Sound The Horns

Whenever John and I think we have done an exceptionally great job in our respective roles as husband or wife, we like to turn to the other and say "toot, toot" referring to our need to toot our own horns.

Today while I was making sales calls with one of my distributor reps, two and a half hours away in the Pocono's, I spotted a sign for a famous cheesecake place. Since I knew my husband had a very busy schedule, complete with a dentist visit for a crown (yikes), I thought he'd enjoy a nice, cool slice of delicious cheesecake at the end of a long day...

Toot-toot honey! I hope you enjoy.

Eerily Close

Over the weekend we attended two more 30th birthday party celebrations. A surprise get together for John's best friend Rocco on Saturday, and a birthday brunch Sunday for my cousin Lauren.

All of these people close to me turning 30 has brought the countdown to my big day feeling too close for comfort. I'm happy to see that everyone seems delighted about their day and has had no trouble with it, but I'm not sure I'm there yet. To me there is nothing more scary in my immediate future, which is why John is throwing me a Halloween bash to wave good-bye to my 20s. And since my birthday is just two days from that holiday, it seems additionally fitting.

So mark your calendars friends and family because I'm counting on you to help make it memorable.

Burger Up

Since I am a sucker for a really good hamburger and can put Ranch dressing on basically anything, I salivated when I found this recipe from Hidden Valley Ranch (the best kind in my humble opinion) for their Ranch Cheeseburgers.

I combined a pound of ground beef with a handful of shredded, cheddar cheese, a little chopped red onion and a few squirts of the dressing with salt and pepper and then shaped into patties. It cooked in no time and they were some of the most juicy and tasty burgers we've ever had at home.

And yeah, it's probably not the healthiest meal in the world, but definitely worth it.

Something You Hope Not To See Everyday

Picture this...I'm holding the bottom of a 24' ladder that my husband has climbed in order to reach and clear out our gutters. As he is heading back down for a water break, a tan, early 70s Cadillac pulls up in front of our house, parks and an older man gets out of his car and says "you guys picked the hottest day of the year to do that."

We smile uncomfortably, unsure of who the hell he is and go back to our water break. We then glance at a young man in the passenger seat who is hunched over in embarrassment and chuckling. At this point we realize that the older man has been standing for awhile near the back end of his vehicle which strikes us as even more odd. Then he exhales, goes back into his car and they drive away. John then notices from the pool on the street that what he was doing was urinating. Right in front of our house and for no apparent reason. We live a few feet from the Friendly's and several open fields but he just really had to go in front of our home. Since we live in the suburbs and not the city, this was deemed insane, not to mention, gross.

We called the police and the officer found him about 30 minutes later. He was given a citation and we felt somewhat better. Just hope that teaches this crazy guy a lesson on where and when to go.

Best Bud Birthday

Today my BF Erin celebrates her 30th birthday.

I met Erin when I was in high school and to this day she still continues to be such a wonderful and supportive friend. I will always be grateful for that.

Happy Birthday E! Hope you have a great day.

Sad Fan

I was born and raised a Philadelphia Eagles fan. I have loved the team through many ups and downs and I do believe that is the measure of a true fan, especially in this city. However, that won't excuse the fact that I'm greatly disappointed in the organization for choosing to bring aboard convicted dog killer Michael Vick. The situation makes me very ill. It came out of nowhere and still doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Last night I got teary-eyed listening to the horrific recounts of what crimes he committed on the news, while simultaneously catching a glimpse of my beloved Duke sleeping on the living room floor.

That said, maybe it's still too fresh to make heads or tails of what will be. I just think it paints the Eagles in a bad light and I probably won't be able to get past it. I can only hope that he means what he says in all these interviews about making a positive situation out of something so despicable. Only time will tell of course.

My Week So Far

For the last three days I've been in Boston for work (one of the reasons John and I didn't go there on our mini-vaca) and aside from the loooong meetings and loooonger events, I discovered that it's definitely a city I'd want to spend more time in. The people were so friendly and I had amazing food, which we all know is one of my staples for liking a place. I had the most delicious lobster mac 'n cheese at a restaurant called Max and Dylan's, which was so good I ate an entire huge bowl in front of all my co-workers. No shame here.

With all those positives, I guess there were bound to be a few negatives, though.

Last night I was supposed to head home from the Manchester, NH airport on a 6:50 pm Southwest flight that I arrived for at 4:30 pm. However, due to thunderstorms all along the east coast, many flights were delayed and grounded until there was airspace and cleared skies. I ended up sitting there until 9:15 pm when we could finally board the plane. By the time I made it home through the turbulent flight, I was so physically exhausted that my body was definitely shutting down. I yelled at my husband for no reason even though he was kind enough to pick me up and wait until I got home so we could eat together. But, I amazingly had no appetite and just collapsed in our bed about midnight and just now got up a few hours ago.

I'm hoping I can start the rest of this week on a more fresher note now that I'm finally back in my own environment and well rested. Work travel is just not for me!

Feature Film

Awhile back I read the book 'Julie & Julia' and found it to be just OK. However, when I saw that a movie was to be made out of it, I thought it was an interesting idea for one and added it to my must see list.

Now, I don't normally think that movies turn out better than books, but this is a case where it definitely does. I really enjoyed this film. I thought Meryl Streep was a fantastic and entertaining Julia Child. She has laugh out loud moments and ones that touch you deeply. And, Amy Adams struck a chord with me as Julie, a fellow blogger trying to do something with her life as she enters her 30s. It was an overall joy to watch and definitely worth the $9 or a spot in your rental queue.

Who Knew Delaware Could Be So Fun?

A few months ago when John and I were planning a trip up to Boston for the end of July, we read an article about Lewes, DE that struck us as interesting, so we decided to put the Beantown trip on hold as Lewes seemed more affordable and easier to get to by car (2.5 hours from Philly vs. 5).

We weren't sure what to expect upon arrival because neither of us have spent much time at the Delaware beaches (it's all Jersey shore all the time) but when we arrived at the hotel, we were so pleasantly surprised.

Unlike it's extremely crowded and traffic crazed sister town, Rehobeth, Lewes is exactly what I had always hoped to see in a quaint, quiet beach town. It's so full of history and beautiful old homes, some dating back to the early 1700s. The main street had great restaurants, bars and shops and was located just a few miles from one of two main beaches. John and I brought our bikes and rode them about 20 minutes to the state park which had a paved path for bikers that snaked through to the beach, which was not only clean and small but had such calm, clear water. We even watched dolphins swim for hours while underneath our umbrella. I was very relaxed to say the least.

It was beyond wonderful to get away for the weekend with my husband. Even though we spend a lot of time together normally, away from all the craziness of life responsibilities, it's that much more enjoyable. I would highly recommend Lewes as a weekend away from it all. We will definitely be back.

Here are a few photos from our trip...

Me standing outside our hotel.

Some of the historic sites around town.

Something you don't see everyday, a cannonball still stuck in a building.

John, who I always say is my 'anchor'.

Brotherly Love

I couldn't be more proud of my brother Matt. Not only is he a wonderful brother, but he is now a regular on the 'Giuliana and Bill' reality show on the Style network. Be sure to check him out tonight at 9 PM EST.

We are all so excited to watch his debut. I have no idea what to expect, but knowing Matt, his camera time will be very entertaining.

Let's Eat

Thank heavens for A. and S., who not only visit John and I often, but one of their favorite things to do while here is continue the hunt for more tasty cheese steaks.

They are even willing to travel in my work mini-van in order to get there...

This time we ventured to The Grey Lodge in the Northeast, which not only had very delicious cheese steaks and fries, but an impressive beer selection that made us all happy.

I'm already looking forward to their next visit and where our stomachs might take us.