Who Put the End in Weekend?

The weekend that got away. Oh where, oh where, have my Saturdays gone? Oh where, oh where can they be?

On Friday night, we attended the annual pumpkin carving party. Food. Wine. Bonfire. Garage filled with tables upon tables of kids and adults carving pumpkins. The event is punctuated each year with our friend Brad carving a pumpkin with a chainsaw while the votes are tabulated.

Carving with a chainsaw

A few of the many pumpkins waiting to be judged

Saturday, we stood in the chilly autumn air, covered in blankets, to watch Son #2's Little League team (finally) beat their opponents. After suffering loss upon loss, it felt so good.

And Sunday, after brunch with my girlfriends, Son #2 and I hit the batting cages. I seriously should have worn batting gloves -- I never realized how much hitting a baseball hurts your hands! Ouch.

 Next time, I'm coming prepared. And I'm taking no prisoners.

Happy Mother's Day Grannie!

Son #1 turned eleven yesterday. Crazy. Celebrated over sushi at Shiki on Friday night followed by gift #1 from Uncle Kevin & Aunt Sue (huge hit!), pancakes with Grannie and the other Aunt Sue on Saturday morning and gift #2 (huge hit!), gifts from us at noon (huge hit!) and a sleepover with his friends (aka hours and hours of xbox: huge hit!). All-in-all, a successful day.

Looking forward to going to church with my mom this morning and heading to Gallea's afterward to buy some plants for her front and back porches.

Later today? Going to Skaneateles for the day to walk the little shops and then to the spa and for dinner/sleepover at Mirbeau with my girlfriends. Cannot wait. We didn't intend to go on Mother's Day specifically -- none of us realized it when we booked. Nothing says Mother's Day than a day without your kids. D'oh!

In tribute to the best mom a girl could ever have: one song, among many, that reminds me of my fabulous, soulful mom.

Let the Games Begin

Ah yes, spring ball has officially kicked off in Pittsford with the annual Little League parade where kids carry bags of candy and pelt people in the face. I got a zinger to the lip. Ouch. Son #2 got rid of his Halloween candy. Blech.

Thankfully, given the miserable state of continual rain that we're experiencing this year, we had a sunny, warm day to walk through town and, later, lie in the hammock. 

Odyssey of the Mind

A few weeks ago, Son #1's Odyssey of the Mind team competed at Regionals in the Extreme Mousemobile category. The competition was held at a high school across town during a blinding storm. After their performance, all of the parents threw the soaking wet remnants of their project in the trunks of their cars and sped off.

Apparently it was a little awkward later that evening when they unexpectedly won first place and not a single team member or coach (including the hubby) was at the award ceremony. All of the parents started getting calls, "You guys just won. Where are you?" Oops. Time to put everything back together again.

Last weekend, we all descended upon the SUNY Binghamton campus for States. All 4K of us, more or less. It was like a nerd convention meets cheerleading competition. Kids of all ages, from fourth grade through high school seniors, were decked out. Painted faces. Crazy t-shirts. Wild hair. Giant contraptions for the various competitions. Early Saturday morning, it was a mix of palpable excitement and stress. The place was buzzing with energy. As the day wore on, and kids were sleeping in the hallways outside lecture halls between matches, it began to take on the appearance of a dingy bus station chock full of weary travelers.

One lecture hall was used as a holding area for teams who were about to enter the spontaneous portion of the competition. It smelled like the Wisconsin State Capitol after three weeks of protesters camping out. The room was overseen by a grown man wearing a tuxedo t-shirt and black sport jacket. He was working the crowd and asking for "talent" to come up and perform. High school kids would lead the audience in rousing singalongs to the Pokemon theme song. Another man/team engaged the audience in a singing/dancing/Simon Says-like game. Arms out. Thumbs up. Legs bent. Knees together. Rump out. Tongue out. It was like a kid-friendly Time Warp.

Every few minutes, an escort would appear in the back of the hall. The audience would then recite some strange "mirror mirror" chant and the escort would dutifully announce the next team. Bizarre.

Needless to say, it was a long day.

The awards ceremony took place that evening in the sports stadium. Although it didn't start until 6:30 p.m., we got a call just after 5:00 p.m. that the place was filling up and our neighbors were holding seats for us. So there we sat before the ceremony (while the floor was packed with kids dancing), during a painfully long silent auction where they raffled off last year's t-shirts, through the welcome and thank yous (to everyone from the judges to the Board of Directors), through the wave, through the ear shattering "make noise" nonsense, through the various scholarship and merit-based awards and then, finally, through the announcement of the top 2-5 teams of every competition and every division. Yes, they saved the #1 teams for last which meant that no one could bail early. To make it even longer (because we all know how patient kids are), one by one, the teams that came in second and third, 30 teams in all, descended from the bleachers, walked the length of the stadium, accepted their awards and took pictures.

Fun.

Sadly, our team tied Massapequa for 10th place out of 20 teams. Had we been as skeptical (or, in this case, realistic) as we were for Regionals, we could have blown out of there in the early afternoon.

Regardless, I'm glad we had the experience just this one time. And I'm grateful that we don't have to endure three more days of this at World championships in MD at the end of May. But most of all I'm just proud of Son #1 and his teammates for making it to States in the first place. They did a great job.

Photo Per Day #21: Powers Farm Market

Stopped by Powers Farm Market with Son #2 to feed the animals. It's been a few weeks since the Halloween haunted teepees/hayrides/pumpkin picking mayhem subsided and we thought they might be a bit lonely.

Photo Per Day #13: Public Market

This morning, my girlfriend Yams, the kids and I headed down to one of my favorite places in the city: the Rochester Public Market. This 105 year old establishment was recently voted the Best Farmers' Market in the U.S. narrowly beating my cousin Toni's market in Davis, CA. (Note: Let's go there when I come visit!)

I love the sights. The crowds. The people watching. The vendors. The colors. The fresh veggies. The fruits. Pretty much everything but the parking.

Photo Per Day #12: TGIF

Yea! It's almost the weekend! A few more hours of this view (below), an afternoon at a client site, and then the fun begins with a visit from my girlfriend Yammikins.

And if my bro is reading this, please note your name, actually your entire family's signatures, remain on the bottom of the white board in my office. We're just conducting business around the more important stuff in life.

Photo Per Day #7: Kitty Condo

Last night we hosted a bunch of nine year old boys for a sleepover. I think they had heaps o' fun. They played football and baseball outside in the freezing cold. Came in and played video games. Ate pizza and chocolate fondue (big hit). Received gift bags with Lego mini-figures and Brickarms weapons (because what Lego surfer dude is complete without an assault rifle?) Played more video games. Football in the basement. And they tried to stay up all night. 

Yep, the only night of the year when you don't want an extra hour . . .

Today's pic is post-mayhem: the kittens relaxing in their new Japanese style housing complex and looking at each other a la the Brady Bunch.

Time to go to sleep.

A Photo Per Day

My girlfriend Ursula has been posting a daily photo on Facebook of her life for a month. Pictures include the view from her apartment, the street vendor from whom she buys her morning coffee, her bike, etc. And she's struggling. I keep thinking, "You live in Manhattan -- every street has a new photo op, no?" Not to mention that she's artistic and works for MOMA. It seems like it should be a relatively easy assignment for her but it's not.

I was wondering if I could do the same thing here for a month. How difficult would it be in a town where nothing happens? Apparently pretty darned tough. But I might try it during November -- a month in the Roc that's notoriously devoid of character. No falling leaves. No sunshine. No snow (hopefully). 

I'm a terrible photographer but I brought my camera with me yesterday, in preparation, just to see what I could capture.

First stop, early morning, my sister's new puppy barking at the waves outside the cottage. He was racing around so quickly I could barely capture him in the frame.

Then, off to the tiny Episcopalian church that's about one minute up the road where my little man rang the bell after the service. So stinkin' cute to see him pulling the giant cord and listen to the bells chiming.

 

After church, we went bowling where I somehow forgot to take pictures. What I should have captured were the insulting graphics that appeared on the giant screen above our lane. Dancing pins shouting "gutter ball." Great for a little kid's self-esteem (not to mention mine). 

Remembered the camera before lunch at Rio Tomatlan in Canandaigua. Como se dice, "yummy" en Espanol? It was here, after buying the kids new winter coats and gloves on the way to the restaurant, that I heard, "Thank you mom for the best day ever." Warms the heart. 

 

Intent on studying the selection of salsa verdes, the subject of the photo hides behind his menu.

Last stop on the way home, apple picking at the aptly named The Apple Farm. Riding the tractor . . . 

Picking yellow delicious . . .

Posing like the Fonz at the top of the hill camera askew . . .

And picking red delicious . . .

So tired at the end of the day, I could have slept while sitting upright but I let the Milkman do that for me  :)

ArtAwake

What a fun, sun-filled weekend. Hammock. Basketball. A little light cleaning.

Late Saturday afternoon, my mom, kids and I went to ArtAwake: an art/performance art gathering in a beautiful, vacant, old bank downtown. We went to see the opening band, 441, which is a bunch of 13 year old boys (i.e., a girlfriend's son and friends) who played rock hits like Led Zeppelin along with their own tunes that I preferred. Mad talent for middle school boys. There was food and wine. Interactive spaces for music and photography. People dressed in white who you could paint. (My kids declined; they're much too cool for that.) All-in-all, it was a nice diversion from the everyday tasks of life.

Afterward, we got delicious, pulled pork sandwiches at Sticky Lips then the kids had a sleepover at Grannie's while I went to see the hubby's band at Abilene. So. Much. Fun. There were heaps of bands playing elsewhere that night so the crowd was pretty light but we had a blast -- especially later when we had the dance floor to ourselves. My torn ligament was healing nicely so I tried to cement my feet to the floor and awkwardly dance in place; however, that gave way as the more fun songs were played later in the evening. Dancing without moving your feet is difficult and not so much fun, I've discovered.

It was pretty hot in the bar so we kept escaping to the patio out back to cool off. It was either that or take our shirts off -- which prompted us to ask ourselves if we had nice enough bras on to bare it all. (No, thankfully. And the ringleader of such activities had just left early so we weren't going to take up the reins in her absence.)

As a result, we started reminiscing/laughing about a night out maybe <20 years ago when a bunch of us went bowling at Clover Lanes. As the stakes got higher throughout the night, one thing led to another, and we were challenging each for extra points with daring feats of stupidity (e.g., five points if you take your shirt off). The night later became dubbed "bra bowling" as the men's Christian league beside us left quickly and the young man who was using the bowling lane equivalent of the zamboni to clean/buff the lanes before closing, fell over his equipment. Serves him right for staring at us and walking backward at the same time. D'oh!

I need to walk into town and hit Embrasse-Moi in case the occasion presents itself again soon. Must look my best.

Crazy Train

Here I am, podunk girl, at my girlfriend Laura's apartment overlooking Lincoln Center and, in the distance, the Hudson River. Breathtaking.

I jumped in the subway this a.m. to be entertained by a flamboyantly gay, young, black guy who was wearing a straw cowboy hat and was serenading the train with non-stop, comedic shtick. He escorted me to a seat and insisted that I relax. He then told the woman next to me that she should remain standing because her ass was too large already. While a few people were averting their eyes, many were laughing their heads off.

Just before I exited, he made his way back to me and said, "You're very beautiful" so I responded, "Thank you very much."

He then started whooping, "Ladies and gentlemen, this woman just proved me wrong. White women do speak! You, my friend, are the first to speak to me on this train!"

All this before 9:00 a.m. Could be a long and interesting weekend.

Friday the 13th

In lieu of giving in to the "bad luck" of the day, I thought I would capture thirteen things that make me happy (in no particular order and not an exhaustive list).

1. Snuggling with my boys
2. Sunshine (on my shoulders . . . )
3. Travel (for pleasure v. business)
   
4. Dancing wildly
5. Cupcakes
6. Cocktails with my girlfriends
7. My husband's cooking
8. The holiday market at Union Square
9. Birds (e.g., sparrows, finches and sandpipers)
10. Church bells, candles and incense
11. The smell of fresh pipe tobacco
    
12. Christmas (e.g., trees, lights, songs, festivities, presents)
13. Stinky (our passionate, incessantly hungry, bulimic, black cat)

Oh. Did I say thirteen? I meant a baker's dozen plus one . . . 'cause you can't help but look at these cuties from a bygone era and feel real joy. (And no, it's not Bowie, Henrik Lundqvist, Paul Rudd or John Cusack, so there.)

Free Range Telephone Poles

How is it possible that I'm back in this office so quickly? Why can't every weekend be filled with fun and candy? Like double cherry pie? Like disco lemonade?

First off, I read a book that the hubby borrowed from the library entitled Year of the Cock: The Remarkable True Account of a Married Man Who Left His Wife and Paid the Price. A total page turner! And by page turner, I mean that you can flip through, without reading, about 100 pages of absolute jibber jabber where this dude is pathologically obsessed with his penis. Constantly standing in front of the mirror, measuring, tugging, etc. and describing it all in exhaustive detail. Thanks but no thanks. While the "cock" reference is perfectly in sync with the Chinese zodiac, I really wish there was a Year of the Douchebag: The Lame but True Account of a Total Dip Shit Who Lost His Mind, Wife, Palms, Young/Hot Girlfriends and Any Sense of Decorum. With all that said, this tale confirms that men with small penises do, in fact, buy Porsches. Ew.

Beyond that, the weekend was filled with taking Son #1 to swimming class and sitting poolside for an additional hour while he played water polo with the other kids, creating cute little Halloween pumpkin crafts (I'm so stinkin' domestic!!), handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters as my ninja and alien boys went door-to-door collecting even more lard-ass-inducing loot, going to church and going on a hike with the Cub Scouts at the Cumming Nature Center where I felt like I was fully immersed in an Audubon painting. Specifically this Hudson River School painting that I stumbled upon but with fewer leaves and more beaver lodges.

What I learned? That prior to the obsolescence of land lines, entire forests were planted to farm telephone poles. And they're breathtaking now.

(Photo from the Finger Lakes Visitors Connection via Ontario County.)

What else I learned? That GPS is completely unreliable. (Note: I already discovered this on my way to D.C. and my way home from Saranac Lake but this time was the worst.) It told me to take a left on a non-existent street. Just trees to the left. Trees to the right. I was also guided deep into a continuous cycle/circle of U-turns. It later led me up a gravel driveway that ended at a house and proceeded to tell me to take a left. My father did that while drunk many years ago and his car wound up in our living room -- so I decided not to follow in his footsteps. I didn't know this family and they might not appreciate it as much as we did at the time.

Anyhoo, nothing says "leadership" and "parenting 101" quite like driving 700 miles an hour on winding, country roads and bellowing expletives while a little scout sits quietly in the backseat occasionally piping in with comments like, "Wow mama! That was a sharp turn!" as he slid sideways. Thank God for seat belts. And for troop meetings that start notoriously late.

All of this leads up to today: Little Monkey's eighth birthday! Stock tip of the week: before the official birthday party next weekend, buy shares of GameStop and all things Tony Hawk. If last night's family party was any indication, there's a whole lot of dollars being invested in these brands.

Once again, happiness prevails.

Bright Eyed and Bushy Tailed

After sleeping away much of the weekend, I can reflect more accurately upon the fun things that did happen last week:

1. Went out to dinner at Rocco with my girlfriends Heather and Gretchen -- and ordered grilled octopus salsa verde with a basil gimlet (or two) DELICIOUS
   
2. Went for sushi at lunchtime with my girlfriend Michele -- outdoors in the sunshine -- at California Rollin' 2 YUM
3. Spent a couple of hours at the Pittsford Pub on Thursday night catching up with the old neighborhood gang o' neer-do-wellers (most of whom are now, 30 years later, actually doing well)
4. Came home to a fire pit and relaxation with my next door neighbors while the kids played Jictapus (a tag-like game that they made up and which sounds really funny as they run around in the dark yelling "Jictapus" at each other)
   
5. Took Friday as a vacation day -- yes a vacation day! REST
   
6. Went out for Jamaican food with the hubby to celebrate 16 years of wedded bliss
   
7. Booked a trip with my mom and kids for Aruba next week YES Aruba next week -- a completely undeserved, over-the-top luxury
8. Started reading another fabulous book, Unaccustomed Earth, courtesy of my mom (who also gave me the Guernsey book that I loved) THANKS MOM
   
9. Rode bikes and played a family game of wiffle ball followed the next day by pitching a neighborhood game of wiffle ball
   
10. Did my wash! Amen amen.

Now it's back to work.

But the Jamaican meal, at Island Fresh Cuisine, was fresh, spicy and delicious. In my recently adopted quest to abandon the ordinary, I ordered curried goat which was absolutely to-die-for. (Actually, the goat did sacrifice his life for my meal. Sad.) The hubby had the escovitch fish which was good but not nearly as fantabulous as mine (sucker). We also shared a beef patty which was similar in nature to a hot empanada, fried plantains and complementary "festival sticks" which were tiny, fresh rolls lightly seasoned with cinnamon and nutmeg, I think. Sadly, the place is a) a bit pricey at $100 for two meals/drinks, b) somewhat dark as we were seated under a festive umbrella indoors, c) slow enough that I could have taken a nap at the table between courses and d) located in an otherwise deserted strip mall by the RIT campus which, being summer, was pretty much empty.

I hope they do well. In the kid-friendly, Crapplebees world in which we live, interesting meals are few and far between these days!

Perfect Day

Fiesta de la Gringa

Had dinner with my boss and a client on Friday night at Richardson's Canal House. We had a glass of wine on the patio and watched the boats go by. Later we went into the pub for Kobe Beef burgers. This is the second time I had one of their burgers and the second time I was sick to my stomach afterward. The fat content must rival that of the entire Friendly's menu -- the only other restaurant that makes me ill with every visit. On the plus side, at least they serve alcohol at Richardson's. Next time: salad.

Saturday was spent at swimming, Little League, buying new camouflage crocs for Son #1 and shopping for red, white and blue gifts to celebrate Juana becoming an American citizen! Nothing says "congratulations" like cheap goods made in China. I heart USA socks. A red t-shirt bedazzled with fireworks. Statue of Liberty sunglasses. And three strands (i.e., red, white and blue) of Mardi Gras-like beads.

On Sunday, we had a picnic for Juana and her family on the beach complete with American food: turkey, chips, hotdogs in baked beans, fruit salad, chocolate chip cookies, cherry pie and frozen custard. I even made potato salad!! Me!!

Juana told us that her husband said he would take her to the movies to celebrate her new citizenship and she replied, "I'm a gringa now. I can take myself to the movies."

Finally, last night Son #2 and I went to Walking with Dinosaurs. He loved it. He pre-empted the announcer with every dinosaur that entered the arena (e.g., "Here comes ankylosaurus" or "That's a brachiosaurus") and knew whatever period we were entering when the last ended (i.e., "This should be the cretaceous period"). So I'm thinking that he didn't actually learn anything about dinosaurs that he didn't already know but seeing 40' high reptiles thunder around and attack each other was pretty darned thrilling. My advice to other parents: save your $100 and put it toward Disney. You can get an entire day in a theme park for the same price -- not just an hour-long show. Oh well. At least he'll remember it for . . . what, a week?

Monday Monday

Sleepovers, fire pits, roasted marshmallows, acupuncture, little league, movie night outside on the neighbor's big screen, wine, sangria and church.

I heart weekends.

Light at the End of the Tunnel

I have a client who typically says at the end of his presentations, "I'm the only thing standing between you and happy hour . . . with that said, does anyone have any questions?"

Today I have to attend a meeting on a sales commission structure that we developed for a manufacturing client, write a terms & conditions document for a new business venture, develop one side-by-side comparison of a boutique client v. their nationwide competitor for a sales pitch, review/edit an RFQ for a website redesign, complete some remaining secondary market research for a client presentation, attend a client meeting to review a software application they're considering, pull together some interview questions to kick-off two strategic planning projects and have a conference call regarding a contract we wrote months ago to support a fledgling business partnership . . .

These are the only things standing between me and my four day weekend in NYC! Yippee!