Moving On

Ok, let's see if I can remember way back to the beginning of our vacation. Hmm, where did I leave off? Oh, yes, D's birthday...his 28th to be exact. Our families made it such a nice day for him.

We began the morning at Dunkin' Donuts with a friend from church who was on her way to New Jersey for the holidays. We wanted to see her before she left, so we had some hot chocolate and muffins and a two-hour conversation. From there we went to this amazing Italian restuarant called Portafino's. It's authentic Italian food and it's one of my parents' favorite restaurants. We went here for D's bday last year:


We sat near the fireplace last year, but this year they were so busy we were glad to get a seat anywhere.

For dinner, we went over D's parents' house where we had cake and he opened more presents. It's fun celebrating birthdays...even at 28!

I'm starting a new tradition: Boxes as the favored means of packaging Christmas items. I was very happy with our Christmas boxing (not to be confused with Christmas wrapping) session this morning. D and I finally set aside time to get it done this morning and it only took half an hour. It was wonderful. These are the boxes I got:



I personally think they look better than wrapping paper. And once I showed them to some of the people who thought I was bah humbugging a part of the Christmas tradition, they readily admitted how pretty they all looked. So that's my new tradition I want to start. Not sure if it's going to catch on, but one can try!

I'm listening to Mom play "O Holy Night" on her piano right now and she is doing quite a good job! Yes, we are in CT safe and sound for the next two weeks...which are filling up rapidly with friend and family plans. Just how it should be this time of year.

It was snowing as we passed through north Jersey last night and how pretty it looked! Of course I wasn't doing the driving, so that's probably why it was so pretty. It wasn't too, too bad and I thought how nice it would be to have a light dusting for Christmas. We'll see, those weatherpeople are hardly reliable.

D is at an interview all day today, so I'm hanging with Mom. I guess we're meeting Dad for breakfast then going over to Nick's house to do some cleaning before the inspectors arrive. And a whole long list that Mom is now telling me...fun Christmas stuff though so it should be fun.

And then D's mom is saving us seats at the HCA Christmas Concert tonight! We're never in town to see it anymore, but they are always so well done so I'm excited about seeing it again. I love all these festivities!!!!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Here's what we made the parents for Christmas...shhhhh!

Cinnamon-Applesauce Ornaments

3/4 c. cinnamon
1 tbsp. allspice
2 tbsp. cloves
1 tbsp. nutmeg
1 c. applesauce
***You can use just cinnamon and applesauce, instead of the other spices. Be sure to add an extra 4 tablespoons of cinnamon if you don't use the other spices.***

Mix dry ingredients. Add applesauce a little at a time. Mixture should have consistency of playdough. If too dry, add 1-2 tablespoons applesauce. If too sticky, sprinkle with ground cinnamon. Knead mixture into a ball. Roll 1/4 inch thick on ungreased surface. Cut with cookie cutters. Use a straw to make a hole in top of ornament for ribbon. Let dry at room temperature for a few days or bake at 200 degrees for 30-40 minutes and then let dry completely. Tie with ribbon. Yield 2 dozen.

My classroom smelled sooooo yummy for days!

I finally saw David on Friday night after his being away for the entire week and was greeted with a very nice, very tasty dinner from Trader Joe's (our favorite food store). I think he was trying to make up for worrying me so much the day before when he was stuck in the middle of that blizzard. The fare was Mexican, my favorite, so he did a good job. After dinner we snuggled up to watch part 1 of Tin Man. Since we don't have cable, D found this site called hulu.com where you can watch certain episodes of many shows that were or are on both network and cable television. He's been wanting to see the Tin Man mini series and while I wasn't too thrilled about it myself, I was thrilled to have him home, so I agreed to watch it. And I was hooked. He wouldn't let me watch parts 2 and 3 (they're each an hour and a half long) until Saturday and Sunday respectively. I liked how they expanded on the Wizard of Oz and gave you a sort of behind-the-scenes look at what was going on. I didn't like Oz, which was why I thought I wouldn't like Tin Man, but this series is much more interesting!!

On Saturday, I left D playing with my brother's Rubik's cube for a few hours while I went to a Christmas party at my boss's house. It was nice hanging out with people outside of work, but of course we talked about work stuff, which was almost painful to do on a weekend. The day got better, though, when D and I finished up some Christmas shopping, got some coffee/hot chocolate, and drove around looking at Christmas decorations. We even saw a life-sized Santa on a swing, which was odd and scary.

We came back and watched Tin Man Part 2, which was even better than part 1, to round out the evening. Oh and I bought D a birthday present while we were out. Actually I was going to get them for him anyway, but his bday happens to be coming up:

Caribou Coffee Granola Bars
While at Hartford Hospital, D told me about this great coffee they served called Caribou Coffee. I looked for it at the store, but it was a bit pricey so I didn't get it. Then, as fate would have it (and because I'm the Box Top Coordinator), I got a free sample of a Caribou Coffee granola bar in the mail. I wasn't going to try it because coffee isn't my thing, but I was hungry so that won me over. I knew D would love it because it totally tasted like coffee. There are a lot of different flavors...D chose Vanilla Latte (and promptly gave me the Box Top from the box). Well, now you have the entire story behind D's one and only birthday gift from me...and since it's his birthday week, I told him he could have them starting on Sunday. :)

Wow, sorry to leave you hanging since Saturday. I could have sworn I just posted a few days ago. D had a problem figuring out the first Christmas song picture, too. If you counted all the "25"s on the calendar, you would get 12, therefore the song is The Twelve Days of Christmas. The second one, which I had a problem with, is Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow. So there ya go.

D's round of interviewing is over, but he is still in CT thanks to a rather nasty winter storm making an appearance over the state. It's just rain here in my part of PA, but it took him 6.5 hours to drive what would normally take 2 hours. Needless to say, he'll be there an extra night. I am so incredibly thankful for his safe traveling through all that snow!

In other news, kindergarteners had a grand ol' time making these reindeer candy canes today (and, um, I had fun, too):


We've been doing quite a few crafts now that my mind has caught up and knows we are in the month of December. I was slightly panicked when I realized that there are only 4 more teaching days before I leave for a few weeks, so we have to get parent presents made, words to our Christmas song down pat, and a host of other holiday to-dos. But since I have the best class ever, it shouldn't be that hard to do.

I came down with the flu on Thursday, which is highly unusual. My body usually waits until April or May to get sick, but now it's actually the proper season to get sick. Being sick is no fun and being around me when I'm sick is even more not fun. Just ask David. Or don't because he'll tell you and I wouldn't want him to! Anyway, we stayed in Friday night and watched the very long, yet very good, Pirates of the Carribean 3 movie (A).

By Saturday, I was over the fever part of my sickness and felt well enough to go into the city to visit Macy's, formally Strawbridge's, formally Wanamaker's, because they put on this light show:

The holiday light show is a hallowed Philadelphia holiday tradition, delighting families since 1955 with thousands of colored lights, a “magic” Christmas tree and the sounds of the famous Grand Organ.

A perfect family outing, the Holiday Light Show and Organ Concert at Macy's is a Philadelphia tradition that dates back half a century. Come to the famous Center City store to watch snowflakes, ballerinas and reindeer float beyond the four-story-high velvet curtain of the Grand Court atrium.

The show features more than 100,000 lights combining to create fantastic holiday images. The light show is accompanied by wonderful music from the world-renowned Wanamaker Grand Organ.

Academy Award-winner Julie Andrews narrates this year's Holiday Light Show.

The past couple of years we always said we'd get there at some point, but it's right across the street from City Hall and parking is a huge pain, to put it mildly. So when D suggested we make a point of going this year, I was excited. I'm pretty sure my grandma (Dad's mom), who grew up in the City, and my dad have attended this show in years past. It plays every hour on the hour for about 10 minutes. I'm sure it was much more impressive years ago when colored, moving lights were something of a novelty. But it was nice to participate in a long-standing Philadelphia tradition that has some family connection. D insited on taking some video, here's Part 3. Parts 1 and 2 are on YouTube if you want the fun to continue:



We were sitting on the floor looking up four-stories at the lights, so that's the perspective the camera caught.

I heard there was a Dickens' village display on one of the floors, but our parking meter was running out of time so we had to hurriedly make our way back to the car. It would have been nice to see. But, D assures me, we will be going Christmas-light-looking this weekend. Our annual drink-hot-chocolate-and-drive-around-neighborhoods-gazing-intently-at-light-displays-trying-not-to-look-strange outing. And I look forward to it every year!

In other news, yay for Sara, she guessed all the Christmas picture songs correctly. Here are the last few that I liked, most of the other ones are too easy or not easily readable:

First things first:
Josh was right! The song pictured is O Christmas Tree. See all the "O"s making up the tree? And the holiday that Jingle Bells was originally from? Thanksgiving! I guess they had a lot more snow back then around Thanksgiving time. Or at least they did the year this song was written!

Here are a few more:

Last night we finally managed to pull out the Christmas decorations. I feel like I'm so behind on Christmas this year. Last year it couldn't come fast enough and this year it's almost here and I'm still back at Thanksgiving. I was telling Mom that I just pulled out my December folder for kindergarten and here it is almost the 7th day! I did take my class to see the Nutcracker Ballet on Monday (and then out to lunch, they were sooo cute and well-behaved!!!!), so that kind of threw the week off. In a good way.

So back to decorating. We blasted the Christmas music and torn into our two Christmas decoration boxes (that's double from when we were first married three years ago!). D was in charge of the tree, though somehow only the setup. I had to put the ornaments on. D was also in charge of stringing green lights around the outside of our patio door and stringing red lights around the railings. I was very appreciative because this was the scene outside:


And I was in charge of everything else. My favorite decoration spot is the TV area in the living room. D was even impressed with how the garland looked. I like it best when all the candles are lit, like so:


Finally, our mini-Christmas tree. We'll probably have to get a bigger one next year, but this has served us well. I hadn't realized how many ornaments I've gotten from the kids over the past few years, but they take up a good portion of the tree:


I think D's mom got us these last year for Christmas. I like how they stand out in the small tree:


The snowfall made it the perfect evening to decorate. I made D some hot cocoa while he was outside braving the cold. I felt like we should find the nearest hill and start sledding down it...just like when we were kids. But now we wait just two more weeks (exactly) and the real fun can begin!

If you were to ask me where I was around 11 o’clock this morning, I would tell you outside. With my kindergarten class. Watching snow fall at the rate of one flake per minute. But it was snowing, therefore we wanted to “make snow angels,” “build a snowman,” and “catch snowflakes on our tongues.” They ended up having to wrestle with each other to catch the snowflake that fell each minute. And they soon discovered they wouldn’t be building a snowman or making snow angels in the near future. However, it was the first snow of the season and we were excited to see it falling from the heavens. It actually did pick up and it started to stick when the kids were napping. I brought them back out for a few minutes so they could actually “play” in it. A few snowballs were involved and starting to head in my direction until I put on my that's-not-such-a-good-idea face.

In other happenings, some friends and I got together last night (the host's decorative house inspired me to do ours tonight!) and the evening had a Christmas theme. We played a Christmas song picture game and I won (what you ask? A pair of Christmas socks that actually say "Merry Christmas," not "Happy Holidays" or "Season's Greetings.").

Can you guess this one?






I also learned some interesting bits of useless information. I'll pass on some of it, but you'll have to work for it:
Jingle Bells used to be a kids' ______________ [insert name of holiday] song. (Hint: The holiday is not Christmas!)

Another successful Cookie Bake has come and gone. There was a good variety, as always, and some new recipes which turned out to be oh-so-yummy. We girls baked for a good few hours while the guys watched football, played pool, and other such entertaining activities. We all ate dinner together before cookie-swapping. Here is a list of some of the cookies that are now piled in our freezer (well, some are still on the counter...just in case they want to be eaten...):

Mexican Wedding Cookies (click to go to recipe)
Toffee Cookies (a variation of the classic chocolate chip cookie)
Soft Italian Cookies (I made these, you know, the ones with the 10X/water icing on top? I made two batches, when one would probably have been enough. We ended up with "about 900" of them, according to my friend.)
Peanut Butter Blossoms (click to go to recipe)

...and my new favorite dessert recipe (and it seems that it's D's new favorite recipe, too, because we keep monitoring how much the other is eating and comparing it to how much is left in the container):

Caramel Cranberry Bars

1 package (12 ounces) fresh or frozen cranberries, thawed
1 package (8 ounces) chopped dates
3/4 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup sugar, divided
2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup caramel ice cream topping

*In a small bowl, combine the cranberries, dates, pecans and 2 tablespoons sugar; set aside.
*In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda and remaining sugar. Stir in butter; set aside 1 cup for topping. Press remaining crumb mixture into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes.
*Meanwhile, place the remaining flour in a small bowl. Stir in caramel topping until smooth; set aside. Sprinkle cranberry mixture over crust; drizzle with caramel mixture. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.
*Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 2 dozen.


Don't they look beautiful? My friend got the recipe from the most recent Simple & Delicious issue. Lucky for me, and thanks to Mom, I have that issue so I already have the recipe. The cranberries really make it. Oh, and we each got to choose a plate after all our "hard" work. I loved this red one.

I'm hoping there will be cookies left over to bring to CT with us. I saw D eat four tonight, so if he keeps that up there may not be.

20 more days til D's birthday. 24 more days til Christmas. 9 more days til D's three days of interviewing. 18 more days til we leave for our two week Christmas vacation. It's shaping up to be a very fun, very festive month.

The weeks just seem to be flying by. Tuesday night D and I went to the mall to do some Christmas shopping and to do some mall walking since it is so cold out now. And so dark by the time we're ready for a walk. We got some unbelievably great deals and have managed to buy for most everyone on our list. We/I have a few more gifts to get, but I know what they're going to be. The tough part of thinking what to get everyone is over! And I bought these really Christmasy-looking boxes, along with some tissue paper, for packaging gifts this year. No wrapping paper for me! I always do it last minute, anyway, and the gifts just get opened hours later after all my hard work. So now, thanks to boxes, I won't have to wrap this year!! I know, many people think that's part of the fun, but I'm not one of them :).

D has been doing Pulmonary Medicine for the past few weeks at Temple and has been enjoying that. With his three interviews coming up, he'll be missing most of his last week. Guess that's how things go during interview season. And kindergarten has been fun, not much going on there.

November was such a relaxing, no-stress month. I'm hoping much the same for December! Our Sunday School class is having our annual Christmas cookie bake tomorrow. And it's supposed to snow. Should be pretty, and hopefully not dangerous. We always have so much fun baking and we come away with more cookies than I care to count.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention this awesome deal I got on these two...things:

I wasn't sure what they were when I bought them, but I knew I had seem them before for a far more expensive price than $2 a piece. So I got them. And I looked up what they were online: Soup Crocks. More specifically, it seems, onion soup crocks. I don't know if I'll ever make onion soup, but now I can if I want to!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. You have to think about all you are thankful for versus all that you want. The only thing you have to bring to the party, if anything, is a side dish or dessert. I mean, really, does it get any better than that? We had ourselves another wonderful Thanksgiving. We were able to share it with my Mom's side of the family:

And it wouldn't be a family gathering at our house if Dad didn't round us all up for a family picture (or fifty, here's the abridged version):





We did this all again on Sunday afternoon, before everyone went their separate ways again for who knows how long. Mom made a 24-pound lasagna. We knew it was 24 pounds because we watched Dad weigh it Saturday night. That thing was huge, but it was good and it fed everyone.

In between Thursday and Sunday, D and I got a little Christmas shopping done (Mom informed us that it was "One more month til Christmas!!" yesterday. This lady starts the countdown every year and on the 25th of every single month, we get a phone call stating the number of months left until the 25th of December...). We fit in another Ladies Night where we watched Amazing Grace (A++). We rarely buy DVDs because we rarely watch a movie twice, so it'd be a waste, but this is a movie I definitely want to get one day. D had fun during our Ladies Night because he was in the middle of Manly Night with my brothers and some of their friends. It involved a trip to Best Buy, a really, really stupid movie, and lots of eating. So he was happy!

Now it's back to--gasp--work for an entire three and a half weeks straight! D has three interviews in the meantime, but I won't be going on those with him. I love teaching this time of year, and we'll already be in CT for two weeks over Christmas, so I can handle it. More and more people are starting to talk about us leaving here, so you know the time is fast approaching (less than 180 days till graduation, according to my trusty countdown clock). After Christmas, it'll only be 5 months...weird! Oh, and thanks to everyone who was/is praying for my Grandpa (Mom's dad). The doctors said he doesn't need any further treatment for his lung cancer, just 3-6 month checkups. Yet another thing to be thankful for!

Conversation I had with a student:

"So did you have a good Thanksgiving?"

"Yes."

"What did you have to eat?"

"Macaroni and cheese, sweet potatoes, and gross beast...yum!"

"Do you mean roast beef?"

"No, I mean grrroosssss beeeeeeeeef [as if I misheard what he had said the first time]."

"Oh, well that does sound yummy..."

Some facts that I was recently made aware of by some five-year-olds:

"When I wake up my hands feel strong [making a fist]."

"I'm eating these carrots so I can see at nighttime. I'm going to sneak up on my mommy when I'm supposed to be in bed and she is watching TV."

Can I tell you how great it is to only work six of ten working days?? And only two this week? We got back Monday night and are leaving...tonight! At work yesterday people were asking, "When did you get back?" To which I responded, "Last night."

"Oh," they said, "and when are you leaving for Thanksgiving?"

"Um, tomorrow night," I answered. So it was a pretty funky work week, but one that I thoroughly enjoyed. Our cook even made a complete Thanksgiving feast for teachers, students, and parents alike yesterday. Totally got me in the mood for all the yummy Thanksgiving food that Mom will be cooking up tonight and tomorrow.

We had an uneventful ride up to CT last Thursday night. We were listening to another book on tape, which always makes the trip go by sooo quickly...to my continued amazement. D's interviews went really well, per usual. They told him to "keep us in mind" because he is "a very strong candidate" and they would love "to have him be a part of their hospital." So that was nice, but it was a working four-day weekend for him. Not for me :).

Mom and I did our thing on Friday: haircut, lunch with Auntie, visiting Grams and Gramps, and Ladies Night (we watched The Christmas Card A- and Say Anything A-). Saturday we all went over to Nick and Kristina's house to help them out and get it ready for inspection. It was a team effort: Kristina's parents and brother, one of Nick's friends, D and me, and Dad. Mom came later with pizza and cookies. We got a lot of work done and the house will look so cute when it's all done!

On Sunday, Mom and Dad had a small bday party for me. They sang. I shouldn't have to sit through the Birthday Song at 26, but they sang. Later that evening, D and I went to visit G&G before church. D wanted to see Gramp's surgery scars, so that was the first thing he did when he got there! Then he asked how he was doing (My grandpa had surgery to remove the lower left lobe of his lung where they found stage 1a lung cancer. It looks like that was the extent of it, though, and he probably won't need any further treatement :)). That night we, as in Mom, Dad, Ryan, Yana, David and I, watched Ocean's 13 (A+), which was surprisingly good because Ocean's 12 was AWFUL.

Monday was Visit Ari day!! Here are a few pictures of the beautiful girl:





Now we're off to CT again for another four-day weekend. Mom's having all of her family over for a big turkey dinner tomorrow, so it'll be nice to visit, eat, visit, and, well, eat!

Enough said. You'll understand when you click on the following image:
We're in CT, which means we are sharing my laptop. I was on the computer before bed last night, after D was using it, and I saw the above website on the screen. Only he would be able to find (and then enthusiastically participate in) a site like this. I have to admit, not only is it for a good cause, but it brings out my competitive nature. I've donated 700 grains of rice so far. How about you?

I enjoy listening to the new AT&T commercials. You know, the ones where they combine all the different city names into one long funny-sounding city name? Well when I came home today, D was all excited because he found this website:

www.attwheredoyoulive.com

He even offered to buy me the shirt he made on the website, "Famous in Brookdelphicut." I'm still deciding whether or not to purchase it, but I had so much fun making all the different combinations that I wanted to share the website in case anyone else wanted to have the same type of fun.

I'm very sure D is glad this past weekend is over. The poor guy had his head stuck in a book for nearly the entire time. He rounded out his three and a half weeks of studying with test questions, lots and lots of test questions. He did 13 tests with 50 questions each in a matter of five days. The real test is tomorrow, so pray please! He'll be taking the train into the city for the 8am test and staying there for the nine hours it takes to complete. I don't envy him...at all. But he's happy because he got another Radiology interview invitation today!! He's hoping to schedule this one during our Christmas vacation because he'll be taking a lot of time out of his future rotations to interview, so the less that happens, the better. Speaking of interviews, he has two coming up. We leave for CT on Thursday night to be there in time for his Friday interview and we're staying through Monday when he has another interview. I told the kindergarteners I'll be away again and they literally cheered. Puzzled and half-hurt, I asked why they were cheering. Because, they informed me, they were excited about the treats (they got Smarties last time I was away and found out they were very well-behaved) that were sure to be coming their way. A little bribe never hurt anyone...

This weekend went by nice and slow, for some reason. Friday night we went to dinner at our friends house and I made a variation of this dessert from the Kraft Foods magazine (I used corn flakes instead of the cereal they listed). Super easy and super good. So easy and good, in fact, that I'm making them for Ladies Night on Friday. We didn't get home until really late, so of course we slept in the next morning.

I got caught up with some emailing and other things online (I used some bday money to buy this laptop bag with a $10 off coupon D had just received) and before I knew it, it was approaching noon. My friends' baby was on his way over, but I managed to squeeze in a trip to the library to pick up my latest read, The Numbers Behind NUMB3RS, before I had to devote all my attention to him. He's in that beginning-to-crawl-but-doesn't-quite-have-the-hang-of-it stage and it's so, so cute. He gets on all fours and proceeds to go...backwards. I got on all four, facing him, and was encouraging him to crawl to me. He was trying so hard, with this huge grin, but kept getting further and further away from me. I just love him, he's the best baby. But, like all good things, our time together came to an end when we dropped him off at home on our way to dinner :).

We also found out this weekend that a couple we know from church will be moving out of state next month. Other friends of ours moved during the summer, these friends are moving now, and soon we'll be moving. It's kind of sad. We've all been together for a few years and now everyone is moving away. Anyway, more places to visit.

Well, I'm off to find out the numbers behind NUMB3RS...

This has been an unusual week. D left in the middle of it, Tuesday night to Wednesday night, for an interview in CT... and he came back with our new Volvo!! I was super excited about getting it, but as I was cleaning out my old car to give to David, it was almost sad. I've had that car since '01 and I have all the junk to prove it. I found myself tossing old insurance cards from May 2001 into the shred pile (and numerous other miscellaneous items into the garbage pile). I even got a one dollar gold coin out of the whole cleaning deal! Anyway, all that to say that while I absolutely love the Volvo and all it's neat little features, I will certainly miss my "old" car that has been so good to me these last six and a half years. However, it is David's car now, so I don't have to go too far for a visit.

Speaking of visits, we'll be in CT this time next week...Lord willing. We're leaving Thursday night because D has an interview both on Friday and on Monday. Mom has informed me that we have a hair appointment, lunch with Auntie in Hartford, and another Ladies' Night planned for Friday. Good thing it's a four-day visit. We'll be returning here Monday night for a few nights and then heading out again on Wednesday night for the long Thanksgiving Day weekend. The only reason we're coming back for those two days is because D's vacation block is finally over (pray for his test coming up on Tuesday, it's 9 hours long!) and he is starting Pulmonary Medicine. Less than seven months to go until it's all over. He's been getting lots of interviews and lots of positive responses at the interviews themselves. I toldhim that I'm mad at him for making me nervous this summer when he thought he wasn't a competitive applicant...nothing could be further from the truth! I'm so proud of him, which outweighs my madness at him, so he's lucky. :)

Due to this big test coming up, it promises to be a not-so-fun weekend. Tonight we helped some friends paint their newly-finished basement. Tomorrow night we're invited over another friend's house for dinner. And my friend Sara, with the baby, informed me that she's going to be away for the weekend and leaving the baby with her hubby, which, in his words, "is never a good idea." I offered to take him for a few hours on Saturday, so I have a feeling I'll get to hang with my little guy. It's the best kind of baby to have: play, feed, nap, and give him back! Hopefully he'll like D more this time, he wasn't having any of him last time, clinging on to me for dear life. Not taking offense, D informed me that stranger anxiety sets in about this age, so it's normal. So it just may turn out to be a fun weekend after all...

Overheard conversation between two students:

“When you’re tired, you take a deep breath and you walk.”

“Where?”

“To the bank.”

“Oh, okay.”

***

We were eating lunch when all of the sudden one of the girls makes this really awful face and spits out a cooked carrot cube.

She was looking around to see if she was going to get in trouble when another student commented, “That’s okay, it might be dead.”

I didn’t even know where to go with that one(maybe because it was brown and not orange??), so I left it at that. Actually, the real reason I didn’t ask questions was because everyone else seemed to get it and I didn’t want to give the impression that I was in the dark about what was going on. But I was.

***

One day last week, I noticed there was a lot of leaves on the ground…perfect for leaf piling. So I suggested everyone make a big leaf pile and jump in it. This turned out to be an acceptable idea to the masses and soon they had a pile big enough to jump in. At some point, when interest seemed to be waning, one of the girls suggested, “Let’s make a Christmas one!” With renewed vigor, everyone started making a “Christmas” leaf pile. To me, it looked exactly the same as a “regular” leaf pile…but I’m just an adult, what do I know?

***

And my favorite…

One morning while we were waiting for all of the kindergarteners to arrive, one of the girls decided to play a card game with me. Here’s how it went:

I picked a card from the deck and was sure not to let her see it. She said I could look at it, so I took a peek. Expecting her to try and guess it (after all this is how the game usually goes, right?!), I asked, “Okay, so are you going to guess what card I have?”

“No [insert her baffled expression here] you’re supposed to guess.”

Just when I thought I had it…

“Oh, well, okay. I guess the ace of hearts,” I told her because, in fact, that was the card I was still holding. I showed her, lest she think I was making it up.

“WOW [insert her amazed expression here]! You’re right!”

She called over the students and we repeated this game a few more times.

All stared at me in wonder. What can I say? I’m good at the game…

So I have finally arrived at my last year of my mid-twenties. I guess I’m the only one who thinks that it’s some sort of milestone because no one I tell seems to sympathize with me. I asked my kindergarteners today if I looked any different because I was a year older than when they last saw me. No, they said, I look like I’m 15. How I love this class. Of course to a 5 year-old, a 15 year-old is really old, but I’m sure that’s not how they meant it…

I had the most wonderful weekend this past weekend; a nice blend of busy and relaxing. Friday night (after our failed Blockbuster attempt) we rented Next (B+) starring Nicholas Cage and Jessica Biel at our local food store (can’t beat $1.56) and made a Portabella mushroom pasta dinner together. The kitchen was a mess, but the dinner was great and the company was even better.

The next day, we went into the city to go shopping at The Bourse, right near Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. D’s mom sent me money to buy some Philadelphia paraphernalia. I’ve always wanted to get some shirts/sweaters that say Philly on them, but they’re just so incredibly expensive. But thanks to D’s parents I got two sweaters and I’ve already worn them both! Then, D took me to John Harvard’s for a late lunch where I tasted the most delicious buffalo chicken sandwich I have ever eaten. Even better than Ruby Tuesday. That just may be my new favorite restaurant. After lunch, we…and don’t laugh…visited the local library. It’s not the library near us, it’s a library that reminds me of Connecticut libraries and I always find good books there. We spent a good hour browsing and reading and that was…relaxing. When we returned the Next DVD, we got a rent two for the price of one coupon and there just happened to be Spiderman 3 (A-) available. So we watched that Saturday night.

Sunday, my real birthday, didn’t feel like my real birthday. My parents always make a big deal out of bdays and D and I don’t usually because we always get so much from our family. I don’t think we’ve ever even gotten each other presents. Anyway, my family called at 8:36am, the time I was born, with a resounding rendition of “Happy Birthday.” My dad figured out that I’m exactly half his age this year and then Ryan figured out that it means my dad was my age (26) when I was born. It works across the board, which means D and I spent some time discussing this and figuring out different cases to be sure it did really work. After church, we went across the way to Cold Stone Creamery where I traded my Happy Birthday coupon for a Reese Peanut Butter Cup Signature Series something or other. I just know it had a lot of chocolate and a lot of peanut butter, both okay by me. D and I split it after lunch. We did make our way to the mall for a not-so-fun errand, but I did come across Bath & Body Work’s $3 scented anti-bacterial moisturizing hand soap sale which turned out to be a very fun deal.

Another successful birthday is on the books and I am very appreciative to everyone who made it so special (forgot to mention that my friends at work gave me a card, flowers, and a cake on Friday, which was really sweet of them!). Pray for D this week as he has an interview in CT on Wednesday and will be driving home in our brand-new-to-us 2001 Volvo V70 (that’s assuming all goes well at the DMV) later that evening.

Since the end of October was approaching and we still didn't have a pumpkin, I told D that it's okay if we just skipped the whole pumpkin thing this year. It was a busy October, so it'd be understandable and justifiable to skip this much-loved and highly-anticipated fall tradition. However, D would hear none of it and it was all about getting to that pumpkin patch. He even voiced his disappointment over the rain on Saturday because it prevented us from going to choose our gourd.

So when Ron and Sara voiced interest in pumpkin-picking (when picking up their little guy on Sunday afternoon), that's all D needed to hear--we decided we’d go together.

Ron, Sara, and the baby came back over a few hours later and we all headed over to the local pumpkin patch/orchard/farmers market. Those owners really have something good going on there, the place is always packed! It’s the same place I took my class for apple and pumpkin picking a few weeks ago.

It was nearing dark, so it was chilly which sped up the pumpkin-picking process. We chose a medium-sized one and were going to make one last stop before heading back to the car...until Sara and I spotted the market. Talk about delicious food, both fresh and packaged. And it was around dinnertime and I didn’t have much at home. And we were dying to try the Tortilla con Queso soup (all you had to do was add hot water)...along with their homemade salsa and chips...and their apple cider donuts for dessert. And, well, caramel apples for dessert, too. As these food items kept piling up in our cart, the guys were making a bee line for the cash registers, saying what we had was quite enough. All of us ate for $15, which was a great deal, I thought :0).

Sara and I made dinner when we got back to our place while the guys entertained the baby. He’s mobile now, so I think we got the better end of that deal! After dinner we started the pumpkin-carving process and ended up with this:

D picked out this cat and pumpkin pattern. There was a really cute “BOO!” pattern on the site we use to print out carving patterns, but this year you had to pay for certain ones and, of course, that was one of them. I helped carve, but my main task was to rescue all the seeds being tossed in the garbage pile. I love, love, love eating pumpkin seeds and between the two pumpkins, there were A LOT. Everyone ended up eating—and enjoying—the toasted seeds by night's end. Festive ending to a festive weekend!

Yeah, it's true. What will they think of next?! I was researching this "holiday" to see if, in fact, there was such a thing and besides receiving confirmation that October 30th is Candy Corn Day, this is what I found...thanks to Candy USA and HowStuffWorks.com:

Every Halloween, bags of triangle-shaped, yellow, orange and white candies fill trick-or-treat bags all over the country. And there are many bags to fill: According to the National Confectioners Association, candy companies will produce nearly 35 million pounds of the corny candy this year. That's about 9 billion individual kernels of corn.

Candy corn is a sweet replicate of dried corn kernels. It's considered a "mellow cream," a name for a type of candy made from corn syrup and sugar that has a marshmallow-like flavor. Although candy corn tastes rich, it's actually fat-free.

Candy corn has been around for more than a century. George Renninger of the Wunderlee Candy Company invented it in the 1880s. It was originally very popular among farmers and its look was revolutionary for the candy industry (the tri-color, triangular look). The Goelitz Candy Company started making candy corn in 1900 and still makes it today, although the name has changed to the Jelly Belly Candy Company.

Although the recipe for candy corn hasn't changed much since the late 1800s, the way it's made has changed quite a bit. In the early days, workers mixed the main ingredients -- sugar, water and corn syrup -- in large kettles. Then they added fondant (a sweet, creamy icing made from sugar, corn syrup and water) and marshmallow for smoothness. Finally, they poured the entire mixture by hand into molds, one color at a time. Because the work was so tedious, candy corn was only available from March to November.

Today, machines do most of the work. Manufacturers use the "corn starch molding process" to create the signature design. A machine fills a tray of little kernel-shaped holes with cornstarch, which holds the candy corn in shape. Each hole fills partway with sweet white syrup colored with artificial food coloring. Next comes the orange syrup, and finally, the yellow syrup. Then the mold cools and the mixture sits for about 24 hours until it hardens. A machine empties the trays, and the kernels fall into chutes. Any excess cornstarch shakes loose in a big sifter. Then the candy corn gets a glaze to make it shine, and workers package it for shipment to stores.

Fun Facts

• One kernel of candy corn has 4.4 calories and no fat.


• A 16-ounce bag of candy contains about 294 kernels of candy corn.


• The Favorite Brands company near Chicago produces about 5 billion kernels of candy corn each year.


• The most popular way to eat candy corn is color by color.


• More than 35 million pounds of candy corn will be produced this year. That equates to nearly 9 billion pieces—enough to circle the moon nearly 4 times if laid end-to-end.


• Candy Corn is not just for Halloween anymore. Candy makers have made Reindeer Corn for Christmas, Cupid Corn for Valentine’s Day and Bunny Corn for Easter (although I've never seen any besides the Halloween type!).

Here's our contribution to Candy Corn Day (one of the girls was out sick):

It was pouring rain when I got home from work on Friday, and the weekend outlook didn’t seem much brighter. Good thing D had rented Transformers (A) from that kiosk at one of our local supermarkets. After some major food shopping at Aldi ($54 later), we cooked a frozen pizza we bought while we were out and settled in to watch the movie. Beside the fact that it was long (over two hours) and I almost fell asleep (it was nearing my bedtime), I really liked it. SciFi is very far down on my list of favorites, but D assured me that it was tastefully done and he was right.

It was still pouring down rain through early afternoon on Saturday, when, of course, it was errand time. One stop was to return the DVD at the food store, which worked out because I wanted to get a few things for a recipe that I wanted to try: Seafood Stew. It’s something that I came across in Good Housekeeping (thanks to Grams passing on her subscriptions) and I tried to forget about it, but I couldn’t. I really try not to shop for specific recipes because that’s how the food bill gets astronomically high, but I figured this once wouldn’t hurt…considering I didn’t go food shopping once the entire month D was gone. I made it on Sunday for lunch and it's quite a tasty recipe. Anyway, we ended up at Olive Garden where we finally used the last of our gift card that D’s parents gave to us last Christmas. I kept finding coupons in my parents’ Sunday paper that extended the life of that gift card, but finally, it is done.

Later that night D’s friend from Ruby Tuesday came over. I made pumpkin bread and even shared my candy corn and Sugar Daddies—a real fall feast. At some point the guys wanted to watch a movie and I wanted to continue watching the World Series, so I went to the bedroom and promptly—ashamedly—fell asleep. D said they turned the game on after the movie and some big play was going on so he came in to wake me up so that I could watch it. I may remember something like that--maybe. I guess his friend left rather late, so David came to bed after 1:30am and paid for it the next day.

Sunday was a fun day, not that it usually isn’t, but it was a spontaneous day. There was some big Town Meeting after church that D and I didn’t want to go to, but our friends with the baby did want to go to. Knowing it would be easier on them (…and knowing I could see my little guy who I haven’t seen in a few weeks!), I offered to take the baby home with us and they could pick him up on the way back to their house. He was sooo tired that he promptly fell asleep for two hours, which was fine with me because this was when I was making my seafood stew. There was still time, however, to feed him and to play with him before his mommy and daddy showed up a few hours later. :) The spontaneous part comes a bit later when the three of them came back over and we went pumpkin picking, but I'll save that story for later!

“Oh my goodness, WHOSE hair is this?!” I screeched, holding up a considerable chunk of hair.

Six pairs of wide-eyes immediately look in my direction. No one says a word; they’re all frozen in place.

“It’s not too hard to figure out who this belongs to, I’m just giving that person a chance to be honest, like a good kindergartener.”

Still nothing.

“Ok, I—“

“It’s mine.”

Yeah, I know it is hers because every other girl in the class has different textured hair.

“Why did you cut your hair?!”

She looks around at the other five now-relieved pairs of eyes. “Acuz I couldn’t see what I was cutting.”

I stifled a laugh, thinking of the irony. Not knowing what exactly to say, I stated the obvious, “You shouldn’t be cutting your hair, you’re not a hairdresser. What should you only be cutting with these scissors?”

“Paper.”

“Exactly!”

“And strings that hang off shirts and jeans.”

“Um, no. Only adults can do that! What is the ONE thing you should be cutting with scissors???”

“Paper.”

“Exactly!” Fearing what other answers I may get, I quickly said, “Ok, line up to go outside everyone.”

My month-long separation from David ended a week ago tonight, at 9:23pm to be exact, when he picked me up from the airport. My flight was a bit delayed and I was waiting on the runway for a bit, but that's okay because that was when I decided that I'm never going to fly again. My ever-thoughtful husband had a package of my favorite candy, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, waiting for me as I got in the car. Guess he was happy to see me :).

The four-day weekend went by nice and slow, I'm glad to report. We did a lot, as usual, but also had some down time to relax, which was wonderful. Let's see if I can remember all I/we did:

• Dentist appointment: I like our dentist, he's quite chatty and makes the visit go by fast. He was my dentist, actually my entire family's dentist, before we got married and now he's D's dentist, too. D went for a visit on Monday. Nice thing to check off the To Do list.
• Driver's license renewal: I actually didn't wait in the DMV line for long at all. A government-run office that actually ran quite smoothly? Yes, I guess there IS such a thing!
• Girls' Night at Yana and Rita's: We can't ever have a true girls' night at Mom's house because of all the guys lurking around, so we go to Rita's now :). Mom and I made chicken soup, cut up some Italian bread, whipped up some spice cake with cream cheese frosting and there you have a very yummy meal for five starving ladies. Of course we couldn't help but talk of weddings and guys and when we remembered, we watched Miss Potter (A++) with Renee Zellweger.


• Shopping: It can't be helped with mom and I are together. Neither of us mind too much at all, but I can't say that our husbands feel the same...
• Manicure: Another one of those mom-and-I-together things. Another thing at which our husbands nod and [force a] smile. We do the same with all their computer gadgetry, so there you have "men are from Mars and women are from Venus" proof.
• Sears: Not something D and I did, but Mom and Dad went on the hunt for a new washing machine because theirs broke mid-cycle. I'm not blaming it--Mom said they got it when I was 3 months old. Well they didn't stop at just a washing machine. Oh no. They got that, a fridge, a stove, and a microwave. I guess they've been meaning to replace these items, but haven't gotten around to it. And of course they got an excellent deal because Dad wheels and deals like no other.
• Another movie: D and I picked up some grinder ingredients and that's what everyone had for dinner on Saturday. But the boys, as in Ryan and Nick, didn't feel like sticking around for the movie entitled The Holiday (A), a through-and-through chick flick, for some reason. So Mom, Dad, David, and I watched it and loved it. Their loss.
• Sunday lunch and a house walk-through: Mom invited the extended family over for a big lunch on Sunday for the obvious reasons of eating and visiting, but also for the reason of getting everyone at the same place. Nick and Kristina recently purchased a house nearby and everyone wanted to see it. It took three cars, but we all managed to get there and tour their cute home. It fits them perfectly and was a great bargain, so it was an all-around great experience for their first purchase.
• Volvo: Throughout our time there, I had the opportunity to frequently use Mom and Dad's car when D had his car and I needed a mode of transportation. Well this is the same car that they kept saying they would sell to us next year, but for some reason I was never too impressed with it. Boy was I mistaken!! I love it and now am urging Dad to hurry up and find a new car for himself so they can sell the Volvo to us. It even has a sun roof!! Dad thinks Volvos are the best and wants us all to have one because an ER nurse client of his says they are life-savers in accidents. He will not be hearing any complaints from me!
• Ari-girl: On Monday, we went to visit D's mom, Peter, and Ari! She's lots of fun and has taken a recent liking to her Uncle David. She even went to him over me :( which she never did before. She made up for it by cuddling on my lap for a minute before something else caught her attention. I'll take what I can get, that kid can move!
• Back home: It took us exactly 4 hours to get back to PA, which was awesome. We got in around 11pm, so we went right to bed. I automatically went to sleep on D's side because that's where I slept while he was away. He immediately rolled me over and now we are back to our usual routines.

The same ol' grind promptly resumed on Tuesday and I can't say that I mind. We'll be back up in CT in exactly three weeks for another four-day weekend in which D'll cram in two interviews. By the way, he got an interview invitation to UCONN this afternoon. He only hasn't heard from two programs in CT. There's still time. Lots of time, actually.

Overheard conversations throughout the past few weeks:

“Everything in my house is free.” Not sure the exact context in which this was said, but it can be a dangerous statement some years down the road…if said to the wrong person.

“When I choke, my eyes get wet.” The one and only boy in my class told this to me upon waking up from his nap. These kids say and do the weirdest things when they are just waking up. I always ask them what they were dreaming about, but rarely do they remember. Now that would make for a good book!

“Eww, look at that bumpy pumpkin! It got ringworm!” Can you guess who had caught a case of ringworm just a few months ago? Yep, she did. I’m not sure if the other kids knew what ringworm was, but the way she said it sent them running in all directions. Needless to say we did not purchase that pumpkin on our field trip.

“I’m proud tomorrow’s my birthday.” Okay, I think she meant happy/excited/ecstatic/can’t wait instead of “proud,” but “proud” is what came out and others nodded in agreement, so that’s what she stuck with. Even when I mentioned, “I think you meant to say [those other feelings].” So in that case, I’m proud that my birthday is in a week and a half :)!

D has plenty of free time this month. He has the next four weeks off in order to study for Step 2 of the USMLE (aka "big test"). So, I came home to this today:



What, you ask, is that? (I asked, too). It's a book holder, duh (D answered). He assured me it only took him 5 minutes to create and he created it so he isn't always hunched over reading. I am forever telling him to sit up so he won't have a hunched back and, well, this was his solution. It's made out of an eBay/USPS mailer box, with a bent paper clip on the stand part so the stand doesn't spread apart. He is so cute. It's so good to have him back home!

Oh and um, by the way, HE GOT INVITED TO INTERVIEW AT HARTFORD HOSPITAL!! The last day of his rotation was Friday and by Monday morning he had received an email inviting him to interview for the program he had just worked in for a month. So we are extending our Christmas vacation to accommodate yet another interview. I've lost track, but I know we are past 10. Go David!

The four of us had a thoroughly enjoyable weekend together. It was another impressive weekend weather-wise: bright sun, cool, crisp air, and no clouds in the sky. They got here mid-morning on Saturday and we went straight to breakfast at a local diner. I was so happy to see my David again, even though he was a little scruffy from waking up so early to come see me :). Of course, I was happy to see G&G, too, and they had never seen this apartment before so we gave them the 60-second tour.

After breakfast, we drove into the city and happened upon the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. We snapped some keepsake photos and then headed towards the Art Museum. Better known as "The Rocky Steps." D pulled the car up next to them, Grandpa snapped a picture and we were on our way. Now that's my kind of city tour. We passed a few other city sites on our way back to the highway, so G&G got the express version. Oh yeah, D drove us by the Academy of Music, too, which is where his graduation ceremony will be held in [see countdown on right]. G&G probably won't make it down here for it, but at least now they can picture it.

Back at our apartment, we relaxed/napped/read before going to dinner at Ruby Tuesday where D randomly saw a girl he knew from PCC. I saw the PCC sweatshirt she was wearing and elbowed D to see if he knew her. After finally figuring out what I was saying and trying not to stare at the poor girl, D realized he did know her. He ended up saying hi and chatting for a minute. Fun reminder of how small our world really is.

Today we took a ride over to a local farm and orchard to walk around. They have Pumpkinland up and running again this year, but we didn't get one. We're waiting until closer to Halloween, but I can practically taste those pumpkin seeds now. Our kindergarten class pumpkin (formally named Taz on Friday) will probably be carved sooner rather than later, but I am holding them off as long as I can. Anyway, I love fall and it's finally starting to feel like it!

So now I have til Thursday to get my to-do-while-D-is-gone list done. I checked one thing off tonight: clean the hall closet. This weekend D was looking for something in there and I told him that I'd look for it when I cleaned this week. He, a little too quickly, pointed out that he didn't think that I had cleaned the closet because it still looked messy. I took the hint.

I'm looking forward to Thursday night, which means it will never come, because it starts my four-day weekend! D'll pick me up at the airport and we'll spend the weekend in CT (not all fun, I've scheduled a few appointments and D said something about a corn maze) and then drive back here together Monday night. Until then, though, it's All About Pumpkins! this week in kindergarten. Let the fun begin...

Finally, a day to myself. Don't get me wrong, I'm thoroughly grateful to everyone who has kept me entertained while soon-to-be doctor husband is off doing his thing, but I was actually looking forward to tonight because nothing was written on the calendar.

Nick, Kristina, and D arrived very late Friday night, but that sure didn't damper my excitement over seeing my husband who I have been missing for two weeks. He looked cuter than I remembered, although I did end up giving him a haircut before he left. Saturday morning we woke up and went to the earliest showing of The Kingdom (A++) with Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner. Loved the movie! We saw previews for it when we were at the movies back in January and I've had it on my Must See list ever since. The next movie I want to see is O Jerusalem. It's about the formation of the Israeli state back in 1948, a topic covered in The Lemon Tree, which I just got through reading. Anyway, slight tangent. The movie was great and I would highly recommend it. The four of us hung out the rest of afternoon, except for the hour that Kristina and I went to the mall in search of bridesmaid dress ideas. We had so much fun trying on all the different dresses we liked and even left with a few good ideas. The boys, meanwhile, were in the middle of an intense game of Scrabble. For dinner, we ordered pizza and salad and ate in. It was so nice to see D this weekend, just what I needed to make it through the next week and half without him. Although that's not entirely true-he's coming down again this weekend with G&G (Grammy and Grampa). I talked to Grammy last night and she said that Grampa is excited about doing all the touristy things around Philly, how cute!

Monday night my friend Sara invited me over for dinner and I brought apple oat muffins for dessert. Best part though: I got to see my little man!! He was hungry when I got there, so I fed him and then got to play with him until dinner was ready. He has the best personality and is always ready with a smile and now a hug (the head on the shoulder thing)! He really is the best. Sara said she can tell that he especially likes me because he smiles more and talks more around me than any other non-family member. Being the non-family member that feeds him and plays with him and watches him most might explain that, but whatever the reason I am going to miss him terribly.

Last night, the couple that heads our Sunday School class came by and picked me up and brought me out for a Chinese dinner. We actually went to the restuarant and sat down, which is different because I can't remember the last time that I ate Chinese food at a restuarant. It was delish. This couple, Steve and Dana, remind me of my own parents. We always talk in groups at church or at get-togethers, but it was neat to talk to just them. The night ended with a torrential downpour, so they didn't come in. But they would have found a very, very clean apartment if they had. Don't tell D, but that's a great way to get me to clean: Tell me that someone might be coming over, whether it's true or not. Anyway, all I have to do now is maintain til G&G and D get here, shouldn't be too hard...

Well, I'm off to walk around the mall or visit AC Moore or do some Christmas shopping. Or maybe I'll just lounge around here and enjoy my very nice, very clean apartment.

Just a quick update about the Residency application process. D sent his application in on Saturday, September 1st and as of this writing, he has received 7 interview invitations!!! Hence the reason my man is good. Obviously interviews do not promise a placement anywhere, but when he has gotten this much feedback in such a short amount of time...he is a very competitive applicant. Like this is news to anybody. One program even went so far as to say, "Congratulations! We are impressed with the academic record you have achieved as a medical student, and look forward to having you visit." God has been so good to us throughout our years here and He continues to be as we approach the end of this journey and begin the next.

Day ten without David and I am still alive and well. And the dishes are even managing to get done. Of course that was due in large part to my parents' arrival (didn't want a messy kitchen greeting them) and my mother's insistence on doing them while she was here.

Mom and Dad's visit came just in time...I was just starting to miss D on Thursday. M&D arrived right as I got off of work on Friday, so I met them across the street at the food store. Draw what conclusions you may from my dad's first stop being a food store. We got some ingredients for a yummy dinner, which Dad so graciously made. We tried watching a movie, but Dad and I fell asleep...poor Mom.

The next morning, Dad and I were up early and went for a walk. I really miss D and my walks, so it felt great to exercise again. After getting ready, the three of us headed into the city -- one of Mom's favorite places. Coincidentally, we ended up near Reading Terminal Market and, well, it was lunchtime, so well, we ate! Dad had an ingenious idea: buy one of a lot of things and split everything three ways. We started with an Amish pretzel (wonder whose idea that was...), proceeded to a chocolate-covered chocolate chip cookie, followed by a roast beef sandwich from Carmen's. It was all washed down with homemade strawberry lemonade from an Amish stand. Dad also bought us broccoli and cheese soup that we ate when we got home.

Since we still had quite a bit of time on the meter, we wandered the streets and ended up at Macy's. Which was formally Strawbridge's, which was formally Wanamaker's...back in my grandma's day. The building is huge and old, which means that my mother couldn't stop raving about it. No sooner had we exited this huge, old building than we run into a co-worker of Dad's! What are the odds, both M&D pointed out, that we met at that time and that place. Think about all we both had to do, they kept saying, all we both had to do to get to that same spot. Anyway, it was nice to meet them and really, what were the odds of that happening?

Later in the day, Mom and I went to David's Bridal to try on some bridesmaid dresses for Nick and Kristina's wedding. I forgot to mention that while I was in CT a few weeks ago, I got the bridesmaid dress I'll be wearing in Ryan and Yana's wedding. It was so much fun shopping with the girls:

The rest of their visit was enjoyable and I was so thankful for their company!!