Not Me! Monday (take 2)

It's that time again! Another installment of Not Me! Monday. Like I mentioned before if you want a little pick me up of giggles, follow the link to MckMama's blog to check out everyone who is posting these! Without further ado, here goes...

I was not looking forward to writing this post ALL week so much that I made mental notes of what to write and then forget them all.

I did not breathe a huge sigh of relief when I found out that I officially got my job back, even though everyone else said it was a given. I have way too much confidence for that, ha!

I did not compete in the Wii bowling team building event that I organized, win first place and then happen to be a member of the winning overall team! That would look bad, and I certainly would never let my competitiveness and need to be recognized cloud my judgement!

I SO did not drive off of a curb, all the while thinking that's where the driveway of that store was. I also didn't hope that no one saw me and was having a laugh at my expense..nope, not me!

I didn't have cabin fever from the fact that it rained ALL weekend and get so irritated at the humidity, noise and lack of simulation that I told my husband to take the boy and go for a walk (in the rain, in my defense it was a light drizzle at that point) so I could have a few minutes of peace and quiet. And if said thing did happen, I wouldn't have been so happy about it that I sat down on the kitchen floor and did nothing for 10 minutes when I was supposed to be making dinner.

I also did not encourage my son to spin around and around in hopes he would get dizzy and fall over in a feeble attempt to entertain myself while trapped in doors on said rainy day.


Shh, I didn't drink the last of the iced coffee and write this post while I am supposed to be getting ready for work (and hubby is watching the boy). And I am not going to be late for work now, but if I were, I would absolutely care!!

#11 1 of 100

There's no I in Wii

Ok, so I know there are 2 of them, but follow with me for a minute! We just finished our 3 day PD Symposium, for which I was on the team building committee. Our company is a little strapped for cash at the moment so the days of flying everyone in our organization to a glorious location like Seattle for the week (2006) are on hold for the moment. They decided, rather than not do it at all, that they would have a "virtual" symposium where we all had to stare at computer screens and listen to talks via teleconference for 3 days. I was, over all, unimpressed with the whole thing. Except the team building event, which I pretty much organized, went over so well! We decided to do Wii bowling for our event.

What is Wii bowling you ask? So, those of you who have a Wii or know exactly what Wii bowling is, tune out for the next few sentences. The Wii is a kid friendly video game system that is put out by Nintendo. You actually have to get off of your butt to play it, which is what makes it fun and interactive. The remotes for the game are basically extensions of your arms and if you are playing bowling, golf or tennis, you have to swing your arm in the motion of the actual game. Anyway, we had a site competition for each of the sites and the people with the top 6 scores went on to the cross site competition where we played on 3 teams with people from the other 5 sites. I got the top score for our site (who knew I could Wii bowl!!!) and was on the winning team for the cross site competition. That is not even the amazing part though. I mentioned that I was on the committee who organized the whole shebang, right? Well, I was the most junior staff person on this team and I orchestrated the whole thing with Rent-a-Center. By the way, don't ever rent from them, they are a pain in the butt! I was getting stressed because they were making things very difficult, but at the last minute everything came together and the games went off without a hitch. I would like to say that I won't be volunteering for anything like this again, but the truth is I may be volunteered whether I like it or not. And, truth be told, I really liked it. Now, I'm not saying that I want to ditch science and jump into project management or anything, but it is something I may add to my arsenal.

Most of you know my job situation and that I have been miserable about it for the last year. Well, it finally came to an end yesterday. I officially have my job back. No more worries of potentially having to go to manufacturing (ugh, I'd rather work at Micky D's) or looking for a back up job just in case. I feel like I can focus again and have my motivation back. Well, speaking of this re-found motivation, I'd better get down to the lab and get busy!

Wordless Wednesday

Pay it Forward

#56: Pay for someone behind me in the drive thru.
I have been boycotting buying coffee at Dunkin Donuts to save money. We have been making our own coffee and putting it in a pitcher in the fridge to use for iced coffee, but I forgot to make more last night and was in dire need of some caffeine this morning (more on that in a minute). I was in line and, being the nosey people watcher that I am, noticed the woman behind me was not in the best of moods. I thought to myself this would be a perfect chance to cross off a goal and get some one's day moving in the right direction! So I bought the lady behind me her large iced coffee. The woman at the register asked me if I knew her or something and I said nope, just tell her I said have a great day. :o) I know it was less than 3 dollars, but I saw her expression as I pulled away from the window, and I think it made her morning. She gave me a beep, a smile and a wave as I pulled out of the parking lot. I can't tell you how warm and fuzzy I felt doing that. I can only hope that she thought it was such a neat thing that happened to her that she will do it for someone else someday. I liked that movie Pay it Forward, and I guess I just hope she thinks of that one morning when she sees a grumpy Guss behind her in the drive thru!

#25: Learn a new word every day.
Here are the words from the last week.

15. suffuse: to spread through or over in the manner of fluid or light, to flush
16. disconcert: to throw into disorder or confusion
17. vociferous: making a loud outcry, noisy
18. tintinnabulation: a tinkling sound as of a bell or bells
19. misprize: to hold in contempt, to undervalue
20. proponent: an advocate, a supporter
21. beneficence: the practice of doing good, a charitable act or gift
22. undulate: to move in or have waves
23. scion: a detached shoot or twig of a plant used for grafting; a descendant

I haven't really been making comments about the words, but there are a couple that cracked me up. #18 for example, I mean, are you serious, how the heck are you supposed to throw that word into a conversation. It's like a tongue twister that I can't even get out, let alone pop it into my daily vocab. Oh well, I guess I don't have to USE all the words, it is just to expand my knowledge of them. #23 made me laugh because I wonder if car makers even think of what a word means when they name their vehicles!

#50: Try 10 new restaurants.
We got one marked off the list last night. The tired and needing caffeine reference from above has to do with the fact that I didn't get home and in bed until 11:30 last night, on a school night no less! I know, I know, I'm not in school, but it paints the right picture. :o) We went to the grand opening of our friend's parent's restaurant, Rocco in Smithfield. It is gorgeous inside and the food was good. Like any restaurant's first night, there are some kinks to be worked out, but nothing is better than good food with good friends! We also fully expected to be paying for our food, but they so graciously comped our dinner. We will definitely be going back! If you get the chance you should check it out.

Not Me! Monday

One of my favorite blogs is written by a momma in the Midwest raising 3 little munchkins and is pregnant with her 4th. She had a post where she described a series of "I didn't dos" which I thought was hilarious. OK I know this makes no sense but after you read my post, pop on over to her site and check it out. It is a very cathartic activity to admit the random things that some people might frown on, but everyone knows they do at some point! So, without further ado, here are my I didn'ts from the past week....

I didn't forget to bring an extra set of clothes for Nathan to the Chowder Cook-off on Friday, I never do that. I also didn't frantically wipe the puke off of the outfit he was wearing (and the stroller) and try to continue our outing because I didn't want to go home yet, that would be selfish!

I didn't run down the up-escalator at the mall just because the down one was out of commission, and I was too lazy to trek into Macy's to use the elevator. I also didn't practically plow down a rather large woman during this whole process, that would just be plain rude!

I didn't let two grubby-handed little girls help me feed Nathan at a cook-out just because they had puppy dog eyes and were to cute to say no to. That would be unsanitary and disgusting.

I also did not go to the market last night to get stuff for the baby and come home with a tube of Nestle's tollhouse cookies and vanilla ice cream, proceed to bake cookies and make sundaes out of them. That would not be good for my diet, so I wouldn't even think of it!

I didn't not not wash my hair for the 5th day in a row today and just put my hair in a ponytail instead because I didn't feel like doing anything with it. Of course I would never do that, it would be gross!

I also am not writing this blog at work, when I should be doing any number of things other than this!

So much for Chowda!

Today was the annual Chowder Cook-off at my work. I was so excited for Nathan to go, mostly to show him off to my friends and co-workers. I had the cutest outfit for him and I even went and bought him new shoes last night, which didn't fit so I had to leave work a little early and exchange them before I picked him up. I got there to pick him up, got him dressed and Rachel and I oohed and awwwed over how handsome he looked. We picked up Aaron and headed to the fest! We got there and it was so cold and windy. Luckily I had brought a sweater for Natey, which unfortunately was going to cover up his super cute shirt, but you gotta keep the kid warm, right?

Well, we said our hellos to a couple of my co-workers and set off to get some food in us before we got to the main event, the chowda tasting. We were feeding him in his stroller when suddenly he PUKED all over his shirt, jeans and stroller. Luckily he had a bib on or his whole shirt would have been covered. Oh, did I mention that Rachel had told me that her son threw up this morning, oh yeah, he did. I wasn't concerned about it at the time. I mean, how fast can another kid get sick right? Apparently the same day. I wasn't totally convinced he was sick because he was drinking his water really fast and started choking on it right before he spewed. I started freaking out and wiped him up the best I could, but he still smelled like puke. His shirt was a little wet, and of course I forgot to put his extra change of clothes in the diaper bag, which I never forget to do. Anyway, we had just arrived and I wasn't about to leave without a fight, so I put his hoody on him and plopped him back in his wiped down stroller.

I wanted to taste at least ONE chowder before we left so I got my first sample. After 3 bites a gust of wind caught me off guard and I dropped my spoon (full of red creamy chowder) on to the stroller and the top of Nathan's head. At this point, I threw in the towel. Aaron (in a short sleeved shirt) was freezing, my poor boy stunk like puke and now had chowder on the top of his head (hood at least) and I could no longer ignore the reality of my defeat. It goes to show you the best laid plans have no meaning once you have a munchkin calling the shots.

Here are some of the few pictures I manged to get of him today.

This morning in the car on the way to Rachel's house

With his shades on the way to the chowda fest

His super cute shoes that you don't get to see in the pics

Eating mac'n'cheese and hot dogs

You can almost see his cute outfit

Right after he puked, poor thing.

# 28: Another one Bites the Dust

As promised I am updating on the goals as I go along now. I have finished my 2nd book out of the 50 that I am slated to read for this goal. As I write this, I am realizing that 50 books in 2.75 years is not really that lofty of a goal for me. I read like it's going out of style, so I should have made that a higher number. Oh well, I guess what I will do is see how many books over that goal I can get to in the allotted time.

The book is called Picture Perfect by one of my favorite authors, Jodi Picoult. In the book, Cassie is a anthropologist who happens to fall in love with the movie star Alex Rivers, who is not what he seems to be. They have a wonderful life, but they have secrets too. Cassie is found in a graveyard 3 years into her marriage by a police officer. She has lost her memory, and finding it again will mean reliving the love, but also the pain. This dark secret threatens to ruin everyone. I'll stop there because I don't want to ruin it for you if you plan to read it! I have read so many of her books, and only have 3 left to finish the lot off. I will be sad when I am all done and have to wait for her to write more.

Wordless Wednesday

Natey Update

We went to the pediatrician yesterday and got Nathan's 15 month stats...drum roll please..... He weighs in at 25 pounds 6 ounces and is 33 inches tall. For weight he is in the 50th percentile which is about where he's been every time. The height though is another story. The kid is in the 90th percentile for height, still!!! Geeze! I don't know if you guys have noticed, but Aaron and I aren't all that tall. Maybe my mom's side of the family genes are in effect! Hopefully the kid stays tall, but it is making his clothes fit kinda funny. The sleeves of things are sometimes too short and the pants are big in the waist if they fit him in length.


Anyway, let me just say though I got irate at the nurse practitioner that was doing his check up. She asked me all of the standard developmental questions which I answered with an A-OK on all points. Then she asked me about his language skills. I told her he had ~40 words in his arsenal and she gave me a disbelieving look and said, rather snottily, give me an example of some of his words. I started rattling off a few, but then I got madder as I saw the look on her face. I felt like screaming, "I'm not making this up, stop looking at me like that!!!", but then I realized I don't have to prove anything to this lady. Any of you who are around Nathan for any period of time know what this little guy is capable of. He shocks me with new words every day and I don't care if they say the average for his age is about 5 words. Anyway, I am getting worked up just thinking about it. The bottom line is Nathan is moving along at HIS pace (fast forward) whether the NP believes it or not!


On a lighter note, at the request of the 2 people that actually read my blog, I have changed the background so that it is easier to read. Hopefully your headaches will stop now, Ryan. :o)

Path of Evolution: Week 2

I have decided that instead of doing an official weekly update, I will just create individual posts for the completed tasks. I will still update the weekly things like working out and not watching TV once a week in the sidebar. I will continue to put the words I am learning and their definitions on here because I like that! So here goes with the things for this week....

#70. Eliminate the use of plastic bags while grocery shopping: I made progress this week by actually putting them in my trunk and using them at the store! I was proud of myself again when I managed to unload the groceries and put them back in my trunk! Mind you, I have had these bags for a couple of months now and ALWAYS forget to take them to the store so I was super proud of myself. I need to get a few more though because I only have 4 and we get a lot more groceries than those will be able to hold, but it's a start!

#25. learn a new word every day: Here are the words for the last week!

7. plaintive: expressive of sorrow or melancholy

8. cosmpololite: one who is at home in every place

9. regale: to entertain with something that delights

10. torrid: violently hot, characterized by intense emotion

11.evanescent: liable to vanish or pass away like vapor, fleeting

12.horay: white or gray with age, extremely old

13.auspicious: prosperous, fortunate

14. kitsch: art characterized by pretentious bad taste

Sadly, that is all I accomplished this week. My allergies have been killing me, and sleep is at a minimum right now. Like I said, I will update as I go. I like that idea a little better.

Another (not so good) first

Well, yesterday Nathan got his first fat lip. Now, I know he is a boy and thus will have his fair share of injuries, but I felt bad just the same. He was leaning down to push the plunger down on one of his toys and he fell forward and banged his lip on it. He was bleeding and crying, but the crying only lasted for a minute. He is starting to see that hurting himself gets a reaction, albeit a small one. I try not to get freaked out and coddle him, but when I hurt myself I want some sympathy, so I give him hugs and tell him he's fine. He was bouncing on Uncle Ollie's lap and bonked his head on the side table. He started crying and came to me and I gave him a hug. He then proceeded to go back to the table, look at us, and slowly lean forward until he connected head with wood. Then he fake cried and I told him he was just fine. Isn't it funny how they learn these things?!

He has his 15 month appointment today so I will update with his stats after that. And I'll write about my 101 later too.

You can say that again!

And he does, again and again! It is amazing what growing babies (yes I know he's technically a toddler, but I'm not letting go of that title just yet!) are capable of. Natey will be 15 months old tomorrow and he is learning more and more every single day. He is my little magpie, mimicking anything and everything he sees or hears. This of course is a blessing and a curse. A blessing because he makes me laugh every single day with something new he has heard and is repeating back to me. Like a couple months ago when it was Aaron's turn to go get him up and change him. As I lay in bed I could hear them through the monitor perched by our bed. Aaron walked in and said "Morning boy!" and Natey said it right back. Or this morning when I was battling my allergies and blew my nose in the car. I looked in the rear view just in time to see him cover his nose with his hand and blow a raspberry with his tongue.

Nathan's chipmunk impression...he's storing watermelon in those cheeks!


It hasn't been a curse just yet, but I can picture it now.... I am cooking dinner and turn to grab something off of the counter, bang my head and an unpleasant word comes out as a reaction. Then sweet little dimpled cheeked Nathan will repeat it back to me and giggle all the while. Aaron and I don't go off cursing like sailors or anything, but the occasional profane word has been known to slip from our lips in times of stress. I have been making a conscious effort NOT to do this in front of Nathan, and for that matter not to do it at all. All I need is to be in the supermarket and have my 15 month old dropping the f-bomb left and right.

I figured out a way to post the video. Here is Nathan doing his animal sounds!

Wordless Wednesday

Don't Feed the Animals

We went to the zoo on Monday and I completely forgot to blog about it! Nathan and I met up with Joelle and Tyler at the Roger Williams Zoo for a little buddy bonding. It is really fun to see them interact more now that they are getting older. They loved the animals and Tyler was very interested the the Cheerios in Nathan's tray that he couldn't quite reach. Being the sweet little sharer that he is, Nathan solved this problem by feeding his Os to Tyler. It was so freakin cute, and so much better than the smacks that Natey has been doling out lately! He made it through the biting stage, now let's hope he gets out of this hitting phase quickly too!

Path of Evolution: Week 1

Ok, so I know that "week 1" would technically end tomorrow, but I have decided that even God rested on the 7th day so why not talk about my progress on the path to complete my 101 tonight. I will start by saying that I have not completed any goals just yet, but I feel like I got a good start and am "in progress" on a few!

1. Change all passwords on my accounts: I started this and boy is it going to take longer than I thought. Do you realize just how many things you need passwords for these days!!!??? You can't even go to the bathroom without logging in. So i think I will just sit down sometime next week and devote about an hour to this task and see how far I can get....so far I have changed 3. :o)

25. Learn a new word every day: This is a pretty lofty goal. I figured the best way to tackle it would be to sign up at Dictionary.com for the word of the day to be emailed to me. It is one thing to say that you are going to learn new words and quite another to commit them to memory. The first 2 days I read them and then on the third day, I was like, "crap, I forgot the 2 I've learned already." The way I am going to work on this is, I will read the week's words over again each day and I will share the words with you so that I am forced to go over them...again.

1. admonition: gentle or friendly reproof; caution or warning


2. comestible: suitable to be eaten


3. glower: to look or stare at angrily or with a scowl


4. immolate: to sacrifice; to kill or destroy by fire (I don't see myself using this word to often, but I guess that's not the point!!)


5. bevy: a group or collection


6. laudable: worthy of praise; commendable

28. Read 50 books: I read my first book toward this goal this week, actually I ready the whole thing today. :o) When I was trying to think of a name for my blog I wanted something clever, but I'm not so good at that, so instead I decided to try to capture the essence of what I wanted this blog to be. I wanted to be able to look back on it and have a snapshot of the life and times of our family, so I chose A Wrinkle in Time. Then I started thinking that it sounded familiar so I googled it. Turns out it was familiar. It was a book that, had I not gone to HCS, I would have probably already read. So I thought it appropriate that I started my 50 books with that one. After reading it, I feel it is an even more appropriate title for my blog since it about science, wonder and family. The overwhelming theme is that love conquers all and I feel inspired and happy that I read this to start my 101 adventure.

38. Work out 4X week: I got this week under my belt, well, almost. It was hard because Monday was labor day and I am opposed to actually doing labor on that day so I skipped. I worked out Tuesday and Wednesday (I even ran 4 miles Wed), but then I hung out with Joelle Wednesday night until 2:45am and between the exhaustion and the fact that I couldn't move my legs from my overly ambitious return to running; Thursday was a bust. I went Friday, mostly because I didn't want to have to work out both weekend days. I am going running tomorrow morning to round out the week. I would have gone today, but a little thing called Tropical Storm Hannah screwed up that plan.

62. Write and mail out one "Thinking of You" card each month: I know you are wondering why I bothered with the obvious part of this goal; mailing them out. The truth of the matter is, I am awesome at remembering to buy cards for all important occasions. In fact I rarely forget to purchase and most of the time fill out said cards. I do, however, have a hard time actually getting them to their intended recipient. I still have a mother's day card that I bought for my grandma 2 years ago. I don't know what my issue is, but hey, that's why it's a goal, right? I digress. Anyway, I sent out my first one this week. I think it would cheapen it to talk about who I send the cards to and why, so I will leave it at that.

94. Start and maintain my bog weekly (including my 101): Well, this one is a no brainer. I must admit it is probably one of the most difficult for me though. I read all of my friend's blogs and wonder.. "hey, why can' I be that witty, it's not fair?!" And , believe me, if I thought it would help I would have made that a goal, but hey, some of us are writers and some of us, well some of us can understand the concept of a tesseract. :o)

Wordless Wednesday

Ordinary Extraordinary

The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.
The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).
Inspiration: The 101/1001 challenge was created by triplux and I found it on a friend's blog
Timeline: September 1, 2008 through May 30, 2011

I will keep track of the tasks at least weekly and I put it in the sidebar so I can update it without having to update the original blog. I am really excited to start this and please, keep me honest and get on me if you see me lagging! I hope to inspire some of you to start your own list.



For Peace of Mind
1. Change all passwords on my accounts

2. Put all assets into a revocable living trust

3. Get all recipes typed out and organized

4. Back up all important documents (pictures, birth certificates, etc…)

5. Organize and shred unnecessary items in file cabinet

6. Keep the whole house spotless for 2 weeks (0/14)

7. No dining out for 30 days in a row (0/30)

For Myself
8. Have another baby

9. One day of each week, do not watch TV (0/142)

10. Pull off a really good practical joke

11. Identify 100 things that make me happy (0/100)

12. Have a professional bra fitting

13. Make one new real friend

14. Kayak once a summer (0/2)

15. Take a hot air balloon ride

16. Have a spa day with a friend

17. Visit 3 new states (0/3)

18. Get a promotion

19. Attend 3 concerts (0/3)

20. Visit another country

For Expansion of my Mind and Spirit
21. Learn to play an instrument

22. Take a photography course and create a photography portfolio

23. Take a scrapbooking class

24. Learn to sew

25. Learn a new word every day (0/1001)

26. Win a trivia night at Union Station or Fado

27. Take a cake decorating class and decorate a cake in fondant

28. Read 50 books (0/50)

29. Write a journal article from my thesis

30. Take advantage of tuition reimbursement and take at least 2 classes

31. Take at least one surfing lesson (0/1)

32. Take at least 5 tennis lessons (0/5)

33. ***Private Goal***
For my Health
34. Fit back in to my skinny jeans

35. Take a multi-vitamin everyday for 6 months (0/182)

36. Drink nothing but water for one month (0/30)

37. Get my teeth whitened

38. Work out 4X a week (except on vacation)

For my Kid(s)
39. Build a snowman

40. Build a sand castle

41. Dress up for Halloween with a theme for me, Natey and Aaron (well, maybe Aaron)

42. Take Nathan to a Red Sox Game and sit in the field section

43. Teach Nathan all of the countries of the world and their capitols (and learn them myself) (0/193)

44. Make all of my own baby food for baby #2

For my Husband
45. Get boudoir pictures done

46. See the top 25 greatest films as voted by IMDB (0/25)

47. Have a date night with Aaron twice a month (0/64)

48. Learn to parallel park

49. Eat 5 things I swear I hate but haven't tried since I was a kid (0/5)

50. Try 10 new restaurants (0/10)

51. Cook 2 new recipes a month (0/64)

52. Go to Six Flags in NJ and ride the fastest, highest rollercoaster in the world- Kingda Ka

53. Help Aaron re-do the bathroom

For Others
54. Give ten “just because” gifts (0/10)

55. Give blood once (even though I HATE it)

56. Pay for the person behind me in the drive-thru

57. Volunteer in a soup kitchen

58. Use only Etsy to buy everyone on my list their Christmas gift one year (or hand make myself)

59. Put flowers on someone's grave who I don't know

60. Make my own Christmas Cards one year

61. Make cards for different occasions and start a card box

62. Write and mail at least one "thinking of you" card each month. (0/32)

63. Leave a 100% tip at a restaurant for exceptional service

64. Send someone flowers

65. Do the MS walk every year (0/2)

66. Put change in someone’s expired meter

67. Buy a gift for 3 children for the Christmas Angel program

68. Give up a parking space in a crowded lot to the person behind me

For the Environment
69. Buy and use rechargeable batteries.

70. Eliminate use of plastic bags while grocery shopping

71. Get a new Recycling Bin and use it religiously

72. Replace all the light bulbs with energy efficient ones (once they burn out of course!)

73. Plant a vegetable garden

74. Plant an herb garden

For Shits and Giggles
75. Wine tasting

76. Host a dinner party

77. Go Ice skating once a year (0/2)

78. Send a message in a bottle

79. Watch the sun rise 10 times (0/10)

80. Take pictures in a photo booth

81. Bake bread from scratch 3 times

82. Apply to be on a game show

83. Host a fabulous pot-luck dinner

84. Get a tarot reading

85. Fly first class

86. Sing karaoke at a bar

87. Submit a secret to Post Secret

88. Have a photo scavenger hunt

89. Sneak attack someone with water balloons

90. Drive the speed limit for one day (ALL day)

91. Go a day without speaking

92. Dye my hair a different color

93. Build something

94. Start and maintain a blog (weekly & including my 101 list)

Don’t FORget the past
95. Take an “us picture” every month (0/32)

96. Put together Nathan’s first year scrapbook

97. Put together wedding scrapbook

98. Create a time capsule to be opened when I turn 50

99. Put together a memory book about my mom

100. Take a picture of the family every month (0/32)

101. Keep a journal of all completed tasks

***I reserve the right to modify the list slightly as time goes on, but this post will be the original I cam look back on!***