Sunday afternoon and snow

I woke up this morning to another snowy day. sigh........ I wasn't even aware we were supposed to get snow, so the four or five inches on the ground was quite the surprise. My Dad had invited us over for "Chicken Barb". I'm not sure why it's called chicken barb, cause there's no "barb" in sight. I guess it's a meal he remembers from way back when he lived in Lawrence and used to go to a little restaurant that had it. And that's what it was called. Anyway.....it's kind of like pulled pork, only with chicken. He made it in the crockpot, and it comes out all shredded, then you put it on a bun with mayonnaise and it's delicious! We spent the rest of the afternoon talking and visiting and seeing the brochures for his trip to Alaska. What a nice way to spend a Snowy Sunday Afternoon.

I just don't get the whole phone thing

There are some things in life I dread, and one of them is trying to figure out technology that I don't understand. So when I decided Hubby should get on the bandwagon and get a new phone, I tried to do it in the easiest way possible. I went online and checked the Verizon website to see if I could add a line to my account without having to actually step foot into a Verizon store. I was surprised to see that I was due for a phone upgrade. I figured....why not? I could give the new phone to Hubby, and not have to buy one for him. I looked through the phones online and picked what looked like the easiest, least complicated phone and ordered it. It came in the mail a few days later. I really, really hate going to the Verizon store in the mall because it's a complete zoo, but someone told me Best Buy had a Verizon kiosk, so Hubby and I went there to add on his line and activate his phone. That was a good move.....we got to sit down with a Verizon person, Eilin, right away. Eilin informed us that when we added a new line, we'd get a free phone, so I might as well keep the new phone I got online for myself and Hubby could have the new phone we got as a result of the new line. Sweet. Until Eilin, the representative, tried to activate my new phone. "It says this phone is already in use". WTF???? "It's probably a refurbished phone and they didn't de-activate it". ARE YOU KIDDING ME? First of all, a refurbished phone? And second of all, how could they not de-activate it? I was pretty pissed off. I decided my best course of action was to take that phone back home, call Verizon, scream and yell at them for a while and insist they take back their stupid re-furbished phone and let me go into the Verizon store and get a brand new phone for my upgrade. We got home and I called Verizon right away. I got a very sweet-voiced lady named Barbara. Barbara asked me my phone number and I told her what my problem was. "I can see here on your account that you were given an new phone and it's ready to be activated". Huh? Ready to activate? "Was this a brand new phone or a refurbished one?" I asked. "It's new", says Barbara, "and there's no problem to activate it." okaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyy. And she did. Quickly, efficiently and without losing the swee tone in her voice. I have no idea what pipe Eilin was smoking, but she had no idea what she was doing. I personally think when she looked up the phone, what she saw was that it was already in use because it had already been assigned to me when I bought it! Anyway, all's well that ends well. Hubby has a new phone and is on our account....no more going out and buying prepaid phone cards for him. And I have a new phone as well. Now we just have to figure out how to use them.

Slip sliding away

I just looked and realized that I only posted 5 times in the whole month of February. Not cool! Time for me to get moving and try to post more often. Should I set a goal of posting every day in the month of March? Is that unrealistic? I suppose I'm going to give it a try. It's not like I have nothing to blog about. Our calendar is STUFFED with things to do. So.......this past week: After our jam on Sunday (previous post) I had Monday off for the holiday. I had no one to play with, so I stayed in my jammies most of the day. I did get dressed to go across the street to Kohl's and get some new clothes. I am "The World's Worst Shopper". I just don't like to shop. So buying four tops and a new pair of pants was quite the accomplishment for me. And it was way fun to wear a new different top every single day for the rest of the week. Wednesday I had a fantastic day. I didn't plan it this way, but I got to go out to eat for lunch AND dinner! At lunch I met with my cousins, my dad, uncle and sister at T-bones. I only see my cousins usually once a year at our family reunion, despite the fact that they all live within 20 miles of me. So it was a fun time. And for dinner, I went out to eat with my Girl Scout Leader friends, something we do once a month. Dinner at the 99 was yummy and the conversation was great. Thursday night I had my son and his fiancee over for dinner. They're having a hard time trying to decide what to do for a wedding. Cost is a huge factor. They're both very practical, and hate to spend thousands on a wedding when they'd like to buy a house pretty soon. I don't blame them one bit. But I did tell them that if they decided to elope, I would have to be invited 'cause I just can't miss seeing my son get married! Friday nights are usually pretty low-key in our house. Hubby and I are both tired from the week, and usually either one or both of us have to work on Saturday morning. So it was Chinese food and a Netflix movie (Social Networking.......I give it a 5 out of 10) for us tonight. That was my week.....busy but not especially exciting. I'll post again tomorrow! Have a nice night.

Practicing

Even though "practice" is a naughty word as far as my husband is concerned, we did have a jam at our house yesterday as a practice session for our big gig at the Bull Run in May. Hubby was the band leader....... Cousin Ricky is on the bongos

Brother Doug will be playing guitar

As will Cousin Scot

We were lucky to fit them all in our little place!

We had a great time, and some Pasta e Fagioli for supper afterwards. We're looking forward to some more practices, and hopefully a fantastic show in May.

Our Valentine's Day

Hubby and I went into Boston for our traditional Valentine's Day......a visit to the aquarium. We took the train in, and because the Blue Line on the subway was closed, we got off near government center. I love the contrast of the Old State House (circa 1713) with Boston's highrises. We took a ferry boat, which is part of the MBTA, from Long Wharf to Charleston shipyard. Despite the overcast skies, the view was awesome.

We visited the USS Constitution, aka "Old Ironsides", the oldest floating commissioned ship in the USA.

We got a tour (from a very, very cute sailor) of belowdecks, including this oven where 1 cook made food for 400-450 men. The captain got a seperate cook of his own.

Then we headed over to my favorite place....The New England Aquarium. Love the penguins!

Also saw some gorgeous coral.

And more penguins. This one was hitching a ride.

And some cool jellies.

Finally, we went to the North End, famous for it's Italian restaurants. We ate in a tiny little place called Pagluici's, and then walked over to Mike's Bakery, where Tag got a piece of rum cake and I indulged in a chocolate mousse cannoli.

And that's Valentine's Day......Karen and Tag style, baby!

Pasta e Fagioli

We took my dad and my daughter to Olive Garden on Sunday for their "Soup, salad and breadsticks" lunch deal. Best deal in town, by the way. The soup I had was called "Pasta e Fagioli". Not being Italian, I had no idea what that meant but the description sounded great. "White and red beans, ground beef, tomatoes and pasta in a savory broth." And it was delicious. When I came home, I decided to take a shot at finding the recipe on line. I found it here. I made it for supper tonight, and it was absolutely delicious. Thankfully, I halved the recipe because we still have a ginormous bowl of it left over. Perfect for me to bring for lunch.

Having fun with Emily

Hubby and I babysat Emily this afternoon while Mom and Dad went out and did errands and had some dinner. I brought over a little plastic pot with potting soil and seeds that I bought at Christmas Tree Shop. Emily helped me plant the seeds.

Then she and Pepere played Princesses. Emily was Princess Aurora and Pepere was the Prince (of course). I got to be the Mean Witch.

Aurora touches the spinning wheel and falls asleep.

The Prince kisses her awake. ( I love the jewelry)

Snow Just Like We Used To Have

A few random photos from around the house: I call this one "Mount Cluff Crossing". It just happens to be right in front of my spot in the parking lot.

Before the latest storm:

Our walkway.