals lately?

Elon Homecoming 2009

2009-10-26T19:19:00.006-04:00

As many of you know, this past weekend Joe and I attended Elon's homecoming. Knowing that we didn't have much planned for October, we had scheduled the trip months in advance to motivate us for the drive. Of course, it is always great to be back at our beloved alma mater.

We caught up with some friends, did some exploring, and attended the rainy football game. Although the weather didn't want to cooperate with us, we were determined to enjoy ourselves anyway. I'm very excited at how good Elon is at football this year! The surrounding town and campus have changed so much since 4 years ago. Some parts of Burlington, in particular, are almost unrecognizable. But, the overall charm still remains and we find it hard to leave every time. Will somebody please open a Steak n Shake in Maryland? I will drive many miles to eat there!

Oh, and let's not forget that Elon president Leo Lambert was spotted at the bar. He is so super and looking very fit and trim lately I must say.

But, you can't have a current Leo picture without remembering the good ol' days at his house for Christmas. I had to include this for your viewing pleasure:

Christmas at the Lambert's, 2001.

Unfortunately, I can't go without mentioning the biggest disappointment of our trip, aside from the rain. We decided to try out a Bed and Breakfast that was recommended on Elon's website. I wasn't familiar with it but since the rates were equivalent to the surrounding hotels I thought hey, why not? Needless to say, next time we are sticking with the hotels. You expect a certain amount of noise in a 100 year old house with neighboring guest rooms. Well, lucky for us, a whole group of 40-50 (year old) somethings had rented out all the rooms in the house except for the one we were staying in. Their lack of maturity kept us awake into the wee hours of the morning as they ran up and down the stairs, talked in their outside voices, drank, hoot n hollered, you name it. At 1:00 a.m. the women decided to throw a PAJAMA PARTY! and announce it in the loudest way possible. Well, we complained and ended up checking out a day early because I was not going to stand that for another night. I was very bummed! Not the kind of atmosphere you expect when you go to a B&B. What is the moral of this story? Ask the B&B if there is a group staying with you? I'm just not sure.

Anyway, all I can say is.....

LONG LIVE ELON!

Weekend Update, Columbus Style

2009-10-12T12:01:00.005-04:00

On Friday, we headed up to Glen Burnie to celebrate Liz's (my sister-n-law/Joe's sister) 22nd birthday. Her boyfriend Matt had arranged a surprise party bus outing with friends masked by a handful of us pretending to be there for a family dinner. Long story short, we had dinner at P.F. Changs (this was a first for Joe & I) and were entertained in the party bus the rest of the night.

Saturday I went shopping for house things while Joe attended an Oktoberfest with a bunch of guys from work in Alexandria. I found a mirror to replace the builder grade one in our half bath and we have since put that up - a cheap, easy, upgrade! Joe enjoyed some German brat and pumpkin beer and was quite content not shopping. It was a lovely Saturday.

Sunday was a typical Sunday full of errands and housework (Redskins for Joe) but, since it was a long weekend we were able to fit in an evening outing with the Grundys. We went to Annapolis for some California Pizza Kitchen and to see the movie Couples Retreat. It was quite enjoyable!

And lucky for us, we are off today for Columbus Day. This was quite an eventful weekend for us so I'm in the process of catching up on the laundry and mentally preparing for another "week" at work. I wish the weekends would last forever!

PS - This week Joe's flag football team is in the playoffs and he is pumped.

Dinner at our House - Crispy Breaded Pork Cutlets

2009-10-09T11:11:00.003-04:00

This past week we tried a new dinner. It was an easy way to spice up plain pork chops while still keeping it healthy.

Crispy Breaded Pork Cutlets

1 1/2 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 boneless pork loin chops (6 to 8 ounces each)
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Coarse salt and ground pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss panko with oil. Bake, tossing once, until golden brown, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees.

2. Meanwhile, one at a time, place chops between two large pieces of plastic wrap. Using a meat mallet or the bottom of a small heavy pan, pound to make 1/4-inch-thick cutlets.

3. Dividing evenly, coat pork with mustard; season with salt and pepper. One at a time, dip cutlets into panko, pressing firmly to adhere.

4. Place a rack on a rimmed baking sheet; place pork on rack, and bake, without turning, until opaque throughout, 10 to 15 minutes.

Yum yum!

And speaking of all things pumpkin....

2009-10-04T19:26:00.005-04:00

Did you know you can make a yummy fall treat with just a box of cake mix and a can of pumpkin puree? Well, it's true! I used a box of yellow cake mix, pumpkin, and a couple eggs and viola - deliciousness. Apparently, you can forgo the eggs/oil/etc. to make it healthier but I was a little skeptical and added the eggs for good measure.

We've been eating them as muffins - no frosting needed. Next time, I want to try using spice cake mix instead of yellow. I bet a little cool whip on top would also be good. So, if you're in the mood for a simple little fall treat, you can make these little babies in no time.

Top 5s for Fall

2009-10-02T13:05:00.014-04:00

In light of it being the second day of October, we wanted to share our most anticipated fall favorites with you . And well, Joe and I don't really agree on why fall is awesome.

Laura's Top 5 Fall Favorites

1. Pumpkin candles. I can't get enough of those spicy fall smells. And thanks to a nice little sale going on at Yankee Candle right now, I will have a few burning in my house ASAP.

2. Cool temps. Who doesn't love saving on the electric bill and keeping the windows open? Bye bye sweaty summer.

3. New clothes. I'm on mission stock up on cool weather must haves: cardigans (check), plaid (check), boots (still looking), cute under cardi tops (check), purple tights (no, I'm not nuts), skinny jeans (one day I'll find a pair I like), etc. etc.

Old Navy, Gap

4. Pumpkin bread, spice cake, pumpkin bars, pumpkin muffins, etc. If you are sadly still in the dark and haven't heard, Paula Deen's pumpkin bars are out of this world yummy. There is no denying that the funny looking orange pumpkin is oh so delicious in so many baked goods. But, *gasp* I've heard there's a shortage of canned pumpkin this year and I'm not very happy about it.

5. TV is back. The Biggest Loser, Project Runway, Glee, Grey's Anatomy, Tyra, Oprah. Amen.

Joe's Top 5 Fall Favorites

1. Football.

2. Flag-football.

3. Basketball.
4. Halloween candy.

5. Cheaper golf.

Did you expect any different?

Happy Birthday Midnight

2009-09-27T20:49:00.007-04:00

....we think. Being that he was a stray, we don't know his actual date of birth. The end of September was the adoption agencies best guess. So, that makes Mr. Midnight Evans Guido 5 years old. I can't believe we've had him for almost 5 years. In 2004, we adopted him from the Delmarva Cat Connection that had a booth at a craft fair in Ocean City. I held him and didn't want to let him go. Aww. I'm always asking Joe if we can add to our cat family but really, neither of us wants to clean up after more than one furry friend. So, while I'm probably the perfect candidate to become a crazy cat lady, Midnight remains an only child.

I just asked him to pose for a picture for the blog and this is what I got. He is a ham.

And speaking of animals, last weekend Joe and I visited the National Zoo. Saturday was gorgeous - low 70s and sunny, so we just wanted to be outside. I'm thankful it's free because I don't know if I'd pay any amount of money to be trampled by small children the whole time. But regardless, we had a good time.

We love being famous

2009-09-18T18:12:00.005-04:00

Jealous? Clicky click.

L&J +0 Update

2009-09-17T08:48:00.006-04:00

Joe is on a flag football team at work. I watched a game this past week. He made some good catches and scored a touchdown - yay Joey! But, he also spent a fair amount of time yelling at the refs - a side of Joe most of you have never seen before. I am working to adjust his bad sports attitude.

Last weekend, I went to IKEA. I purchased:

A lantern which is now on our bedroom dresser.

Sticks aka "dried plants." They are in a clear vase beside our TV in the family room.And, a wine rack for Jill.

I also got some plants. Gotta love IKEA. Unfortunately, when I was packing up to leave, a lady pulled in the parking spot in front of my car and bumped it! UGH! She didn't even back her car up before going inside. Thankfully, there wasn't any damage done to my car.

Speaking of cars, this week I got pulled over for the second time in my life. And for the second time, I didn't get a ticket. Phew! I was doing 29 in a 20 in my very own neighborhood. There have apparently been a lot of complaints about speeding. I understand the annoyance with people who fly down neighborhood streets but I don't consider speed under 30 to be that dangerous. To maintain 20mph on most of the roads I have to ride my brakes the whole time because there are hills. 20mph is agonizingly sllllooowwww.

In other news, I had a girls night with some pals last weekend. We met The Captain.

I'm also excited because we recently purchased tickets to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra when they come to D.C. in December. They play rockin' Christmas music and we are music nerds that appreciate it.

Now we've been once - can I put an OBX sticker on my car too?

2009-09-09T07:30:00.006-04:00

Back to reality. This past Saturday ended our week vacation at the Outer Banks. Thankfully, the labor day holiday provided us with extra recovery time before returning to work. How was vacation you ask? Well, I'll gladly fill you in. We....

Went to the beach!

Climbed sand dunes.

Explored.

Mini golfed.

Celebrated our anniversary.

We really loved relaxing and the few moments we got to soak up some sun. We enjoyed meals at the Outer Banks Brewery, Colington Cafe, Barefoot Bernies, and the Kill Devil Grill. On the other nights, we cooked our own meals at the house. This was our first real visit to OBX and I'd say it met our expectations. Joe and I are already discussing where we want to vacation next - if only our leave accumulated a little faster!

Two years and counting

2009-08-28T09:12:00.019-04:00

Since I won't be able to post while on vacation, I'm doing this before I go. Just about (in 3 days) 2 years ago I married an absolutely wonderful man on an absolutely gorgeous day. I couldn't imagine my life without him. It's crazy how fast time passes although I'm still getting use to being a Mrs. and having a new last name...ha.

We loved our wedding day and still don't mind glancing back through the pictures over and over. Won't you share in our joy all over again?

No photo editing here....really, the bluest sky I've ever seen.

Boy band shot!

Here's to hoping year #3 is just as great as the first two! Now, we're off to the beach!

Vacation Countdown

2009-08-24T08:05:00.004-04:00

5 more days until we leave for OBX! That's 4 more working days and it couldn't come soon enough. I have definitely been burning out at work lately. The same ol' same ol', long days, and typical work "problems" have been wearing on me.

Joe and I are taking a little trip to Kill Devil Hills, NC for an anniversary getaway. That's right, we're celebrating 2 years of marriage the right way...at the beach! We're renting this cute little house...

Keep your fingers crossed for lots of sunshine!

Are you serious?

2009-08-20T19:56:00.005-04:00

So I was catching up on my DVR (yup, still love it!) and enjoying fast forwarding through all of the dreaded commercials when something caught my eye. I actually stopped, rewound, and watched...well, I'll show you....

No, the kitty cat is not preparing to go to the moon, he is apparently using a high tech kitty toilet. Wowsa! I really thought the commercial was a joke but after doing a little googling, it was clear that this is indeed for real and called the Litter Robot. There is an original version an even an expanded version for cats with a little more junk in the trunk. And you too can have it for the low low price of $350!!

Now back in the day we owned one of the original automatic litter boxes but it didn't go so well. The thing scared the bejesus out of Midnight everytime it scooped but worse than that, it wasn't covered and he got litter EVERYWHERE. The poor soul that lives in our old apartment now is probably still finding litter behind things. So the Litter Robot, with it's innovated sphere like design, may indeed solve the flying litter problem - but, $350? This cheap girl can't stomach it.

I hope they some day come out with a $500 litter box that's covered, scoops, cleans and finally takes the waste out to the trashcan. That might be worth the investment!

Dinner at our House - Pulled Pork

2009-08-17T19:20:00.005-04:00

We often go grocery shopping without making a list so it's easy to fall back on the old staples when you aren't armed with any new ideas. This weekend, for some reason, I was motivated to look up some new recipes to try and escape the same ol' same ol'. I found a recipe for BBQ pulled pork on sparkrecipes.com. If you've never heard of sparkpeople.com or sparkrecipes.com before you should definitely check them out. They provide a lot of weight loss/healthy living guidance for free. Anyway, this recipe will be appreciated by fellow amateur cooks because it has limited ingredients and it's super easy! You will need....

2 lbs. Pork Tenderloin
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup diet soda
1 cup low-sodium barbecue sauce
Hamburger buns

Put tenderloin in the crock pot. Mix up other ingredients in a bowl and pour over pork. Cook 4-6 hours on high or until tender. Take pork out, then shred. Put pork back into juice and stir it up. Put it on a hamburger bun, and enjoy! Makes 8 4-oz. servings.

The finished product:

Instead of hamburger buns, we used Arnold Sandwich Thins - only 100 calories for the whole "bun" and they stand up to juicy meats like this pulled pork. This meal was 100% husband approved and we have tons of leftovers for the rest of the week. Try it out!

Adventures of a bargain hunter

2009-08-13T13:46:00.006-04:00

Check out a recent Aldo purchase I'm pretty proud of:

Only $19.99!

And it's always nice to revisit the website and see that the price has gone back up and the said "sale" wasn't all a lie.

$17.49! Here.

Free shipping and everything. Score! They arrived in the mail yesterday and I was pretty excited that the size 7s fit me since I'm normally a 6 1/2 - Aldo doesn't have half sizes. The goal is to purge some of my old shoes to make room for the new. We'll see how that goes....

"Wild and Wonderful" West Virginia

2009-08-09T14:41:00.006-04:00

This past week had been somewhat of a headache - Joe had Project Management class all 5 days (um hello, we don't do 5 day weeks!) and I...well...was having a normal work week, complete with nagging boss. So, we were quite happy to participate in a mini weekend getaway to the Charles Town/Harpers Ferry area of West Virginia with my mom and Chuck. Turns out, it only takes two hours to get there from CB.

To start, I picked Joe up from work around 11:00a.m. and we got on our way. Somehow we must have timed our trips perfectly because we ended up arriving at our hotel within 5 minutes of my mom. We had a late lunch at Applebee's, scouted out the place where we'd need to go the next day for our activities, and checked into our hotel. The highlight of the day was getting to go swimming in a pool for the first time all summer. After our dip, we all showered and headed out to Charles Town Races and Slots (must be read like the commercial... Charrrlllleeeesssttttooowwwnnn Races and Slotttsss do do do do do do doooo). I enjoyed watching a couple horsey races, as I call them, but kept all my money in my purse where it belongs. We also had tons of yummy Diner food for dinner.

Saturday was when we really got to play. We did a full day of tubing on the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers through the River Riders company. A "full day" entails a morning of flat water tubing, returning for lunch, and an afternoon of white water tubing. We had great weather which made for an even better day. The flat water tubing was my favorite - you could lay there and cruise along forever. The river is very shallow but it's nice to be able to stop and picnic or just play around whenever you want. Sadly, I was too scared to bring my camera along being I didn't know what to expect so I have no pictures of our day.

The white water tubing was fun but a lot of work. The water level of the river is low during the dry summer months so you spend a lot of time pushing yourself off of rocks. Also, when they first drop you off you at a very wide section of the river and instructed to paddle all the way to the other side before proceeding. Holy geeez, it was a lot of paddeling - my arms are soar! This picture from the company's website might be a little exaggerated illustration of what we did, but because it might make us seem a little braver than we really are, i'll include it.

After all of the fun, we ate dinner (where Joe won a stuffed monkey out of a claw machine and is very proud of this accomplishment) and Joe and I made the trip back home. We are excited to tube again some day since it is so close. I love being in water on hot summer days!

A couple more reasons never to get off the couch

2009-08-01T10:28:00.009-04:00

While there might be a stigma surrounding the claim of "television watching" as a hobby, the Guido's don't mind calling it theirs. And as of yesterday, our television watching experience just got a whole lot better.

A couple weeks ago we came home to a letter at our doorstep. The letter was from a Comcast representative and it stated that our current cable package was about to "expire" and it offered incentive to stay on for another year. Now I thought the whole idea of a package was to hook you for the first year and then jack up the price once the promotional period was over. I guess I was wrong! Long story short, we now have HD, DVR, a ton more channels, and telephone for LESS than what we paid last year. Score!

While Joe is drooling over the crystal clear HD picture, I'm most excited about DVR! So many of my favorite TV shows come on after my bed time so I frequently fall asleep before I finish watching them. And yes, that means they come on after 10:00...I know, we're old people. I've set out to record:

The Little Couple on TLC...love them!

Design Star on HGTV...even better this season because Vern, Genevieve and Candace. Sadly, the Washington D.C. girl is very annoying and needs to be kicked off.

Kendra on E!

...just to name a few. I'll even get to catch daytime flicks like Oprah and Tyra without having to take off work. Joe will continue watching sports, sports, and more sports so I don't know if he'll love DVR as much as I plan to.

Clearly, we are excited!

Dinner at our House - Baked Sweet Potato Fries

2009-07-24T15:47:00.008-04:00

I read blogs about home decor, fashion, food...all sorts of things. As you can tell, this blog has no particular focus, and this post will be no different. Joe and I work long days and commute about 40 minutes each way. This leaves us with little motivation to put together decent meals at night. Lucky for our waist bands, we don't live near many restaurants anymore so we try and make sure we eat at home the majority of the time. All of that considered, we tend to stick with some quick and easy meal staples (pizza, pasta, chicken, beans & franks, etc.) but occasionally we will try and spice things up.

I've been wanting to incorporate sweet potatoes into our diet since I've always heard how nutritious they are. Joe is not really a fan of the sweet potato so I attempted to ease him into it. I googled "baked sweet potato fries" recipes and saw that many people commented on how delicious they were and how non-sweet potato eaters even liked them. Bingo! I also agreed to eat steak with them (something I don't agree to very often) so Joe would at least be distracted if the fries were a bust. There are a ton of recipes out there but I decided on one from the blog Sarah's Cucina Bella mainly because I already had these ingredients:

1 - 1 1/2 lb sweet potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil (preferably the easy release kind).

Peal the sweet potatoes. Cut into strips that are about 1/2 inch wide on each side.

Place the sweet potatoes into a resealable plastic bag. Add oil, salt, paprika and cinnamon. Seal the bag and shake well to thoroughly coat the fries. Spread the potatoes out onto the baking sheet in a single layer.

Cook for 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes, until slightly browned. Transfer immediately to a paper towel lined plate and serve warm.

We paired them with petite filets. Joe and I really liked them! I'm not making them again, though, until someone buys me a potato cuter - phew! It's a lot of work to cut the potatoes down to fries with just a knife.

I obviously need some practice taking food pictures! And please note, our plates are huge which makes the scale of the food look a little off here. Regardless, you should give this recipe a try, even if you are a little scared of the sweet potato - we are glad we did!

Paul's Visit

2009-07-21T11:17:00.006-04:00

Sgt. Evans (my brother) was stateside for his mid-tour break so Joe and I were in Delaware this past weekend. We enjoyed a lovely crab feast care of the Evans'. Good food. Good company. Good times.

We also went out in my Dad's boat and treated ourselves to a delicious lunch at Suicide Bridge. The boat had a minor hiccup on the way back, broke down, and left us wondering if we'd ever get home, but after some sweet talk and a little patience, she started back up again and returned us safely to the mainland.

Paul starts his journey back to Afghanistan today to finish out his last four months there. We hope that the time will past fast and he'll be safe (avoid any permanent injury caused by muffin impact).

Soon-to-be parents of a brand new Dyson

2009-07-15T07:40:00.010-04:00

Finally the time has come...we've cashed in our credit card points for a Dyson vacuum cleaner! Not just any Dyson either - it's the one with the ball that can "turn on a dime." I never thought I'd be the type to get excited over an appliance, especially one that is used for cleaning, but I'm at the edge of my seat waiting for it to arrive at our front door. All the better, we didn't have to shell $500 out of pocket to have it. I hope Midnight's cat hair is no match for my high powered sucking machine.

And as to not hurt the feelings of our old vacuum cleaner which is still truckin', we will likely keep it around for days when I'm too lazy to carry our new addition up and down our four flights of stairs. We've had our classy purple and red Hoover Fusion for over 2 years now and while we've managed to break pretty much every attachment the thing has, it still does the job. For something that was less than $100, you can't ask for much more.

Credit card points are a wonderful thing. If you have a credit card that earns points, we have some tips for accumulating big numbers:

1. Buy absolutely everything using your credit card. No item is too big or too small. We've charged a pack of gum and as much of a down payment on our new car as the dealership would let us.*
2. Give people that judge you for not carrying cash dirty looks. We don't see the point in using the green stuff unless absolutely necessary. We avoid establishments that don't take credit card (eh hem...gelato cart at the National's game). Get with the times!
3. Join all special programs. Bank of America (our credit card) has paired up with tons of different websites to offer you double, triple, or quadruple your points just by shopping online. All you have to do is follow the links from their website. I earned triple the points for most of the furniture I've bought off Target.com.

*Laura and Joe Plus Zero does not encourage credit card debt. Have the money to pay off your credit card.

Confession

2009-07-12T15:57:00.004-04:00

I just finished watching the Sex and the City series all the way through for at least the fourth time. My loving husband joined me for most of the journey...again. (And he didn't lose any man points for doing so if you ask me!) What can I say...we love it!

"You're the loves of her life and a guy's just lucky to come in fourth." ~ Mr. Big

My love affair began pre-marriage back in March of 2006. Never having had HBO, I decided to rent the first disk in the SATC series to find out what all the hype was about. I was hooked from that point on. I wasted months of our Netflix subscription renting every last disk. We then moved on to different fascinations like the equally addicting Six Feet Under series but, I missed my SATC girls. Luckily, Joe hooked me up with the entire collection as a birthday surprise a couple years ago.

"Think about it. If you are single, after graduation there isn't one occasion where people celebrate you. ... Hallmark doesn't make a "congratulations, you didn't marry the wrong guy" card. And where's the flatware for going on vacation alone?" ~ Carrie

As I come down from the thrill of the fourth time through, I find myself looking up the NYC tour and wondering how common it is for husbands to crash the party. I just don't know if anyone else would appreciate such a thing! At least there is the movie sequel to look forward to (which I hope WILL NOT include Jennifer Hudson and WILL include John Corbett...hey, a girl can dream!)

Congrats Christina & Ed!

2009-07-08T09:45:00.005-04:00

My coworker/friend/wbff Christina just got engaged...yay! Ed popped the question via an engraved IPOD birthday gift during dinner.

I had a small part in making sure the bride-to-be got a good rock but I think Ed did a good job on his own!

Congratulations!!!!!

Forever Young

2009-07-05T13:31:00.008-04:00

I still love not working on Fridays and it's especially nice when a holiday is thrown into the mix and I get a much needed four days off. Thank you Independence Day. To start, Joe and I decided to take a trip down to Williamsburg for a day at the water park. The "water park" description doesn't do it justice though, because I consider Water Country USA to be THE water park. Joe and I couldn't believe it had been five years since we last visited (even more crazy...we have been together more than 5 years!). But, as it turns out, Water Country will always be a step back in time because nothing had changed. Sure, now there is a fancy turn style that scans in your tickets and recognizes your finger prints, but the very first slides in view have totally been there for all 25 years this place has been open. Luckily, or maybe not so luckily, I weigh more now and don't get turned around backwards in my tube while going down those particular slides but, the experience is still just as joyful as the days I had to make sure I was tall enough to ride.

We started at 10am and didn't quit until dinner time. Joe's favorite ride is one of the newer attractions (new meaning less than 10 years old) and is really just a jazzed up lazy river. It's 3 feet deep zooming water that carries you along in your life jacket. You can float there all day long. The Hubba Hubba Highway:

I'm still partial to a more traditional slide that is fun because it's mostly in the dark so you cant see the twists and drops ahead. Malibu Pipeline:

Always entertaining in a water park is checking out the hot specimen surrounding you (see picture above).

The biggest disappointment of the day was learning that the Lemon Drop was no more. Instead, in it's place, was a incredibly disappointing children's slide. What were they thinking?

BEFORE

AFTER

We had a lot of fun! We spent the night in Williamsburg on Thursday. On Friday, we had breakfast, spent the day at the outlets, and returned home. We were mesmerized by the amount of traffic traveling south on 95 that day. I think we made a wise decision to go early! On Saturday, Joe visited his grandparents and once he returned we met his family for some fun on the boat on the river. Everyone (except me) tried their hand at knee boarding. While we didn't actually go see any fireworks, we had a decent view of multiple shows down at the beach on both Friday and Saturday, right from our window. As usual, Sunday has become the recovery/errands/cleaning day. A 4-day weekend well spent, if you ask me! Hope everyone had a great holiday too!

Pictures from Theme Park Review.

"Do you remember the time..."

2009-06-28T19:14:00.006-04:00

What a week! Divorce. Death. Drama. When will it stop? I'll spare you all of personal stories of good times spent with my Michael Jackson tapes, singing "Heal the World" at the top of my lungs en route to the skating center, and even my detailed thoughts about the Gosselin situation. I'll leave you with my personal photograph of the hotel that was made famous when MJ held his baby over the balcony.

Berlin, Germany

On a much more positive note, last night we went to the Orioles/Nationals game at Camden Yards which, I admit, was really us tagging along to a St. Mary's alumni event. Funny since we skipped Elon's alumni event at both the National's and Orioles' Parks. Joe justified this since they were giving out jerseys to the first 10,000 fans and he claimed that we would have attended this game anyway because that was one heck of a giveaway. Our $15 outfield tickets were pretty super and once the blazing sun went down we were quite content (Joe even more so since now he had his free jersey). They won, woo hoo! We've since washed the free jerseys and they are still in one piece.

Say it aint so

2009-06-22T20:26:00.004-04:00

This cannot be happening! I know, I know, it has been a long time coming but I still was holding on to the hope that they would work it out. If there was any couple that should try to keep it together for the kids, it would be them. They will forever be child stars with wacked out parents. I hope the drama brings in enough money for college + years of counseling!

I miss the love :-(

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T16:06:00.008-04:00

From Midnight (the cat) to his daddy: Thank you for all the hours you've spent scoopin my poop, feeding me, taking me to the vet (and cleaning up the throw up that happens as a result), changing my water, scratching my head, and forgiving me when I bite or scratch you. I love you!

From Laura & Joe: Happy Father's Day to Dad Evans and Dad Guido!

Success!

2009-06-19T13:38:00.007-04:00

Thanks to my friend Christina's awesome googling skills, we've discovered that Kate G loves Ann Taylor Loft. She may own just about every summer dress they have in store at the moment. I recognized so many. Most importantly, I found the dress I was smitten over:

I actually liked the brown better, but they didn't have it in my size and I was feeling too lazy to venture to another store. It's a little comforting to know that although people think Kate G is a fame, money-lovin whore, she still shops where the normal folk do.

I also stopped into Old Navy before I left and found another cotton number to add to the summer wardrobe. Hooray for comfy clothes. I felt like modeling it for you along with my Target gladiators. I want so badly to wear these shoes out but I have yet to find an appropriate occasion.

Seeing Double

2009-06-18T09:47:00.004-04:00

Kate, where did you get this dress and how many more colors does it come in? I love! Anyone recognize this from recent shopping trips? Cotton summer dresses are the best for bumming around while still looking fab. I may have to dare to enter Forever 21.

Disclaimer

2009-06-17T07:55:00.001-04:00

We are not child haters. We aren't anti having kids. We're just enjoying our freedom and trying to make the most of our first years of marriage.

I'm not sure how diligent I'll be at keeping up with a blog, but at the moment my intentions are good. So, welcome and enjoy!