Monthly Archives for January 2011

Return From Oz

Last weekend I escaped to Foxwoods with 4 foxy friends (Betsy is missing from the photo but if Pam sends me some of her pics I’ll add them).  When Lana asked me about it back in December, I didn’t care if we were going to the Holiday Inn in Worcester or if it cost $2000, I was IN!!

Luckily we didn’t go to Worcester and I didn’t have to spend the kids’ entire college savings.  We left on Friday afternoon and made the quick (1 1/2-hour drive) down to CT.  It was a gorgeous day and the snow everyone kept talking about hadn’t started yet.  I had never been to Foxwoods before and I swear it was just like being in Oz when the Emerald City loomed up out of the poppies, except this time it loomed up out of Uncasville.

I was surprised by how GIGANTIC the place was, and it’s actually really nice.  Lots of bars and restaurants, live music and comedy, a decent spa and a beautiful pool which unfortunately was inhabited by loud and splashy kids.  We had a nice dinner on Friday night at the Shrine, after drinks at various hot spots along the way (including FABULOUS espresso martinis and 2 scorpion bowls), then spent Saturday laying around relaxing and being pampered.  I got a haircut, which I needed badly, and then we went out to see the comedian Jo Koy, who was hilarious.  We had dinner at David Burke Prime which was really good.  I’m not a gambler but we watched Betsy play Let It Ride, and I think I could play that without embarrassing myself.  Maybe on my trip to Vegas next month.

Sunday morning we got up, cried, threw our crap in a bag, cried some more, and came home.  You would think that having a couple of days away would make me more tolerant of what was waiting for me at home, but it’s the exact opposite.  After two days of peace and quiet with nobody needing anything from me, each scream, whine, and screech doubled in volume.  I had to take a nap in the afternoon because I was so tired out from being home for 3 hours.  I’m back in the swing of things again, and all I have to show for my relaxing weekend is my haircut and my credit card bill.

Time to schedule another getaway!  Who’s in???

Shutterfly

As many of you know, I make an annual photo book using the online service, Shutterfly.  The book is usually around 100 pages, and I buy copies for the grandparents so it’s a substantial investment, but I think it’s worth it.  The kids love to look at the books and it’s fun to look back over the years.  If I didn’t buy the books, the photos would likely stay on my hard drive until I worked up the energy to make a photo video, which hasn’t happened in a while.

Anyway, I really like Shutterfly’s system, and I’ve been happy with the quality of their photo books.  But just before Christmas the kids were looking at last year’s book and I noticed that some of the pages were falling out.  The kids can be pretty hard on stuff, so occasionally a page gets ripped, but there were several pages that were completely separated from the book.

I emailed Shutterfly, and they immediately credited my account for the full price of a replacement book.  This book was a whole year old, and it was pretty pricey – around $150!!  All I had to do was go into my saved projects on their site, reorder the book, and they shipped it.  I didn’t have to return the other book, and they even paid for the shipping on the replacement.  I’m really impressed, and I would highly recommend Shutterfly.

And since I’ve been lagging behind on the blog and have missed some of this year’s photo-ops, here’s our 2010 photo book for your viewing pleasure:

Happy 2011!

I’m actually pretty happy to see 2010 go and I’m ready to make a fresh start now that 2011 is here.  Along with the recent holiday insanity, I can wave goodbye to Norah’s thyroid issues, my own odd-ball symptoms which turned out to be thyroid-related too, the effects of the economy on my job and Ben’s…good riddance!  I’m feeling hopeful about 2011…I think it’s going to be a good year.

S0…my resolutions:

  • Continue going to Zumba! My schedule was interrupted a bit by the holidays and our trip, but before Christmas I was going to Zumba at least 3 times per week, and once a week to yoga.  I’m still a little impatient with the yoga but I’m giving it a chance.  I just signed up for a different class which is supposed to help my back, and it doesn’t interfere with any of my Zumba opportunities like the previous yoga class did.  So, anyway, back to Zumba…I love it!  It’s the only form of exercise I’ve ever been able to commit to long-term.  I usually go to classes taught by Ali Struyk (www.zumbawithali.com), and she’s fabulous!  The women in the class are great too, and I just schedule the classes into my calendar and it’s pretty rare that I skip a class because I don’t feel like going.  As an added bonus, my company just started a reimbursement program for fitness classes, so they will pay $750 toward any classes I take this year – WOOHOO!  If any of you are interested in trying Ali’s class, she’s offering a special deal for January…if I bring a friend, the friend pays $5 for the first class and I get a free class.  Her classes are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 7:45 p.m., 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, and 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, all at the Ballet Space / Mass Ballet in Saxonville.  Let me know if you want to go!
  • Keep working on the clutter. When we got home from the Cape I had a serious moment of where-the-hell-are-we-going-to-put-all-this-stuff.  The kids’ rooms were seriously out of control, and there were remnants of Christmas everywhere.  There was also a renewed search for Aliya’s missing iPod Touch, when she found out that two of her friends had gotten them for Christmas.  We still haven’t found the iPod, but we did some organizing and purging, and hopefully we’ll have things back in order by tomorrow night.  My beloved grandmother used to look forward to January 2nd, the day when she organized closets, drawers, etc.  From the time that I knew her, her house was always ship-shape, but I’m hoping that when she had 3 small kids her house could use at least a little help.  So…15 minutes per day – 1 drawer, bin, or pile.  I may never get to the uncluttered state I desire, but at least I won’t end up on an episode of Hoarders.
  • Devote time daily to my book(s). My work blog is getting a lot of action which is one of the reasons that I’ve had a hard time keeping up with this one.  Most people think that a blog or a book about doors is pretty strange, but there’s a real need in our industry for this information and I’m filling it.  I received permission from the leadership of our company to write on my own time (meaning that they will belong to ME), and due to a change in the building codes there are a lot of people teaching about this topic who could use my books as part of their curriculum.  The window of opportunity is now, and I will never forgive myself if I miss it.  A book editor actually called me a couple of weeks ago and we had a long talk about my project.  He was really encouraging and I think he’ll be a good source of help if / when I need it.  So…at least 5 times per week, I will work on my book about fire doors (to be followed by one on egress and one on accessibility) – whether it’s research, formatting, photos / graphics, or writing – just something.

Happy New Year everyone!!