Too much time on my hands

So this morning, Andrew woke me up before he went to work, and I had some time to goof around on the computer. Remembering a recent conversation with one of my best friends, Tamara, I decided to check out a website that she told me about. Now, you all know how Quincy and Roxy are my children. Well, I bet you all want me to get to the point, or points. And the points are: this

Join the Dogster community

and this

Join the Catster community

. I know, I know... I'm a looser. But any of you pet owners out there, feel free to make a dogster or catster for your own four-legged friend and they can be pals with my bunch.

Collective Soul, Live, and Counting Crows

For my birthday, Andrew bought me tickets to go see Collective Soul, Live and Counting Crows at Dutchess Stadium. My parents came along too. It was awesome. Great venue for a concert. It was General Admission seating, and we got there early to make sure that we had good seats. We sat in the seats (not on the field), but we were pretty close to the stage. They have some pretty good beers on draft at the stadium. We enjoyed Killians, Blue Moon Honey Moon, and Sam Adams Cherry Wheat. Yummy! Just what we needed to cool down in the August heat. I was surprised how many songs I remember from when I was growing up. All of the bands were excellent! I would go see each one of them again. My mom and I had some time to bond while the boys got another round.
My parents
enjoyed the concert as much as Andrew and I did.
Well, Andrew made me a birthday dinner on August 11 (the day before my birthday), then we went out top dinner on my birthday, I had a small get together with the grand parents at my parent's house last weekend, and I celebrated my birthday again at the concert. If I keep it up at this rate, I'll be celebrating #23 until #24 rolls around!

Born To Run

Ok, ok. Now that the Family Talent Show is over, I can post my video for anyone who wants to relive the experience. Enjoy!

Do I have a career waiting for me in the music industry?

10 Confessions...

I'm stealing this idea from my sister-in-law. I have worked the past 3 overnights and have nothing else exciting to post about, so I'm going to let you know 10 things about my that you may or may not know.

1. I Can't Wait To Have Kids.
I don't know 100% for sure what I want to do when I grow up, except I know I want to be a Mom. I think that is just about the best thing in the world. I even know what I'm going to name the kids- when we do finally have them. Andrew and I have discussed the topic quite often. Don't get all excited about us having them right away, though. We know we're not ready yet! For example, we argue about who has to walk the dog at 10pm- so we know it would be a disaster to have a child at this point. Oh- and as for the names- one of Andrew's sisters and her husband kept their baby's name secret until after she was born, and I think that's a neat idea. I don't want to hear people's comments on the names. If Andrew and I like them, that's all that matters. Plus, it was kind of exciting guessing what my niece was going to be named.

2. I Love Music
I don't mind a long ride, stuck in traffic as long as there are some good tunes on the radio. Andrew and I often have issues about this when we go somewhere. He likes to listen to the news on NPR, but I need to rock out otherwise I go crazy. It's not just any music, I have to be able to belt it out at the top of my lungs (can't wait for the family talent show tomorrow!)

3. Burger King =Guilty Pleasure
I know it's horrible for you and it makes my tummy grumbly. I understand all of that, but I love Burger King Cheese Burgers. I can't explain it.

4. I Like Pina Coladas And Getting Stuck In The Rain
Pina Coladas are yummy, and as long as the rain doesn't soak me on my way to work, it's fun.

5. My Life Revolves Around TV
It's sad, but true. I am a huge TV addict. I don't watch just anything, though. I do have a (long) list of favorites. For new shows, I can't miss Scrubs. The show cracks me up, plus I have a huge crush on Zach Braff. He's my friend on mysapce! I also love the show How I Met Your Mother. I feel like that show captivates my age group (and social circle) very well. That's another show that I watch and laugh the entire half hour. A new favorite is Army Wives. I know, I know... it's a Lifetime drama. But I'm sorry- that show is more addicting than crack. Even Andrew is hooked. I also look forward to my double feature or detective stories every Friday on USA. Monk (everyone's favorite OCD detective) and Psych (everyone's favorite fake Psychic detective agency). Then, even though I despise Reality TV, I can't miss So You Think You Can Dance and The Amazing Race. And I'm always up for a good game show. Aside from practically anything on GSN (especially Match Game), I like The Power of 10, Singing Bee, Don't Forget The Lyrics, 1 vs 100, and a classic... Family Feud. When all else fails, I know I can rely on re-runs to get me through a day. I can sit down and watch any episode of: Dawson's Creek, Roseanne, Mad About You, Seinfeld, Dharma & Greg, Still Standing, and many others.

6. My Goal Is To Be In Every State By The Time I'm 30
I only have 7 years left, but I'm a good part of the way there. Here's what's left on my list to visit: Vermont, Rhode Island, Missouri, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. Since I live in Massachusetts, I can knock off Vermont and Rhode Island in a weekend, so hopefully my list will soon be down to 9. And our next big vacation is going to be a cruise to Alaska. I think for the northern and northwestern states, we should plan a road trip.

7. My Favorite Ice Cream is Chocolate
Not to say that I don't enjoy many flavors of ice cream (Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Strawberry, Cotton Candy, and many,many more), but nothing beats chocolate. Yummy yummy in my tummy!

8. I Collect Bottle Tops
Mostly from beer bottles, but also from glass soda bottles. I plan to build a bar in my house, and the bar top is going to be made of bottle tops. We have tops from many interesting beers from small breweries, and some from soda tops that we collected in Morocco.

9. I Heart Katie Holmes
It goes way back to my Dawson's Creek high school days, but I have such a girl crush on Katie Holmes. Even before she became Mrs. Tom Cruise, I read every story about her in all the trashy magazines. I'm glad that the magazines have been writing nicer stories about her lately. While she was pregnant and right after she had Suri, the press was mean to her. They kept trying to make her look silly and wishing that her marriage would fail. I wish her the best in life. She looks so happy.

10. I'm Addicted To Tattoos
As anyone who has a tattoo will tell you, they are addicting. I got my first one on my 18th birthday, and my second one 3 days before my 19th birthday (See Happy Birthday to Me Post on 8/12/07). My most recent tattoo was done on 7/3/07 in honor of my Nana. Nana had a lot of Claddagh jewelry. This one is on my shoulder. It makes me feel like Nana's watching over me. I don't know what I'm going to get for my next one, only time will tell.

Good news for my begonia

Remember a few weeks ago when I accidentally snapped the top off of my begonia (see Plant Trouble from 8/6/07). Well, I've had the broken tip sitting in a glass of water since the accident, and finally it's paying off! It's sprouting roots!

I plan to plant it in dirt after we get back from NY on Sunday. I hope it takes!
As for the rest of the plant, it's starting to look less silly. It's starting to grow a new leaf!
Hooray for my semi-green thumb! It's getting a little greener every day!

Busy Weekend...

We had a busy weekend! We went to NY to look at a modular house that we are thinking about buying. We really liked the house, we just need to figure out if we feel comfortable building there with the recent floods over the past few years.
Any ideas as to how we can make a house flood proof? Or at least flood resistant? We have some ideas, but we're open to hearing what you think.

We had a little birthday party at my parent's house. Leave it to me to stretch my birthday out for a week. Pop is living with my parents, and Grammy and Grampy live a few minutes away, so it's easy to get people together on short notice. Andrew, Mom, Bre, Pop, Grammy and Grampy got together with me to enjoy some birthday cake. Yum- Funny Bone Cake! Thanks Mom!

My Dad was at the "party" too, but he was outside working on his soapbox for the 13th Annual Artist's Soapbox Derby. The theme of his soapbox this year was "Rosendale: A Carrousel of Festivals" It turned out really well. In fact, my Dad came home yesterday with a Trophy and a gift certificate to Mariner's. It was a bonding experience for Bre and Dad. The Soapbox got quite a bit of attention at the Derby.
Dad and Pop relax after a busy day.


And we also have a new member of our family. Well, we don't have her yet- she's only 11 days old! But in October, we will be bringing She-Ra home. Pam found her outside on August 9, and has taken her in. She is so small- her eyes aren't even open yet, and it's hard to get a good picture of her. She's like the size of a hamster! We have plans to go back to NY this coming up weekend. It will be interesting to see how much She-Ra will grow in a week. I hope her eyes will be open so she can see her new Mama and Dad!

So You Think You Can Dance

Last night was the season finale of "So You Think You Can Dance." This was the 3rd season of my guilty pleasure. I've had my favorites each season. Season 1 I liked Melody. Season 2 was love at first sight with Benji. This season, I was rooting for Lacey from the first moment she was on screen. First of all, she's Benji's little sister, and secondly- and more importantly- she totally captivates the audience, loves the camera, and has talent oozing out of her ears. I watched her climb the ladder to success with every episode. Then last night- a devastating blow! She was the first one eliminated! At that point, I had no desire to watch any more. Well, not really, but I was at work and happened to be in a patient's room (and I decided that patient really wanted to watch the finale) and saw Lacey eliminated. If I was home I still would have watched, but I had things to do. I made sure that I was available to watch the very end to see who the winner would be. It came down to Danny and Sabra. Danny had never done anything for me all season, so if I had to choose between those two, I was pulling for Sabra. She is very talented, and it's about time a woman won that competition. So I anxiously watched as Cat opened the envelope and announced that the winner was...Sabra! I was happy for Sabra, but I feel that Lacey was robbed! Oh well, that's all over now. I wonder who is going to win my heart next summer...

Family Talent Show...

I have been very busy working, so I don't have much to say this week. I have been working very hard on my talent for Andrew's family's Talent Show next weekend. I do have pictures to post from my rehearsals, but I'm going to keep them a secret until after the show next weekend. I'm not sure what Andrew's talent is going to be, but I'm warning everyone... be prepared to be blown away by my immense talent!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Happy Birthday to me! I am the biggest birthday brat ever! I used to take my birthday off from work. In fact, before today, I only ever worked once on my birthday, and I hung a giant banner above my desk so that everyone would know it was my birthday. I have commemorated quite a few birthdays in fun ways. My 18th birthday was marked by my first tattoo.
My 19th birthday was ushered in by my second tattoo.

My 20th birthday was a CRAZY party that took place at 2 houses: my parent's house and my house. The party got started at my parents, and a select group of designated drivers brought us back to my house so that the fun could continue in to the wee hours of the morning.

My 21st birthday was spent on vacation in Cape Cod with my family. We went to a winery, the beach, and enjoyed a lovely dinner and night of fun in P-Town.

My 22nd birthday was pretty mellow. We had just moved to Boston 5 days earlier, so we didn't know the area or any friends in the area. Andrew and I went to the New England Aquarium- where I tent to get more excited than the kids there- and we saw a 3-D IMAX movie.

This year, I had to work. I was scheduled for 12 hours, but because it's my birthday- and I'm so cute- I was able to leave at 3. Now we're waiting for my aunt and uncle to come over so that we can go out to eat. Yum... Mexican and Sangria! :-)

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me...

Early Birthday Presents!

My birthday is on Sunday! Earlier today, I was starting to feel the "Birthday Blues" but things are looking better now. I got some early birthday presents today! Well actually today wasn't the first early birthday presents I got. Last week, a lady from work was selling hand made ear rings, and I bought a pair.

My Mom bought me a new set of scrubs for work- Muppet Scrubs! I am a Muppet fan from way back. I know that most of the kids that I work with won't have a clue who or what Muppets are, but I know who Muppets are, so that's all that matters to me.

Then, Andrew gets home from work today, and he says "Let's go pick out your birthday present!" I was so excited! First we went to the plant nursery and garden store. We looked around, but first we wanted to get a plant stand (see post from earlier today) and the only one I saw there that I liked was uber-expensive, so we went to Home Depot. Nothing good at Home Depot. Andrew wanted to go to Target, but the "Birthday Blues" had me feeling pretty sad again, and I just wanted to go home. Andrew made me go to Target where we found a shelf in our price range that would do exactly what we needed it for. So then we went back to the plant nursery and bought some new plants. We bought:
a Hen and Chick plant ,
a Purple Spike Cactus ,
and a Pitcher Plant . The Pitcher Plant is a cousin of the Venus Fly Trap, and the pitchers on it look really cool . We rushed home to assemble the shelf to see how everything will look . And the best part is that now I have more space to add more plants to my garden! What's next...

What kind of plant is this?

So I'm itching to do some major renovations with my windowsill garden. The more I look at how beautiful they make my living room, the more plants I add, the more I like this hobby. My mom has one of the most beautiful collection of indoor pants, so she is a lot of my inspiration. She has this plant that I really like, but I don't know what kind of plant it is. I saw one like it when I was in the Dominican Republic. Does anyone know what kind of plant this is?
Also, my mom has this plant sand. It's about 5 feet tall, metal, tiered, circular staircase plant stand. I have spent my morning searching the internet looking for something like that. I can find some tiered circular staircase plant stands, but they are only about 3 feet tall. I've found some taller metal stands, but they do not have the circular staircase design. Does anyone know where I would be able to find what I'm looking for? Or if you happen to stumble across what I'm describing at a thrift shop or yard sale, if you pick it up for me, I will pay you back for it (only applicable to people that I see on a regular basis- sorry!).

Plant trouble.

My plants have not had good luck lately. On Thursday, I was watering my begonia in the sink. I figured that if I water it in the sink, I can let the water run really slow for a few minutes and trick my begonia into thinking that it was getting rained on. Well, that part of my plan worked perfectly. However when I was taking it out of the sink, I accidentally hit the top of the begonia on the bottom of out cabinets and I snapped the top right off! Oh my, I cried and cried. My poor mom! I called her right away in hysterics. As I was sobbing to my mom, Andrew walked in. I was making quite a scene. Anyway, now my plan for the begonia is that I have the top of the plant sitting in a glass of water in my plant ICU (my kitchen) hoping that in a few weeks I will be able to plant it. As for the rest of the plant, it looks a bit silly, but it is doing well.
Also on Thursday, we had a new edition to our windowsill garden: a Peace Lily. When I bought it last week it looked beautiful. Then with all the commotion of guests over the weekend, I didn't really pay attention to it until yesterday morning. Oh no! The dirt was so dry and the lily was wilted. Well, she had to spend a whole day in my plant ICU getting watered very frequently. After about 10 hours in there, she was doing much better, 95% of the way back to before. This morning, she is as beautiful as the day I bought her.

Here's hoping that the begonia comes back just as well as the peace lily.

Fun Weekend...

This weekend, Emily, another one of Andrew's sisters, came to visit with her daughter, Jillian. It was a lot of fun. Yesterday, we went to the Children's Museum. I hadn't been there since I was a kid, and it was a lot of fun to go there with a kid. Jillian had such a good time climbing, playing and exploring. Even the grown-ups had sun playing and exploring.

Then we explored the under water world at the New England Aquarium. The aquarium has a huge penguin exhibit, and we played with the penguins by shining a light into the water. The penguins went CRAZY chasing it. We got face to fact with lots of interesting and exotic looking fish, like the lion fish. We even got to hold some starfish! Whenever the sharks swam by, we always thought that they looked so menacing and hungry. My favorite things at the aquarium are the turtles. This one was taking a nap on a rock near the side of the tank and it looked like a perfect picture.

This morning, we went to the USS Constitution . We had a fun-filled morning of history and family

It was a really fun weekend. Thanks Emily and Jillian for coming to visit!