This is Fun

328. Working on Families of Elements Project

2009-11-24T12:05:00.001-05:00

Working on Families of Elements Project
Originally uploaded by Ben+Sam

Students busily putting together their videos on their element families. The picture doesn't do justice to the level of activity in the room.

327. Winnie Poohs

2009-11-24T12:04:00.001-05:00

Winnie Poohs
Originally uploaded by Ben+Sam

This is part of a salt & pepper shaker set that Sam has had for longer than she's known me. I always thought it looked like Pooh was...well...taking a Pooh.

325. The backyard

2009-11-23T07:44:00.001-05:00

The backyard
Originally uploaded by Ben+Sam

A panoramic shot. You may need to view the large image, but there's something odd going on with the fire.

326. Feedz Me!

2009-11-23T07:22:00.001-05:00

Feedz Me!
Originally uploaded by Ben+Sam

Tabby looking for some treats.

324. O HAI!

2009-11-20T21:25:00.001-05:00

O HAI!
Originally uploaded by Ben+Sam

322. Car wash!

2009-11-20T21:23:00.001-05:00

Car wash!
Originally uploaded by Ben+Sam

The Submarine Car Wash vacuums and washes your windows. It's a little more expensive, but it's worth it!

322. Fancied up

2009-11-19T05:55:00.001-05:00

Fancied up
Originally uploaded by Ben+Sam

Sam fancied up our boring lampshades with some fabric. The end result looks /much/ better than the original.

321. Time for a haircut

2009-11-19T05:53:00.001-05:00

Time for a haircut
Originally uploaded by Ben+Sam

Taken just before I went to get a haircut. My hair was long enough to bug me.

320. Empty classroom

2009-11-17T05:53:00.001-05:00

Empty classroom
Originally uploaded by Ben+Sam

A panoramic view of my classroom at about 2:30pm.

319. Afternoon work session

2009-11-15T22:56:00.001-05:00

Afternoon work session
Originally uploaded by Ben+Sam

Snowy burden- Jan. 11

2009-01-12T06:18:00.001-05:00

Snowy burden
Originally uploaded by Ben+Sam

The weather report predicted 4-8 inches of snow overnight into Sunday. We woke up to maybe 2 inches and a little bit of ice. I played around with the digital macro setting on the camera for this picture.

It's a close up of a bush in front of our house

The Christmas Lamb Roast

2008-12-25T14:14:00.001-05:00

Christmas Casserole! Delicious!

2008-12-25T09:14:00.001-05:00

Check out the stash!

2008-12-25T09:07:00.001-05:00

Iz can halp! If Iz onlee had thumz...

2008-12-24T15:59:00.000-05:00

The cure for snowed out Sundays

2008-12-21T10:57:00.000-05:00

The next morning

2008-12-20T07:58:00.000-05:00

You'd think we lived in Holland...

The Snow Finally Started

2008-12-19T13:41:00.001-05:00

Most of this snow day was totally snow free.

The Guest Room

2008-11-19T05:43:00.000-05:00

Some readers of this blog have voiced concerns over the state of the
guest room. Here's a new picture. Please note the recent upgrades:
- Blinds for the window. Now the neighbors don't get to see you change.
- Warm blanket. It's winter. Heat is expensive.
- Lamps. Since it gets dark at 4:30 here, you'll be glad there's
artificial light.

If you're lucky we'll even open up the heating vent in the guest room.

New furniture

2008-11-18T20:40:00.001-05:00

We picked up a living room table set we'd been eyeing for awhile.
Here's the new look.

5 Guys

2008-11-15T16:33:00.000-05:00

Dee-licious.

Voted!

2008-11-04T07:14:00.000-05:00

Lines were very long, but they had the precinct set up very
efficiently. We only had to wait 25 minutes or so from walking in the
door to walking out.

Homemade Marshymallows

2008-10-25T17:37:00.001-04:00

We cooked up some fresh marshmallows today, trying out a recipe that
we might use to make Halloween s'mores next weekend.

They turned out really well, though now we have about a year's worth
of marshmallow. Good thing they freeze well.

Skeletons are a pesky sort.

2008-10-20T22:50:00.000-04:00

A skeleton problem...

2008-10-20T22:49:00.000-04:00

Trying on some gear

2008-10-13T10:31:00.000-04:00

At the L.L. Bean store in Freeport, ME

A Mystic Morning

2008-10-11T07:36:00.000-04:00

From Kitchen Little

My First Falcon Football Game

2008-10-10T17:47:00.000-04:00

I'm working security and this is the view from my post. Not too shabby
I suppose, considering I'm being paid to attend.

Bobby Flay quesadillas

2008-09-27T19:42:00.001-04:00

Deeeee-licious!!

Classy.

2008-09-13T12:49:00.000-04:00

We have disembarked!

2008-09-13T12:44:00.000-04:00

It went much faster than I thought it was going to. That's always a
good thing.

Waiting in line

2008-09-13T11:53:00.001-04:00

We whizzed through the ticket line for the Statue of Liberty & Ellis
Island only to find a massive line for the ferry itself. Hopefully the
line will move quickly.

Ready for Halloween

2008-09-07T19:43:00.001-04:00

OK...so as soon as we let her go she pawed at it relentlessly trying
to get it off. Hopefully Target will take back a slightly used
chicken...

Pre-Tropical Storm

2008-09-06T13:59:00.000-04:00

It's hot & very humid (@ 2:00 pm). It definitely feels tropical. No
wind and not much rain right now. Hanna isn't supposed to come through
until late tonight to morning tomorrow.

Apertif

2008-09-05T19:51:00.001-04:00

(it wasn't Coors, don't worry)

Mmmm...cooookie!

2008-09-05T19:48:00.000-04:00

Warm chocolate bread pudding

2008-09-05T19:19:00.000-04:00

At "The Taste of Mystic"

2008-09-05T19:05:00.000-04:00

Yum!

Our dehumidifier

2008-08-31T22:04:00.000-04:00

We've had some problems in the basement with mold growing on Tabby's
food because of the humidity in our basement.

We got the dehumidifier at Morgan & White, which is run by a couple of
old guys (Mr. Morgan & Mr. White we presume). It was very old school
as far as appliance stores go, but they did have good humidifiers in
stock, which we found out was not too common at other places.

Celebrating the first day of school

2008-08-28T17:56:00.000-04:00

The first day went really well. I have mainly upper level freshies
this semester, so there was a lot of timidity in the group, but they
did seem like a nice bunch of kids.

My new classroom pics

2008-08-27T00:06:00.001-04:00

The room is nice and large. Lots of space and plenty of storage. Now I
just need to figure out what I'm teaching a little better.

My new classroom

2008-08-27T00:04:00.001-04:00

Westbrook Jrs.

2008-08-23T14:27:00.000-04:00

Westbrook Muster is the 2nd largest muster in the nation. Notable
groups were the Ancient Mariners and Marlborough Jr. Corps.

Westbrook Fife & Drum Corps

2008-08-23T12:43:00.000-04:00

At the Westbrook Muster, with a total of 44 corps.

My mocha is happy

2008-08-23T09:41:00.000-04:00

Breakfast at Paperback Cafe

2008-08-23T09:34:00.000-04:00

We arrived at 9:08, which turned out to be about 8 minutes later than
everybody else there. It was busy, but last time we were here it was
really good, so it should be worth it.

Chillin' at The Dinosaur Place

2008-08-22T16:22:00.000-04:00

Jamie & Brooke met us at our house for the grand tour and then we
headed over to The Dinosaur Place. They have a trail with life sized
models of dinosaurs (and a splash park).

We had a fun time looking at the dinosaurs with Brooke & hanging out
with Jamie.

The mostly finished guest bedroom

2008-08-17T19:43:00.001-04:00

Today we moved our guest bed in from Sam's parents' place and set up
the guest bedroom. The trim still needs to be painted and we need some
lamps and decoration, but we could (theoretically) house guests!

The (now) uncarpeted stairs

2008-08-17T19:40:00.001-04:00

This week Sam and I pulled up the somewhat gross carpet in the living
room and on our stairs. We're planning on eventually getting the
floors redone, but for the time being they're not in too bad of shape.

Beautiful flowers

2008-08-16T15:05:00.001-04:00

This morning we met the Jamies at Lyman Orchards in Middlefield for
their "Peach Festival." We hit up their Sunflower Maze first, & then
checked out the rest of the festivities.

There wasn't too much going on other than carriage rides and a
scavenger hunt of sorts in the grocery-type store they had. We did the
scavenger hunt (in which we couldn't find any of the information in
the store), and then had lunch in a cafe down the road called Perk on
Main, which featured various types of crepes and some tasty coffee.

What does 235,000 sunflowers look like?

2008-08-16T13:43:00.000-04:00

Answer:

Lyman Orchard Sunflower Maze

2008-08-16T13:38:00.000-04:00

Rescued Seals

2008-08-15T15:20:00.000-04:00

A seal that is in the rescue & rehab area of the aquarium.

Cove Fresh Fish Market

2008-08-15T13:46:00.000-04:00

For lunch today, Sam & I decided to try out the CT style lobster roll
at a local seafood shack. We found this place in Mystic was highly
recommended.

It was pretty tasty!

Connecticut Style Lobster Roll

2008-08-15T13:30:00.000-04:00

Generally lobster rolls are filled with a lobster salad, but in
Connecticut, they're filled with chunks of good ol' lobster meat. Yum!

Duh.

2008-08-15T11:52:00.000-04:00

Christian Voter's Guide

2008-08-15T10:19:00.003-04:00

Sojourners (a Christian social justice organization) has just put out a guide to Christian voter's issues. I haven't read it through in great detail as of yet, but it looks quite informative and well thought out. This isn't what you might typically think when you think of Christian values (as in the Christian right), but seems (to me) to be well aligned with biblical principles.

Sojourners has identified seven main issues and in the guide breaks down some of what can be included in each. The seven issues are:

Compassion and economic justice
Peace and restraint of violence
A consistent ethic of life
Racial justice
Human rights, dignity, and gender justice
Strengthened families and renewed culture
Good stewardship of God's creation

To get the guide, you can go to this website.

Testing the system

2008-08-15T09:45:00.000-04:00

Just checking to see if this mobile blogging idea will work.

I'm at the Mystic Starbucks using my 2 free hours of WiFi from being a
starbucks card holder.

Neglected (slightly)

2008-08-15T09:37:00.002-04:00

OK. So I haven't updated in awhile.

I think I have a new idea of how to keep this up to date a little easier. I'm going to try to do a little mobile blogging. For example, I'll take pictures with my phone, then put the pictures online with a short commentary from where ever I am. That should be a little lower maintenance and still keep all of you updated with what we're up to.

I'm sure it'll take most of you several days before find I've posted again. :-)

Stepping up communications

2008-01-12T20:19:00.002-05:00

I may have more of a vested interest in improving ease of communication than others who read this blog since my wife is a cool 736 miles away. However, it won't be too long before I'm a cool 776, 889, and 916 miles away from my parents, my sister's family, and my brother respectively. That isn't to exclude friends and extended family members, who I welcome to utilize these tools as well.

The internet nowadays has come a long way. The ability to create and share content has become extremely easy and cheap. I think we should kick up the friends & family communication scheme with a little web 2.0 technology. Here are my picks for two free tools to keep us all in better contact with each other.

Skype: An online chat, voice chat (if you have a microphone), and video chat (if you have a webcam). You do have to download the program, but it's not a major problem. You can just have it on in the background when you're on the computer and you can see when your friends come online. It even works all over the world, so if you happen to know people on the far side of the Earth, it's a good way to stay in touch with them as well.

--> My Skype name: ben.wildeboer (look me up when you get on!)

Twitter: I'm really not sure how to describe it, it's kind of like text messaging on steroids (without the side effects). The Twitter FAQ page probably does a pretty good job of explaining it. You can just check it online, or you can "follow" people and get their messages sent to your phone. You can also write your own "tweets" from your phone. It's a great way to stay in touch even when you're not by a computer.

--> My Twitter ID: WillyB (check it out!)

I look forward to seeing you online!!

It's Official

2008-01-12T20:02:00.000-05:00

As of Monday, January 7th, Sam is an official employee of Pfizer, Inc. We drove out to Connecticut on Thursday (Jan. 4) with a Jeep packed to the gills. After unpacking and seeing the sights in Connecticut (see the pics!). I had to come back home. Unfortunately, Sam had to stay.

We're just completing our first week apart. So far...we're surviving. It's not great, but we do get to see each other via Skype, we email during the day, and talk & text each other frequently. It doesn't exactly make up for not having any physical contact, but it's a drastic improvement upon writing letters back & forth.

In the meantime, stay tuned for a second post tonight on suggestions for staying in closer contact with family/friends. It's gonna be good.

Happy New Year!

2007-12-31T18:25:00.001-05:00

... And Happy New Year! Happy 2008!
Originally uploaded by tizianoj

This new year will hold a LOT of changes for us, but we're looking forward to facing them together. Surely God has a plan for us.

Perhaps our motto for 2007 could express wisdom similar to an Egyptian brand of beer once said, "What does not kill us, makes us stronger." Plenty of turmoil this year, which makes us look forward to a happy (an perhaps less eventful) 2008.

Sam's Surprise Farewell Party

2007-12-29T16:46:00.001-05:00

Sam I Am
Originally uploaded by Ben+Sam

Friday night Sam thought she was going over to scrapbook with Jamie. However, Jamie had planned a super-secret surprise going-away party for Sam.

Jamie created a list of 20 things to photograph (see the list here) that the group all walked around downtown to find. It was a good time and a nice way to send Sam on her way.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

The Big Announcement

2007-12-28T13:43:00.001-05:00

34458(8323232fp3;=ot)2325=863=33 =59 573b26332(23=3232546253365nu0mrj
Originally uploaded by vlauria

It may be a moot point, since this blog enjoys a readership of approximately 5 people, all of which have probably heard this news already. Oh well...it's such a major lifechanging event that there's no way I could leave it out of the blog.

A couple of months ago Sam interviewed with Pfizer in Groton, CT (where her parents moved) for a position in the Clinical Pathology Lab. She (of course) was offered the position, and has accepted it as well.

While this means major upheavals and doing a few things we don't really enjoy doing (1. Moving away from family, 2. Leaving Ben's Whitmore Lake teaching job, 3. Moving (it sucks)), the opportunity was something that she simply couldn't turn down. She has described this position as her "dream job," and I don't like to be one to stand in the way of anyone's dreams, especially my wife's.

Sam starts her new position on January 7, and we're driving out to Connecticut on the 3rd. We decided that I'll finish my school year before moving out, so in the meantime we have about 6 months living 736 miles apart. We're both a little worried about that piece- but as Ice Cube says, "Life's not a track meet, it's a marathon." 6 months isn't all that long, right?

I'm excited to live outside of Michigan (I'm the only family member to never have live out-of-state), but wish I could take our friends, family, and my job with me.

This blog may become more prominent as we move further away from those that read it, I guess I'll have to work on updating more frequently!

Christmas 2007 Pictures

2007-12-27T17:19:00.000-05:00

So, I've been playing around with Flickr (if you couldn't tell), and here are my pictures from Christmas this year. Enjoy!

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

New Flickr Account!

2007-12-27T16:31:00.000-05:00

OK...so it's not really new, but I've started putting all our photos on it recently. Originally I created an account to use with my high school classes, but my idea for using it didn't pan out.

I added a little widget on the right that starts with the pictures I've uploaded most recently (too bad it doesn't go in chronological order).

To view all the photos I've uploaded, click here!

Chloe Stepping

2007-11-25T13:34:00.000-05:00

Meika already did a bit of a post on Chloe taking some of her shaky first steps. But I have a little more proof for everyone to see.

She'll be cruising by Christmas if you're not careful...

Summing Up: Camping!

2007-11-24T21:42:00.000-05:00

The third weekend in September Sam & I decided we needed a retreat. We headed up to Port Crescent State Park for a weekend getaway. We arrived late on Friday, set up camp, and went right to bed. It was a nice calm night when we went to bed. By the time we woke up, it was a clear but blustery day. Check out the whitecaps!

It was a little chilly, but overall a pleasant day. We cooked up some dee-licious food (thanks to Backpacker magazine recipes), headed into Port Austin, and just hung out enjoying the beautiful surroundings and each other's company.

We decided we really need to get away from it all a little more often...

Sam crossing the terminus of a mighty river

Hangin' by the campfire

The Worst Video Post Ever

2007-11-10T23:59:00.000-05:00

Here's an attempt to make up for not posting for a couple days during the "Post Every Day in November" campaign. I apologize for the quality. And by quality I'm not referring to anything technical, but rather the performance. Remember, I really am smarter than I appear. I promise. :-)

Absurdities at Meijer

2007-11-08T18:09:00.000-05:00

Maybe I'm in a weird mood today. Perhaps I'm a little slap happy. Maybe I was inspired by a email Sam sent me about 1977 apparel. Anyway, a quick trip into Meijer for a can of spray paint turned into a foray into the world of the absurd:

When you want to teach your children how to act spoiled & rich (Biblically, of course), here's the perfect solution. It has many improvements over a normal Bible. It's pinker. It's sparklier. It's no longer authored by some all-powerful, all-knowing entity. Now it's authored by the much more down-to-earth Sheila Walsh. After all, what could the King of Creation teach you about being a princess?

Next up: Bible Action figures! Yes! You too can play as Daniel in the lions' den! You too can make the ferocious lions do nothing while Daniel is around! I bet G.I. Joe wouldn't get out so lucky. If you look closely at the fine print on the box, it notes that if your child does act out Daniel being eaten by the lions, they in effect are teaching a heresy and could potentially be excommunicated. Daniel isn't the only model available. You could also own your own Esther, three wise men, David, Goliath, Noah, Mary & Joseph (with free baby Jesus in the manger), and Angel with Shepherd (comes with 2 sheep. Alas, no chorus).

Let's say you work for the U.S. Postal Service. You have a disgruntled co-worker whose name you've just drawn for the office Secret Santa. What to get them? The perfect solution: "Boss Hunter!" For just $4.99, you too can promote homicidal actions toward your office superiors! As the game notes: "Revenge is Sweet!"

Fourth: When you're wandering the aisle of Meijer, often you suddenly get cravings you might not've thought you would have otherwide. Meijer, however, is always prepared! Let's say you suddenly get a craving for a large log of preserved meat of questionable quality. Perfect! They just happen to have a huge pallet of Summer Sausage! Never mind that it isn't summer anymore; never mind that there's no guarantee of what's inside it, it's salty, it's preserved, it's sold in 2 pound logs by the pallet-full! Yum!

Finally: the perfect stocking stuffer for the troubled marriage. Headphones you can connect wirelessly to your television & stereo. "LISTEN...without distrubance!" As you can clearly see from the picture on the box, when the wifey is getting a little too bossy, just turn on the TV, turn on your wireless headphones, and make her sit there and watch the TV without any sound! You can't hear her talk, and she can't hear the TV! It's the perfect solution to a marriage suffering from too much communication!

Seriously though, Meika and I surely must be on similar wavelengths today. I had decided to post on my trip to Meijer today before leaving the store. Just before sitting down to start this post, I just happened to check her blog. Turns out we're topically similar today. Also, if any legal representatives for Meijer happen upon this blog: I really like Meijer. Yay, Meijer!

Perhaps this is cheating...

2007-11-06T21:00:00.000-05:00

...but I rationalize it because, if you look closely, you'll notice I didn't actually post on Nov. 1, so I'm already out of the running for all the cash & prizes!

This one's for Sam. She was so proud of her Cubbies (before they got swept of course). But who remembers that anyway? :-)

Summing Up: Tigers vs. White Sox (9/5/07)

2007-11-05T20:54:00.000-05:00

The first week of September saw the beginning of the school year, a visit from Mark, and a Tigers game. Mark checked out our new digs and the three of us went to a Tigers/White Sox game on Wednesday night.

The game was a good one. Kenny Rogers started (not the musical, chicken-selling Kenny), and the game was close. In the end it went into extra innings with Timo Perez of the Tigers hitting a walk-off single in the bottom of the 11th. We were about to leave in the 10th, but decided to stick it out at least through the end of 11. Luckily, we didn't miss any of the excitement, though we did get home pretty late, since the final out wasn't recorded until 10:49 pm then we had about an hour's drive to get home.

Kenny Rogers on the mound.

The final box-score.

It turned out to be a beautiful night for baseball (besides the group of real estate agents leaning over Mark), and our last game at Comerica Park for the 2007 season. Boo.

Summing Up: The School Year

2007-11-04T23:26:00.000-05:00

Since my last major string of posting, several major things has happened. Probably the most notable has been I am now teaching every day. Yes, school has come back into session within the last 67 days! Interestingly enough, in the past 67 days there have only been 43 actual days of school.

This school year is notable in the fact that it's the first year I'm not teaching any classes I've never taught in the past. Even more notably, I'm not teaching any classes I haven't taught for at least 4 years before this year. In theory this should make this school year a breeze. However, I always seem to have the desire to completely change things. This year my big push is including authentic assessments & using artifacts (something the student creates) to demonstrate mastery instead of simply written tests. While these can actually make the school days easier (since students spend some time in class working on their artifacts), they require a decent amount of planning beforehand, therefore increasing my school night workload.

Maybe when I'm 60 I'll settle down and go with what I've done in the past... :-) As it is now, I enjoy creating the new artifacts & attempting to teach using newer technologies (they don't always work as planned). If the goal is to create lifelong learners, I feel it's necessary to get students used to using newer technologies, so they're more comfortable trying them out even when they're 65+ years old. As of 2005, just 27.7% of people 65+ years old had computers with internet connections. Think of how really useful the internet could be for populations that aren't as mobile. The internet can provide all sorts of services and shopping that would otherwise take days of driving around, yet only just over a quarter Americans over 65 have daily access to these services.

Coincidentally, the 43 day old school year is currently just 27.7% of the way through, and looking pretty good.

Summing Up: Connecticut for Labor Day

2007-11-03T14:12:00.000-04:00

Sam and I went out to Connecticut to visit her parents over Labor Day. They just moved out east from the Ann Arbor area as a result of Pfizer closing up shop here. We flew into Providence, RI, so I have now officially visited 30 out of 50 states (plus D.C.!).

The summed up itinerary:

1. We visited Yale

2. We looked for towns that inspired Star's Hollow (the town from Gilmore Girls)

3. We ate out at several local-flavor places

4. We went to Block Island, R.I. (think Mackinaw Island, but with scooters instead of bikes)

5. We toured some historical sites (click the plaque to read about spreading "desolation & woe.").

Let me explain… No, there is too much. Let me sum up.

2007-11-02T16:36:00.000-04:00

Hello. Perhaps you don't remember me. I'm Ben, and I'm the owner of this blog.

It seems that I've been neglecting this blog. It's malnourished and badly in need of more posting. Though it may be on the brink of starvation, I believe I can bring it back with a healthy dose of posting over the next several months. To begin, I'm going to attempt the NaBloPoMo challenge mentioned by Meika. I'm not sure how well it'll all work out, considering I haven't posted on this particular blog since August 27, 2007 (at least it was still this year).

Not posting for 67 consecutive days (almost a Gherig-ian feat!) comes with definite pros and cons:

Pros:

There are a lot of things that've happened in the last 67 days I can post on.
Readers may have low expectations (therefore failure will be easier to handle?)
No worries about losing the "flow" of the postings (as in switching topics or themes).

Cons:

I haven't posted for 67 days. I don't have a pattern of behavior to fall back on.
The reason(s) behind the 67 day lay-off (school, classes, busy schedule, laziness, tiredness, lack of voice, etc.)
Thanksgiving (we'll be at the Weiss', so I guess I can just appropriate their computer)

Fun stats:

67 days is equivalent to:

18.34% of a full year

1608 hours
5,788,800 seconds

5,788,880 tons is close to the total output of carbon dioxide for the country of Kyrgyzstan in a year.

In comparison, the yearly U.S carbon dioxide output is 6,049,435,000 tons.

If I hadn't posted for 6,049,435,000 seconds:

It'd be the year 2199
I'd be celebrating my 220th birthday (for reference, the U.S. Constitution was signed 220 years ago).

In conclusion, I think we can be thankful I've followed the example of Kyrgyzstan instead of the good ole U.S. of A. :-)

Back to School & Labor Day Preview

2007-08-30T21:32:00.000-04:00

Wednesday of this week was the first day teachers had to report at Whitmore Lake High School for the 2007-2008 school year. It'll be my 6th year teaching already. I pretty much feel ready for school, though I haven't worked out a lot of specific plans as of yet. It all comes together in the end.

Sam and I are also flying out on Friday to visit her parents in their new Connecticutian home. I'm not sure how to manipulate Connecticut into an adjective or pronoun as of yet. Are her parents now Connecticutians? Connecticuts? Connoosiers? Somebody needs to look that up.

So far our plans for our weekend out east include a trip to Block Island in Rhode Island (which will be the 30th state I've visited), checking out some restaurants her parents have tried or heard were good, visiting Yale, and seeking out Washington Depot; the town that looks eerily similar to Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls.

We'll miss the rest of the Wildeboer family at West Lake. :(

**Upon Further Research**
It turns out, the official name for a person from Connecticut is Connecticuter. However, many other terms exist, such as "Connecticotian" (used by Cotton Mather), "Connecticutensian" (used by Samual Peters), and "Nutmegger" (I have no clue). Personally, I think "Conn Person" has a nice ring.

Whitmore Lake Softball Champions!

2007-08-23T13:23:00.000-04:00

Sam and I have been playing softball on Tuesday nights through Whitmore Lake Community Recreation on a team composed primarily of teachers and their spouses. This past Tuesday was our last game. We already had the league title wrapped up, but this game played like a winner-take-all contest.

We were down bad (7-1) before bringing it back to within two, when our opponents bombed a grand-slam home run on us. At that point most of us figured we'd have a difficult time coming back again. However in the bottom of the final inning, we managed to score several runs to pull of the come-from-behind walk-off win.

We got t-shirts and a trophy for being the league champs.

The team posing with the trophy.

A closeup of the trophy while we celebrated at the Bobber Down Grill, who also sponsored our team.

HomeComing for the Weiss'

2007-08-20T20:06:00.000-04:00

Meika and Mike returned to the United States on the 11th (bringing Chloe to the U.S. for the first time), but Sam & I missed them due to our trip to Texas. On Wednesday I headed up to Bay City to meet them at my parents' house. Unfortunately Sam couldn't make it because of work. :(

Heeerrrrreee's Chloe!

I was trying to get her making gagging faces as Meika was spooning her some spinachy baby food. I didn't quite catch it...

Those aren't bogies, they're just remnants of the previously mentioned baby food.

Dad thought the occasion called for Oyster Shooters off of his "Oyster of the Month" calendar he received for Christmas.

We were all a little unsure of the drink...mainly seasoned tomato juice, vodka, and an oyster. Cheers!

Bottoms up!

Here the three of us are trying to decide if we liked it or not. I decided one was plenty, but despite their faces, Dad and Mike went for another one.

Rangers Ballpark in Arlington (our 8th stadium)

2007-08-19T21:02:00.000-04:00

Mindi & Greg have season tickets for the Texas Rangers, so on Saturday night we headed out to Arlington for a game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Rangers Ballpark in Arlington was recently renamed (on March 17 of this year), and was previously known as Ameriquest Field.

The outside of the ballpark as we walked up.

Before the game they inducted Rusty Greer into the Rangers Hall of Fame, so they decorated accordingly.

The hand-changed scoreboard in left field.

Sam's favorite baseball player: Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Note how is name barely fits on the back of his jersey...

Sam doing her best Nolan Ryan impersonation. The statue was in the outfield concourse.

Besides a statue of Nolan Ryan, there was also a kids park with different games for kids to play.

Mindi & Greg's tickets are in the front row of the middle deck, which was pretty nice. Here we are with our feet up watching the game.

Sam & Mindi having a good time.

Here's the Rangers' mascot...a scary horse-man.

A view of the field over the visitor's bullpen.

In the end, the Rangers lost 3-0. Here's the final line from the scoreboard.

After the game was a fireworks show. It lasted quite a while and was pretty good.

Two to Texas

2007-08-19T20:16:00.000-04:00

This past weekend (Aug. 10-12) Sam and I headed out to Texas to visit her best friend Mindi. Mindi and her husband Greg currently live in the Dallas area. They will probably be moving to Alabama fairly soon, so Sam wanted me to visit them in Texas and stop by and see Baylor while we were there.

We arrived on Friday and Mindi & Greg made dinner for us, and then Greg made some martinis for everybody. Sam was pretty excited to see Mindi, as you can see in this picture.

On Saturday, we headed down to Waco to visit Baylor, where Sam, Mindi, and Greg all went for undergrad. The Baylor mascot is the bear, and it turns out that Baylor actually has 2 real bears on campus in their Baylor Bear habitat. When we stopped by they were trying to evade the heat by laying in their dens, so we didn't get a very good view of them.

It had been awhile since Sam had visited Baylor, and in the meantime they built a huge new science center, which made Sam a little jealous that she missed out on that (she graduated with a degree in Biology).

They also built a new Forum for sororities- a place for them to meet and do their sorority stuff since Baylor doesn't have residential sororities. Sam was a Kappa Delta, whose letters you can see on the far right of the building's facade.

And here of course is the famous golden-topped building of Baylor. It's actually called the Pat Neff Hall, but it's famous.

We also stopped at a couple of Sam's favorite restaurants (Taco Cabana- a.k.a. Taco C.; and Jack in the Box- a.k.a. JiB) which aren't available in Michigan.

When we got back from Baylor, we went to the Saturday night service of Mindi & Greg's church- Fellowship Church. It's a very large church- if you'd like to see it for yourselves, I believe they broadcast their services on the USA network Sunday mornings at 7:00 am.

As (long ago) Promised: Pictures from the Empire State Building

2007-08-13T13:04:00.000-04:00

A view from the bottom.

Looking north-east-ish.

A better view of the Chrysler Building.

Looking south-east-ish. The Brooklyn Bridge is visible.

St. Patrick's Cathedral on 5th Ave.

Looking north-west-ish at the George Washington Bridge.

Looking north over Central Park. The large tan building blocking your view of Central Park (topped with a GE sign) is Rockefeller Center.

Looking down on some tall buildings.

A view south of the financial district. The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island are indistinctly visible.

A better view of the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island.

The famous Flatiron building.

We didn't know the occasion, but there's a large rooftop party going on here (you may need to click the picture for a better view).

Sam doing her best Lady Liberty impersonation. Luckily she didn't actually purchase the pointy visor...she simply borrowed it for a good time.

As (long ago) Promised: Pics of our Brooklyn Bridge Walk

2007-08-13T12:52:00.001-04:00

The approach to the bridge.

Looking down the roadway.

Just to the north is the Manhattan Bridge.

Some maintenance workers checking something out.

Looking south-west-ish to a large port with a container ship & large cranes.

The Manhattan sky-line from the Brooklyn Bridge.

We touch down in Brooklyn. This is as far as we ventured into Brooklyn...not that we have anything against it, we just had lunch plans back in Manhattan.

Awww!

Great Lakes Loons

2007-08-13T12:33:00.000-04:00

After dinner at the Pig Gig, Mom, Dad, Sam, and I headed to Midland to catch a Great Lakes Loons game. The Loons are a single-A minor league affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers who've recently moved to Midland (I believe this is their inaugural season). The game was pretty full, since we coudn't get anything except for lawn seats.

The view from our seats.

The stadium is called the Dow Diamond, though considering the team mascot is a Loon, we though a more appropriate name would be The Asylum or The Loony Bin. I guess they're not really going for that type of Loon.

The windup, and the pitch!

The Loons were playing the Kane County Cougers, who're from Chicago-land, Illinois. I believe Sam actually has gone to Kane County games while she lived in the Chicago area. As a result she was cheering for the wrong team.

Pig Gig 2007

2007-08-05T14:53:00.000-04:00

The Pig Gig is an annual rib competition in Bay City- which I had never been to, even though it's been around for many years. Sam and I decided to come visit my parents and check out the Pig Gig. Last Labor Day we took a trip to Memphis with her parents, so we needed to compare.

Overall the ribs were pretty good- though not as great as we were hoping. None of them were bad, but we were hoping for something spectacular (it did cost $10 just to get in, and then you had to buy the food on top of that).

In our evaluation, the Pig Gig is not recommended if you're just stopping by for a meal, since it's somewhat pricey (A half-rack was $11), although if you're making a day of it and going to the concerts (This year featured the Bay City Rollers, Gin Blossoms, David DeYoung of STYX, and county star Mark Wills), watching the Pig Races and cooking demonstrations, the cost would become much less of an issue. We also missed out on getting half-price advance sale tickets, which would've made a bit of difference too.

As it was, we had a fun time: the ribs were tasty, the company was good, and we'll probably just grill out at Mom & Dad's next time...

The Famous Dave's big pig. He looks a little too happy considering what's happening to all of his mates...

The "midway" with the different booths for each restaurant/ competitor.

Sam dipping Rickey Henderson into BBQ sauce. Dad evidentally has taken to carrying Rickey Henderson around with him everywhere he goes. I hope it doesn't cause a problem for him at work when he pulls him out and asks people to direct their answers to Rickey...

NYC Trip 2007- Tuesday, July 17th: Central Park, Serendipity 3, Sayonara

2007-08-03T15:26:00.000-04:00

Tuesday we started off with a trip to the Dean & DeLuca visible on the Today show for coffee & a morning treat. We then headed up to check out Central Park.

The "Imagine" mosaic in the Strawberry Fields section of Central Park was decorated with flowers when we walked through.

The Lake (where you can rent boats) has very interesting coloring...I don't think it'd be a very good place to swim.

Walking through the Bethesda Terrace with Bethesda Fountain in the background.

We rented bikes to better check out the entirety of the park. The only bikes available were one speed cruisers- though some were hoping for tandems. Here we are cruisin'.

Looking over The Lake with the city in the background.

A view of New York over The Reservoir.

Belvedere Castle in Central Park.

Looking south down the Mall.

We stopped in at Dylan's Candy Bar while we were waiting for lunch. Sam suckered me into this picture.

Jamie (male) had to leave to catch his flight, so once we saw him off it was time to eat. For lunch we went to Serendipity 3, which is well known for being a hangout of Andy Warhol as well as being featured in the movies Serendipity and One Fine Day. The restaurant is named after the Three Princes of Serendip (a Persian fairy tale), from which the term serendipity was coined.

We had to wait 45 minutes or so for a table, standing in the extremely crowded entry way. We would've waited outside, but it was hot.

Serendipity 3 is famous for their Frrrozen Hot Chocolate, which is an ice cream/drink dessert that tastes just like hot chocolate. It was delicious- Sam is definitely enjoying it!

We also tried the "Can't Say No" Sundae, consisting of humble pie, ice cream, banana, hot fudge, and whipped cream. It was delightful!

After lunch, we hit up M & M World in Times Square (featuring Cool Blue here). We then went back to the hotel, grabbed our bags, and headed out of the city...

NYC Trip 2007- Monday, July 16th: Post-Baseball

2007-08-02T18:32:00.000-04:00

After the game, Jame (male) decided to hit the sack. He had gotten up early and I believe even went for a run before most of us were up in the morning. The rest of us decided to try out the New York night life. We walked around for quite awhile trying to find someplace that wasn't a total dive or totally out of our price range (we were a little suprised how long it took us, considering our location). Eventually we found Rosie O'Grady's, where we stopped for a couple drinks. I believe someone had the urge to relive some college memories by trying a Long Island Iced Tea.

After our trip to Rosie O'Grady's, it was decided to try out the preferred NYC late night snack: cheap pizza. Here's a picture of the girls enjoying their slices. They really seem to be enjoying it! Yum!

Times Square at night. The ABC building is on the right.

Another night-time view of Times Square.

This is the inside of the Toys 'R' Us store in Times Square. One of the main features is a full size Ferris Wheel inside the store.

Yankee Stadium (Our 7th Ballpark)

2007-08-02T13:42:00.000-04:00

We rode on the 6 up to Yankee Stadium; getting there early enough (we figured) to get into Monument Park, which closes to the public 45 minutes before the start of the game. When we got to the stadium I found out they they didn't allow any bags into the Stadium. I, of course, had planned ahead for this game knowing that we would be buying at least a t-shirt in the stadium, so I brought my bag. So...I had to go to a bowling alley across the street and check my bag for $5. Evidentally they do pretty good business just checking bags (they also have a tip jar out, which was unsuprisingly empty). There was a definite lack of signage around the stadium noting the bag prohibition.

Sam, Jamie, and Jamie went on into the stadium to get into line for Monument Park while I checked my bag. Once I finally got back into the stadium, I called to find out where they were. Turns out they weren't allowed to get even close to the line for Monument Park (ushers turned them away), even though it still should be open. I started looking for our seats, which were quite difficult to find. Turns out their signage could use some work. We were in section 35 on the Loge Level.

Here is the sign for section 35.

Here is what it looks like as you walk up to the sign. Note the "35" totally facing the wall. Nice. Really easy.

After a few frustrating phone calls between Sam and myself trying to find each other and our seats, we finally found both. The game itself was much more enjoyable (see the game wrap-up).

The crowd was very into the game (other than the large corporate group of 20-somethings next to us who were getting free beer), and the atmosphere within the stadium was fun and, well...very baseball-ish. The hot dogs were about the same as Shea's (which makes sense since they're both Nathan's dogs), and the nachos were good, but nothing special.

In the end, the Yankees won 6-4; we saw 6 homeruns (Alex Rodriguez's 496th, Hideki Matsui's 92nd, Robinson Cano's 36th, Troy Glaus' 270th and 271st, and Alex Rios' 47th [career homerun stats]); and it was a beautiful night for baseball. The pic is A-Rod at bat- if you click on it, you can see the ball too.

A view of the famous Yankee Stadium facade, which is supposed to be incorporated into the New Yankee Stadium as well. The cranes visible in the picture are building the new stadium.

Sam and Jamie enjoying the game.

The view from our seats.

Looking left from our seats at the stadium. I'm not sure what the guy in the bottom left corner is doing. Perhaps that look is common among Yankees fans...

A view of Monument Park from our seats (not that you can see much...).

The field from the lower box seats before the game. I was suprised how accomodating they were in letting people without tickets to this area walk around here- especially since they were extremely strict about it at Shea. I was taking this picture when an usher approached me and asked if he could help me (I was thinking he was about to boot me), but when he saw that I was taking a picture he said, "Oh, just taking pictures? Feel free to walk around wherever! Have a seat for awhile if you'd like!"

And for our Japanese viewers: Matsui!!

Stupid Human Tricks

2007-07-24T14:20:00.000-04:00

We were walking back to our hotel before heading out to the Bronx for the Yankees game when we came across a large crowd on the street next to the Ed Sullivan Theater. They were in the process of taping the David Letterman show, and were taping a Stupid Human Trick on the street outside the studio.

It might be slightly hard to see (I just used my camera to make the video), but it's a man on rollerblades with special rods sticking straight out of the skates. There are two long lines of wine bottles filled with various amounts of water, tuned to different tones.

As he skated past the rods hit the bottles and played a song. We weren't sure at the time, but Mom told us it was an excerpt from the Toreador Song from Carmen (listen to the original here). Now that we know what song it is, it's easier to hear it.

For the Late Night with David Letterman Fans out there, here's a picture of the Hello Deli- almost directly behind where we were standing to watch the Stupid Human Trick.

We ended up not having time to run back to the hotel since we waited to watch the guy go, but that wasn't too big of a deal. On to the Bronx!

NYC Trip 2007- Monday, July 16th: D&D, BB, ESB, & FAO

2007-07-23T16:33:00.000-04:00

We started the next morning going to the famous Dean & DeLuca (from Felicity I believe, a branch can also be seen in the background from the TODAY show I've been told), which is a famous upscale grocery store, which has satellite coffee shops around the city. On the way Jamie wanted to feel like a native NY'er by buying a bagel from a vendor on the street.

Here Sam is ogling the pastries and desserts (click on the pic to see them better). This was not a staged or reenacted scene...

The original Dean & Deluca store. Their coffee was great, and they had chocolate croissants that were as good as my memory of them in France...

We then walked the Brooklyn Bridge which gave us great views of the city (and the bridge, of course). I think I'll do a separate post just of pictures from the Brooklyn Bridge.

After the Brooklyn Bridge, we walked through Chinatown...

...stopped at a shop of treats that allowed free tastes of everything (I did try the dried crab...it didn't taste too bad, but I was still picking exoskeleton out of my teeth two hours later, click on pic for better view)...

...and then into Little Italy...

...where we found our lunch destination: Lombardi's. The nation's oldest pizzeria (since 1905).

Lombardi's uses coal ovens to cook the pizzas (which pizza classicists maintain is a requirement), though it has become illegal to build new coal ovens in NYC (though existing coal ovens are grandfathered in). As a result, restauranteurs hoping to open a traditional pizza place have been known to scour through abandoned buildings hoping to find an existing coal oven.

Here's our yummy pizza...made with fresh mozzerella. It was really good!

We were also happy to have eaten at Lombardi's.

After lunch we ran across a Pinkberry, which I had heard about on the radio, I believe. It's a frozen yogurt (with a slightly fruity, tangy flavor) that you can get with toppings. I chose raspberries because they looked delicious (they were).

We then took the subway to the Empire State building to go up to the observation deck. We had to wait in a line to go though security (similar to an airport), then get in line for tickets, then get in line for an elevator to the 80th floor, then get in line for an elevator up to the observation deck (86th floor). I think I'll also do a separate post solely devoted to pics from the ESB as well.

We stopped in at F.A.O. Schwarz after the ESB so the Phillips could get their daughter a NYC treat. We enjoyed the lego statues. Here's Hagrid...

...and a dangerous Chewbacca...

...and of course there's the famous piano. We chose not to wait in line to jump on it. I'm sure most of the kids "playing" the piano have no clue why it's famous. If you're interested in your own huge piano, they're listed for the one-time only low price of $250,000.00.

NYC Trip 2007- Sunday, July 15th: Mesa Grill!!

2007-07-21T17:01:00.001-04:00

After the ballgame we cleaned ourselves up and headed out to our super-fancy restaurant for the trip: Mesa Grill. Mesa Grill is a Bobby Flay restaurant, who, if you watch much of the Food Network on TV is a pretty well known chef. He has 3 restaurants in New York, plus restaurants in Atlantic City, Las Vegas, and the Bahamas.

Both Sam and I agree that dinner at Mesa Grill might have been the highlight of the trip. The food was spectacular (yes...that was just bold and italicized). I'm not much of a food connoisseur, but it was sooo good. Sam got the Sixteen Spice Crusted Chicken (with roasted garlic mango sauce- see the first pic), Jamie the Spice Rubbed New York Strip Steak (with house-made MESA steak sauce), and Jamie and I both got the Ancho-Chile Honey Glazed Salmon (with a spicy black bean sauce, tomatilla salsa, and roasted jalapeno crema- see the second pic).

Instead of ordering an appetizer before the meal, we decided it to each order one of the side dishes and share it with everybody. So in addition we each tried the Blue Corn Tamale with Basil Butter, Anaheim Chile Relleno filled with White Cheddar Cheese and Black Beans and Rice, and Southwestern Fries. Jamie (male) ordered the Smoked Chile Collard Greens, which he enjoyed all to himself.

Bobby Flay is well known for his cocktails, so we tried the White Peach and Cactus Pear Margaritas, which were quite tasty (and strong- but a tasty strong). The picture is of the bar at the restaurant.

For dessert, we noticed the table next to us were delivered two large "dessert boats" (as we called them), with 3 different desserts on each. We decided that the dessert boats looked like a great option, since we'd each get to sample 6 different desserts.

The dessert boats after we were done with them.

It was the most expensive meal I've ever eaten, but it was also probably one of the best, if not the best. It was our anniversary in New York- we were supposed to splurge (right Meika?).

The outside of Mesa Grill. Jamie is commenting on its tasty-ness...

We walked to Saint's Alp Teahouse (known as the "Starbucks of Taiwan") for some bubble tea. It was pretty good! We all decided that we liked our Ann Arbor Bubble Island tea better, even if this is probably more "authentic."

Here we are with our drinks. Bubbles are yummy!

NYC Trip 2007- Sunday, July 15th: Rockefeller Center

2007-07-20T16:35:00.000-04:00

The Jamies arrived in NYC while we were at the baseball game, so they went and checked out the Chelsea Piers and Columbia University. While we waited to meet up with them we walked over to the Rockefeller Center area, which was just a couple blocks away from our hotel.

The famous Radio City Music Hall. The Dalai Lama will be there in October if you're interested...

The TODAY show studio...we didn't ever actually see them taping, but we did catch part of it on TV the next morning.

The Prometheus statue from right above. This angle gives a nice view of his tuchus.

Detail on the building directly behind the Prometheus statue.

Looking across the area where the skating rink is during the winter. During the summer it's the home of the Rink Bar & Cafe. The TODAY show studios are visible in the background as well.

St. Patrick's Cathedral is right across from Rockefeller Center on 5th Avenue. It is the largest neo-Gothic style cathedral in the United States, and was dedicated in 1879.

We then met up with the Jamies, brought our bags up to our room, and cleaned up for dinner!

Shea Stadium (Our 6th Stadium)

2007-07-20T13:41:00.000-04:00

The driving force behind this trip was to visit the New York baseball stadiums, since both teams are building new stadiums scheduled to open for the 2009 season. Of course, that means we'll have to go back to NYC to visit those new stadiums in the not too distant future as well. ;-)

We started out with the NY Mets vs. Cincinnati Reds for a 1:10pm game Sunday afternoon. We took the 7-train from Times Square through much of Queens to the stadium. Right across from Shea Stadium is the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, where the U.S. Open is played, and also visible from the subway stop is the large wire-frame "Unisphere" from Men In Black movie fame (see pic).

We got to the stadium pretty early (about 2 hours) so we could tour the stadium, get some food (we were hungry), and pick up a Shea Stadium shirt for Sam's collection, plus, the first 25,000 fans in the gates got free Mets hats for Military Appreciation Day. When we got up to the stadium, they weren't letting people inside yet, so I ran around to the front of the stadium to take a picture while Sam waited in line. The doors opened just before I got back to her. As we got up to the front of the line, we saw they weren't letting people take in the free chips & popcorn they were giving away outside the stadium, so I threw away our empty bag plus the full bags we hadn't eaten yet. Unfortunately (as I soon realized), I also had my ticket in the hand with the bags that I just put in the trash. As a result, I had to dig through the trash, trying to find my ticket. I was having problems finding it, but Sam tipped the (luckily) not very full trash bin on its side and crawled part of the way in to retrieve my ticket! I knew I made a good choice when I married her! She did, however, refuse to re-enact crawling in the trash can to illustrate this blog article.

See our fancy camoflauge Mets hats!

Once safely in the stadium, we stopped at Mama's of Corona for a famous hot turkey sandwich that received rave reviews from The Ultimate Baseball Road Trip. We personally thought the sandwich was good, but nothing exceptional. The hot dogs were tasty (Nathan's brand), and the beer was nice and cold (it was a pretty hot day).

Our seats were in section 29 of the Mezzanine level, box 671B. We were only 2 rows or so from the front of that level. We sat down 45 minutes or so before the game started, and unfortunately, our seats were in full sun. We decided about halfway through the 2nd inning to move up to the Upper Level to sit in the shade, since we were just sweating, burning, and uncomfortable in the sun.

While "our" Upper Level seats weren't quite as good, there was shade and a wonderful breeze that kept us nice and comfortable the rest of the game. We got to see a Mets home run (which causes the "Big Apple" to pop out of the top hat in center field (see pic), and in the end the Mets won the game 5-2. The only disappointment for me was the lack of Ken Griffey Jr. for the Reds. Evidently he had the day off.

We left the game a little early (half way through the 8th); partially to avoid the crowds on the subway ride back into Manhattan, and partially because we were antsy to see the rest of NYC.

The Home Run Big Apple. This was actually taken before the game started, when they just keep it out of the hat, but during the game it only rises out of the hat after a Mets home run.

A view into the new CitiField Stadium from the Upper Level in Shea, opening in 2009.

The skyline & logo at the top of the Shea Stadium scoreboard.

A portrait by Sam. My hat looks funny, but that's because I'm wearing the free Mets hat over my Tigers hat. I didn't have to set it on the beer-y ground that way.

A cute pic of Sam (as requested!) at Shea Stadium.

NYC Trip 2007- Sunday, July 15th: Into the City

2007-07-19T14:34:00.000-04:00

Sunday was our 1st anniversary! WOO! We made it! :-)

We celebrated our anniversary in the morning by having a fancy hotel breakfast. Well...actually we thought we were getting free continental breakfast, but it turns out it wasn't so free. I guess we should've known when a hotel worker asked us if they could get us something to drink. Oh well. We can splurge (even unknowingly) on our anniversary, right?

It took less than an hour to get into New York City from the hotel. We took the Lincoln Tunnel, which was smaller than I thought it would be- it's only two lanes in either direction. Our hotel (Novotel Times Square) was easy to find, and we checked our bags (we couldn't check-in until later), parked the car, and went for a stroll.

We grabbed a couple drinks at a Europa Cafe just around the way from the hotel. The Europa Cafe turned out to be kitty corner from the Ed Sullivan Theater, where the David Letterman Show is taped.

We then walked a bit around Times Square, but we didn't do too much sightseeing since we wanted to get out to Shea Stadium fairly early. We hopped on the 42nd St./Times Square station and took the 7-train for 30-35 minutes or so out to Shea.

NYC Trip 2007- Saturday, July 14th

2007-07-19T12:12:00.000-04:00

We were both very excited for our trip to New York. We left about 8:30 in the morning this past Saturday and drove near Pittsburgh to meet up with Liz, a friend of Sam from college, and her husband. We ate lunch at Max & Erma's off I-76 and Sam & Liz had some time to catch up and look over each other's wedding albums.

After the long lunch (it was nice to escape the car), we drove another 6 hours or so to our hotel in Somerset, NJ. We were both pretty hungry by this time, so we checked in, dropped off our bags, and headed out to find Stuff Yer Face (see pic) in New Brunswick. Stuff Yer Face was about 6 miles or so from the hotel and we found it easily, though parking was a little tricky. We ended up driving around a bit looking for parking spots. We at least got to take a mini-tour of the Rutgers campus.

Stuff Yer Face specializes in 'bolis (stromboli) and beer. It was a college town hang-out type of place: pretty low key, not too fancy, with lots of character. For drinks, Sam got a watermelon martini, which was "delightful," it tasted very similar to a watermelon Jolly Rancher. I ordered a Framboise Lambic beer and it was really tasty. It didn't really taste like beer (which explains why Sam liked it) since it is brewed with raspberries. As a result it has a very fruity flavor. Here is Sam enjoying the beer.

Their 'bolis were also yummy. We ordered the small size (though they weren't small- see pic). We both thoroughly enjoyed stuffing our face. Now all we need is an Ann Arbor branch of Stuff Yer Face...

630.8 miles

2007-07-15T07:43:00.000-04:00

We drove quite a bit yesterday. We stuffed our faces. We're in the hotel in Somerset, NJ right now grabbing our continental breakfast, then driving into the city!!!

Oh...by the way...it's our first anniversary today! Yay! Woo!

NYC Preview!

2007-07-13T17:30:00.000-04:00

Here's a brief rundown of what we'll be doing the next several days:

Saturday:

Leave early in the morning for NYC
Stop in Pittsburgh for lunch with Liz (Sam's friend from college)
Stop for the night in Somerset, NJ
Eat at Stuff Yer Face in New Brunswick, NJ

Sunday (our 1st Anniversary!!!):

Mets vs. Reds at Shea Stadium (1:10)
Dinner at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill NYC

Monday:

Touristy stuff- walk Brooklyn Bridge, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, TBD
Lunch at Lombardi's
Yankees vs. Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium

Tuesday:

More sightseeing (specifics TBD)
Leave NYC (no set time)

We're very excited to go! We can't wait! WOO!

New Header

2007-07-10T10:38:00.001-04:00

I thought I'd try to fancy this place up a bit...I think it looks nicer. I'm still trying to work out the kinks though...I'm not very good with this whole personalization thing with the blog.

Whaddya think?

Addicted to Blogging?

2007-07-09T17:25:00.000-04:00

I wouldn't say I'm addicted to blogging, but now that I have time for it I certainly enjoy doing my own and reading others. There's a short quiz you can take that determines exactly how addicted to blogging you are.

Here are my results:
58%

Mingle² - Online Dating

New Bike!

2007-07-09T12:04:00.000-04:00

I've been wanting to get a new bike for a few years (probably ever since someone didn't properly lock up my bike in college), but didn't see it as necessary enough to put money into. So when I received a stipend for participating in some environmental education research last week, I **update** Sam and I thought putting it towards a new bike would be perfect.

I went for a long bike ride today (mainly because my calf is sore so I'm avoiding running), and I must say that I think I like the new bike.

Tabby's Friend (I don't think it's mutual)

2007-07-05T17:25:00.000-04:00