Italian Hoagies

Fred made us baked Italian hoagies for dinner tonight. If they look like they're missing something, it's because none of us eat tomatoes. They were yummy, though.

So much for posting a picture a day!!! Some days I forget; some days it just seems there's nothing different to take a picture of.
I'll try to catch you up on the last couple weeks.

On Saturday 11/14 Fred had to go to Harrisburg for his brother Dennis' bachelor party. My friend Kim and I made plans to go to Atlantic City for dinner, shopping and gambling, and Rachel stayed over night at her house. We did shop and we did have dinner, but neither of us really felt like gambling. So we did a little more shopping. I was home by 10:00.
I had planned on getting some work done, but made the mistake of turning the TV on and saw that The Wedding Singer was on. I've never seen it before, so I grabbed the laptop to check out Facebook and watched the movie in bed. Well part of the bed. I had a little company. And I fell asleep right before the end of the movie.

One day last week we realized that our spare refrigerator was dying. This is the one we keep in the garage. It's mostly for drinks and we stock, obviously, frozen foods in the freezer. So I took all the beer I had in it (about a case of Heineken) over to a neighbor's garage to store in their extra refrigerator. Quite honestly, the beer was mostly for the neighbors anyway! Fred and I don't like beer, so I just keep it on hand for friends. We have to get something to replace the fridge. Fred wants to get a Coke machine. But how are we going to store stuff like extra milk and orange juice, or even leftovers, in a Coke machine? Not to mention the lack of a freezer.

This was Rachel working on her "Daily Geography" cards on a Sunday night.

Yesterday there was a little mini hot rod parade in our court, led by this Trans Am and followed by a few Grand Nationals and Monte Carlos. Turns out they were there to meet up with a neighbor who goes to a lot of car shows.

Also yesterday, we hung our outdoor Christmas lights. It was a beautiful day, and since we won't be around much this weekend and we don't know what the weather will be like, we took advantage of the sunshine and warm temperatures (about 60 degrees). We transitioned to all LED lights outside this year. Last year the lights on the roof line were LED and the lights in the bushes were just regular bulbs, and it drove me nuts that they didn't match. I'm old-fashioned when it comes to Christmas, so I don't like the looks of the LEDs quite as much. They're so bright! But they save on electricity. Our meter stayed the same after turning all the lights on.

Rachel climbed the ladder and got on the lower roof for the first time! It's a little harder coming back down the ladder, but she did good.

With both Thanksgiving and Fred's brother Dennis' wedding, I'm hoping to have more picture opportunities this week. Tomorrow I have a 9:30 job, and Rachel has an 8:30 orthodontist appointment. If Fred can't take her, we'll have to reschedule that. Then tomorrow night I have to make a cheesecake for the rehearsal dinner, Rachel has cheerleading, and Fred has to pick up his tux. Wednesday morning I have to clean the house and pack, pick Rachel up at school at 1:15, stop in Philly for my check, pick up Fred at work and head to Harrisburg, drop Ferris off at my in-laws and be at the church in Hummelstown by 6:00. I'm praying for few traffic delays. Yeah, right. On the day before Thanksgiving.

Happy Birthday, Fred!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!

For his birthday "cake" Fred chose a banana cream pie. He also bought it himself when he and Rachel were at Sam's Club. Rachel and I were going to get him a cake when we went out later, but he came home with this. Hey, it's his birthday....he can have whatever kind of cake he wants! He also cooked his own breakfast, lunch and dinner. Mainly because he's a much better cook than I am, but also because I'm working on a big job and didn't have the time to cook a big elaborate dinner. Fred made tortellini with chicken in a homemade sauce. Not sure what was in the sauce. It was tasty, though.

Ferris wasn't too sure about the card we got Fred. It barked and talked, and that freaked him out a little bit.

He was pretty interested in all of Fred's presents, including the little hair trimmer. He really wanted a piece of the whiffle ball and bat.

But Ferris was most interested in the Milkbone that was in the bottom of the bag!

His birthday was pretty low-key due to my having to work almost all day, but I hope he enjoyed it nonetheless!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! (Days 73, 74, 75)

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!!!!

We wish we could have spent it with you, Dad/Grandpa!

You, too, Dad/Pawpaw!

Along with a couple DVDs, Whoppers and a jacket, Fred also got lottery tickets. I think these were his favorite. Rachel helped him scratch them off, but he didn't win anything. :(

Violet checked to make sure they didn't win.

Ferris was rather bored by the whole thing. He said "pfft, if I'm not getting a present, I'm going to bed.

Friday was Rachel's last day of 4th grade. She looks thrilled, doesn't she? But she came home with report card full of A's, and she got a teacher for 5th grade that she really likes, and one of her good friends will be in her class. She's already excited for 5th grade, and on Sunday Fred let her buy a few school supplies at Staples.

Saturday Rachel had a surprise visitor. Her former coach, Ashley, came to visit us. Ashley moved to North Carolina after our season ended last year. Rachel had gotten really close to Ashley and was sad when she moved. It was a nice visit with Ashley, but Rachel wasn't feeling 100%. Her mouth is really bothering her from canker sores and her braces. Then Saturday night we realized one of the brackets had become uncemented and was not attached to her tooth anymore, but it's still attached to the wire. Our orthodontist's office is only open Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the orthodontist is on vacation this week, so I'm not sure what's going to happen. I got up and called first thing this morning. I'm waiting for a call back, but I'm not holding my breath. I have a feeling I won't hear from them until tomorrow. I really hope these sores in her mouth clear up before we leave for China next week. She can barely talk or eat.

I've been busy trying to get caught up on all my work, get caught up on laundry and get things ready for our trip. I still have shopping to do, but not really for anything big.....dog food, cat food, toiletries to take with us, little gifts for the orphanage staff, a fanny pack for Fred, Ziploc bags, extra luggage locks. And I still need to transfer about 1,000 pictures from my camera card to the hard drive, write instructions for the neighbors taking care of the cats, instructions for family taking care of Ferris and PACK, PACK, PACK!

Lancaster (Day 64)

We went to Lancaster today to celebrate Fred's grandparents' 70th wedding anniversary. 70! Can you imagine!?!?!? Holy smokes. I have no pictures of the grandparents to share at this time, because one of their other grandsons was acting as official photographer and is going to share DVDs with everyone, so I didn't bother. I did get this cute one of Rachel and her cousin, though. Even though they're four years apart, these two are like two peas in a pod.

I remember going here as a kid, and sadly what I remember most about going here was being very little and my parents bringing one of those little potties with us. That's really about all I remember of Dutch Wonderland. Kinda sad, isn't it?

It's always cool to see the horse and buggies in Lancaster. We saw a lot of them today as we were driving down Route 30.

This was also along Route 30. We don't have a sonic anywhere near us in NJ, so we stopped in for a snack. I got a peanut butter shake, Rachel got an orange slushie, and Fred got a burger and onion rings. So original, isn't he?

After we got home we made little brownie bites and put a candle in one. Why? 'Cause it's my birthday! Woohoo!

Why? (Day 46)

Could somebody please tell me why the lawn had to mowed and weed whacked in the middle of our yard sale? Don't get me wrong....Fred takes very good care of our lawn, and he's very proud of it. I can appreciate that. I'd actually say he's borderline OCD about it. And he's not the only one on our street. :) There's a friendly little competition between him and the next door neighbor. One mows, the other has to follow right behind. OMG! Kevin mowed! I better get out and do my yard! But why did it have to be done today, smack dab in the middle of the yard sale? Probably because somebody mowed his yard yesterday. That's it. It's actually that person's fault that my yard sale stuff got grass on it!

Fred also opened the pool today, not that anyone's getting in it any time soon. It's pretty darn cold!
Ferris wants to know "why" too. WHY, WHY do they insist on making me wear goofy things!??!

Early Mother's Day Present (Day 33)

Since I still had a lot of work to do I kicked Fred and Rachel out of the house, had them run some errands, and they came home from Sam's with an early Mother's Day present for me! It's a silver Ipod Shuffle. Rachel wanted to get me a regular Ipod, but I don't need it. I just needed something for when I'm on the train and walking around the city.
I did finally get my work done...300 pages in two days. It felt great to get it all done. I even got a couple loads of laundry done and finished in time to watch the Amazing Race at 8:00.
Thank you, Fred and Rachel, for my Ipod! I love it and I love you!

Missed His Calling (Day 23)

Fred missed his calling. Not that he isn't really good at his day job, but I think he should have gone to culinary school. Heck, maybe he still should. He is such a good cook, and my waistline pays for it! Tonight we made Pioneer Woman's chicken scallopine. I say "we" because I act as Fred' sous chef. I had the chicken seasoned and breaded before he got home from his real job. I also got out all the other ingredients the recipe called for and had the big pot of water heated up and waiting for the pasta. I forgot to get linguine at the store, so we used thin spaghetti. It was just as good.

This picture doesn't make it look as good as it was. I could do without the capers, but otherwise, it is yummy! Even Rachel said it tastes like something you get in a restaurant. Pioneer Woman has some of the best recipes. I'm also really fond of her brisket and onion strings.