Christmas guests begin to arrive...

Well, although I have not seen them yet, my sister and Scott got into town last night! They are staying with his mom in Fort Washington. I will be seeing them and Mom and Dad tomorrow, so I'm putting the final touches on my house (cleaning, I mean!)!!

I am also finished with my semester! As of 5 minutes ago! I just finished grading my final final and am about to leave my office, not to return until 2006!!! Wow, you know we'll all be writing the wrong date on everything! Anyway...it has been an interesting semester. The next one will prove to be even more so! I'm sure that it will be great. I'm already looking forward to it.

The Amazing Race

While I am not typically a fan of reality TV shows...I was interested in the finale of one this season. The Amazing Race. Really, I was only interested for one reason. One of the families that was competing are relatives of mine. My mom's cousin's kids were competing. I am posting this message just after the final episode....turns out....they WON! Wow. I guess that makes me not-so-famous by association, eh? How crazy though to watch them win that thing. Apparently, in Cincinnati, the family was getting together every week at a bar to watch the episodes! Today, my mom and dad drove down from Michigan to be there for the finale. How great that they were able to spend the time there with everyone, including my 80 year old Grandmom!!! Go Grams!

Congrats go out to the Linz's...you guys ROCK!!!

Turkey Update

Ok...well...we had a meeting on Tuesday regarding the upcoming Turkey Trip! I'm currently getting very excited about going, despite the fact that the cost is going to set me back a bit for the year! Honestly it is worth it.

It looks like, if/when I hear back from the hotel, I may be staying with one of my colleagues at the Hali Hotel in Istanbul. It is a quaint Bed and Breakfast style hotel that has a view of the Bosporus and the minarets of Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque! Absolutely beautiful! And CHEAP! :):) Here's the site:

www.halihotel.com

I have yet to find a flight out, but I think waiting until the first of the year is a good idea. If anyone knows of a travel agent friend that can find us a deal, please let me know. I will probably be travelling, at least TO Turkey, with my "roomate", although I think she is planning to stay there a while longer than me.

The schedule for our trip generally includes morning lectures from scholars in Turkey regarding the art, history, culture, and literature of Turkey (both modern and historical). The afternoons are for field study, where we will go into the city (on our own or with a guide) in order to experience the culture. At that time, we'll also have on site lectures. The whole thing ends with a large dinner and a last day field trip to the baths at Bursa - which is around the other side of the Sea of Marmara. (I still have so much to learn about the city!!!)

I am looking forward to the end of the semester so that I can start focusing on next semesters classes and spending my spare time learning more about Turkey! It's very exciting, and I'll keep everyone posted on more updates!!!

Oh, Christmas Town

This is the Christmas town that Chuck bought me as a pre-Christmas-Christmas gift. It has a lighthouse that has a spinning red light that you can see in the top photo. It's so nice to have it all lit up at night!! I know that it's a little cheesy, but it's fun!!!

Elwood and Tuga

So, I just had to pose these two photos of Elwood and Tuga "spooning" in front of the fire the other night. Are they the happiest cats you ever did see? Jake was nearby, straddling the back of the couch! (see his photo on the green chair in the archives!) Just had to post this!

Oh, Christmas Tree!

It's official! Christmas is upon us! Here is our tree, complete with three cats curled up underneath it. What they are really doing is stealthy surveilance. See, as soon as Mom and Dad went to bed last night, the three bozos proceeded to knock about 5 different ornaments off the tree. Inlcuding the pickle ornament, which thankfully did not break! I have been begging Chuck to get me a tree topper, but I haven't found one yet that I like. For now...mom and dad will appreciate this...my kitty cat that I made in Kindergarten graces the top of our tree! You can just make it out at the top of the tree in the picture!

Can't wait for the family to arrive out here in exactly 3 weeks! Hooray!

Baby Jake!

Ok...this photo is so funny! I finally dug out my digital camera and put some fresh batteries in it. Lo and behold, there were some really old photos on it. This one is Jake, just a few days after we rescued him from the pound!! Yes, the giant cat that you see lower on this page! What a ham he is! Currently, the loony cat is in hiding from Chuck and me. We started giving him his medication, which he REALLY doesn't like...so he has taken to hiding under the bed whenever we start looking for him. I'm hoping that the vet has other ideas about how to get him to take his meds! We'll see!

Class of '96

Ok...so here we are...From left to right:

Walter, Amy, Me, Karyn, Craig, and Ryan.

SHS Class of '96! Go SPARTANS!

Turkey Day Recap

Well...Turkey Day is passed and Chuck and I have returned home from our trip. Right back into the swing of things, we're both back in school today after a few hours respite at home! It was such a WONDERFUL trip home! We got the chance to spend a lot of time with Aaron, Liz, and Emma, which was fantastic. Not to mention Mom and Dad. We ate LOTS of food...I'm going to be running off the pounds for weeks!! :) But, it was all worth it.

Mom managed to get Chuck out of bed at 5:30am on Friday to go shopping...this is twice now that she has done this! Truly an amazing feat, and evidence of how much Chuck likes his mother-in-law! We did catch some good deals and spent a bit of cash-ola. Not too much, but enough to get started on the Christmas holiday shopping! The rest of mine will be done online! :)

Saturday night was bar night. Chuck and I met up with Karyn and Eric to hit the Box Bar in Plymouth for a little high school reunion!! It was really wonderful to see Walter, Barks, Ryan, Becky, Amy, and Dave and meet everyone's spouses. Wow...I cannot believe that it has been 10 years since we were all together in school. We had a few drinks and a lot of laughs that night. It was really fun. I'll try to post a photo of the gang when I get a chance.

Molly stopped by on Sunday morning for brunch before we had to get to the airport. That was also a really nice visit. I'm very glad that she was able to make it out to the house, even if she almost didn't make it back home! We had to jump start her car before she could leave! :)

All in all, it was a fantastic trip home. Now we can start getting ready for Mom, Dad, Julie, and Scott to come out here in about 3 weeks for Christmas! :) Hooray! Can't wait!

FUN NEWS!!!

NO, I AM NOT PREGNANT!! Man, you know it's bad when you have to follow every conversation that begins with, "Hey, I have some great news..." with that prior sentance. No, the good and fun news is that I am going to be seeing Coldplay when they come to Philly in April! :):):) Yippee. I may be inviting a friend, as Chuck is not really into concerts or Coldplay, so I am presently accepting bribes and gifts of clothing or chocolate!!! I really wanted to see them when they were here a few months ago, which would have been a great, intimate little show, but I'll settle for this! :)

All is well otherwise, I took a run this morning...brrr...it was a tad bit nippy out there. But, it was good to get out and run. I find that my seasonal affective disorder is in high gear, craving sugar and fatty food, so running is a moral imperative!

That's it for now...c-y'all!

Update...

Well...it was a quick week...very busy at work. Jake's visit to the vet yeilded good results on his tests. He has no infections and seems perfectly healthy. Unfortunately, that confirms our fears that he is a BASKET-CASE! :) They have actually prescribed us valium for our cat! Can you believe this? It's what they call a "weening" dose. You start him on a large dose and then ween him off over a month long period. Insane, but we're hoping that it just calms him down so that he can enjoy life a little more without the paranoia!

Chuck and I went to his little sister Jill's play last night. Very cute. Her school does a program called Theater Week, and a teacher takes them through a play in 4 days! They start on Monday and perform it Friday night! This includes 1st-8th graders (Jill's in the 8th). It was actually really good too! It was a pleasant surprise considering the length of time that they actually practiced the whole thing!

Winter has finally come to the mid-Atlantic. No snow yet, but chilly temperatures. Makes running outside a dreadful thought for me who hates the cold. I have been doing it though! I actually ran 5.5 on Tuesday, 4 Thursday, and plan to jet out sometime today for at least another 4. We'll see how it goes!

That's it from here...hope all is well across the nation!

Jake's Visit to the Vet

Jake had a traumatic evening last night! We had to take him to the Vet...oh, how he loves it! Despite having a blood test done, he is recovering well and is back home safe and happy with Tuga and Elwood. Hopefully, we will get some positive results back from the Vet tomorrow morning and he will be healthy. That is really the extent of the excitement around our house over the last couple of days!

We're getting ready to head to Michigan for Thanksgiving! It should be a wonderful trip as we get to see the family, Karyn and Eric, and hopefully a few other long-lost friends at the bar night! Can't wait to get out there and PARTY!

AM I INSANE

This is a message to all the athletes.

Aaron is crazy! Aaron is nuts!

I have started training for the Chicago marathon. Apparently I have a horrible memory of what I felt like after my first marathon.

So, I will invite you all to join me in pain, agony and overwhelming accomplishment this spring in downtown Chicago and if any of you are stupid enough to run with me start training and keep me posted on your progress.

ultrasound

Liz and I will be visiting the doctor tomorrow to find out the sex of our new bambino. It's exciting and I feel a little anxious. I think Emma is starting to figure out that something is different. She will pat Liz's tummy and say "baby". I don't know how she figures these things out but it sure is cute. Also, Emma has a new phrase - "Hey, Baby". I'm proud to say that I taught it to her although I can't take the credit (she tends to pick it up on the first try). She tried it out in public the other day. Shouting very authoritatively at one of the staff at the nursing home ..."HEY BABY!!" Everyone laughed hysterically as the young lady was taken off guard and blushed immediately.

I have to say that parenthood is the most amazing experience of my life.

Fallingwater

For our one year anniversary, Chuck and I decided to take a weekend trip to see Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater in Western Pennsylvania. Here we are with the house in the back. It was a beautiful trip...we stayed in a nice Bed and Breakfast, had dinner at a few interesting places, bought some wine from a local vineyard, and toured two of FLW's homes in the area. Both were incredible!

Our Family

Top: Jake...yes, he lays like that on his own all the time...and the moose was already there before I took the photo...strange animal.

Middle: The Baby...Tuga...again, she does this on her own...she also likes to drink out of the running sink.

Bottom: The Eldest...Elwood...the pretty boy. He really is one of the prettiest cats I have ever seen...but NOISY!!!! He meows like no other!

There they are...our "kids."

Foosball weekend

What a beautiful weekend we had out here in New Jersey! As it will probably be one of our last nice weekends before winter kicks in, we did head out and enjoy ourselves. A nice run on both days, and a little leaf raking today to try and clean up the yard. On Saturday, we went and watched Chuck's little brother Matt play football. They had their first playoff game, and after they racked up 41 points to their opponents 0, Matt got to play! He's only a sophomore, so the fact that he is already part of the Varsity team is pretty cool. He doesn't play unless they're ahead by a lot, but at least he gets in there. It was quite interesting to be at a high school football game as a "grown-up". I guess that since the whole 10-year is coming up, I have my high school years on the mind, which were...what's the best word...dramatic (to say the least). Aren't they always?

Now, it's Sunday night and back to work tomorrow morning. The semester is starting to wind down. Three of my classes have 2nd exams this week, and finals are about a month away. This is always an interesting time of the year because some students think that they can cruise through the rest of the semester without doing much! Not in my class! I actually have a ton of work to do during the end of the semester and break before the Spring starts. I have to get ready for my online course and I'm teaching Modern American Art again, so I have to go over all my notes and get that organized. That is a great class...love it.

I'm also going to post some images here of me and Chuck and our "kids." Elwood, Jake, and Tuga are our three cats. They are all adorable and cute, although Jake probably needs to be put on Kitty-Cat Prozac...he's a little high-strung! OK...he's a LOT high strung.

11/11/2005

Chuck and I went back to Chow's for dinner tonight, since he didn't get to go on Girls' Night Out. He won't eat sushi, but likes General Tso's Chicken, so that's what he had. I normally wouldn't do sushi twice in one week, but I just had a craving to go back. It's nice to have a place close by that has decent sushi!

We actually went out to the mall tonight too! Not one of the big ones around here, but the rinky-dink mall nearby. I did pick up a neat shirt to wear to the upcoming Thanksgiving Reunion Bar Night. My 10 year high school reunion is this summer. We even have a blog for our class, which has been entertaining so far. This is all a bit of a strange concept, as I really don't feel as if it has been that long. Anyway, since Karyn and I are both going home to Michigan for the holiday, we decided to arrange a pre-reunion bar night. While Chuck and I were out shopping, I found the perfect shirt, so I bought it! That's about as exciting as the night got!

Tomorrow, we're heading into Collingswood again for Second Saturday. This is a take off of First Friday, which is a monthly event in Philadelphia. All of the galleries in the "Olde City" section of Philly open up for the night, serve wine and snacks, and people walk around listening to live music and looking at art. Collingswood has now started Second Saturday, although it's an all day event. We're going to go check it out...maybe pick up some goodies!

Sushi Nite Re-Cap

Our dinner out at Chow's in Collingswood was fantastic. First of all, great company. Thanks to the Jeanne and Heather for making it such a pleasant evening out! Secondly, GREAT food! We split about 5 different rolls, and they were all delicious! Chow's is a very small place and has a wonderfully personal touch. Only one waitress and one gentleman making all of the sushi (attached next door is a typical Chinese fare shopfront). You could tell that this place was a local favorite, as the waitress recognized most of the people who came in. She even asked us if we had ever been in. We said no, but that we had every intention of returning. I'm already planning to take the family over when they're in for the holidays.

I got home just in time to watch Lost. Good episode...and without spoiling anything for those who taped or TiVo-d it, I knew who was going to bite the bullet (so to speak) halfway through the episode. Honestly, I was hoping that they would have done more with that character...oh well. Next week's backstory on the group from the tail of the plane should be interesting!

For those people who have never watched Lost...it's not too late! Rent or buy Season 1 and catch up...it's worth it!

I also went on a nice long run yesterday...almost 6 miles. That's the longest run I have done since I screwed up my knee two years ago. I'm thinking that I might try and up the mileage over the next couple of months and see how it goes. I really felt at the end like I could have kept going...always a good sign! The weather out here is just starting to cool off, so I'll have to dig out the "cold weather" gear so that I can stay warm without having to run on a treadmill all winter - ugh!

Sushi Nite!

Yesterday was supposed to be a "work" day for me! I had intended to head home and get to work on revising my paper for my graduate class. Instead, and quite happily, I spent hours talking to people on the phone!! Karyn, Mom, Dad, Heather, Jeanne...and the list goes on!

Tonight is Sushi Nite! Jeanne and Heather and I are heading out to try a new restaurant in Collingswood. No boys allowed, they have to stay home tonight! Hopefully, the food will be as excellent as the company and we will schedule another sushi nite for the future!

Other than that...things are going pretty well...nothing too exciting to report. Aaron and Liz (brother and sister-in-law) will find out the gender of the upcoming new "Rieder" on the 18th, so that is really the biggest thing on the horizon for the time being. Although I will not disclose the details, my Dad and I already have a bet on the table...and I know that I am going to win! Woman's intuition! Hopefully, I will be $5 richer after the 18th! (we're weak betters!)

No big news about Turkey. We should be planning a meeting for the end of the month, but I have not heard anything as of yet. I'll keep everyone updated!