This was from our Florida trip last year - just thought I needed a picture up there today. Tomorrow is the Delta Zeta craft fair in Fairfield - my first one that I am actually in town for. Come and see if it you are around - its on the green from 10 AM to about 4 I think. I'm going to help out in the morning. Let's just hope I don't spend money...
Today would have been the perfect day to take off. The weather is awesome out, I hardly have any emails in my in box, and I haven't had a random day off in months. I already played tennis this morning - so I probably would have done that if I had the day off. Then I'd go home and do stuff around the house that I didn't have the time for usually. But I guess that isn't really a day off since I'm doing house work. If I didn't have to do that I'd hopefully talk Steven into taking the day off too and go for a mystery ride. We used to do mystery rides a lot - just get in the car and see where you end up. Usually that meant going to to Kent and Steven goes fishing. Today would be a great day for fishing - I bring a book and sit on the shore. Sometimes there is a bottle of wine...
So yesterday the secretary in our office (mind you there are only three of us in the office) decided that since the boss was away she'd go get her hair cut at lunch. So she asked if she could take a few extra minutes. Fine - no problem. But when it got to be two and a half hours later I got worried so I called her on her cell phone to see if she was ok - she was - just leaving the hairdresser. GEEZ! She finally got back about three hours after she left. Not that there was any big emergency or anything - but her whole job is to answer the phone - if she's not here how can she do that. It didn't ring all that often - but once or twice I had to put someone on hold to go answer the other line. I said something to her like - that took a while - but she laughed it off. I'm not her boss - and I can't really say anything more - and if I tell my boss then the secretary knows who told - so I'm stuck. That is the drawback of only having three people in your office...
OK - life is pretty slow - and I am sure you are all sick of hearing about the weather. So here are some things that happened on April 25th - all found on http://www.wikipedia.org/ just type in the date you want (with no year) and you'll find some interesting stuff...1719 - Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe is published1916 - Easter Rebellion: The United Kingdom declares martial law in Ireland1959 - The St. Lawrence Seaway, linking the North American Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean, officially opens to shipping1983 - American schoolgirl Samantha Smith is invited to visit the Soviet Union by its leader Yuri Andropov after he read her letter in which she expressed fears about nuclear warand in Swaziland it is National Flag Day. Now - I hope that helps you get through the rest of your day...
After the awesome weather last week three days of rain is pushing it! I thought I'd be able to do some planting outside this weekend -but pouring rain prevented that! And its still gross out today. Oh well - I really wanted to go back to bed this morning. Nothing really exciting going on at work this week so there wasn't anything I really needed to do. But Steven is off woodworking today so there really wasn't any point in playing hooky!
So its raining today - perfect day to work inside on projects we've started. Steven is making a desk for our office - I'm recovering a chair - so maybe we will work on those today. The desk is going to be awesome - a huge black walnut top is in the plans. I think the desk is going to be huge! In case people haven't seen things Steven has made - here is my red cabinet that I now use in the dining room. Last year living in the cottage in Redding it was in the kitchen and housed my everyday dishes - which is what this picture shows. Yes - all my dishes match - I really enjoyed the whole registering process when we got married and obsessed about what I would pick for dishes. But I'm glad I did because I love what we have and we use everything. 
This mangy looking cat has been hanging around the back yard lately. Well this morning we saw the cat way in the back yard and it looked like it threw up in the grass. Then it crawled into the dirt and started digging. I don't know whose cat it is but it gets into the yard because the fence is loose in places. How do we get rid of the cat? I don't want to touch it!
So we picked out bluestone and have our order ready to go! This is where we are planning to put the patio. There is a door on the side of the porch with steps now - but we only have dirt by that door. Steven is going to take down the screens off the porch and open the whole thing up to the back patio which will go all along the back of the house. He's planning to make stairs all around the porch that lead to the patio if that makes sense. Here is our before picture - it will be a few months until the after...
This is getting crazy - last night the price went up 4 cents at the gas station around the corner from our house. Some places are over $3. One this morning was $3.05. Geez! I'm glad that I only drive 4 miles to work now - I wouldn't be able to afford commuting to a job no matter how great the job. Who knows when it is going to stop. I remember when I could fill up for $10. When was the last time you were able to do that? So of course everything is going to go up in price because everything depends on gas. How is the typical middle class person supposed to get ahead?
As with most Tuesday nights, I watched American Idol last night. Man was it tough to vote for only one person. They were all really good last night. Everyone sang an American Standard and I have to say this was the best week so far. Of course Steven loved Taylor - so that is who I voted for. It was really tough to get through - the lines were busy for most of the night so I was wondering if there were probelms with the phones. Oh - and has anyone seen the movie coming out spoofing American Idol? It looks like it might be a funny one. The trailors running show an American President who is loosing in the opinion polls (hmmmm... wonder if its based on real life?) and more people vote for the pop idol star than for their political leaders.
So remember back on March 27 when I said that I'd be getting my wedding pictures and the negatives? Well - I JUST GOT THEM YESTERDAY! To be more accurate - my dad went up and picked them up. Geez! So - St. Germains and Lynches - your copies are on their way...
I like this time of year when the trees are just sprouting leaves and they are slightly green. And all along the roadsides the flowers are popping up. I read an editorial in the paper this week about daffodils growing in the strangest of places. You have to wonder why some people plant the bulbs where they do. And its not like seeds that might be spread by the wind or by a bird - those bulbs certainly won't be moved that easily. But they appear in the strangest places - in the yuckiest spots where you won't expect to see any flowers blooming. In my yard I have some bulbs struggling to pop up around the chesnut trees in front. Of course then there are those bulbs that created my crop circle in back (the old owners had a peach tree in the middle of the yard that was mulched around it and we took it out last summer but the bulbs popped up this spring). I tried to save them but they really are not taking to life in a big pot. Then there are my hydrangeas. The two in the front are beginning to show green spots on their wooden limbs while only one in the back has made it through the winter. That one was my first plant that Steven got me when we moved into our Redding cottage. It made the move to Bethel and lived in a bucket all last summer. Now I have to find a good spot to plant it. Then I need to make room for the pink one that my parents brought me this weekend. Maybe this year I'll have hydrangea blooms that actually dry and I can make a wreath out of them.
So in my new office (which is huge I might just add) there are these stupid birds. The office windows are mirrored glass so they think the reflections are other tress to explore so very frequently they slam into my window. In the late afternoon the sun shines right in my window so I close the blinds. But this morning they are open and the birds are jumping all over this fence right outside. One bird must be going crazy because he (or she) keeps jumping off the fence and squaking while it tries to fly into my window. The first time it happened it was a little shocking. But now for the past ten minutes all I can do is watch the birds. The funny thing is that I think they are watching me back.
Yuck - all I've done since 7:30 this morning is wash and clean - clothes, the house, the dishes... Oh well - now its getting sunny out and I've got to get outside to do some work in the yard. Last year when we moved in the people we bought the house from had a garden and so we just left it for the year. I attempted to grow pumpkins - here's a picture of them partway through the summer last year. Notice I said attempt. I had lots of leaves but hardly any pumpkins - maybe three big ones. But we did get tons of tiny ones. So this week the garden is getting taken apart and we are going to just make it lawn. So here's to last year's garden! 
So we are having my parents and my aunt for Easter on Sunday. Do you think we should hunt for easter eggs? Steven probably would want real eggs - not chocolate. Me - I'd vote for the chocolate. I've been really pretty good about not eating candy lately. This is the worst time of year for me since I love Cadbury Creame Eggs. There was this one time in college when my mom sent me an entire box of Cadbury eggs - there must have been 50 of them! That was a good care package. Of course the day after Easter they go on sale for half price- so maybe next week I'll have to go get some to stock up. Someday in August I might just feel like having a Cadbury Creame Egg.
OK - what a morning! I am going out to dinner with friends tonight - so I didn't have a clue what to wear - decided on something finally then left for work. Thought "why not bring coffee" and it was a bad decision. Spilled coffee on the white shirt I was wearing as I walked in the office. Then I decided to run home - totally forgetting that I was interviewing CNN anchor Randi Kaye at 10 here on my office line. Luckily as I was walking into the office right at 10 AM the phone was ringing and it was her assistant - I rushed to sit at my desk and find my questions and was patched through to her. Geez! I hope I didn't sound like a dork - but I got some good info for the article I am writing for the fall issue of the AEPhi magazine. And I still have the rest of the day - wonder what else will happen?
So last night wasn't as bad as I thought with the idols singing Queen songs. Could have been worse! Bucky even sounded halfway decent. I bet that Taylor, even though he is my favorite, will be going home tonight. I'm not sure why I like American Idol so much - I didn't even watch the first season until the last show.
OK - we are all guilty at one time or another of sending on chain emails. I try not to send any on anymore unless they are really really worth it and make me laugh really hard. So don't be offended if you send me frequent forwards and I don't respond - click here and listen to this...
On Sunday we rented three movies from the local video place which the guy down the street from us owns. You can get three older movies for $6 which is quite a deal. Sunday (in honor of Palm Sunday I guess) we watched The Passion of the Christ. It was interesting.... especially since we had heard the readings that evening in mass. So last night we watched Just Married - it was mindlessly funny. Sort of stupid, but funny. Tonight I think we have one more to watch - but I'm not sure what it is right now. I thought about signing us up for Netflix, but at the most we rent movies twice a month so it really wasn't worth it. Maybe next winter we will do it. Because with the weather turning nicer we will have tons of projects coming up.
Oh- and we are picking colors for the outside of the house. Right now it looks like we will go with Sherwin Williams - thanks to Steven's uncle letting us use his employee discount - I think that the main color will be Dark Night - it doesn't show up great on the website, but on the color chips that I have we like it - its a dark dark blue. Then the trim will be Antique White and I will get my red door - Fired Brick. We will have to get samples to try out at least the main color - just to make sure its what we want.
What an awesome Monday morning! Its bright and sunny and should be warmish today here in CT. Saturday was a different story with the rain and sleet. But it cleared up and Steven and I went out for his birthday to the Melting Pot in Darien - which only serves fondue! Melted cheese - just up Steven's ally. The main course was strange - you cooked the meat and fish in the pot of broth then dipped it in lots of sauces. We weren't going to do dessert but we were glad we did - melted chocolate and peanut butter. It was definitely worth it.
So today is Steven's birthday - as you get older its not as fun. This picture is from Greg's wedding last summer thouhgh. I also went to a 3 year old's birthday party today - and from the looks of all the crying and screaming birthdays are not much better when you are that age! hahaha! Even though it is April 8th - its sleeting out right now - got to love New England. And here I thought I could do some yard work today. Well - tonight I have a great surprise planned for Steven - he'll love it. Can't say what it is yet - but I'll share tomorrow. It involves cheese though - so my husband will probably love it! hahaha!
OK- we spent almost an hour last night in Home Depot with a very nice sales associate named Bill ordering windows. Or more precisely figuring out which windows to order. Steven still needs to go take another measurement before we can finally order them. So I guess we will go back tonight and spend some more time with our new friend Bill. The other big event in the St. Germain household this week was that Steven fixed the toliet. Let me just say that I was pulling for just getting a brand new one last night but he figured it all out and finally the leaks have all stopped. Tomorrow is Steven's birthday - I've got a few ideas for him - but he's known to read this blog so I can't share them here. I'll let you know afterwards....
OK- What happened last night on American Idol? GEEZ! Bucky needs to go but Mandisa gets the boot? I might just boycott - or maybe not - I like watching but wish that the voting would actually make sense. All those country singers just need to go. We like Taylor - but I know he won't last until the end although I wish he would. I also like Chris - the rocker this season. This is the one show that I don't like to miss. I enjoy it though - even if the voting is goofy.
Well we are back in CT! Florida was nice - it was good to have Steven there while I was at work and then we got to see his parents. We went to Sea World and then we went on an airboat ride - that was fun! But - too quickly we have to come back to the real world. Even though we will like sleeping in our own bed, we don't want to go to work! Here's a pic with a cute turtle - for all those Delta Zeta's who might read this... 
